Chapter 15

The darkness hadn't even started to lessen when the tell-tale clanking of the lock disengaging echoed down the hallway. The guards were early.

I shivered and lay back down upon the floor, closing my eyes even as the heavy door creaked and groaned before swinging open. Breathing in deep, I tried to feign sleep. My foot twitched and with every stomp of booted feet down the corridor, my breath hitched within my throat at the possibilities.

My pulse picked up in anticipation – this was it.

The feet carried on past my cell to one just past mine. I squeezed my eyes closed even tighter.

"Damn it, the Doc is going to be pissed. This one's checked out." Onion breath muttered. A thud followed.

Clenching my fists together, I drew in a calming breath. Then slowly, making as little noise as possible, I pushed up onto my feet. Drawing on the strength within me, I called forth my sword so I could feel her weight within my hand but she was not fully corporeal. Even her glow was muted, like the blade knew the need for secrecy.

I shook my head. When I got out of this place I would definitely be having a few words with Lucius about this. There were still so many things that I didn't know, that I hadn't gotten a chance to know.

Creeping towards to the bars of the cell, I glanced down turned my head to the side.

The young guard was there again. His face had lost all of his colour, the gloom of the cells could not hide the greenish tinge his face had taken nor the way he flinched each time a squishy thud echoed through the air.

"Stop it." He begged, his eyes wide and horror struck as he watched the scene unfolding outside of my line of vision.

"Stop being a chicken. She's dead and doesn't even feel it. Besides, it's better this way. You wouldn't want to see what the Doc does to the dead ones." Onion breath taunted, a sick little laugh filling the space and making my own stomach churn.

"What are we going to tell the Doc?" The young guard asked, even as his bigger counterpart left the cells his wide eyes stuck upon the broken and soulless body within the cell before him.

My eyes were glued to the guard's shoes. There were dirtied, bits of flesh and gore stuck to the toe of the shoe. My stomach churned uncomfortably.

"We need to get someone else. Trust me, the Doc doesn't like you to go back empty handed unless you want to be sitting in one of the cells too." Onion breath laughed before stomping further down the hall. "Look here, fresh meat."

There were two terrified cries. I gasped – the children.

Wrapping my hand around the door to my cell, I shoved. It swung open with a squeak. Before the guards could even turn, I was already moving down the hallway, my wings sliding from my battered skin with ease though with more pain than I was used to. They wrapped protectively around my body, shielding me from the volley of tranquiliser darts which were fired my way.

They rebounded off of my wings uselessly. If only my skin was as impenetrable - maybe I could have avoided my initial capture.

Continuously moving, I opened my beautiful wings just as I got in sword's reach of the guards and opening my wings with a flourish. The young guard, who had been stood there gaping and had made no attempt to defend himself, was knocked back into the wall with a flick of my wings. He hit his head and slumped to the floor, unconscious and unaware of the batter that was just about to unfold.

Crouching down, I picked up the dart gun from where it sat on the floor and then stood slowly, my wings curled protectively around me once more. Without being to see him over the feather extensions of my body, I knew exactly where the other guard was. If it wasn't my new senses alerting me to his position, it was his overwhelming scent. The man still hadn't washed.

Steadying my nerves, I gripped the dart gun in one hand and my angel sword in the other. With a thought I allowed her full glow to be shine. And then I moved. My sword's light was bright – almost blinding. Her glow filled every nook and cranny of the confined space. The guard, unprepared for the sudden burst of brightness, was forced to shield his eyes as he stumbled away from me.

As much as I wanted to take him on, cause him wounds that would leave him begging for mercy, the reality of the situation hung over my head. It wasn't just me. If it was, I might have taken the risk of recapture. Yet the sniffling and distressed crying were enough to remind me that others were depending on me to live – to survive.

Raising my sword, I swung it through the air arching away at the last moment. And the guard did exactly what I wanted him to. He turned to deflect the blow, exposing the side of his next to me. I raised the gun, stepped in close with the dart gun before backing away. Even though it was just a small dart gun, I was unprepared for the sensation as it first and I dropped it onto the floor. Another round shot off and the guard in his leg.

I had no idea what two doses could do a human being – I didn't care all that much. I just watched as the tall and ugly man fell to the floor as the drugs took effect. He smacked his head on the way down, his eyes rolling back in his oversized head as he went.

Nudging him with my boot, I waited a few more seconds to see if he would rouse before kneeling down beside his prone form. Patting down his pockets, I pulled out his keys and pocket knife and few other weapons. I discarded most of them but I kept hold of the keys.

Backing down the hallway, I tossed the keys into Caspar's cell.

"Release yourself and the others. I'm going to get the kids." I murmured.

Not even waiting to see what Caspar would do, I hurried back the way I had come. Grabbing big and ugly by his feet, I tugged him into the open cell belonging to the deceased prisoner. It felt like a small bit of justice to lock him in with the corpse of the one he had brutalised. And I would happily admit I got a small bit of pleasure when I took the handcuffs from his pocket and snapped one around his wrist before attaching the other to the bar of the cell.

It probably wasn't the wisest move and felt a like a degradation of the dead woman but the man deserved to face his actions – one way of another. I couldn't give him the death and trip to Tartarus that he so deserved. For now, he would have to just sit with the proof of his evil.

Shutting the door to the cell, the door clicked shut. Placing the tip of my sword into the lock, the tip burned bright and when I removed it a few seconds later, the keyhole was warped and melted.

The biggest threat neutralised for a moment, I hurried to the cell which held the children. The boy was stood before his sister, arms stretched out wide in an attempt to protect her smaller form. He dropped his arms when his eyes fell on me.

"Stay there for a moment." I ordered when the boy started to move towards me.

His little brown eyes stared up at me before he pressed his lips together and nodded.

Striking my blade against the bars of the prison cell, sparks flew into the air. Then, wrapping my hand around the bar I pulled. The door protested and then it sprung open. It happened so fast that it caught me off guard. I wobbled before finally regaining my balance.

"Come on kids, it's time to go."

After a brief hesitation, the eldest child wrapped his little hand around his sisters, and then led them past me out of the cell.

Out in the corridor, the rest of the prisoners had been released from their cells. There was a dazed disbelief which lingered on each of their faces as they touched one another. It was probably the first kind contact they had received from another human being since they had been captured. It was hard not to feel moved at the way they were hugging each other desperately with tears clinging to their eye lashes.

Clearing my throat loudly, I offered a small smile as all eyes turned to me. "I hate to break up the party but we need to go before they start getting suspicious."

Meeting Caspar's gaze over the gather crowd, he nodded his head once.

"I'll take lead. I have the greatest chance of defending myself. Those of you who are able to fight please pair up with those who are injured or will be unable to defend themselves. We need to work together on this."

Hastily, everyone grouped up. The children, untrusting of the others, wrapped their small arms around my legs and refused to let go until I agreed that they could stay with me. Wrapping my wings around them to shield them from any possible flying objects, I led our small group forward with my sword held before me.

The Doctor didn't notice our arrival into his surgical room immediately. His gaze was intent upon the metal instruments laid upon the try, his fingers rearranging them into a perfectly straight line. One of the children whimpered at my side and the Doctor chuckled darkly.

"It took you two long enough." The small man ordered, not even lifting his gaze as he made the last of the details. "Put the child on the table so we can begin."

Stepping forwards, I placed my sword in between the man's shoulder blades.

"Put the scalpel down." I ordered when he attempted to pocket one of the blades on the tray. "NOW."

His hand opened and the scalpel clattered on to the tray loudly. The children whimpered again from within the protection of my wings.

"You are going to get us out of here, safely. If you don't I will stab your heart with my sword and will condemn your soul to an eternity of hell."

The doctor laughed and shook his head. "You can't do that," he said with a chuckle, turning around and stepping closer so that very tip of my sword so that it was pressed up against the material of his green hospital scrubs. "You are nothing but a mutant. You are just a human with a defective gene – nothing more and nothing less."

I wasn't even sure if it would work but I pressed the sword into his skin so that it pierced the surface and touched the very outer edges of his soul. I could feel the thrum in my sword, eager to do her duty and claim the evil soul before her. Now that his humanitarian façade had been washed away, I could feel the wrongness which oozed from him like a thick noxious gas – it poisoned and tainted everything it touched. Sending the fires of Tartarus along the blade, I watched horror dawn on the Doctor's face as the fires gnawed at the edges of his soul, desperate to get a hold of him.

I pulled away, just enough that the blade was no longer touching his skin and by extension his soul, but close enough that he could see the blade for what it was – a threat.

With a smirk I said "do you believe me now?"

The man suddenly looked less confident. A sweat formed across his brow as his eyes darted around, looking for a kind face or maybe an escape. He would find neither in the surgical room. It had bared witness to far too much cruelty to offer him any comfort.

"I'll help you. Just don't touch me with the sword again." He stuttered the words out, his hands clasping the table behind him with desperation.

"It's only delaying the inevitable. You have chosen your fate already. I promise I will not touch you with the sword again provided you co-operate." I murmured in response before pinning him with a stern glare. "And put down the scalpel – now."

He squeaked and dropped the blade, raising his hands before him in a defensive manoeuvre. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy seeing him like this – afraid of me and the hells I could bring him. Even though I wanted it to be me, I knew that I was not the one destined to lay judgement upon his shoulders. I was not the one who would end his life. I had no idea where the knowledge was coming from but I was not going to ignore my instincts. Every time I did, trouble always followed.

The Doctor led us through several corridors once we had left the surgical room. I was no closer to recognising our location. Having no idea where we were, it was impossible to know whether we were being lead around in circles.

We passed no other security. It was strange and unsettling.

"Why are there no other guards or security?" I asked, as we turned down another corridor, water dripping from the ceiling as we entered a network of tunnels which were more dilapidated than those we had passed through before.

"We have never needed them before. The tunnels are a maze and are lined with sensors – we can always find those who attempt to escape." The doctor laughed darkly.

He stopped laughing when I smacked the hilt of my sword on the back of his head. "How much further do we have to go until we reach the exit?" I asked, ignoring the small blustering man before me.

He huffed, his hand rubbing the back of his head. "We're almost there."

Our dreary surroundings became worse still as the weak lights, which had lit out path thus far, stopped abruptly. The path ahead was in complete darkness. My sword, understanding my needs before I could voice them, shone brighter so her brilliant light cast out the shadows around us.

It took us another twenty minutes of walking, me struggling to put one foot in front of the other with the children wrapped around my ankles, to come to the end of the line. There were no more tunnels to turn down. We could only go back upon ourselves.

"We go up." Our guide stated while pointing upwards. "That's the way out."

And there, embedded into the wall was a ladder. It looked like it was a new installation despite the relative disrepair of the rest of the tunnels. II nudged the Doctor between the shoulder blades.

"you will go first, I want you right where I can see you." I ordered, forcing him forwards to the small man had to use his arms in an attempt to keep his balance.

The climb, despite the new ladder, was perilous. The rungs of the ladder were wet and grimy, covered in wet mud which hampered a strong grip upon the rungs. I made sure to wipe as much of the muck off of the ladder with each step so that those behind me were able to climb too. I was before everyone else.

I was the only one with a weapon the doctor feared and I was also the only one who had a hope in hell of surviving should this all be a trap. I seemed to have racked up some brownie points somewhere in my life before I was alive in a manner of speaking even after all of my brushes with death.

There was a loud groan as a hatch was opened, the man above me pushing the covering up and out of the way so that sunlight flooded through the gap into the small space.

Following our captor out and into the daylight, I immediately swept the area for hostiles, my sword in my hand as I did so. I was strangely disappointed that there were none. I was spoiling for a fight, after feeling so helpless and my knowledge that I would not be the one to kill the Doctor humming around in my head, I wanted to hit or break something. I needed a release for all of this helpless frustration which was humming through my veins.

We were in the middle of a large garden, the hatch hidden among the overgrown garden. We were hidden from the view The sky was blue; the air cold and there was a bitter wind which swept around my legs. It felt like bliss after the stale and stagnant air of the tunnels.

"There's no one here. This is the fire exit so to speak." The mad doctor stated, his arms folding across his chest as he spun on his heel to look at me. His features were twisted, no trace of the man who had been at the shelter. "I've shown you the way out and you can't hurt me. You gave me your word."

His eyes drifted behind me, to the people who were still clambering out of the hole and taking their first breath of fresh air in a long while. Some of them had to have been in there for weeks, maybe even months.

"It doesn't matter that you're out. We know who you are and it won't take long for us to put you back in the cells where you belong." He said before spitting at my feet. "You are nothing but the scum beneath my shoes and I will be the one smiling when you are under my knife once more."

Sensing Caspar's approach rather than seeing it, I smiled serenely at the man with an over inflated sense of self-worth.

"You won't get the opportunity to see that happen I'm afraid. Your time has come."

The small man back away a step, his eyes darting from side to side as the fair haired Caspar came to stand beside me. The other prisoners watched us from a safe distance, faces hard and filled with hate. It was why I couldn't let them do this – it wasn't their destiny but I knew the damage to their souls should they be allowed to take the life of this man their lives would be forever effected.

"You said you wouldn't hurt me." The mad doctor stuttered, backing up a step, his eyes looking for a way out.

I waggled my sword in front of me before flipping it around and handing it to Caspar. The man's face was still blotchy and swollen but I could see the slight widening of his eyes as he tentatively wrapped his hand around the hilt.

"And I'm not. Caspar has been tasked with dispensing justice." I replied, watching as the man's eyes widened and true panic set into his features as he laid his eyes upon the blade which had dulled into ordinary silver, looking nothing more than a normal metal sword.

Caspar's hands shook as he took a step forward in his bloodied clothes indecision giving him pause. If he had shown a joy in taking a life, I had a feeling my sword would not have allowed the deathblow. It was only the sadness and the reluctance which resonated with the blade.

The deathblow was quick and clean, sliding between his ribs and piercing his heart with one blow. At the same time, on a spectrum that the others couldn't see, I watched as the blade wrapped around his soul and pulled it from his form. I blinked and the image was gone. I knew that death had claimed him and his soul was on a one way trip to Tartarus – I felt it.

A few seconds later there was a thump as the body of the Doctor hit the floor.

Caspar stood over him, blade still held between his trembling hands. There was no joy on his face as he looked down at the limp and lifeless body at his feet. Instead, tears were leaking from the corner of his eyes, running over his purpled cheeks.

I took the sword from his grasp and wrapped an arm around his shoulders and then looked down at my tormentor. His face looked far too peaceful in death, especially considering all of the misery he had brought to the world. There was no sign on his body that he had been stabbed with a great big sword. There was no tear in his clothes, no blood and no wound on his flesh.

"I did it for my sister," Caspar murmured, his head tilting to the side so that he could rest it on my shoulder. He had to bend his knees to do so as he was half a foot taller than me.

It was disheartening that this was the first time we had had proper contact with one another.

Squeezing his hand between mine, I sighed. "I know and now justice has been done."