We lead the emotional boy down several bright hallways on the ground floor until we reach a large industrial elevator next to a set of stairs. I sense a pang of familiarity when we enter the elevator as I recall my first day here but now I'm on the other side of the equation. I lean forward and press the down button without a second thought and turn toward the other guards, trying to ignore the poor boy who glances over at me questionably.

"What floor?" I ask and begin to chew my finger nails nervously without realising. I never chew my fingernails. It must be the guard's habit being portrayed in the memory ,otherwise I've picked it up.

"He can skip inspection. Take him right down to ground level 10 so we can lock him up before he tries any more tricks," says the guard casually as he glances down at his tablet and begins to type in various numbers. Ground level? Does that mean we are definitely underground, ten levels underground? How will we all get up to the top without being caught? I look over at the elevator but then remember that I shut the power off so it is not an option. I then remember the emergency exit right next to the staircase. Not ideal but it will do. We will have to climb up all ten levels even if it means leaving some behind...

I pull out of his mind the moment I have everything I need then give him a small, electric zap on the side of the neck. He goes limp then slides down on the floor beside me, dribbling all over himself in the process. completely out cold. I feel a pang of regret when I remember that his wife and child are waiting for him to come home safely and pray silently that the zap wasn't enough to seriously harm him. Hopefully he wakes up once we are far away from here. He let's out a small whimper in his sleep and turn around quickly, satisfied with my work, to face Emmie. She looks up at me with wide eyes and tilts her head to the side in confusion.

"Did you just-" She begins but I put my hand up to quieten her.

"Emmie, we don't have time for this, we need to find Tate. I think I know the way out." I say and her face lights up in excitement.

+++

I find Tate opening another cell with the airy girl from earlier following him around like a puppy, she sees me before he does and gives me an irritated glare. I chuckle at the sight of the small girl so angry which only infuriates her more.

"We're all on the same side here," I call out to her and roll my eyes. What is her problem with me?

"Clearly not," she growls, gesturing to her aggravated cellmate stuck behind bars. I shrug and walk over to Tate, completely ignoring the girl, deciding she is not worth my time. Tate turns to me with a huge grin.

"Did you get the map?" Tate asks as he opens the door to the cell containing a huge man and a middle aged lady. I sigh in annoyance while shaking my head.

"Tate, you know I can't use two powers at once. We have been through this, I wouldn't have been able to remember the layout without using my Gifted powers," I start, "but even if I did, we wouldn't need it."

"What do you mean?" He turns to face me with a sudden serious expression.

"We're underground," I say, "It's a basic build, all we need to do is climb ten stories and leave through the fire escape which leads to the forest land at the back," He squints his eyes and stares back at me, confused.

"What about the elevator?" He asks.

"The power is down. It won't work,"

"But some of us won't make it, it's too risky," says the blond girl now standing next to Tate and gestures to some of the older, weaker inmates. I take a deep breath and turn to her, clearly irritated at her presence.

"What's your name again?" I ask, shooting her a sour look.

"Sydney," she whimpers suddenly afraid of the big bad Ten.

"Well, Sydney if you want to stay behind be my guest but some of us need to get out of here," I say and she nods her head vigorously.

"Good," I murmur and turn back to Tate who looks back at me in surprise.

What? I ask in his mind but he just shakes his head in return and turns his attention to the rest of the inmates instead of me.

"Everyone to the staircase!" Tate shouts at the crowd as they continue to fight off guards and help others escape. We run toward the stairwell, dodging guards and rogue inmates until I notice one of the cell positioned in the dark corner of the ward has been left unopened. I ignore the idea of going back to save whoever is behind the bars, knowing the risk but realise that I can't leave who ever it trapped away behind. I would hate to think that I had the chance to save someone and didn't even bother, even if this whole escape is basically a death trap. I huff in annoyance while turning on my heel and sprint toward the cell door ignoring the sounds of Tate and Emmie calling out in confusion. I reach the cell in no time and glance through the bars.

"Anyone in there?" I call out as is too dark to see who is inside. I hear no response at first but when the prisoner lets out a small sob I know there is someone there. This wasn't all for nothing. I close my eyes and reach for my welder powers, smiling when I hear the sound of the cell bars being pulled apart as easy as bread. I pry my eyes open and beam at my handy work; a large hole big enough to fit at least two people. I squeeze through the space and tumble into the cell, cringing at the racket I make and hope I hadn't scared the occupant of the cell.

"Who are you?" A voice murmurs as I struggle to figure out where the sound came from.

"It's alright, I'm here to help," I say while waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Slowly but surely my eyesight regains and I am able to make out a shape standing by the bed. A short adolescent boy with dark features and hair cut close to his head like many of the inmates in the general section. I can't help but think he looks familiar but no amount of eye squinting helps to make out the boy through the darkness.

"My name is Layla," I say, smiling through the darkness.

"Eddie," he says and takes a step toward me. "The guards say we should never leave our cells."

"I think the guards might be a little preoccupied to notice you gone," I laugh but stop once I notice the boys trembling body.

"Hey, it's okay," I say and reach for his hand. "You're safe now."

I pull through the hole into the light and turn around to help Eddie through but pull away in surprise once the light hits his face. No wondering I thought he looked familiar. Eddie is the Rein from the guard's memories. The dark circles under his eyes and bones poking through his skin help to disguise the boy but I know it is him.

"What's wrong," the boy asks. I know I can't tell him I had seen him being taken away from his mother in a guard's memories, or at least not now so I put my finger up to my lips and quieten the boy.

"Come on, lets meet up with the rest of the group," I say and we sprint toward the others.

We return to the group who wait at the door of the staircase and push through various prisoners who stand ready, watching the entrances for the next round of guards. We eventually reach the door and ignore the questions being shot at me from my friends knowing I have already wasted too much time. I yank the door open harshly but stop in my tracks when we come face to face with yet another set of guards, but this time there are five of them with their guns aimed straight at us.

It all happens in slow motion. I freeze in shock while Sydney lets out an ear piercing scream and Tate reaches for Emmie to pull her behind his back. I raise my hands in defeat but the sudden movement frightens the guards and three sets of bullets come shooting toward us but before they can reach us they stop in mid-air. I glance down at my arms and realise they are flown out in front of me and I now stand in a protective stance, as I pull my arms away the bullets fall to the ground and I gasp in surprise. My Rein powers.

The guards waste no time firing another round of ammunition toward us but they get no further than the last. With every set of bullets fired I take a step until I stand a few meters away from them protected by an invisible shield covered in bullets. The guards drop their weapons and fall to the ground in terror, one guard even bows his head and recites a prayer while the other lets a few tears fall. The sounds of her sobs fill the empty stairwell but I can't help to continue to feel anger toward them. Two minutes ago they were happy with shooting three teenagers and a young girl just so they could make do with minimum wage they receive for standing by cell doors with guns. I clench my fists as my body begins to tremble in rage and without realising the bullets slowly twist in the air until they are facing the frightened wardens in front of me.