"What? That is unspeakable!"

Rufus springs up in distress. If I'm not fast enough, he'll most likely inform the warden.

"Rufus, please, listen!" I grab his arm to stop him. "I've been preparing this plan for long. I've even studied the prison data on Knut's computer. I'm sure it will work. Please, just hear me out!"

"You've even betrayed Knut's trust? Are you out of your mind?!"

He's angry. He must be thinking I'm a betrayer. The prisoners aren't amazed by my words either, no matter how surprising it seems to me. I guess they too must believe I've gone overboard.

"Just listen to me, please!" I repeat. I don't plan to give up. Not when I've come so far. "Don't you all want to escape, deep down? Rufus, you and Yelen want to marry. You won't be allowed to do that if you stay here. Annabelle," I turn to her, "you've always told me you wanted to soar freely through the skies. Can you ever really be free when you're trapped inside these walls and the fairy barrier? But if you follow me, you all will attain freedom! We all will be free, forever. Just think about it!"

They watch me, yet none of them gives a word. I guess my speech has finally gotten through to them. I only hope they'll accept.

"So, what is your plan?" Rufus asks.

I never thought he'd be the first one to volunteer! This might as well go better than I've imagined.

I relay the details of my plan to them and explain the crucial role of the water deviants. I won't disclose my plan to you just yet, because I don't know where the warden might be lurking. As many people have often told me, nothing happens in this prison without the warden's knowledge, so we must operate with as much secrecy as possible. Only the prisoners and the trustworthy administrators (which exclude every administrator from the feline district since they're all under Bob's and the warden's rule) must know about our plan.

"How are we going to inform the other districts?" One bat-vampire, Harry, asks. He's fully-turned but has gotten in this prison only a year ago, so he's still considered a newbie. "And how are we going to be sure none of us will betray our trust?"

"You guys all seem to crave freedom." I shrug. "I guess that's enough of a motivation to keep you going."

"Theo's right. All of us here are on the same page." Rufus glances at his raven colleagues. "But the bat-vampire administrators under Ronald's leadership seem to enjoy their positions, so we're not going to tell them anything about it. We ravens are extremely loyal by nature, so once we promise something, we keep the word."

"Roger!" The ravens nod.

"We won't betray you either. I've always wanted to escape ever since I came, but my spirit was slowly broken. Now, it's rekindled, due to your elaborate plan, Theo." Harry smiles at me. "That leaves only one problem, then - informing the other districts and ensuring they won't betray us either."

"Leave that to me!" Annabelle grins. "I can send the word to the bear district, whose headwoman might join us, the monkey district, whose headman too might be on our side, the merpeople district, the feline district, the reptile district, the centaur district, the angel district, and the rodent district."

Here to note - the angel district actually contains predator birds, so don't let the title deceive you. As I've said once, even we ravens are called "angels" sometimes, but we're ferocious vampires. These deviants seem to paint it all in rainbow colours, when, in fact, they all are monsters. There's nothing we can do, however - since we've been turned, we too are beasts now.

Yet, as Shon has said before, it is our choice to never forget that we were humans once. We do retain our human souls, and, consequently, we possess the willpower beyond one's imagination. I bet that is one of the reasons why infected humans turn out stronger than inborn deviants - our willpower is what drives us and what the inborn deviants are lacking. They are bound to rules and regulations, while we will always remain free spirits.

"Be careful with the feline district, Annabelle," I warn her, "The warden resides there."

"Hmph, a piece of cake! Leave it to me."

She hits a hand on my shoulder. Her attitude is very reassuring. But there is also another problem:

"Be careful with the merpeople district too. I don't trust Derek. If you ask me, he's to be put down."

"Huh? Why? Derek's always been nice."

"Do you remember our whale-hunting three months ago? Back when I fell off the cliff, it was actually not an accident. Derek had pushed me."

"What?!"

Yeah, that sure came out of the blue on my part, after all these months. But she needs to know, and now's a good chance, before she blurts about our plan to Derek as she wanted to.

"Why didn't you tell us right away?" She frowns. "We'd have filed a complaint!"

"It doesn't matter now. Just keep it a secret from Derek, and tell the other merpeople to do so, too," I reply. "I'll do something about him."

"What can you possibly do against a headman of a foreign district?" Rufus raises an eyebrow. "Sometimes you really do scare me, Theo."

I laugh - he believes I must already have a plan. That is how ravens think - they don't know what bragging means. If they don't have a practical plan they are sure to accomplish, they don't even talk about it.

"Calm down, she must be saying that just for the show." Yelen guesses. That's a former human for you. "More importantly - what about the other districts? Annabelle's list didn't include the canine and the fairy ones."

"Leave those to me." I smile. "I've got a friend in each."

Now when my fellow vampires know what I'm all about, it is time to inform Shon and Honorée too. I've once seen Bob in the dining hall, so I won't be disclosing the information there. Some evil spies might be eavesdropping on us. I know a better, less crowded place for such secret meet-ups - the library.