The One Thousandth Gravity Breaker

Part 3: section 2

Everyone sat in silence, with Jade occasionally making comments or jokes. Kira kept tapping her fingers anxiously. What was Oceania doing there? Was she already caught by the prison guards? Zay never took her eyes off the horizon. When they reached the prison, Zay abruptly stopped.

"Look!" She breathed. The prison had been rebuilt, and was already full of new tin shacks and tents. Kira's eyes widened with horror.

"Oh no. I bet she is in there. Come on, we can pretend to be guards, then get them out of there." Kira suggested. Jade leaned over on her seat, her eyes pooling with tears.

"I can't believe this is what happened to my great grandparents. It looks so horrible." Jade quietly said. Kira nodded.

"It is horrible."

Zay landed smoothly in a grassy spot nearby. It was pretty easy to sneak in, as three guards were asleep on the outer wall. Kira moved around uncomfortably underneath her armor. How did they wear this all day? Everyone decided to split up. She searched by marching down the outer wall, while Zay looked through the factories. Jade didn't really know what to do, so she beat up a bunch of guards, then tied them up for questioning. Kira searched for hours. No luck. The good prisoners were in the factory that day. Kira knew that Oceania was definitely not one of them. She sighed, watching each child work. Heads down, pained, tired expressions. A gasp came from the other side of the room.

A five year old boy messed up big time on the shoe he was working on. A guard hauled him to his feet. A girl around Kira's age screamed, and hit the guard hard, across the face. The guard yelled with fury. They shoved both kids to Kira.

"Take them to the punishment room! A good beating, and a least fifteen whips!" They bellowed. Kira's heart raced. What would she do if there was someone else inside the punishment room? Kira led them as gently as she could down the hall. She was really lucky. Not only did she remember the path to the newly rebuilt room, but there was no one else inside. Kira strapped them down for show while the door was still open, then locked the door, and drew the shades. Kira took her helmet and face mask off.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I am an escaped prisoner myself." Kira whispered. She unstrapped their bonds. The girl eyed her suspiciously. Kira pulled her arm out of her armor, and rolled up her sleeve to reveal whip scars. The girl relaxed.

"This wasn't why I came here originally, but I'm going to get you out." Kira suddenly screamed, making them both jump.

"Sorry, I have to make this look realistic." Kira screamed again. She thought for a moment. She had an idea.

"Ok, I'm going to let my friend know about you, and she will lead you to a sky ship. You might have to wait there for a few days, but there will be food. We will then fly you to Julana, where you will be safe." Kira decided. The girl's eyes widened.

"But Julana was wiped out!" She whispered. The girl screamed. Anyone in the hallway would think they were being torchered. Kira smiled.

"It wasn't wiped out. They just went underground, and high above ground in unmarked territories." She went to the corner of the room, where there was a bag of blood. Kira handed it to the girl.

"Here, spread this across your skin. Scratch what I said earlier, I'll lead you there myself right now." Kira said quietly. The girl covered her arms, and the little boy's arms. Kira put her mask back on, and led them through the hall. They silently crept through the outside wall of the prison, avoiding being seen. Kira opened the door.

"Make yourselves comfortable. I'll be back, or one of my friends will be back to check on you in six hours or so. There are extra clothes in case of an emergency in the overhead bin." Kira pointed to the little compartment. The girl looked at her great fully.