Broken Away

Magic

"You're seventeen, though."

Eric nodded, throwing his head back, "it's not like I want to marry her. She's a sadist."

Chase sensed there was more to the story but she didn't ask. If he wanted to tell her, he would.

Eric got up, only to be shushed by Chase. "I didn't say anything," Eric said.

Chase shushed him again, standing up, ignoring the sharp pain in her ankle, "there are people above us"

"How can you—" Chase strapped a hand over his mouth. They could hear muffled voices above them.

"We need to leave. They probably have metal detectors."

Eric slung two bags over his shoulders, "follow me, the exit is around half a mile down that tunnel. You can take that crutch on the wall."

Chase grabbed the crutch against the wall. It was made of sticks that scratched against her skin. She hobbled behind Eric, following him down a dark tunnel that prevented her from seeing two feet in front of her.

"We need to get my horse and get away from this place. We can find you a doctor who'll treat you for free somewhere," Eric whispered.

"Get away? I need to get back to my sisters. I can't just abandon them!"

"Don't you get it, Chase? Lexi has been aware of you for a year. The first thing she would've done once finding out you escaped is sent people to your house. Your sisters will be fine."

Chase leaned herself onto the wall, adjusting her crutch, "you can't guarantee that!"

"Yes," Eric hissed, "I can. Why do you think Lexi waited until you got to camp? An 'accidental' death at camp can be brushed off. A homocide would get investigated. Your sisters are at the verge of attending camp. If they disappeared as well, people would start suspecting things."

"Alright, fine," Chase said, "onto the next topic, no doctor is going to treat this many wounds with no pay."

"We'll figure something out."

The conversation ended there. The next fifteen minutes were filled with silence except for Chase's crutch scraping against the floor. Chase knew they reached their destination when a ladder came into her line of sight. Eric dropped his bags and climbed up the ladder. Chase could hear a click as Eric opened the trapdoor. Eric jumped back down and slowly swung both of them over his shoulder. Using the other hand, he climbed up. Chase heard a thud as he slung them onto the floor above them. He climbed back down then turned to Chase. He sighed as he glanced at her ankle. He gestured towards her, indicating that he was going to carry her. Chase scrunched her nose and threw the crutch down. She grunted and limped over to the ladder. She reached up and grabbed the highest rung she could reach. She flexed her biceps and pulled herself up. She set her good foot on the rung third closest to the floor. Chase repeated the process until she was able to climb onto the the hay-covered floor. She could smell manure and the stench of horses filled her nostrils. She hoisted herself up against a pillar as Eric climbed out as well.

"That was impressive, Chase. I can see why Lexi wants you dead. You didn't even break a sweat."

Chase shrugged, "it's just technique and strategy."

"It's very good technique and strategy. Come on, I'll introduce you to Raven."

"Raven?"

Eric pulled Chase up. She wrapped an arm around his neck as he helped her steady herself on her foot. He led her into one of the stables. Chase found a black horse. Its mane and tail were also black, the same shade as its body. The horse had a black saddle on it. The body of the horse was bigger than normal ones. The horse flipped its head back, allowing her to see w small white spot on its neck.