When Songbirds Fly | Bellamy Blake

Chapter Twenty-Six: Gilded Cage

TW// Violence, somewhat detailed description of death, knives, tasers

—

The doors to the dining hall are barricaded, the weapons prepared. We're ready this time.

Jasper and I shout instructions to the teenagers, ensuring that everything is as secure as possible.

My stomach is still sore from being tasered. Dark bruises paint my torso in blotches of purple and yellow. It doesn't hold me back, though — if anything, it makes me angrier.

'Right over there, that's it,' I call to a group of kids. Approaching, I help them to push one of the tables up against the doors.

'We took the level,' I hear Jasper shout, 'but now we have to hold it! They will be coming, so we need to be ready. Harper, get some pots from the kitchen, fill them with water. As big as you can find, okay?'

'Are the security cameras taken care of?'

As if on cue, something shatters. Fox grins proudly. 'Hey, Fox,' my sister says with a friendly smile, 'good job. Wanna help me with the cameras in the hallway?'

She nods hurriedly but Monty strides between them before they get a chance to move. 'Nope. Leave the hallway cameras. We'll need eyes out there.'

Fox scurries away without another word.

I quicken my pace to catch up with Jasper, the two of us watching Monty in surprise. 'You can do that?'

'Have you met me?'

Dodging a delinquent rushing past with a stack of chairs, I see that Monty has approached a small keypad on the wall. He starts to type something onto it.

'Where are we on the doors?' Jasper asks.

'Barricades are tight. Can't see any visible weak spots. I'll have them checked. The other exits?'

'Elevators are all disabled, and I shorted the other stairwell locks. This one's tricky, though. I can't seem to—'

Bright sparks burst from the keypad as Jasper brings an axe down onto it. Freezing, Monty turns to him with a slight nod. 'That works, too.'

They both raise one hand and slap it with the other, like a one-sided high-five. Neither of them notice my confusion at the strangely casual gesture.

Turning our attention back to the terrified kids surrounding us, Jasper frowns. 'How long d'you think we can hold them off?'

'As long as we have to.'

—

It's been hours and still nothing.

I keep my position in front of the doors, my cold glare fixed on it as if one blink could end it all. In one hand I hold a kitchen knife. I rest my other hand on the bulge of letters in my pocket. Sighing, I begin to turn away.

A loud banging from outside encourages terrified gasps from the others. I step back to allow the gunners more space.

When I look at the people in this room, I realise just how unprepared we are. We've come so far and yet we're still in the same place. They're just kids. It doesn't matter what kind of gun we put in their hands or what fight they're thrown into. They're children.

'We'll be okay,' I hear myself say, 'got that? Whatever happens, whatever they do... it's gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay. We'll live to see the sun again.'

A few of them nod quietly. I make my way over to where Monty and Jasper stand, peering over their shoulders at the footage playing on a small screen in their hands. Smoke shrouds the hallway outside, almost completely hiding the guards from sight as they approach.