Flint and Steel: A Warren Worthington III Series

Chapter Five: Outwitted

You don't know what to do after that. You're not sure that there is much to do. How do you deal with the fact that you and Warren are currently standing on the private land of Bolivar Trask, the one man who might hate mutants with a passion that runs deeper than anyone else in the world? There is no good way to explain this, no way to go to bed and sleep well with that thought tucked away in your mind.

Yet that is what you must do when you manage to sneak back inside the school that night. That's what you do after you bid Warren a quiet goodnight, when the two of you stand outside the doors to your rooms with your hands hovering over the doorknobs, both of you knowing the imminent danger of getting caught yet not wanting to retreat inside and go back to being alone with that awful, insidious fear.

That's what you do the next night, too, and the next night, and the next. You and Warren were given a way to contact Professor Xavier when you heard some crucial piece of information; although he likely sent you to your deaths with a full stomach and clear conscience, he did at least give you that. A small burner phone was given to each of you, just in case, with only his number in it.

You message that phone number with the details of Trask's operation, how he runs the school and messes with the mutations and minds of the students. Xavier's response is somehow too calm given the circumstances- just a platitude about how the two of you are doing great, and something about how he'll be sure to send someone to get you soon. He sends no other information, no other instructions as to how you're supposed to get out of here alive when Trask knows who you are and what you represent.

You're sitting out on the grounds with Warren when you get that message, both of you sitting in faded gray Adirondack chairs that look like they were placed on the campus for the sole purpose of convincing people that this is a real school, not actually for use by students. The chairs were placed side by side, but neither of you move them apart. Every now and then, one of you will look up from your homework to glance at the other, as if to make sure that they're still there.

When you get the message from Xavier, you pass the phone to Warren without a word. He sighs upon reading it. "He's not coming for us in time. You know that, right?" You nod. "If he was planning on anything, he would have sent details like where to pick us up or who was coming. Whatever happens, we'll have to figure out an escape plan ourselves."

Warren straightens up slightly. "Well, why don't we do that? If we can figure out Trask's secret operation, we can find a way out of here." You rotate slightly in your chair to face him. "What did you have in mind?" Warren's eyes fog over slightly, like he's trying to visualize a problem in his mind.

"Think about it this way. Trask and the other professors don't live on campus, right? If they did, we'd see a lot more dormitories, and we don't. That means that there has to be an easy way out of here, albeit one that the students don't know about."

You nod slowly. "All we have to do is figure out what that entrance is and we can leave. Take matters into our own hands if Xavier won't do it himself." Warren tosses a wry smile your way. "Absolutely. If I die here in Trask's labs and the last face I see is yours, I'll lose my mind. At least through this I can die in style, getting away from you."

You snort. "Same here, birdbrain. I can't wait to never see you again in my life." For once, you don't think either of you mean the insults. And, looking at him grinning at you through a haze of laughter, you don't think your words could be further from the truth.

You have to admit that Warren's idea about an alternate exit to the campus is a good idea. The only problem is that you have no clue where it could be. The school is in the middle of nowhere, gated in by high iron fences that are constantly monitored by the school's security guards. It's like a prison just for mutant kids.