Reform

Chapter 26: Forgiveness

It has already been a day since Aloysius and Cyrus were trapped within two closed steel doors. They had a little party because Cyrus insisted that they at least celebrate New Years' day before their lives become hell. Nothing much happened besides a few memory shares and some other things.
    "So, my plan is to throw ourselves fast throughout one of the steel doors. They open every now and then, probably because they have an automatic timer. You saw it happen before," Cyrus said.
"Anyway, how's the girl?"
    "What girl?" Aloysius asked.
    "C'mon, I saw she tucked you in bed nicely. That girl, Mirai, how is she? Or do you think she's under this spell too?" Cyrus inquired.
    "I'm pretty sure she is under the spell. I did not know it was her. I thought she hated me or at least disliked me," Aloysius said while he blushed a bit.
    "Well, actions speak loud and clear more than words," Cyrus said.
"We should start eyeing those steel doors before we miss a chance to escape. If they open and I don't see it, just get through it yourself. I will be in contact through the earbuds."

    They returned to their respective sides as they stared at the steel walls. It was like watching a pot of water, waiting for it to boil. It seemed like it would not happen in a million years. They waited and waited for hours. Once one of them got out, they would be on their own. Kieran would not let anyone go to the academy floor because he would not risk any of them getting trapped for eternity. They could all be of great use to enforce the plan even further. Suddenly, Aloysius's steel door opened, and Aloysius jumped through the steel door. He barely made it as he had to tear a piece of his shirt off. It was gripped tightly by the door. Aloysius proceeded to head towards the next stairwell. He thought it headed down but, it went up. The realization boggled Aloysius's mind. As he was about to see if there really was the third floor, a steel door was slammed down through the floor. His passage was blocked and, now Aloysius has to sit there waiting.
    Darren was at the rooftop again, surveilling the academy interiors and managing the steel doors. Darren did not only download the blueprints but, he also downloaded CCTV Camera footage accessibility. He could watch anybody anywhere at any time. For some odd reason, a camera was placed across from a TV. It was playing comedic shows that Darren looked at most of the time. Of course, Darren would not look at the camera all the time since he would get bored of it. Then, his tablet picked up audio interference. He checked Camera #7 to see that there was no audio disruption. Darren insulted himself as he noticed that there was an audio tab on the bottom right. He pressed it and, it displayed two audio boxes.
    "Aloysius, you there?" Cyrus asked.
    "I'm here but, I'm trapped by another steel door," Aloysius responded.
    "I believe I can help you get through those steel doors," Cyrus offered.
"When you left, I found that these steel doors have a 'digital lock'. I have been trying to bypass it since it is a maze of wires and codes. I am not exactly the tech-savvy one in my group. Anyway, I have gone through a process of trial and error. I might have found what I may have gotten wrong. I do not know if it does not work. But, these steel doors give 10 attempts before they shut their override system. I know that because I ran out which means I'm staying here until I get a chance to escape."
    "So, I need to carefully listen to you?" Aloysius said.
    "Yes, if not, you will have no chance of escaping that door."
    "Well, what do I need to do?"
    "These steel doors all have the same override system from what I eavesdropped in the conversation with the janitors. So, carefully, run your hand softly on the wall. You need to feel a hole-like part and, then when you feel it, pull it back," Cyrus said. Aloysius pulled back and saw a medium-sized square hole. Half of it was wires and, the other half had a screen displaying nothing but static.
    "Slowly reach for the big red wire and yank it. That will cause the screen to turn on. Once you have done that, if you fail, it will reset to after the red wire was torn off," Cyrus explained.
    The screen showed a neon blue screen with number squares. It then highlighted some squares in a specific order, one by one, and then it stopped.
    "Copy the pattern then, grab the gray and yellow wires together to tear them off at the same time," Cyrus ordered.
Aloysius did as he was told and was brought to the same screen but with different numbers. It did a pattern that Aloysius was about to copy before it displayed another pattern.
    "Hey, the screen just showed two different patterns. Which one do I copy?" Aloysius asked.
    "Do not copy any of them, instead press 25 and tear off the purple wire," Cyrus said.
"After it displays a different screen, immediately remove the yellow wire which should complete the override process."
Aloysius did as he was told and, it seemed like it was working. Suddenly, the screen said incorrect code.
    "Cyrus, it didn't work," Aloysius said.
    "What?" Cyrus exclaimed.
    "Kieran, I've blocked access for Cyrus and Aloysius. It was a close one but, I have altered all the override systems for all steel doors," Darren said. 
    "Good," Kieran said.