The Prison of Luna

Winter

WINTER knew the consequences for such a crime as this.

Immediate death to her, and the prisoner.

But Jacin told her this was his dying wish. Which made no sense to Winter, for he was still alive and well, but-

She would do anything for Jacin.

Her Lunar gift was surprisingly easy to use after such a long disregard. The guard stiffened and waddled off like magic, and Winter was almost proud of herself.

Almost.

She had long since had the cameras and recording devices overridden in the cell, but it wasn't like Levana was using them in the first place. The evil queen was sure that the prisoner would not escape, which was her first mistake.

At first, Winter couldn't see her, the room was as dark as pitch. Then, as she attuned to her other senses, she heard the jangling of chains, littered with painful grunts.

Winter didn't have a moment to spare. She walked into the darkness, her knee soon finding the prisoner's nose.

"Ow." Winter recoiled back.

"Oh, stars! I'm sorry!" Winter kneeled down. She reached for a satchel at her hip, pulling out a sleek, silver flashlight. The metal felt cool and heavy in her palm as she flicked it on.

Winter's heart shriveled in her chest.

This girl, barely 17, had been through too much for her age.

Her head was lowered, her bangs in thick strands over her face and the rest of her hair in a messy ponytail. As she raised her head with what seemed like a great effort, Winter gasped.

One eye was swollen shut and blooming with the purple of a new bruise. Blood was dried and caked down the right side of her face from a head wound that had long since healed. The rest of her face was covered in fresh cuts and bruises, that continued down her arms.

Her skin was pale and flushed against the beam of the flashlight. All this trauma must have been more than her heat regulator could handle. She looked skeletal, like a ghost.

It hurt Winter just to look at her. Little Selene, the closest thing she had ever had to a sister.

That was why it was Winter's duty to save her.

Selene looked at her a moment, appearing almost perplexed, before lowering her gaze again. Winter put her slender flashlight between her teeth and reached into her satchel bag again, pulling out a laser cutter. She pressed a small button on the hilt and it hummed to life, glowing a deadly red at the blade.

Winter stood and shuffled around Selene until she faced her back, and began to cut into the rusty metal of her shackles. One was normal, just a ring around her wrist, but the other was like a cap over the stub where her arm abruptly stopped. Another was around her neck.

The metal cut like butter under the laser. Winter was careful to keep it off Selene's skin. Soon, the shackles clattered to the hard ground. Winter kneeled in front of Selene again. She hadn't moved much, other than placing her hand and stub, that was wrapped tightly with a dirty cloth, in her lap.

"Can you walk?" Selene looked up, nodded, but hesitated.

"I-" She fidgeted with her wrist. "They took away my leg and my hand." Winter nodded, stealing a glance at her pant leg, which was tied off just below her knee. She stood and took hold of Selene's hand and wrist and pulled her up. It wasn't to difficult, she was so skinny, so fragile.

Something in the back of her mind told Winter that she wasn't supposed to be that skinny.

In fact, how easy it was to pull her up surprised Winter, and Selene tripped, barely catching herself on Winter's forearms.