Harus

Prologue: Escape

P.O.V Sasha Henna

The single, grime covered light bulb flickered, its dim glow barely illuminating the 10 by 10 Valerian steel cage that I called my room, though it was hardly even that. The furniture consisted of a small cot with scratchy sheets and a flat pillow on one wall, while a metal chest at the foot of the bed held all of my belongings.  Food was delivered through a small gap that closed seamlessly once the tray was delivered making getting out of here near impossible.

The bulb flickered once more then died, plunging the room into darkness. I grinned. Perfect, glad to see  my partner delivered her part of the bargain. The light on my inhibitor collar died and I ripped it off with my newly regained strength. Reaching out with my hand, I slowly walked forward, looking for the wall where the food came in.  

Laying my hand on the cool steel, I ran my fingers over the smooth surface searching for a depression in the wall. There! I dug my fingers into the groove and yanked upward. The steel ripped as easily as paper, curling upwards to reveal a small opening. Crawling under the torn wall, I emerged into a red lit corridor, filled to the brim with various other prisoners all intent on escaping. Flatting myself against the wall, I frantically searched the moving crowd for my partner.

"Sasha!" A voice called out, cutting through the wailing sirens. I whipped my head toward the sound and smiled with relief. My partner Kathy waved at me as she shoved her way through the crowd and towards the wall where I stood. I reached out and caught her in a tight hug, "Glad to see your still awake and breathing. I'll take it that the plan went accordingly?"

"Yes ma'am, even better then we thought it would," Kathy said pulling back with a wink, her blond tresses floating around her head like a halo. 

Kathy is also a human, like me, who was captured and brought to this prison a year after I had arrived. Being the only two humans in here, we became fast friends and a few years later discovered that we had gained powers due to the experiments. Because of those powers, Kathy managed to trick a guard into shutting down the inhibitor collars and destroying the computers causing everything to go offline.

"Good. Now let's get out of here!" I took off into the crowd, Kathy close behind as we ducked and weaved our way around the other prisoners. After only a few minutes of running the crowd began slowing and  wails of anger rose, blocking out the harsh scream of the siren. Looking above the crowd I used my enhanced vision and was not pleased by the view. A large Valerian steel wall towered above our heads, blocking our route of escape. Ducking past another prisoner, I began focusing on my hands and feet, pushing energy into them.

"Things are about to get messy," I called out to my partner. Leaping upwards, I easily cleared the stopped crowd and cocked a hand back. "HIYA!" I yelled driving my hand through the hard metal. Cracks ran up its polished surface and with a deep moan the wall collapsed, opening the passage back up.

Cheers erupted behind me and a single word was begin chanted as I stepped off of the pile of rubble and began making my way down the passage. Kathy caught up to me, a slight frown on her face. "What does Harus mean?" 

I looked back at the following crowd with a smile. "It means Dreamer in some cases, but in this case it means Human."

P.O.V Leif Kurgato

The door closed silently behind us as the General and I left the meeting room and headed down the hall towards the holding area where the captured prisoner was being interrogated by Commander Smith.

We walked down the hallways in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. I glanced absentmindedly at the wall, noticing how the Valerian steel twisted and snaked around the wooden walls that boxed us in.