Shattered ✓ (BxB)

Thirty: Gregory

I stumble to my feet. Then, I wipe the blood off my cheek.

“Damn them all,” I mutter. “Each and everyone...Kartir..Oko...Laszlo...Johanna-” I catch myself right in the act. So, then I correct Johanna to…“Yugo”.

“I’ve got to let someone know about this...” I whisper.

I head down toward the guards’ night post or as we like to call it the station.

Usually, Tsar Joseph Maximoff only hires people aged sixteen or higher, but, he hired a thirteen year old girl.

Her name is Katiya Pavlova Ivanova. Some of Daskanalasć’s people stuck to the original naming standards—hence Katiya’s name.

Katiya sits secluded from the rest of the guard. Her dish-water blond hair falls to her shoulders. Her hazel eyes are scanning the room, almost frantic like, as if she’s paranoid of something. As if she’s hiding something from us but she doesn’t want us to find out.

The one thing about her that confuses me is her slit in her eyebrow. That’s something we don’t see everyday on a girl. But, I’m not going to look to much into it. After all, Katiya is only a kid.

Uriah Wentz, one of the other guards, looks at me and stalks toward me. “What happened?” he asks.

I sigh. Then, I lower my tone. “They’ve got away.”

Uriah’s eyes seem to grow in size slightly. “...all three of them?”

I shake my head. “No. It’s worse than that.”

Uriah cocks his head to the side, indicating the fact that he’s confused by what I said. “What? How could it be worse than Schmarten and Martinez escaping with Keegan?”

I lower my voice even more. “I caught them outside the cell. Of course Kartir was leading them. I tried to show them what would happen to them by shooting Laszlo Chang...”

“Oh no,” Uriah breathes angrily.

I continue. “...as I was putting the gun to Chang’s head, Martinez was able to knock me over. Then he, Schmarten, Keegan, and Chang escaped.” Then I add, “But, I was able to shoot Martinez in the back of the leg. So, if we’re lucky there will be a trail of blood of some sort leading us straight toward them.”

Uriah runs his hand through his hair.

I can see the anger in his eyes.

He angrily mutters, “And that’s an if!”

I ask him, “What’s gotten you so angry about?”

“The stunt you pulled, Wheller!” Uriah hisses.

I narrow my eyes. “I know you, Wentz.” A pause. “...so I know when you’re lying.” I clear my throat. “You’re not just mad about what I did.”

Uriah sighs and rubs his eyes. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“So, what’s got you worked up?” I question him.

Uriah sighs once again. “So, you know how I had to do a check-in on one of the prisoners?”

I nod. “Yeah. Which one again?”

“T. Daa’uud,” Uriah simply says.

I ask him, “Tyler Daa’uud?”

Uriah nods. “Yep.”

I didn’t even know Tyler was here. How funny was that? All of my friends were here at least at some point...Tyler...Oko...and Laszlo.

“Continue,” I say, intrigued.

Uriah says, “I opened Daa’uud’s cell. Then he slipped beneath my legs. I went to turn around, I slipped on the wet floor and he got away.” Uriah sounds ashamed.

I begin. “So, what I’m concluding from this is: we go on a man-hunt to find Chang, Keegan, Martinez, Schmarten, and Daa’uud?”

Uriah nods. “That’s correct.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Katiya’s hazel eyes grow wide and she starts toward the door. “Where are you going?” I confront her.

Katiya slightly gulps. “Well...you uh see my shift ended...so I’m uh going home.”

I gaze to the clock and back to Katiya. “Checks out. Proceed.”

Katiya nods me a thank you and she slips out silently.

Then Uriah and look at each other.

Uriah says, “Ivanova seemed awfully strange...like she was going to do something that Maximoff wouldn't approve of.”

I nod. “Yeah, it did seem that way. Wayanov?”

A young boy I know as Oleg Wayanov looks up at me. “Da, commander Wheller?”

I order him, “Go follow Ivanova. See what she’s up to.”

Oleg nods. “I won’t let you down.” He runs out.

Then, Uriah and I say, in unison, “Let’s go catch ourselves some prisoners.”