Together Once More (hopefully forever)

THE ESCAPE

Summary

They all had to get out of there somehow, didn't they?

They actually make it quite easy for Joe. He hates to do it, of course. But he isn't going to let them kill him.

Soldiers had to remove the mask for mealtime, but many forget to silence their helmets before taking the thing off. So Joe simply told them to discreetly grab some things and put them in his room. Luckily no one got caught and patrol didn't check under inmates' beds.

After a week, he had everything. Packing was easy once Joe cut his hands free and got everything into the large backpack he'd requested. Then he simply made the handcuffs look locked and now waits.

The patrol soldier is surprisingly gullible and surprisingly easy to take down. Joe shuts the door and puts on the officer's armor before slipping his backpack on and bolting out. He's given odd looks, but no one stops him. No one stops a soldier, especially a running one. He slides to a stop at the door of Wing H and starts to slam buttons of the digital keypad.

Wing diagnostics say that the Hermits were in their places, perfect. Joe has the door slide open before he grabs a large heat lamp from his bag and positions himself in front of the door. He silently counts to three and forcefully throws the lamp at the display before dashing into the wing. As hoped, the metal lamp smashes the keypad, causing lockdown procedures. The door would stay firmly locked but all support the electrical systems online.

Lights flicker for a moment but continue to hum. Joe goes to the internal digital keypad and slams his shoulder into the glass. There was another meltdown. Secondary locks were initiated on the doors before all electrical systems shut down. No air, no life support. A silent clock ticked down.

He heard the locks on the doors click open with the doors opening a slight amount, but no one moved. Slight fiddling with the helmet garnered a bright flashlight. Joe started to hear people slamming on the outside door as he ran down the hall and into his old cell. He shoves the thin blanket on the bed into his bag. Then he turns to do the other preparations to find Scar standing in the doorway.

He raises an arm when the light hits him but does not move. "Those guys did a good job designing that armor. No magic in or out?"

Joe wants to respond. To say, "It's me!" But the metal mask on his face, locking his jaw in place, stops him. He simply takes a deep breath and pushes past Scar.

"You're not talking?" Scar watches him go down the hall. "What's your plan?"

He stops and turns back to Scar. With a deep bow, he holds a hand over his heart. Hopefully that means something.

Joe stands back up and continues down the hall. At Cleo's room, he pulls the door open and motions for Cleo to leave. They are huddled in the corner, in between wanting to attack and wanting to disappear. Slowly, they stand up and run past Joe. Scar and them crash into each other then go into Grian's room.

Back in the room, Joe takes out one of the grenades he had acquired and places it in the middle part of the wall and readies himself. He pulls the pin and gets out of the room as fast as he can, diving onto the floor. The bomb goes off, reverberating through the wing. Some subjects scream in their rooms but no one dares to leave.

The internal wall has a large blast in it. Dust clears slightly and Joe stands up. He opens the first door he encounters, where Xisuma and Elex are. Joe motions for the two to come to him, to leave the room. Both look at each other and hesitantly follow. Joe puts a hand on Xisuma's shoulder, motioning with a hand. He moves it from his mouth out to the wing.