Beautiful Ruins

Chapter 19

I walk slowly into the tunnel, half expecting someone to jump out from somewhere. Nobody does, the tunnels have never been guarded because they lead to the security room and nobody is stupid enough to go in there, they'll easily sound the alarm. I'm surprised I'm stupid enough to be attempting this, but it's worth it if it stops children from ending up like me, alone with blood-stained hands.

I glance around the tunnels, looking up, down and sideways, someone could come at me from any direction. There's no one in sight but I need to be prepared for someone to come out, Mystique is highly intelligent so maybe she'll guess what I'm trying to do, though I seriously doubt it. When I was here, I was never stupid about the risks I took, this risk is easily the stupidest thing I've ever done yet I can't make myself turn back.

The tunnels are dark and cold, almost pitch black. I can just make out the walls to the sides of me, but it's dark. Somebody could easily be waiting for me, and I wouldn't see them until they jumped out, ready to attack me. I could use fire to create light but if someone is waiting, then I'm letting them know exactly where I am.

I keep walking forward, picking up my pace slightly. Once I get to the entrance of the security team, I need to act fast, I'll only have a couple of seconds before the alarm is rung and the entire building shuts down, preventing me from leaving. If Mystique knows I'm coming for her, I don't think I'll have much of a chance, Mystique will have Scarlett or Magneto by her side for protection and she'll know I'm not completely healed from the events of earlier today.

My best plan is to knock out whoever's in the security room then turn off the cameras and break them, that way even if someone comes in after I'm gone, they won't straight away see that I'm the one in the building. As soon as I'm spotted, I'm sure I'll have a lot of people coming for me, Scarlett's said herself that I know too much to be allowed to join the avengers. It's ironic because I don't actually think I know much information that's that helpful, I've told Tony what I know about the x-men but it's not like I know something that ensures the avengers will win.

The biggest issue will be if I run into Scarlett, Ashton, or Henry. I don't want to have a repeat of what happened, I don't want to have to fight my friends. Time has proven that they'll be willing to kill me whereas I'm not, that means I'm destined to lose every time we fight, they're always going to be much more ruthless and colder than I'll be.

The tunnels are getting even darker the further I go in, I can barely see what's in front of me, but I do have the advantage of knowing these tunnels, it's not my first time using the tunnels to sneak in or out of this place.

I whirl around as I hear a noise behind me, I can't see anyone, but I swear I heard something. I glance around but nobody is there, and I can't hear any noise. I can't make much out through the dark but I'm certain there's nobody following me. It's possible I'm just jumpy because I know I'm basically on a suicide mission. I turn back around and continue walking towards the entrance. Once I'm at the door and enter, I cannot afford to hesitate, hesitation will get me locked in a cell and tortured until I'm back on the x-men side or killed instantly. I doubt Mystique would be nice enough to kill me instantly, she's made it clear she wants not just me to suffer but everyone around me as well, if she kills me then the funs over for her.

For the billionth time I wonder why I loved and tricked Mystique my entire life, it's becoming so obvious just how insane and uncaring she is. I don't understand how I never saw this side to her when I was younger, I foolishly believed she cared for me, similar to how a mother cares for her child.

I gulp as I see the door. As soon as I open that white door, there's no turning back or escaping. Once I open that door handle, I'm back in the x-men institute. I search my brain for reasons I should turn back, but I can't stop thinking about Mystique is just going to keep coming after the people I love and turning innocent kids into weapons and mass murderers. It could be months or even years until the avengers finally rise up and come here, that's a lot of children who will be turned into killers in the meantime. Killing Mystique won't necessarily stop it, but it should at the very least decrease the number of children who are captured and brought here – and none of them even know it's a prison, I grew up here thinking I had freedom, Scarlett believed they saved her when her parents were killed, nobody realises this is all a master plan so they can experiment on us and give us powers so we can fight for them.