A Series Of Different Events

Chapter 16 - Prison break

Violet gasped as Adrianna felt to her knees, coughing. The Man with a beard but no hair and his wicked wife came over, looking smug. He held his hand out to Adrianna. "The Mycelium?"

Violet was taken aback, and Adrianna weakly opened her other hand, the vial clutched in it. The Woman with hair but no beard took it, held it up to the light before nodding and turning. The Man with a beard but no hair followed suit, gesturing to Violet. She looked at Adrianna, who was as white as a sheet, coughing on the floor from the Mushrooms.

Violet crouched down by her, shaking her gently. When Violet had almost fallen, the barbed wire cuts had reopened on her palm. The blood tumbled down her hand like a macabre rain, staining the shingle with red.

Adrianna didn't respond, staying on the floor. She coughed, a frail and empty noise, as she struggled to breathe. She looked back up at the departing Firestarters.
"The cure! She needs the cure!" Violet called out, panicking. The Man with a beard but no hair looked at her.
"Adrianna had some of the cure. If she lost it, it's her own fault."

Thoughts whizzed around in Violet's mind as she processed this. Would he really just leave one of his most loyal Firestarters to die before his eyes? Adrianna had fallen quiet, her chest rising and falling. A sob rose to Violet's throat as she looked at the helpless girl dying infront of her, not caring what crimes she had commited and aided in, just that she had to live.

"Please! She doesn't have the cure anymore," guilt hit Violet as she said this, if it wasn't for her Adrianna would be living. Sighing, the Man with a Beard but no hair passed Violet a small glass tub, with a thick beige cream in it. In slanted writing, the yellowing label read: 'Horseradish'

Violet unscrewed it, and passed it quickly to Adrianna, who ate some of the bitter mixture. Within a few seconds, she sat up, gasping for air. Violet knew the uncomfortable feeling, your throat closing up as the Fungus grew in it, until it blocked off your lungs completely.

Violet shuddered, and stood up. Adrianna stumbled up beside her, giving her a quick, grateful smile.
"Thanks," she said, and Violet smiled back. The other Firestarters had already started walking back to the black roadster, so the two left behind jogged to catch up.

Violet heard Adrianna's shaky breath, and despite her usual smile Violet could tell she was terrified. They got into the car with no other words about the cave.

----------------------------

While this had been happening, Klaus was huddled infront of the door, with Sunny crying quietly beside them. They were both so hungry, the hungriest they had ever been, and it was gnawing at them.

Determination had seeped away from Klaus as time wore on, his hunger and sorrows taking over his thoughts of saving Violet. In a final burst of energy, he stood up, the world spinning around him for a second. His legs tingled with the familiar yet unwelcome feelings of pins-and-needles as he headed to Violet's inventing desk.

He scruffled around in the draws beneath it, until he felt something small and thin against his hand. Twisting his fingers until it was in them, he pulled it out of the clutter. It was a file of some sort, and it would be perfect to pick the lock once more.

Klaus pushed the file into the lock, hoping whoever locked it hadn't left the key in. The file slid in easily, and he felt a jab of relief. He turned his hand this way and that, the lock clicking angrily at his attempts to break free.

Suddenly, there was a loud pinging noise and the door came loose.
"Yes!" Klaus exhaled, and he picked up Sunny. He looked around the Firestarter's room they had stayed in, at the small bags they had packed.

There was nothing worth keeping in them. He opened the door and took a tentative step out, looking left and right. The hallway was empty, and he lifted Sunny to his chest as he started walking out.

It was too quiet, as he tried to step as silently as he could. He couldn't help the speed he picked up as he looked around his shoulder every few seconds, almost expecting a black robed, hooded figure to pounce out the shadows again. He tried to replay the way they had went to the library, where the exit was.

In a wash of horror, he heard distant voices and footsteps. He didn't recognise them, but he knew that he had to run. Now. The footsteps were coming closer, echoing towards him. And Klaus sprinted. As fast as he could, racing down the halls, almost slamming into the corners at the right turns.

He struggled for air as the wind chased him down the corridor, until he saw a familiar way of the hallway. It was where the library was, where the exit was. Relief spiked through him, mixing with the adrenaline that held him fast. He walked to the door. There it was, like a beacon, the exit.

He felt around his pockets for the time to pick the lock. It wasn't there. His hopes plummeted.
"No..." He said, shocked. It must have fallen. He looked around the corridor, and then Sunny said something.
"Down!" She cried happily, waving her fist. Klaus looked down, and sure enough, the file had fallen down and slid under the radiator. He crouched down and reached for it, the dusty cobwebs brushing his fingers.

He laughed. He could not believe his luck. "Sunny, your amazing.." Klaus mumbled as he pushed it into the lock, and twisted it until the familiar click rang in his ears. He reached for the handle, and tried to open the door.

Light tumbled through, but the door had only opened about 3 centimetres. He saw a chain holding the door closed from the outside and sighed in frustration. He looked at Sunny, hopelessness in his gaze. Sunny smiled slightly, her small mouth lifted in a curve of a cheeky idea.
"Kick!" She exclaimed, and Klaus looked at her.

In a fast, powerful movement Klaus kicked the door with all the force he had. He exclaimed in delight as his heel hit the door, and the chain stopped the door, but then snapped off with a creak. Klaus shook his head in disbelief as he pushed it open, and then, for the first time in days, entered the outside world.

The air was crisp and clear, and Klaus felt alive again. The stuffy scent of ash dispersed as he gazed around the gray sky, the snow clumped around leaf-less trees. Fresh air and wind blew his hair, making Sunny shiver. Smiles were on both of their faces, and determination had sparked in his heart quickly, and he started running again, stones coming loose as his shoes pushed over them.

He looked back at the Firestarter's headquarters, one final time, before turning. They kept running, through the snow, until Klaus was a way down the road.
In a moment of panic, he realised that he actually had no idea where Violet was.