The Ancient Prophecy

63 : The Prison - Alk

Alk watched as Iro ran towards him and Phedora , loud steps ringing against the stone slabs of the floor of the barracks . His stomach lurched with fear , as if he was a little child getting caught somewhere he was not supposed to be .
       He wondered why had Iro followed them . He also wondered whenever he was somehow into trouble despite his technically still existing rank of a general , therefore meaning he was ranked higher than his half-sister .
"Iro ?" he spoke with an effort of not stammering his words in fear "Why are you here ?"
        Iro came to a halt in front of the two . Alk was still standing before Phedora , feeling as if he should shield her even if it was from Iro of all persons .
"I could ask you the same , brother ." Iro responded , her gaze falling on Phedora , who stood behind Alk .
        Panic took its hold upon Alk . His words got stuck inside his throat , the only sound getting out of his mouth being a strained ,"I..." . His heart was beating quickly inside his rib cage , threatening to escape at any given moment . Any further attempt at speaking failed him .
        Iro took in a deep breath then fixed her half-brother with her warm green eyes "I do not think there is any other reason for me to lie to you , now that , supposedly , the two factions came to an agreement at last ." a moment of silence from her "...I know your secret , Alk ."
        Alk's first thought was , Which one ? . He held his breath as he waited for Iro to elaborate , though he had a faint idea on what she was going to speak of . And he was not pleased , nor did his heart stop to beat furiously inside his chest .
"I...I know of Phedora being inside our base the night before the battle ."
         Alk could not stop himself from going wide eyed . That was the last thing he wanted Iro to have the knowledge of . His breath hitched inside his throat .
"I heard what you two discussed ." Iro continued to talk , still looking into Alk's eyes "...And I know you were actually the one who has killed Chrys ."
         Alk's face went pale . No...
"You lied to me , Alk ." No... "You lied to me for months ." No no no no.... Iro crossed her arms .
"...But truth to be told , I never knew that Chrys lied to me about dissagreeing with his brother's ideas ."
         Alk rose both his eyebrows , looking at Iro with a hint of suprise .
         Iro resumed talking "Chrys had betrayed me and so he did to you in the attempt of killing you ." she took a small step closer to where Alk stood "I may never forget your lies ... but I may forgive them , knowing that I could had done the same if I was in your situation ."
         Alk felt himself slightly calming down . But he knew that Iro had not finished talking , for she saw her eyes dart slowly back to Phedora .
"As for your relation with Phedora ... I could care less now that , as I stated , our factions settled onto an agreement ." Alk noticed a small curve of a smile touch her mouth . "You may have been a traitor , but you are still my brother ." the curve grew into a real smile . "And now I suppose it is of no concern to anyone since you had never sabotaged the faction willingly ."
"And as of why I came all the way here ... I want to help you in your mission ."
         Alk was more shocked of that statement than he was of any of his half-sister's previous ones . He remembered that Iro was a strong worshipper of the titans . Though she still took my part in the argument back on the battlefield ...
         It was as if Iro guessed all the thoughts crossing Alk's mind , for she added to her statement ,"I used to think Kronos and his brethen were our saviours , the reason we had all we have . The peace we had between citizens , no wars ever fought with any outside powers ." a moment of silence in which Alk noticed Iro clenching her fists "..But I later realised that we were isolated from the outside world and our citizens were led by fear rather than anything else ... And most importantly , I will not worship someone who does not care of their own children . I pieced together that Kronos only found value in us because we foughts his wars and did the work he never concerned to do himself ."
        The son of Hyperion listened intently to his half-sister's speech , searching for any sign of ingenuine feeling . But there was none to be seen .
"So with that spoken of... Will you let me be of use to the mission ?"
         Phedora spoke before Alk could "More help never hurt no one ." she took a step to stand next to Alk . The boy noticed a small smile was on her lips .

                                                    ***

         The three took their time to make their way down the last set of stairs . The door that led to the inside of the Prison was made of impenetrable hard metal . Three locks were placed onto the metal , making sure the door could never be forced open from inside nor outside .
         All three took a moment of hesiation before the door , fear and anticipation visible on all their faces . Phedora was faintly shaking , her eyes fixed on the door . Iro scowled at the locks , tapping her foot quickly against the ground . Alk's hand trembled as he rustled through his pockets for the keys that could open the locks .
         After he had found the keys , the son of Hyperion slowly twisted the keys inside the locks , each opening with a loud clack . Alk settled his hand upon the handle of the door , his knuckles white onto the metal .
"This is it ." he spoke under his breath , for only himself to hear .
         Alk thought about images of Prison . He never saw the maze of corridors entirely , only the opening corridor that led to the prison cells . And even so he remembered the low whispers that spoke inside his head . The way the atmosphere of the Prison made even the bravest generals eager to exit the place as soon as possible .
         He pushed his shoulder against the heavy metal door , slowly moving it from its place to reveal a dark corridor that curled sharply to the right . The stink of death quickly espaced the Prison's walls , making a shiver run down Alk's spine .
         He was scared . Yet he felt a sense of surety slowly creeping through his bones . He knew how it all could end . He knew how it all could end when he would sacrifice himself at the altar to open the Vault .