Star Wars rebels Abducted

Chapter 29: End Game: Part IV

Kanan was four cells away when he heard the first scream.

It mirrored the one they had heard on the Empire's broadcast almost exactly, the sheer pain and hurt communicated through it, without a sense of dignity or pride. Kanan stopped masking his Force presence out of sheer horror and anger, but he had instead channeled those emotions into cutting holes faster into the sides of the cell doors.

The plan had gone off without a hitch, with Kanan successfully getting into the isolation deck and through a good portion of the cells without detection. Now, it was all up to whether or not whatever was making his Padawan scream like that had a communicator on him.

He was one two cells away now, but Kanan couldn't stand hearing Ezra scream like that. For a brief second he lowered his barriers, delving into the Force, and before you could say 'Jedi' had dismantled the droid that was causing his apprentice such agony.

Then, as quickly as he had dropped them, Kanan once again raised his mental masking presence. He was so close now, it would be disastrous to alert the Inquisitor to his presence. He made quick work of the wall separating him and his Padawan, letting it fall in his haste, to slam down onto the floor before him. What it revealed made Kanan suck in his breath.

Ezra was lying on his right side, facing away from him, in a pool of his own blood. His pilot's suit was ripped and shredded with dozens- hundreds -of cuts, which all looked in on some sort of scar or scab, either open and oozing or closed and shiny. His right leg stuck out at an odd angle, as well as his left arm. From what Kanan could see, he was at least ten pounds lighter than when they had attempted their previous rescue, and the exposed skin that showed through the rips and tears of his clothes was stretched tight. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the last four weeks hadn't been good for him.

Kanan deactivated his lightsaber, clipping it onto his belt, and knelt down closer to his apprentice. Gently, as lightly as he could, Kanan placed his hand on Ezra's right shoulder and turned him over so that he was on his back. He cringed when he saw that even his subdued touch caused him pain.

For a few moments, Ezra stared up at Kanan with un-knowing eyes, giving the Jedi a heart-attack. But then they focused in and found his face. As they did, the blue eyes that he had so missed widened up to the size of saucer-plates, and his mouth gaped like a fish. Kanan couldn't help it. His face completely broke down, all the tension draining out as he smiled tiredly at his apprentice. Everything was going to be okay now.

"Hey ther-"

"But, you're dead..."

The three words uttered from the boy in front of him confused Kanan to no end. He stood there, staring into Ezra's eyes, completely word-less and caught off-guard. Whatever he had been expecting for Ezra's first words of reunion, those hadn't been them.

"What are you talking about? I'm right here, Ezra!" But Ezra was shaking his head, eye still locked with Kanan's. But they weren't open with hope or relief. Kanan saw that Ezra was scared out of his wits. But why?

"Ezra, I'm-" Ezra's eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell against Kanan's arms, limp. Now Kanan was afraid, that something horribly wrong had happened. "Ezra! EZRA!" But the teen would not stir. After hurriedly pressing his ear onto the boy's chest, Kanan determined that yes, he was still alive. No, he was not conscious.

An explosion from outside reminded Kanan that he did not, in fact, have all day.

Gritting his teeth knowing how much this would hurt his Padawan, Kanan hoisted the un-conscious boy from the floor onto his shoulder. It scared him that Ezra felt lighter than a large sack of Corellian potatoes. He really had lost weight. Reaching for his communicator, Kanan pressed two buttons. The signal was sent to Zeb and Sabine, who he hoped were faring well, and then he was off.