Return of the Titans

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Before the last cinder from the bonfire burned away; before the last Lion-man snored his way into Dreamland; even before the first bird could scream the night's hour, the four of us were ready with our plan.

It began when Jay rolled away from beside Benjamin. Maria and I had pressed ourselves against the ground, feigning sleep but really watching through half-closed eyes. Every once in awhile, Ben would let out a drawing snore so that no one would have any suspicions. It must have worked because nobody complained when Jay crawled away.

The nearest guard's head bobbed from his own tiredness, but when he noticed Jay's stirring, he immediately straightened, pointing his spear's tip at his face.

"Whoa, there, buddy," Jay said, lifting his bare hands. "Ease up on the dangerous weapon, will ya?"

"Speak, falseblood," the guard growled.

"I can't sleep," Jay said. "These shackles are just too heavy and tight. I can hardly move. Could you, just maybe, loosen them for me? Just a tad bit."

"No."

"C'mon, dude. You and I both know that it's too late for an argument. If you do this for me, I promise that it'll be the last that you hear from me. Scout's honor," he added and held up two fingers.

I squashed a laugh under my hand because this was just priceless. I had told Jay to try and make himself seem convincing to the guard, but I didn't expect ad-libs like this. I wondered if he might exaggerate even more but then I remembered that we were trying to be stealthy.

But did he have to make it so funny?

Through the maze of grass stubs and gravel, I could see the guard look around, probably to make sure that no one else was awake. He looked in our direction for a moment, but our heads were already low and our breathing was labored. Once he realized that no one would see either of them, the guard reached over and took Jay's shackled hands.

"Tell no one of this," the Lion-man said.

Jay grinned. "Don't worry, I won't. And neither will you."

The guard stared at Jay in bewilderment and before he could push him away, Jay had grabbed him by his wrists. In a flash, electricity surged throughout the guard's body, and just like when it happened to Lion, his eyes bulged and his muscles contracted in pain. I saw pleading in the Lion-man's eyes but Jay was persistent with his shocks, until finally, the light dimmed from the monster's eyes and so did his struggle.

When he was sure that the Lion-man was dead, Jay pushed him away and grabbed his spear. He then crawled back to us.

"Good work," Maria said as she took the spear.

She placed its wooden shaft on the ground, its metallic head slightly elevated, then set her foot against its neck. One stomp and it splintered, and one twist made the head come off completely. Taking it, she then went to work in picking her shackles' locks.

"I feel like Theodore Roosevelt," Jay gasped, laying against Benjamin's flank. Blood trickled from his nose and his face was completely flushed from exhaustion. Just three minutes of electrocuting a guy to death took every ounce of energy from his body. "What I would give for some real sleep."

I nudged him awake with my shoulder. "You can sleep when we're back at Prison Grove."

"Why're we going there?" Maria asked over her tinkering.

"We found the king," I said. "We did our part, so now we've got to go back home."

"That man is not our king. The monsters must have him squared away somewhere and put this guy in his place. We should go back to the Hub and request for some of their warriors so we can really get some answers."