The Rising Dawn

Chapter Seven - The Breaking of The Dock

Saturday morning dawned with the plan ready to be put in motion. The grey light streamed through narrow windows, spluttering on the faces of the prison-breakers like plague spores. The air hummed with excitement but underneath there was a layer of tension. There was nobody who was not afraid.

 It felt like an enticement to death. It felt like a suicide mission. Yet it also, deeply and secretly, felt like victory already. Because surely a plan so insane, so dangerous, so unlikely, so impossible to pull off, so easy to see through, just had to work. Nothing so ridiculous could ever fail.

“Raven?” Nika pointed towards him. “You remember your role?”

“I remember,” the Raven said, collectedly.

“And Fuya?”

“We’re good.”

“And Aono?”

“Nika,” Aono sighed, “how many times do we have to go through this?”

“I just don’t want us to die,” Nika ran a hand through her hair, dragging it back into a knot.

“We’ll be fine,” he reassured her. “It’s all thought out perfectly.”

“It’s full of flaws,” Luo interjected. “There are so many opportunities for it to go wrong. It’s like trying to repair a sinking ship with sweet wrappers.”

“Mmm, sweets,” Tricks grinned. “Remind me to steal some from the Diamonds!”

“You,” Nika waved a hand at Luo, “are not very supportive.”

Luo smiled secretively and said nothing, hovering by the Raven’s shoulder like a standard-bearer. Nika wondered if it was a good idea to bring such a waif of a boy into the thick of the danger. But he was the Raven’s and, for now, not hers to order. His choice if he wanted to die.

“Very well,” Nika reached into her pocket and drew out a strip of red rag.

“What’s that?” Fuya asked.

“This? This is tradition.”

Nika dropped the cloth onto the floor. The people of Fourth erupted into cheers. The rest stared blankly, not entirely sure what had just happened.

“Let’s go,” Nika tried to look confident. “Things to do.”

Nika stood in the crowd, grey coat wrapped around her shoulders. She wore her best submissive expression, eyes downcast and mild. She relaxed the tension in her muscles, drawing herself deeper and deeper inside, making herself invisible.

 Nobody noticed her. A girl with a nervous expression was hardly going to be out of place at an execution. There had been several in the past week and the shifting crowd was beginning to feel uneasy. This latest was an elderly man, his eyes grim. Perhaps was a bad man or perhaps he wasn’t. Nika didn’t want to think those thoughts.

 She was waiting for the signal. It was Luo who was to kick start the endeavour. Until then, they were out of sight or blending in, invisible. The crowd was scattered with them. More clustered in shadows, lounged in doorways, sheltered in the alcoves of walls.

 As the man approached the gallows, Nika risked a glance towards where Aono was secreted. He met her gaze with a steady stare and nodded once, barely imperceptible. Nika let her eyes glide on as if nothing had happened.

“Let him go!”

The voice rose from the depths of the crowd, seemingly disembodied.

“Let him go, you traitor! Set him free!”