New Elysium: Breakout

A Small Bit of Justice***

"I'm broken and I'm barely breathing, I'm falling because my heart stopped beating, this is how it all goes down tonight, this is how you bring me back to life." - "Bring Me Back To Life" - Extreme Music

"I am the battle and the pain
I am the love, I am the kiss
I am the fight and I am the fist
That sets your world on fire " - "Set Your World on Fire" - I will Never Be The Same

Red stood still as the guards moved into the prison. The gray-uniformed men ran in, guns raised and pointed at the prisoners. He recognized the six starred decorative Orion's Reach insignia on their chests right away. He felt the old rage return, these people had taken him so many years ago...

In all his time here this had never happened. Guards shoved them in, but they did not enter the prison itself.

And Orion's Reach? He remembered his brief encounter with them...

"This is the best part..."

"Only getting what we paid for..."

He snapped back to the present as they passed him by guns trained on Ember's position. The fact that they carried real guns and not EMPs suggested there was so much more to this than just one prisoner. There was no coming back from a bullet...

The mystery deepened. They really are coming for her.

Part of him hadn't believed they would open the gates. Part of him had been entirely cynical about Ember's plan. There was no reason to suppose it would happen. What was one more prisoner?

And now that part of him burned to know exactly who she was to command that kind of response.

Connections, she had said. I'm being punished.

She was supposed to change her mind, he realized. She wasn't playing by the rules. He stared at the table where Ember lay unmoving. Whatever game was being played here, none of them had been in on it until Ember refused to go along with it. She'd taken herself out of the equation and that wasn't in the plan. He made a mental note to ask her what the hell was going on when they got off this rock. And he was getting her out of here.

She was choosing death and the manner of her own demise. Red shuddered inwardly, emotions flickered within him too fast for him to recognize them all, a fist loosened in his chest. Part of himself felt ashamed, the other part jealous... The razor felt heavy in his pocket. Desperation filled him when he remembered it. You can live to die another day. The thing in him laughed, as it focused on Ember's prone form. It was hungry for a fight. Red held that part of himself at bay. It was coming soon enough.

His gaze flitted to her chest, which rose and fell steadily. He relaxed his hands which he hadn't realized were balled into fists and shifted his attention to the open doors. He had thought he'd want to run through those doors immediately. But all he wanted to do was get to that table and yank her off of it, he had so many questions...

One thing at a time, Red.


The prison yard had gone quiet. Even Karik still standing next to Ember on the table had frozen in place, his fist still in the air. His 15 minutes of fame were gone as soon as the doors opened. He was smart enough to realize something was off.

No one moved.

Red held his breath as the men moved past him paying him no heed other than to roughly shove him to the side. He glanced over at Dag who also stood motionless, his jaw hanging open in an "O" of surprise. He hadn't really believed it either, no way. They had hoped with a false hope of those who patted themselves on the back when it didn't work so they couldn't feel the severe disappointment...