Mad

Chapter 5

A dull throbbing roused him. He slowly cracked his eyes open to find a mask pressed to his face. Aven scanned his surroundings, unable to move his neck. The fog had thinned to the point where a faint, glinting mist only lingered in the room. Suddenly, his head was jerked to the side. Bombarded with his senses, he felt pain radiating through his skull. It was as if someone jammed it with a sledge hammer. He looked to the side to see a metal bar. Close enough, he thought as he jumped to his feet, grabbing the gun of the nearest soldier. The room was painted with a sick red. Most prisoners were holding guns, still holding their ground with the soldiers sprawled at their feet, in a very uncomfortable position or dead. Probably the latter. Idiots. They were all bloody idiots. Aven strode towards the front lines, which were now much emptier than before. Only a few haggard-looking people and a rather large man stood there, the only grasp they had on their lives: their guns.
'' What the hell are ye doin', mate?" Aven heard the large man ask as he poked his head out the door. Soldiers could come at any second and blast his head off. But he had to see if the coast was clear if he was going to get any closer to Hailey. Hailey.
The hallways were abandoned, the echo of footsteps booming through them. Aven gulped in a breath and held it for a second to stop his voice from shaking.
'' These soldiers will tear us limb from limb if we stay here," he exclaimed, looking at no one in particular. He saw the prisoners exchange confused glances and look at the guns they were holding. They had just won with nothing but a few steel bars. Of course they thought they could take on another attack. The largest of the prisoners yanked Aven away from the front, pulling him upward by the collar.
" Who are you working with, boy?" He spat, snarling in a way that displayed all his gold teeth. Which were all of them.
'' It's been a while since I was swept off my feet.'' Aven mused, batting his eyelashes. The prisoner grimaced and shoved Aven backwards, towards the door. Aven smiled as he stumbled backwards. Not only was he away from any possible threat, he had their attention.
'' Listen, if we stay here they will keep on attacking us till we're nothing but a pool of blood. They outnumber us and have  far more advanced weapons than half charged stun guns and metal rods. And you know they're gonna start using leathals. To them, we're nothing but scum. If you wanna get out, you can't stay in here.''
The room was ghost-quiet apart from the raspy breaths of haggard prisoners and the thud of racing hearts.
'' Where do go? How will we get out?'' A voice piped from the back, followed by a series of nods. Panick glazed their eyes. No one had ever escaped
Besmoth. They spied each other, trying to judge who can get out.
'' Our only option is to split up to small groups. Try finding the exit and on the way release more people. More escapees means more distractions.''
Around him, prisoners nodded and started filing past him towards the door. Aven saw them pack together, trying to move away from the oncoming voices. He turned around himself to run away. At the back of his eye, he spotted the same teenager running after him. Didn't she have any brains?