Opavia

58.

Vitani walked forward to the medal wall, pressing her ear against it. She hummed , closing her eyes. blood dripped from it momentarily, Kendrick glancing around.

"There's around 250." She spoke. "They're in a basement. Most are children and others are elderly. There's a few women."

"so how do we get down there?" Skylar asked. Vitani knocked on the small wall before punching a hole in it.

They screamed as she stepped in gingerly, pointing to a stairwell.

"Tada."

"Vitani you can't make that much noise!" Kendrick hissed as she glanced over her shoulder.

"All the admiral at the station are away on missions. There's only marines and they're stationed in front of a doorway upstairs." She pointed up the staircase.

"They probably were told not to unlock the door until it was time to execute. Maybe this will be easier than expected." Baltay followed behind her as she stepped down the stair case.

"Naomi, Marco stay here." Vitani paused as the pair stood at the top of the staircase. "Yell if anything happens. we're going to try and get them out of here as quickly as possible."

Vitani reached the bottom of the stairway, looking up at a yell.

"Hey!" a marine yelled infront of the medal door, aiming a gun for her head. "what are you doing here?!"

She froze, slowly putting her hands up. Baltay and Kendrick weren't visible, still on the staircase. They had frozen as well.

"I uh-"

"You're coming with me." He moved forward as he reached for her arm, she pushed the gun down and head butted him. Kendrick leapt from the staircase, swinging his scythe. The marine ducked, the attack slicing the door.

"Hey!" he fretted and turned to meet Baltay's foot. He fell unconscious, Baltay standing up straight. Vitani pushed the door, the top half falling over. She leapt over, looking at the many children and women who were locked up.

"Vitani!" a woman whispered feebly as she ran forward. She pulled on the bars, hissing in pain.

"It's sea stone." the woman explained. "The admirals have a key to unlock it but-" She stopped as Vitani pulled out the small key from her pocket, unlocking the door unsurely.

"Baltay, guide them up." she ordered as he nodded. The women and elderly carried the children up the staircase slowly as Vitani continued to unlock the doors. She unlocked the final door after about ten minutes, the cell consisting of mainly young children.

"Come on." Kendrick led the children as Vitani looked up at footsteps.

"Hurry!" She grabbed two kids and pushed them onto her back. "The marines caught on Kendrick, we can't be trapped down here or we're done for."

"Well let's hope Marco and Skylar can hold them off for us to get up there!" He yelled. Kendrick had a kid on his back, two under his armpit and two in his hand while Vitani had one on her neck and two under her armpit. The others were old enough to run on their own, Kendrick leading them up the steps.

"Kendrick!" Skylar screamed. "The number is seven!"

"Shit!" he sped up, Vitani panting. Marco had a marine pinned to the ground, the staircase surrounded by marines.

Vitani and Kendrick froze, the marines clicking their guns.

"Surrender!" A marine ordered, Vitani's eyes narrowing to slits. She dropped the kids, Kendrick's cloud shooting in to grab them. She kicked a gun down, drawing her bow and smacking a man in his head. Naomi drew her machete and sliced a man's hand. Marco pushed the marines aside, Naomi looking at her hand-timerdesperately.