The Hovering Ingress: The Hidden World

Chapter 43

Escape Plan

One Ninth Sune Later

Time passed slowly, with less visits and more time dreading for battles in the arena. The group grew to continue despising their situation on the Sinister base, but they also grew a tolerance to the place. Their only form of entertainment were the fights outside of the prison veil between flabirs and Raid and Crackle's rare but cathartic visits. Whatever had been going on outside of arena battles made the beasts busier than normal.

Xengu was still in anguish about her killing Whiz's brother and sister. She kept on mumbling something about how she had failed them, failed him, failed everyone she cared about. It got so irritating that after a few sune cycles Favi whipped around and snapped.

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP ABOUT IT?! It's not your fault and I don't care who or what you promised! Blaze is to blame, not you!"

From then on, the winged panther was silent, though a haunting look in her eyes told everyone it was still in her mind. Everyone's bodies that had been trying so hard to recover from the lack of food down in the lowlands in Laili had been deteriorating. Sure, they would get fresh food the cycle or so after a battle, but other times they had to bear through contaminated meat. It was starting to leave them more gaunt than nourished, sending them to hurl every night. They were sick.

The cleanliness of the prison was not even worthy of a pass in a health department's checkup, despite the lack for room and environment for mold. Bodily wastes piled, and the vomit pools didn't help either. The group was too weak to deal with cleaning it, and it certainly didn't help them when Blaze screeched at the sight of the place. What else was she expecting from sick prisoners that could barely stand after a battle? Occasionally Raid and Crackle would try to help and clean, but they seemed to never find the supplies necessary to do so.

"What kind of supplies is needed to clean this place?" Jasar quietly asked from the floor at some point.

"Lots of leaves from the Exotic Region, but I doubt Morfran would allow us to go that far just to take care of you. Maybe we can go on a hunting patrol and find something to help you there," Raid rumbled.

And thus, the group waited for sune cycles for the two to get their opportunity in getting into a hunting patrol. Finally, one sune cycle, after many had past with nothing to do except sit around in pain, Marsh slowly woke up by the prison veil. With a groan he slowly got up and rubbed his side, listening carefully past the veil for whatever he sensed. Hearing pawsteps, he perked his ears and quickly rushed back to the cage where everyone else was.

The forest lynx had been set to stay by the veil because the others couldn't hear anything past it, but for whatever reason, he could. Slowing to a stop, he started nudging Favi, who was snuggled up against a rock.

"Hey, get up, I heard pawsteps," he mumbled quietly in her ear.

"Raid?" she grumbled, cracking an eye open as she groaned and sat up.

"I'm not sure, I think so."

A sigh escaped the winter lynx as she rubbed a cheek and stood up, looking to the cage. Quietly Marsh flicked his ears before turning to Jasar and walking up to him, quietly nudging him as well.

"C'mon Jasar, I heard pawsteps, it might be Raid," he encouraged.

It didn't take long for the cat to wake up and stretch, using a boulder to help him onto his paws. Turning to hear soft growling, Marsh looked to see Xengu's wings spread out, the dirtied purple markings glistening under the light of the small cracks of seeping magma. He watched as her yellow eyes pierced the darkness, looking to the veil expectantly. Following her gaze, he waited and watched the prison entrance, finding Raid and Crackle slowly coming up to it with clean, large clumps of moss.