EAGLE

3: STEELHEART

HE WAS AWAKE.

Sari knew it the moment a soldier's footsteps reverberated outside her cell door. There was a single knock. "Wake up and get dressed. Your presence has been requested at the Senter."

Sunlight started pouring in her window. For months, she'd waited for this moment to happen. All those sleepless nights, the what-ifs. A few months ago, Riot had ambushed them at the Sentral, right in the heart of Crest. Jan sustained a head injury so severe he collapsed right on the spot. Later on, he was declared to be in a state of comatose by Riot's head doctor.

Three months. It had been exactly three months since the incident. Riot captured them both and locked them up in this airship with no further explanation. Once, Sari tried demanding for the reason and immediately dealt with the consequences not long after. 

It's okay. You're going to be okay.

The red bracelet on her wrist glinted. It reminded her of her family back in Crest. Many months ago she would've tried to get rid of it, but now it was all she had. She took it off and held it in her fist. She won't be losing it today.

A soldier marched inside her room just as she was examining herself in the mirror. She'd taken a bath and changed into a white dress for the occasion. It fell right above her knees and had sleeves up to her wrists. The soldier unhesitatingly handcuffed both of her hands from behind, yanking her outside roughly. He jerked his chin forward. "Walk."

The hallway was long. An array of modern prison cells. Riot was a notorious terrorist group, famous for making politicians disappear, especially the ones that oppose them. Sari guessed a prison inside their own airship wouldn't be a surprise to anyone at all, considering the amount of dirty money they have. Suddenly, a bang echoed from the cell they just passed by. Sari stopped in her tracks. She wondered just how many of those politicians were inside one of these rooms.

"Walk faster, Stand." The soldier said sharply, pressing the mouth of his gun to her lower back. His name was Wesley More. Underneath his headgear, he had a black head of hair cropped close to his head and a long scar from his right eyebrow to his right cheek. Sari memorized all the soldiers' names two weeks after her capture.

She fixed her dress and continued walking, pace unaltered. "No."

The towering main door of the Senter loomed over Sari when they arrived. Being a terrorist group, Riot had to have an impressive arsenal accessible at any given time, and the Senter was the mother of the collection. The Senter was a big dome establishment built right in the middle of the airship, and it served as a laboratory dedicated to the creation and development of new weapons and inventions. It was divided into a lot of different rooms, and they were about to enter the main one.

The soldier behind her grunted. "Turn around." He undid her cuffs. Sari had to hide her surprise with a cough. Why? The soldier glanced at her with hateful eyes. He leaned towards the intercom on the left side of the door. "West More, requesting entry."

"Access granted." The automated voice said. Sari gulped, suddenly feeling anxious about seeing Jan. She had to get him, so they could go back home to Crest. No matter what. What if it goes wrong? Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the door sliding open. Xeno was there, waiting, and his presence was enough for Sari to instinctively clutch her left arm. He didn't miss the movement, glancing down with amusement in his eyes.