Bodanen: Cobalt War

Chapter 19: Prison Break

The door closed quietly as the last of the group, Siegfried, passed the threshold. In front of him, climbing up the stairway, was the group of about fifty prisoners that they had freed. "We need to hurry, but if anyone needs help, please just ask, and I'll do what I can. Everyone, please just keep heading up; at the top of this stairwell is a door that'll lead to another hall. Once we're all at the top, follow me, and I'll see you all to safety." Siegfried yells ahead of him to get the group's attention and ensure everyone is on the same page.

It was slow going up the stairs; many prisoners were weak and malnourished, making the climb far more difficult. But they all persevered and continued undaunted up the stairs until they could see the top landing only a few more flights further. As the prisoners made it to the top and began to gather, Siegfried noticed movement on his shoulder; his own prisoner was waking. "Where...where am I? What's going...going on?" The supervisor was groggy from the potion and was slow to wake, allowing the final prisoners and Siegfried to make it to the top.

"You are my prisoner now, and you will stay quiet until we reach our destination. Is that clear? Your life is now in my hands." Siegfried didn't turn to address the supervisor but continued through the crowd toward the door.

Once he realized his situation, the supervisor struggled and caused some in the group to cower back out of reflex. "You...you can't do this to me! Do you know who we are? Do you know who runs this compound? How did you even get in here?" the supervisor began to release questions in rapid succession in a state of panic. Siegfried simply shifted the supervisor's weight on his shoulder and proceeded to punch him squarely in the face with his free hand.

"I don't know who you are; you are going to tell me later. But I can do this; in fact, I've already done it. Just shut up, and I won't have to hurt you anymore." Once Siegfried reached the door, and it opened, he turned to address the crowd. "Everyone, please listen. Just follow the hallway ahead until you reach a metal circle on the ground. Once you reach that, you will go through the circular tunnel to the left and meet at the opposite tunnel opening. Is everything clear? Then let's keep moving." Siegfried turned and walked briskly down the hall, making sure not to go too fast for any of the weaker or older members of the group.

What had only taken a few moments when they had entered now was taking minutes. Siegfried wanted to hurry but wasn't going to force the people that had just been freed from torture into running at top speeds. Though it took longer than he would have liked, they all made it to the metal circle on the ground that marked the entrance that his infiltration group had made. "So this is how you got in. I must say I'm surprised; not only did you find us, but you also managed to sneak in here. So how many did you bring; a dozen, fifty, a hundred. Do you really think you can-?" The supervisor was cut short from his speech with another punch to the face from Siegfried.

"Shut up." Siegfried stepped into the tunnel and waved his free hand, signalling the prisoners to follow. "This way; this'll lead out of this gods' forsaken compound. Please, quickly now."

"Stop punching me, you-" Another punch. "HELP ME, ARTIFICIAL MORTALS! I AM BEING-" Yet another punch. "STOP THE ESCAPE-" A final blow. Tired of the noise, Siegfried pulled an empty pouch from his waist and stuffed it into the supervisor's mouth.

"Shut up, we're almost out." The group ran through the dark tunnel with their only lights from the hallway behind them and the sunlight in front of them, but they quickly approached their freedom. It had taken nearly twenty minutes to retrace his steps that had taken no more than five previously, but Siegfried was once again outside, free from the confines of the enemy's compound. "Okay, excellent work, everyone; we're on the home stretch now. At the base of the hill, just through the trees, is a small clearing with a car waiting for us. Once we reach it, you all should be safe for a time, at least until we finish with the compound." With a murmur of excitement and newfound strength with the first lungful of fresh air in ages, the newly freed prisoners followed closely to Siegfried far faster than they had before. The group quickly made it down the hill to find the car sitting silently, bathed in soft light filtering through the trees. "You all should be safe here." With his words, the entirety of the freed prisoners collapsed, forcing themselves far past the limits to make it to safety. Siegfried found a large tree at the edge of the clearing and threw the supervisor at its base. He then disappeared into the car before the supervisor could mumble a complaint to him, much to everyone's surprise. He quickly returned with a barrel under one arm, a pair of boxes over his other shoulder, and a long, thick rope around his body. He placed the boxes and barrel in the centre of the collapsed prisoners and then proceeded to the supervisor, tying him tight to the tree he was forced under.