Two-Thirds Blue

Chapter Twelve: Traitors

Rade caught movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced up. A rozkod was approaching the shack. He recognized it as the same one he'd noticed before. Maybe it had found something in the woods.

It grunted something to the rozkod standing guard outside, who nodded and departed, granting the newcomer entry. Instead of taking up the post outside the door, though, it stepped into the shack and crossed its arms, standing across from the rozkod already inside. Its bulk filled the entire doorway. Rade smiled and gave it a little wave. His greeting went ignored, of course, apart from Eclipse rolling her eyes.

"Stand in front of the window," the new rozkod instructed its fellow guard.

"Why?"

"Because the humans won't be able to escape through the window if you're in the way."

The rozkod frowned in thought and then nodded, clearly impressed by the newcomer's tactics. "Good idea," it said, and shifted its position accordingly. "Look, humans. I'm in front of the window now. You can't escape through it."

Rade placed a hand on his chest in horror.

"You're not getting away from me," the rozkod laughed. "Nothing gets past me! You make a move, I'll stab you dead."

Dusk appeared in the window behind the guard, grabbed it by the horn, and stabbed it dead.

"Hello," Rade said.

"Hi."

"Dusk!" Syk exclaimed. "You're alive! We thought–'' he cut off and turned to look at the remaining rozkod. "Uh–"

"Don't worry, he's on our side," Dusk said.

Now that was interesting.

"You sure he's on our side?" Syk asked.

"Yes. Call me Gozack."

"It's very nice to meet you, Gozack," Rade said.

"They got us before the battle was over," Syk said. "What happened?"

"We lost," Dusk grimaced. "Badly."

"Survivors?"

"A few. Not many. We were scattered. The Resistance is finished."

Rade's face fell. "Not Beoran?"

Dusk shook his head. "Gone."

"We can mourn later," Eclipse interrupted. "Let's get out of here first."

"What do we do about the chains?" Dusk asked.

"The dead rozkod has the key," Rade advised.

"Quiet!" Gozack hissed. "One of them is coming."

Everyone instantly froze. "What about the body?" Eclipse whispered.

"I'll make sure no one enters the shack. Don't make a sound." Gozack left and shut the door behind him, then strode away to meet the approaching rozkod some twenty feet from the shack. "What do you want?" he growled.

"Harlok's coming with some troops to take the prisoners," the rozkod answered. "We're supposed to bring 'em out before he gets here."

"General Harlok's coming?" Gozack said loudly over his shoulder.

"Yeah!" the rozkod shouted back, wondering why they were yelling all of a sudden. "He wants the prisoners!"

"We've got to go right now," Rade whispered from within the shack.

"Someone get the key!" Syk hissed.

Eclipse, sitting closest to the dead guard, fumbled at its belt with her cuffed hands until she found the key hanging from it. She struggled with it for several moments as she attempted to fit it into the lock between her wrists. Finding the angle impossible, she unlocked Rade instead, as he was chained adjacent to her. He quickly returned the favor and began to assist Syk, taking care not to rattle the chains lest any rozkod be alerted to their escape.