A Beautiful Reflection From Firework Eyes

I'm Gonna Break Down These Walls

I'm shaking as my door opens. Jack and Alex are waiting for me on the other side. The three of us head off together. We don't speak in fear of being heard. Rian is in the control room, monitoring the footage. He is watching over to make sure no one is headed our way, making sure the cameras don't pick up any sign of us. But the three of us still stick to the shadows, crouching just out of view.

We go through the lower hall, sneaking just past the Dark Room. The front door looms at the end of the hall, four guards surrounding it as usual. I peek around the corner as one of them lights a cigarette, breathing out a plume of smoke into the air.

I look over at Alex, who nods and the three of us run across the hallway toward the door to Mr. Styles' office. We duck into the shadows, crouching just out of sight. I press my back against the wall, holding my breath as one of the guards looks over toward where we are hiding. He doesn't seem to see us, since he turns back to his companions, seemingly satisfied.

Jack tries the knob, which thankfully isn't locked. Matty kept his word then. The door swings open and the three of us hurry inside, shutting the door as quietly as we can behind us. Alex quickly pulls down the shade, shielding us from view.

"Clear," a voice crackles and the three of us jump. I spin around, flames roaring to life in my hands.

"It's just me," Matty says softly. "Rian turned off the camera in here." I nod, relaxing, letting the flames go out.

"So this is our exit?" I ask, tilting my head to the giant window spanning the top half of the back wall.

Matty nods. "As far as I know, the only window and possible exit other than the front door."

"Is it locked?" Alex asks.

Matty holds up a dark object which I recognize to be a pair of wire cutters. "There's a grate across it. The window itself should be just a simple latch."

"You coming with us?" Jack asks.

Matty shakes his head. "I'll keep guard over here. Just be careful, okay? Don't be seen."

Alex nods, taking the wire cutters. "Here goes nothing," he mutters, holding his hands out in front of him. I watch as he zooms upward, balancing on the air next to the grate. I hear the quiet snip of the wire cutters as the wire is pried away. Alex curses as he wobbles in the air before he steadies himself.

"You okay?" Jack calls.

"Fine," Alex says. He lets himself fall, catching himself just before he hits the ground. Alex hands Matty the wire cutters. "Shall we?" he asks. Jack doesn't respond, just wraps his arm around Alex's shoulders. The two of them rocket up into the air, balancing next to the sill. Alex holds open the grate so the two of them can climb through. He gives me a little wave as the two of them drop down, out of sight. I hold my breath, expecting to hear shouts and yells of guards, but there's only silence.

Alex suddenly appears in the window as he crawls through, dropping down to the ground. "Ready?" he asks me.

I let out my breath. "Yep."

"Just hold on to me," Alex instructs as I wrap my arm around his shoulders. He puts his arms around my waist and closes his eyes. We shoot up into the air until we're next to the window. This time it's a lot smoother than the time I climbed into the vents. The window is open just enough for me to get through. The cold air rushing through makes my teeth chatter, but it feels refreshing nonetheless. Alex holds open the grate as I crawl through quickly, my arm scraping against the wire. I sit on the sill, my legs dangling over the two-story drop on the other side. Jack waves up at me from where he's pressed against the side of the building, directly below me.

"Ready?" Alex asks, climbing next to me. He grabs my arms as he jumps, pulling me down to the ground with him.

The mud squelches beneath our shoes as we land, the earthy smell rising to greet us. Jack grabs my arm, yanking me against the building just as a floodlight sweeps across the ground, the light barely missing us.

I'm outside. It's the first time I've been outside in over a year. I can't help but smile, breathing in the fresh cold air as I take in my surroundings. The trees stretching their leafless limbs up toward the dark, cloud-covered sky. A breeze rattles the branches, the cold air making goosebumps prickle up our arms. Alex shivers next to me, his teeth chattering.

"It's so cold," he mutters. It's cold for me too, but manageable—probably my fire powers keeping me warm.

"C'mon." Jack motions us forward and we creep around the side of the gray concrete building, keeping our backs pressed to the wall. The ground is soggy with puddles and half-melted patches of snow, turning brown from the mud, dead grass poking up from the ice.

We crouch in the shadows, peering around the corner. The front door is brightly lit in front of it. I can see the shapes of the guards standing inside. They look calm, not panicked. I breathe out a sigh of relief. That means they haven't noticed our absence, at least not yet.

"We could get everyone out through the window," Jack says. "Get them to here?"

"We'd never make it across the yard," I point out. A giant barbed wire fence surrounds the desolate field, spiked wire pointing up at the cover of trees. "We'd have to go one by one, right? It'd take too long. They'd shoot us down." Even from where we are crouching, we can see the shape of guards patrolling the roof.

Jack sighs in frustration. "I'm trying to see if I can turn two people invisible," he says. "It's not working though."

"And even if we managed to get under the trees, Alex would be too tired to fly us over the fence. We'd be sitting ducks."

"Wire cutters?"

"No, it's electrified. Matty said that," I say. "And since none of us have electricity powers—" my mind flashes to Jaime again. Not for the first time, I wish he was here. "Maybe if we asked Rian or Matty to turn it off."

"Maybe," I say. "That might work. But it would still be very risky."

Silence ensures, but we're all content with staring at our surroundings. After being inside for so long, even the barren yard and the grimness of the Facility seems strangely beautiful.

"We should go," Alex mutters at last.

"Yeah," I respond, still unable to tear my eyes away from the still dark sky.

We slink along the side of the Facility, one by one back to the open window. As Alex flies Jack up, I stare at the trees and the electric fence trapping us inside. For a second, I think I glimpse a flicker of red, but it's gone before I can get a closer look.

"Did you see something?" Alex whispers, dropping to the ground beside me.

"It's probably nothing," I say. "Let's go."

As I climb back through the window, I can't help but glance behind me one last time. I can still feel a whisper of the fresh air on my skin as I'm lowered to the ground.

The grate rattles as Alex closes it, latching the window shut behind him. He looks exhausted as he lowers himself to the ground, his face pale. Flying everyone up and down must have taken a toll on him. He stumbles slightly and Jack catches him.

"I'm fine," he mutters just before his eyes roll up and he collapses into Jack's arms.

"Drama queen," Jack sighs, lifting Alex up. I run over to support Alex on the other side as we carry him back to his and Jack's room.

As I shut their door, Matty is waiting to lead me back to my room.

"Thanks," I say. "You've done so much for us."

He shakes his head. "Don't mention it. I'm just glad I could help in some way."