Silent City

14. The Escape

 Hornet and Ghost stood at the corner of the police station parking lot. She had a bag containing a number of things, including a large number of rags she planned to use to disable the ventilation system. She had a halfpiece respirator for her to use to keep herself from getting carbon monoxide poisoning. She had two sources of carbon monoxide production she could use— the first, and most reliable, was the lab. She planned to set it on fire— and normally this would have created a big enough distraction, but she wanted to make sure it kept people away from the inmates for a good bit. She planned to reroute the fumes from the fire to where they kept the prisoners— and once they realized that there was carbon monoxide in the air there, they'd steer clear of the area until the professionals came in. That would leave Hornet enough time to grab the Hollow Knight and sneak out of the station.

It was a convoluted, complicated plan, but she thought it was better than just waltzing in and trying to pry them out of the station's grasp without a plan at all.

She and Ghost snuck around the perimeter of the police station, making their way to the lab. They stuck close to the wall as they made their way to the first floor lab and peered into it from the window. It was empty, so Hornet stood up and took her needle from her back. It was poorly concealed, but it would be her most important possession once she made it to Hallownest, so she wasn't leaving it behind.

She placed the tip to the window, and slowly cut through the glass. It wasn't super effective, but it was quiet, and that was what was important.

Once it was cut, she pushed in the window and caught the glass before it hit the floor. Ghost climbed in after her, and immediately walked over underneath the ceiling vent. Hornet went over and climbed on top of the counter to push the vent up. She grabbed her sibling and hoisted them into the vent. She jumped back onto the floor and grabbed the bundle of rags, and handed them up to Ghost. They pulled them into the vents with them and looked back at Hornet.

"You remember— cover every single one of the vents except for the few near the cells, you got that?"

They nodded.

"Go now." She said. "Quick as possible. Hurry."

Ghost nodded and started crawling one way through the vent. They were quick and agile, making almost no noise as they ran through them.

In the meantime, Hornet opened all of the cabinets in the lab— even cracking the locks on the locked cabinets. She gathered every flammable substance in the room, while constantly watching the lab door. As soon as she opened the first bottle, she heard the lock on the door click, and she immediately zipped towards it, pressing herself against the wall next to the door. She saw the door open, and hoped to god it was only one person.

"What the hell..." she heard them mutter. She saw one foot step inside from behind the door, and she heard them rummaging somewhere for a moment.

He had barely just stuck his hand in his pocket when Hornet forced the door closed with her heel and jumped onto the man's back. He yelled for a moment, until Hornet pulled a small rag from her bag and gagged him. He stumbled backward and tried to slam Hornet against the wall, but she quickly slid down his back and pulled his legs upward, bringing him forward onto the ground with a loud grunt. She then straddled his hips and tied his hands with spider silk, her eyes in perfect concentration.

"Sorry. It isn't personal." She muttered as she finished tying his hands and pulled a blindfold from her pocket. She wrapped it around his face and then brought him to his feet. He tried for a moment to move on his own, before he found the sharp point of her needle digging into his back. "You'll thank me eventually."

She led him toward the broken window, and pushed him through it, following him quickly. Once he was outside and on the ground, she tied his legs too, to keep him from moving anywhere.