Amal slipped through the double doors, accompanied by Monos and Isda. They scuttled through the crowd toward us. I gave Amal a warm smile. “Thank you, Amal,” I whispered.
“I told you not to thank me yet,” she replied, keeping her voice down, then checked us out. “Twelve of you, right?” she asked, and I nodded. “Good. I could only get twelve unlocking codes.”
I frowned, unsure of how the codes worked. She brought up a rectangular card as big as her palm and made of clear glass. There were circuit lines and dots inserted from top to bottom, one of which glowed blue—it had to be serium-powered. She pressed its corner once, and a blue keypad lit up in the middle.
She pressed several keys to input the first code. I gasped when the needle was pulled from the back of my neck, followed by a clicking sound. Monos smirked, then removed my collar. I could breathe again, and it felt amazing. Freedom was such a precious thing to have and to fight for—and many of us didn’t realize it until we were deprived of it.
“Thank me after you get out of here, and after you stop Father,” Amal added, then pointed the card at Sofia’s neck and put in another code.
Sofia’s breath hitched, then I heard the clicking sound again, as Monos took her collar off. One by one, the other ten devices came off with each code that Amal typed into the glass card. I hugged Sofia, thankful to no longer be bound by the threat of electric shocks.
“Okay, so, now that we’re done with the hypothetical crap. We need the Faulties to start a riot, about fifty yards from the dome entrance, on the north side,” Lucas said, looking at Monos.
“Leave that to us,” Isda replied, wearing a confident smile. She’d blossomed over the past couple of days. I never would’ve guessed that there was such a brilliant side to her—the fighter, the rebel, the one able to rise against her maker and commit the ultimate betrayal in the name of freedom.
“I have to say, it’s a nice look on you, Isda,” I said.
She seemed confused. “What’s that?”
“Determination,” I replied, then gave her a friendly wink. I turned around to face our escape crew and the prisoners, the six hundred who had gathered around us. “This is it,” I added. “We’ll come back for you all. I promise.”
“You’d better,” Jovi muttered, crossing his arms. “I’d like to be there when Voss makes his first steps.”
Anjani sighed, then put an arm around his waist, holding him close. “We’ll get out of this, babe,” she whispered.
“We will. We all will. I promise,” I replied.
Monos placed a hand on my shoulder. “Isda and I will start a scuffle outside, like we planned,” he said. “Amal will ring the riot alarm to get the Perfects to intervene in large numbers. There aren’t that many of my Faulty brethren involved, but by the time the guards get there to see for themselves, you’ll all be gone.”
“And we’ll start a fight in here, too,” Cameron replied, a devilish grin stretching his lips. “Enough to keep another couple hundred busy with all of us.”
Amal gave me a small medallion made of gold. It was simple and disc-shaped, inscribed with a multitude of symbols. “Give this to my sister when you find her,” Amal said. “She’ll know what it means.”
I nodded, then slipped the disc into my pocket. I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t throw it out as soon as we left the colosseum, though. If Amal was betraying us, it could very well contain a tracker that could be used to not only catch us again, but it would also lead Ta’Zan to Ben and Rose’s crew. The more I thought about it, the more inclined I was not to risk it, and decided to lose it as soon as possible. “I will. I promise,” I said, lying my socks off.
“Thank you. Now, time to go,” Amal replied, then motioned for Monos and Isda to move.
They left first, closely followed by Amal.
The crowd dispersed all over the dome, making it easier for us to get lost in the multitudes—in case Perfects from the outside were looking for me and my crew, specifically. We went to the double doors and quietly waited there.
“What now?” Lucas asked.
I smirked. “Chaos.”
It didn’t take long for us to hear that. Shouts and growls erupted outside, in the hallway. Varga used his True Sight, grinning. “Oh, there are ten Faulties out there already, and another twenty joining in. It’s getting rowdy and bloody.”
But we were waiting for a specific sound.
A loud siren blared through the coliseum. It resembled the air raid sirens of Earth—just as scratchy, whiny, and obnoxious, making me squirm. Amal had pulled the alarm.
The ground shook as hundreds of Perfects came toward the hot spot outside, where the Faulties had staged quite the riot. I slowly pushed the door—Amal had left it open for us.
I poked my head through first, then stilled at the sight of Perfect guards rushing toward the Faulty scuffle. I could see bodies slamming into each other. Fists and legs flying. Blood spraying all over. It was getting vicious, fast.
“We’ve got seconds. Go, go, go!” I hissed, then shot out and to the left.
I held Sofia’s hand, while the others followed. A moment later, growls and shouting echoed from the diamond dome, too. Our Shadians and allies had launched the second stage of the escape plan.
Amal came running by my side. That wasn’t part of the plan.
“What are you doing, Amal?” I whispered.
We kept running, though, as she guided us through the hallway. We made sharp turns here and there, both left and right, leaving the brawl noises behind.
“I’m helping you find the right way out,” Amal replied. “You’re not on your turf here, remember?”
“Yeah, but I can guide them out!” Varga said.
Amal gave him a dry smile. “You don’t know the shortcuts like I do. This way!”
She glided down a set of stairs, and we followed.
The Perfects were distracted enough to not even realize that we’d left. In addition, Amal’s unexpected support was definitely going to come in handy, at least until we set foot outside, anyway.
My heart jumped over and over with anticipation.
I could almost taste the fresh air.
The freedom.
Sofia
“There’s a back door that’ll get you farther out into the jungle,” Amal said as she ran and led the way. “Monos’s exit strategy would’ve gotten you caught before you were even a mile away.”
The roars of angry Faulties dimmed in the background as we glided down the stairs and rushed through a dark and narrow corridor. My pulse was racing as I gripped Derek’s hand. We ran, staying close behind Amal.
It had gone quite smoothly until now, and that made me feel weirdly uneasy.
After everything that had happened, and knowing how cunning and intelligent Ta’Zan was, I couldn’t help but worry that our luck was going to run out soon. My instincts were screaming in the back of my head already, but I could feel freedom within my reach.
It was too late to go back now. Besides, nothing good awaited us back in the diamond dome. We were useless in this place, while our children and closest friends were out there, putting their lives at risk to rescue us and to stop the Perfects from getting off the planet. We’d made it this far. I couldn’t let my fears get the best of me.
“Will Monos and the others be okay?” I asked.
Amal huffed. “Father won’t kill them. Not now. Not yet. They’ll be reprimanded and jailed, probably. But that’s about it. Provided the Perfects don’t kill them first, of course.”
“Do you think they will?” Derek asked, suddenly alarmed.
“I wouldn’t put it past them. The Perfects can be absolute, heartless jerks. One of them might get out of hand,” Amal replied.
“They knew what they were doing when they agreed to help us,” Lucas said. “We can’t let ourselves get derailed now.”
“Agreed. Almost there,” Amal said, then made a sharp left turn. “Here it is!”
We moved so fast that I didn’t even regist
er when Derek froze when we turned the corner. My heart jumped in my throat, while my stomach went the opposite way and hit the floor.
Dread crippled me, to the point where I wasn’t even sure that I was still conscious.
Ta’Zan was waiting for us, just by the service door that Amal had led us to. He was accompanied by Cassiel, and a throng of Perfect guards—one too many for that tight spot. Lucas, Marion, and the others bumped into Derek and me as they, too, came to a grinding halt.
When Amal calmly walked over to Ta’Zan’s side, I knew what this was. I immediately understood the machinations… the lies. The utter betrayal. And it broke my very soul.
“I see you found the service exit,” Ta’Zan said, his tone clipped.
He didn’t look angry, but he didn’t sound happy. Cassiel wore a smirk that made my blood curdle. Amal sighed, keeping her hands behind her back.
“What’s going on here, Amal?” Derek asked, his voice shaking.
Deep down, he already knew. We just needed her to tell us herself.
“What does it look like?” Lucas replied, gritting his teeth, since Amal didn’t reply.
Ta’Zan chuckled dryly. “Did you really think my Amal would turn on me? Frankly, Derek, I thought you were smarter than this.”
“It turns out Amal is too deep down the rabbit hole, huh?” Corrine replied, her gaze fixed on the treacherous Faulty.
Vivienne sighed. “Too late to change her mind, in any way. She’s been fully radicalized, to the point where she uses lies and deception to jerk us around.”
“Do you enjoy this, Amal?” Derek asked, fuming already. “Does it give you a perverted sense of pleasure to lead us on, then mess with us like this? Are you a sadist? Is that what your maker has turned you into?”
“I serve Ta’Zan,” Amal replied. “I will do everything he asks, and I will support him in his mission to rid this world of imperfections. His vision of the future is what I’ve worked so hard to help build, even without my wretched sister’s help.”
“So, you completely deny the concept of loyalty and honesty, then,” I said, feeling my nostrils flare with anger. My fists were clenched, and I would’ve loved nothing more than to get to her and rip her throat out.
There was nothing more horrible and gruesome than to dangle hope in front of someone, and to then strip them of it, completely. She’d crushed us in more than one way, but, to my surprise, it didn’t bring me down. It didn’t bring any of us down. In fact, it made me all the more determined to defeat her and Ta’Zan.
“I am loyal to Ta’Zan. I tell him the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” Amal snapped.
“But you lied to us. You gave us false hope. You even orchestrated an escape, just to have us captured again. Do you have any idea how cruel and evil that is, Amal?” Derek retorted.
“You conspired against my maker. What did you expect me to do? Nothing. Don’t be ridiculous,” Amal said.
One of the Perfects stepped forward, carrying twelve shock collars on one arm—all open and ready to trap us once more.
“Do not resist, Derek. I only asked Amal to do this so you’d understand that there is no way for you to escape. No way out for you. It’s either the diamond dome and my dominion for life, or death. And I doubt you’re foolish enough to pick the latter,” Ta’Zan said.
“You couldn’t have just foiled the whole plan from the get-go? You had to let Monos and the others endanger themselves, too? Because I am inclined to assume they had no idea,” Derek spat.
Amal shook her head. “They didn’t know. But they were naïve enough to think I would actually help.”
“You betrayed your own kind,” I breathed, my eyes wide with horror.
“If any of them die tonight, their blood will be on your hands,” Lucas snapped.
“It’ll be on them!” Amal roared, visibly infuriated. “They rebelled! They went against Father! Against everything we’ve worked so hard to build! There’s a piece of my heart in every single Perfect that is created. My sister and I put everything we had into those blueprints. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let a couple of ungrateful Faulties destroy my work! My father’s work!”
“A couple of Faulties. You mean, like you,” I murmured, no longer able to hide my disgust. “I now understand why your sister left. You are irredeemable, Amal.”
“And you’re doomed to a life in captivity. Out of the two of us, I definitely get the better deal!” Amal replied, then nodded at the Perfect carrying the collars, who moved toward us.
We took an attack stance, ready to defend ourselves and fight, tooth and nail, for another way out. We’d come too far. The door was right behind Ta’Zan, who sneered at us.
“Don’t be stupid,” he said. “Cassiel will break every bone in your bodies before you so much as lift a finger.”
“I’ll take one or two of you with—” Lucas growled, but was brutally paused by Cassiel, who moved like a flash of lightning and slashed Lucas’s stomach with his claws.
“Lucas!” Derek gasped.
He tried to intervene, but Cassiel used his spare hand to swat him away like a fly. It was too late for us. Behind us, the corridor was already clotted with more Perfects, all of them ready to take us down. Corrine sighed, her shoulders dropping.
“Dammit. We were so close,” she whispered.
“Let’s go quietly,” Ibrahim suggested.
Marion was right by Lucas’s side when Cassiel moved back with a stern expression—he didn’t seem to enjoy the sight of the blood pouring out of the wound, unlike Abaddon. Lucas fell to his knees, and Marion and Vivienne flanked him, while Xavier ripped his shirt off and pressed it against the wound.
“You’ll get medical attention back in the dome,” Ta’Zan said.
“Screw your medical attention!” Vivienne hissed, then bit into her wrist and pressed it against her brother’s lips. “Drink, Lucas. As much as you can.”
Lucas didn’t need to be told twice.
Heath growled when the Perfects moved in.
“Don’t, Heath,” Derek said. “It’s done. We tried. We failed.”
“We were betrayed,” Heath said. “We could’ve made it.”
“We trusted the white-haired snake,” Claudia added, narrowing her eyes at Amal, who didn’t look all that comfortable with this situation. I would’ve loved to be able to read her emotions like a sentry, but I only had her body language to go on. And it spoke of… guilt.
The Perfect guard proceeded to put collars around our necks again. I cursed under my breath when the needle pierced the back of my neck once more. Our part of the plan had gone down in flames. Thankfully, we’d prepared multiple exit strategies.
“Father,” the Perfect guard said, holding up the twelfth collar. “There are only eleven of them.”
“That’s impossible. I freed twelve,” Amal interjected, frowning.
Ta’Zan briefly scanned our group, then glowered at Amal.
“There’s one missing,” he declared. “Amal, you brought them here. How did you lose a prisoner?”
Amal was baffled. “I… I don’t know. Who’s…” Her voice trailed off when she counted us. Her bright orange eyes grew bigger as she realized what had happened. “Varga. The vampire sentry. He’s missing.”
We’d prepared for everything. It still came as a shock to see Amal betray us, but we’d seen capture coming, nonetheless. We knew that, if we were all caught, all our efforts would amount to nothing. So, as soon as we’d left the dome, Varga had snuck through another corridor, using his True Sight to get out.
With Perfects focused on us and the brawls, Varga had managed to slip out undetected. He could do what we’d failed to.
Judging by the look on Ta’Zan’s face, he hadn’t seen this coming.
We still had the power to surprise him, and that, to me, was a very good sign.
Varga
Isda had intercepted me from a side corridor as soon as we’d left the diamond dome. She and Monos had planned my escape, without anyo
ne else knowing—particularly Amal, whom neither trusted one bit. We kept the details to ourselves, just to prevent potential leaks. The fewer people who knew, the better.
A couple of minutes later, I saw exactly what Isda and Monos had meant, when I scanned the coliseum and found Derek and the others facing Ta’Zan by one of the service exits, with Amal by his side. She’d betrayed them, but I had no way of helping the crew at that point. I’d made it farther than them, and I couldn’t turn back. I was useless in captivity.
As soon as I told Isda about it, she shook her head in disappointment.
“I was hoping she wouldn’t prove Monos or me right, but here we are,” she mumbled as she turned a corner and guided me deeper toward the south. We stayed in the service corridors, where Perfects rarely wandered. They were all focused on the escapees and the Faulty brawls back by the dome. I was able to sneak around, virtually undetected.
“They’ll be okay, though, right?” I asked, my heart thumping.
“Father needs them alive. He’s trying to make better Perfects,” Isda said, wearing a bitter smile. “No one is good enough. Not even his precious Perfects.”
I followed her through another hallway. The exit wasn’t far from our location.
“Is that what made you decide to help us?” I replied.
“That, and the way the Perfects treat us. Derek was right all along. I let Abaddon hurt me because I thought I was worth less than him. I looked up to my father and thought he could never be wrong. But then, he created Cassiel and said he was better than everything he’d made before. He’d said the same about Abaddon. Araquiel. Douma. Raphael. All of them. It’s only a matter of time before Father creates another creature whose name ends in ‘-el’ and says he’s better than the others. He’s going to get himself stuck in a vicious cycle, and I can’t take all this suffering. Not anymore.”
“You’re doing the right thing, you know,” I said, giving her a warm smile.
“I hope so,” Isda replied. “Otherwise, Monos will suffer for nothing.”
A Shade of Vampire 64: A Camp of Savages Page 23
