by B.V. Bayly
Chapter Twenty-Four
Several shadows gathered outside the dungeon door. Gabriel could see them pacing back and forth through the crack beneath it. He couldn’t make out the discussion, but it sounded serious.
He reached through the bars and tapped on Kyrie’s shoulder. “What’s happening?”
She lay on the floor of her cage, unresponsive, her body motionless. He still felt the physical effects of the drugs lingering in his body, but his mind was clear and sharp for the first time in days. They usually would have forced more pills into him by now.
Loud popping sounds came from somewhere in the facility. Gabriel sat up. Gunfire. Orders echoed in the hallway over a speaker. Shadows flickered across the crack at the bottom of the door. An alarm started to bleat. He had no idea how many guards there were, but it sounded like hundreds of footsteps running past their door. Something was happening. This was the perfect opportunity. He needed to escape. He couldn’t stay in this hell hole any longer.
“Kyrie, I am going to get help. If I can escape, I'll get help and come back.” He grabbed her limp hand through the bars and squeezed it. “I’ll be back, I promise. Or they will catch me and I’ll be back right away … so basically … I’ll be back.”
“Go.” Her faint voice was barely audible over the noise outside of the room.
He firmly wrapped his fingers around the bars on his cage door. A deep breath. Then another. He pushed on the steel door. Nothing. Wake up! He smacked his chest. Leaning back on his elbows, he hammered at the door with both feet, shaking his cage with each hit. Pain burned through his feet, and his legs turned to rubber. Firmly grasping the bars again, he closed his eyes. Do something! His arms shook as he pressed on the bars with all his force. I need you!
The crystal sparked to life and waves of heat flowed across his body as he summoned the crystal’s strength. Light burst from it, creating a visible glow under his shirt. The light twisted and spun down around his waist and swirled down his legs. It climbed up his chest, around his shoulders and down his arms. It finally reached his hands, bathing them in light.
“Gabriel…fight.” Kyrie forced herself up.
The crystal’s power ended every bit of pain in his body. When he gripped the bars, their cold surface steamed at his touch, and then glowed red with heat. He repositioned his body once again, using his feet to push. The hinges made a snapping sound as the steaming door fell onto the wet concrete.
Gabriel leapt from his cage. He felt nothing but the energizing power of the ore pulsing through his entire body. He sprinted to the door on the far side of the room, ignoring the calls for help from the prisoners around him. The door was locked. Being subtle wouldn’t help. The webs of light still pulsed in his hands and forearms. He backed away from the door, psyched himself up, and sprinted at it. His shoulder hit with the heavy steel surface and the door ripped out of the wall, its hinges tearing apart. It crashed to the ground.
The ground underneath him shook and dust fell from the ceiling. A battle raged elsewhere in the building, the alarm was still blaring every few seconds. Sporadic gunfire and shouting echoed down the stone halls. The noise was deafening. He looked back at the room full of prisoners – they couldn’t all escape.
“Come with me!” He charged over to Kyrie's cage, bending the corner of the steel door back as his skin flared with the power of the ore.
“Gabriel, stop … I can’t even walk.” Kyrie stared up at him and grabbed his arm. “Listen, to me.” Her eyes were intense. “You go. Find a way out – then for search for a company called Ingenis Pluris. It’s a research firm. You tell them about me.”
“Ingenis…What?” Gabriel didn’t understand. “Why?”
“Listen to me!” She ordered. “You get out of here and find a phone. Any phone. You break in somewhere if you have to. You call Ingenis Pluris. Tell them my name and where you are. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, but –”
She cut him off. “Yes or no!” She was intense. “Do you understand?”
“Yes!” Gabriel shouted back at her.
“Then go!” She pushed him back from her cage.
There was no time for him to think about her orders, he needed to just listen and do. Not sure where to go, he tried his best to remember the steps he had taken on his previous trip to the scientist. The drugs and the blindfold had confused him and he couldn’t remember. He decided to head towards the noise, maybe find an exit. At the end of the hall, he peered around the corner. A staircase. It appeared to be bright with daylight. His heartbeat quickened as he took several steps towards it. The clanging sound of boots coming down the metal rungs of the stairs caused him to halt. His shoes squeaked as he changed direction, ducking back around the corner and bolting through a door he had ignored a moment earlier. He shut the door carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible, then turned to face the room.
The only source of light was a weak bulb flickering overhead. He spotted a make-shift counter attached to the concrete wall. A pipe with a tap stuck out of the wall, dripping into a bucket. Boxes of rations and unwashed pots rested on the small countertop. This must be where they prepared the slop he had been eating for the last three days. He moved towards the back wall, searching the shadows for a secret panel or passage that might lead somewhere else. No luck. The door was the only way in and out.
The door burst open. A guard stepped inside, shutting it with a bang as he leaned against it. He clawed at his waist for a fresh clip to put into his weapon, not realizing he wasn’t alone in the room. Gabriel lunged at him, grabbing at the sub-machine gun strapped around the guard’s chest. Caught off balance, the guard slammed against the door, but managed to shove Gabriel back several steps. He raised the weapon. Time slowed. Gabriel watched the muzzle of the gun flash brightly. His heart stopped. The gun pointed at his stomach. It burnt a hole in his shirt as the bullet pierced the cloth, but dropped to the floor with a ting.
The guard’s mouth hung open – his eyes fixed on the light bursting from the hole in Gabriel’s shirt. Without hesitation, Gabriel grabbed the guard and lifted him off the ground. His hands were webbed with white light, pulsing through the muscles under his skin. He sent the guard sailing across the room to slam against a small table. Scraps of wood and splinters exploded into the air. The guard lay still on top of the debris – not moving. Gabriel leaned against a wall, his head spinning and his body on fire with the energy of the ore.
Another man ducked in and closed the door to the room. Gabriel tackled him. The sheer force and speed of his attack sent the two crashing through the closed door, tearing it from its hinges as they spilled into the open hallway.
“You!” Shiro spit through his teeth as Gabriel fought to stay on top of him.
Anger flooded Gabriel. His fists glowed as he smashed them into Shiro’s cheek. It split open and bright red blood spurted out. Shiro punched Gabriel in the side, sending a jolt of pain rattling through his body. The power of the ore was fading. Gabriel didn’t care, he gave into his rage and slammed his fist into Shiro’s face, again and again. His arm blurred with speed. A familiar yell rang out behind him. He stopped his assault on Shiro and turned towards the armed soldier. What? That voice…
The man, dressed in full camouflage with an assault rifle, yelled at him again as he raised his gun. “Gabriel, get down!”
The footsteps of Shiro’s men echoed on the other side of Gabriel. Gunfire roared in the hallway and the muzzle flash lit up the doorway. There was nowhere for him to hide. He threw up both of his arms in automatic defense. His hands glowed brightly, and a bubble of light instantly filled the space between them. Bullets dropped out of the air, clanking to the ground. His vision blurred and dizziness swept over him. His vision tunneled as he slumped over Shiro’s limp body.
