“What about the others?” Helen asked as they made it out the main door of the prison, out into the courtyard that stood between them and the gate that led to their freedom.
It was freezing out here, and Helen realized just how cold she was now that she and Richard had been stripped of their heavy coats. Adalene handed Helen her own coat, which was much bigger than what could fit on her, but she was grateful for the gesture. Richard, however, stood there shivering as they stood in the cover of a shadow as sentries made their rounds, guardian the huge prison.
“They’ll follow,” Alice answered, glancing up at the tall building they were taking cover from thanks to its shadows and intricate architecture.
Almost as if on command, Skylar, Luke, and Peter burst out of the building, quickly closing the door and joining the others. Luke was leaning against Skylar and Peter, and Helen gasped at the sight of blood on Skylar’s shirt.
“It’s alright,” she reassured Helen, “It’s not my blood.” But that only made Helen worry more. If not Skylar’s blood, then, whose? Luke’s? Peter’s?
However, as she looked at the other two, they seemed mostly unharmed. Luke was in bad shape, cuts filling his face and his left arm hanging limp at his side.
She was just about to ask why when the door burst open again, revealing five very angry soldiers.
“Take Luke,” Skylar told Richard, handing Luke off to him as she grabbed her bo staff. Although Helen wanted to protest that she should take Richard as he was still recovering from the whip lash on his back as well as not being well fed for days, she knew that it was probably best for those with weapons to handle the oncoming soldiers.
As they began to fight the ones that had appeared from the building, other soldiers started to notice how their companions were getting beaten by a bunch of children. Children who shouldn’t be there.
Helen stood there, helpless as Richard struggled to keep Luke up, both of them looking exhausted and wounded.
“Run!” she heard Adalene shout, and realized that she meant for them to run to the gate, which was open at this time to let more soldiers in. If they ran, they could escape this prison and this nightmare.
Helen started to run, looking over her shoulder repeatedly to see Richard and Luke struggling to keep up before Peter ran over and joined them. Alice was soon there as well, and they ran together as they got closer and closer to the gate. To their freedom.
But then the gate shut in front of them, leaving them trapped and confused.
Helen saw the soldier operating the giant crank had realized that they were trying to escape, and he had quickly cranked so the gate would close in front of them.
Skylar and Adalene quickly joined them, fending off soldiers as Helen stood in front of the gate, unsure of what to do. They had to get that gate open.
“What’s going on?” Skylar shouted over the chaos as she knocked out a soldier with her bo staff.
“Someone needs to open that gate!” Peter shouted as he clubbed another.
That was when it became clear to Helen. Somebody needed to open the gate, and keep it open...
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