it then she would.
‘Wait. I need to...’
She moved past him and out into the corridor, using the light spilling from the open doorway of her room to guide her towards the cell beside Beriael's.
The man inside could not possibly have missed the noise of what had been going on and she couldn’t leave him here, couldn’t leave without him. Something inside tugged at her, told her that her fate and the fate of this man were intertwined somehow and she didn’t fight the instinct. He was coming with them, no question of the matter.
She fumbled briefly with the card.
The Clone stood impatiently, watching her, clearly irritated but having the sense not to argue. When she disengaged the lock and the door swung open she felt her breath catch in her throat while she waited for her first real glimpse of him. He moved quickly but with a grace that seemed surprising for such a well-built man, he was tall and broad with rugged, square features, a kind of chiselled look. Stepping out of the cell, he looked at Beriael, took the man in with a cursory glance and then turned to Alecia. He shook his head sadly at the sight of her and pulled off the loose prison shirt he wore. He passed it to her gently and with a smile.
She almost wept at the gesture and the compassion it represented. It had been so long since another human being had looked at her like she was anything other than a test subject or a ruthless killer, let alone done anything nice for her. She caught her emotion and put it into check.
Soppy shit could be saved for later.
She grinned her thanks and quickly covered herself. The man surprised her by heading backwards and entering her cell instead of following Beriael towards the end of the short unit. Curiously, she followed him, stood in the doorway and watched as he tugged the uniform from the dead guard. Stripping himself naked, he passed his trousers to her. They were too long and she had to hold them bunched at the waist to keep them from falling around her ankles but they were better than nothing. He quickly dressed in the flameproof suit.
‘Give me the key.’
It was not a question. It was an instruction and she accepted it without hesitation, handing the card to him, though she would have killed Beriael before she had allowed him to take it from her.
His face could not be made out behind the hood of the suit and he looked eerily just like one of them. Could’ve been the same person who had led her to the examination room for the last four years, could've been the dead man who lay on the floor after foolishly attempting to taste the forbidden fruit.
Standing on tiptoes she peered through the narrow window but could not even make out his eyes.
‘Come on Firebug; let’s get our asses outta here.’
He took hold of her by the arm and led her from the room. She was quite content to allow him to take charge of the situation. She didn’t trust Beriael in the slightest and she knew that she wasn’t capable of orchestrating their escape.
It seemed to make sense that the other prisoner would lead the three of them to safety, he had an authoritative air about him and she was perfectly happy to fall in line.
They met Beriael at the end of the corridor, although badly burned and intensely agitated the Clone was still able to spare a rough burst of laughter when he saw the two of them and realised that there just might be a chance after all. There was much less of a chance them getting stopped or questioned if they were perceived only as a guard escorting two prisoners. They could perhaps even rely on the ensuing panic once it was noticed that there had been a breach. If the Officials were running around like headless chickens looking for their lost Clone, Firebug and... um... other guy, they may overlook another guard. It was a long shot but it was the only one they had.
Beriael nodded his approval and handed over the glove he had
‘Wait. I need to...’
She moved past him and out into the corridor, using the light spilling from the open doorway of her room to guide her towards the cell beside Beriael's.
The man inside could not possibly have missed the noise of what had been going on and she couldn’t leave him here, couldn’t leave without him. Something inside tugged at her, told her that her fate and the fate of this man were intertwined somehow and she didn’t fight the instinct. He was coming with them, no question of the matter.
She fumbled briefly with the card.
The Clone stood impatiently, watching her, clearly irritated but having the sense not to argue. When she disengaged the lock and the door swung open she felt her breath catch in her throat while she waited for her first real glimpse of him. He moved quickly but with a grace that seemed surprising for such a well-built man, he was tall and broad with rugged, square features, a kind of chiselled look. Stepping out of the cell, he looked at Beriael, took the man in with a cursory glance and then turned to Alecia. He shook his head sadly at the sight of her and pulled off the loose prison shirt he wore. He passed it to her gently and with a smile.
She almost wept at the gesture and the compassion it represented. It had been so long since another human being had looked at her like she was anything other than a test subject or a ruthless killer, let alone done anything nice for her. She caught her emotion and put it into check.
Soppy shit could be saved for later.
She grinned her thanks and quickly covered herself. The man surprised her by heading backwards and entering her cell instead of following Beriael towards the end of the short unit. Curiously, she followed him, stood in the doorway and watched as he tugged the uniform from the dead guard. Stripping himself naked, he passed his trousers to her. They were too long and she had to hold them bunched at the waist to keep them from falling around her ankles but they were better than nothing. He quickly dressed in the flameproof suit.
‘Give me the key.’
It was not a question. It was an instruction and she accepted it without hesitation, handing the card to him, though she would have killed Beriael before she had allowed him to take it from her.
His face could not be made out behind the hood of the suit and he looked eerily just like one of them. Could’ve been the same person who had led her to the examination room for the last four years, could've been the dead man who lay on the floor after foolishly attempting to taste the forbidden fruit.
Standing on tiptoes she peered through the narrow window but could not even make out his eyes.
‘Come on Firebug; let’s get our asses outta here.’
He took hold of her by the arm and led her from the room. She was quite content to allow him to take charge of the situation. She didn’t trust Beriael in the slightest and she knew that she wasn’t capable of orchestrating their escape.
It seemed to make sense that the other prisoner would lead the three of them to safety, he had an authoritative air about him and she was perfectly happy to fall in line.
They met Beriael at the end of the corridor, although badly burned and intensely agitated the Clone was still able to spare a rough burst of laughter when he saw the two of them and realised that there just might be a chance after all. There was much less of a chance them getting stopped or questioned if they were perceived only as a guard escorting two prisoners. They could perhaps even rely on the ensuing panic once it was noticed that there had been a breach. If the Officials were running around like headless chickens looking for their lost Clone, Firebug and... um... other guy, they may overlook another guard. It was a long shot but it was the only one they had.
Beriael nodded his approval and handed over the glove he had
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