Title: Take me Out of Here
Rating: T

Summary: "Victor knew their window for escape was diminishing by the second, and with a couple more keystrokes, he stopped biting his lip as the final door unlocked."

Timeline: This takes place nineteen months prior to "Calendar Girl."

Take me Out of Here

Let the fear collapse, bring no surprise
Take me out of here- Watercolour: Pendulum

At this point, Emily had perfected the art of pretending to be asleep. It gave her three, maybe five, extra seconds of peace, but these days, seconds lasted longer for her than the average person. So when Emily heard her cell door open, she stilled, her eyes seemingly relaxed as she heard the footsteps come closer.

"Wake up."

It was one of the doctor's voices, one that Emily actually liked. In fact, Dr. Lee was probably the one person who clearly hated his job, but couldn't do anything about it. However, she wasn't caving yet, because for all she knew, it was a trick.

Even as she felt her restraints come loose, she was still hesitant to open her eyes, but that was before a different voice called out, "Come on, we don't have much time and we can't carry you."

Her eyes bolted awake, a sight she could hardly believe. In front of her was Dr. Lee, but also Victor, holding out a hand to pull her up. "What's going on?" she asked as she took his hand and slowly found her feet.

Victor noticed her stumble as she stood up, a consequence of all the torture she was accustomed to. Grabbing her hand again, he started to help her to the door. "We're getting out of here."

This is the moment they had been waiting for, but never expected they would get, so Emily hated that she felt so useless. But with every step, she could feel the pain in her ribs, the pounding in her head as a result of the echo from their feet hitting the floor. Exiting her cell, Emily realized they were one short. "What about Issac?"

"Right here," she heard from behind her. Turning her head, Emily quickly realized that Issac had regained his ability. For a second, she couldn't help but smile, knowing it was Dr. Lee that had tricked this entire facility.

"Let's move," she said calmly, finally finding the strength to stand on her own two feet.

Getting out was going a lot smoother than they ever thought, as Dr. Lee had provided Issac a layout of the facility, with the quickest escape route outlined in marker. He told him that there were federal officers on the road five miles north of the facility. There were virtually no guards outside, so they knew once they got outside, they were all capable of getting to that checkpoint. As for the guards within the facility, Issac would simply play the role, saying they were going for tests. If the guards ever questioned it, then Emily and Victor jumped into action, having the element of surprise to their advantage.

As the distance became shorter, their heartbeats raised, knowing what was ahead. They knew they couldn't go back home, as their lives as they once knew were over, but even the chance to live again was more than worth the effort.

However, everything changed when they attempted to push open the second last door with no success, only to hear the sound of the alarm seconds later.

They were so close, but the alarms going off showed that they weren't so lucky after all. Between the screaming sounds of the alarm and scuffles of feet coming from all around them, they knew they would have fight back at some point. With Victor working the computer system that locked the door, Emily and Issac turned around, ready for whatever this hell would throw at them.

The footsteps got louder, so Emily prepped herself, but when she heard the door automatically open behind her, Victor yelled to Issac, "Get her out of here."

They knew it was going to be more difficult outside the facility now, so Emily quickly moved towards the exit. But upon realizing that Victor wasn't following them, and the door at the end of the hallway was still locked, Emily turned to Issac, still disguised as Dr. Lee. He just nodded at her, thinking the same thing Emily was, but that wasn't enough for her. Emily knew what Victor was doing, and there was no way in hell she was allowing Victor to sacrifice himself for any reason.

"Come on Em," Issac pleaded with her as he grabbed her hand, but she quickly pulled it back to run back to Victor to knock some sense into him.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked him, thinking it was a valid question, but he didn't stop working, even after the alarm stopped ringing.

He wanted to ask Emily the same question. Victor knew their window for escape was diminishing by the second, and with a couple more keystrokes, he stopped biting his lip as the final door unlocked. So he finally told her what she needed to hear. "Giving you your second chance." Sure, the door was open, but the guards were getting closer, which meant that they needed a diversion if they had a hope.

When she hadn't moved, Victor said desperately, "You're not going to get another opportunity like this."

It was something he truly believed, which is why he didn't want her wasting any more time, something that clearly wasn't in their favour. The first wave of guards rounded the corner, so Emily prepped herself blocking the bullets, while Victor turned to project a wave of energy taking the guards off their feet. It wasn't much, but it gave them a minute more.

Victor didn't want to reveal the last part of the plan, but he knew there was no other way. "The only way to get out now is if I shut down the system after you get outside. You can handle the guards in person if they spread out. So please... get moving."

Emily narrowed her eyes, understanding what he had to do, but that didn't mean that she was willing to accept it. "What about you?"

"Me?" Victor asked, with the smallest smile he could manage, considering the circumstances. "I'll live knowing that I did something right as this... thing."

It killed her to see that expression, that doubt of him being human, of being more than a machine. It was why having cellmates was the saving grace of this living version of hell. They'd remind each other of the good things, the reason to press on, which is why Emily didn't want to leave him behind.

But she turned her head down the hallway, knowing that he was right, knowing that the guards on the ground were only the beginning. She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that tears were coming, which is why she couldn't bear to look at him one last time.

"I will get you out of here," Emily called out after she caught up with Issac and they headed for the final door. "Maybe not today, but I swear..." The emphasis brought the tears to the surface, so she repeated while she still could, "I will get you out."

Victor looked up as the door shut seconds after. The determination in her voice, he was going to miss that. But he knew what he was doing would be worth it. With a smirk, he locked down the entire facility, sealing his fate.

~End~