This is a shift day [see above]. There will be another upload this afternoon: Sneaking In With Bells On.

"You'll Find Wonder"

26. Rising to the Occasion

As much as they were prisoners in all this, for the most part they had been able to roam along the camp during the day, which made it just a little easier for them to sneak their way along. They could hope that he had gone to his ship and Quinn would find him there. But deep down they knew he would probably be here, and as they made their way along they also grew convinced he had been captured.

"Stop," Tamrin would call after a while, and as they ducked to the side, she angled a pointed finger at a heavily guarded tent. "There." The 'guards' here were not those they had been cornered by before, as easy as it had ended up being to evade them. These guards were any and all available circus hands. Cooks and helpers, people who helped them prepare, and dress, mended cuts, tended bruises… They weren't all bad, most of them weren't bad. And now they had been put in the role, despite themselves, of the opposition, those standing in their way. They didn't want to hurt them, but would it go both ways? Would they still be those kind people when the 'freaks' revolted?

"We can't go after them," Red would beg, his voice trembling.

"You know he's in there," Dex looked up to him, frowned.

"We could lead them away," Meran suggested. "We split up, half act as diversion, the others go in, get him out."

"How do we do that?" Dex asked, on board but needing a plan. "I'm a fast runner," he reminded.

"Alright, then you circle their tent, come out in front, let them see you, and then lead them that way," Meran pointed. Dex nodded. "I'll come in from the other side of this tent, and I'll lead them down the middle." He paused. "We need one more."

"Let me do it," Tamrin valiantly offered.

"No, you need to go in and get the Doctor," Annidae spoke up. "I'll go."

"Are you going to be able to see where…" Tamrin started, still unfamiliar with the closed-eyed girl.

"I can see perfectly, and if need be, I can use my gift," Annidae promised, though she did so with apprehension on the last part.

"Then you just go and lead them off the third road," Meran pointed. "Dex first, then you, and I'll go last. Hopefully we'll draw all or most of them away, if not… then it's on you to find a way to get past them. You two," he looked to his fellow runners, "Lead them, lose them, and come back to stand guard, help get him out if you haven't already done it," he now turned to the other three.

"We'll get it done," Tamrin vowed. Anro at her side placed a hand to his chest, even if none of them knew what it meant the way Quinn did, but he got his message across. Red could never be a runner, so now this was to be his task, and as scared as he was, he would convince himself that he was strong enough.

"Dex, go," Meran had barely spoken that the 'boy' had zoomed off behind their hiding spot and the guarded tent before emerging into plain view, pausing as his eyes turned on the assembled guards.

"Oh, hello…" he played innocent, unable to keep from grinning before he shot off again. His fugue dislodged a handful of the guards who took off after him. Annidae was primed to go, but Meran stopped her.

"Wait, let him go or they'll realize something is wrong." They waited a minute and some seconds more before he signalled and she went. She shuffled into view.

"It's Temptress," one of the men called, and after years of holding her tongue, she had gulped a lungful of air.

"My name is Annidae," she corrected, and with that she ran.

Her sprint had taken even more guards, but there were still a number of them. Meran knew it would take something big to move them, and they knew from experience that, should 'Hercules' get out of control, it would take the force of many to overpower him.

"Wait another minute and go," he told the other three, two minutes after the second run. He went at the other end of their cover tent, and he made his way into the open. He didn't leave much time to think. He ran off, and he hoped he'd taken as many as possible.

He took them all. Within moments, there was no one left in front of the tent. "Well done," Tamrin smirked before looking to her team. The way Anro already trusted her just made knowing what she'd put him through feel worse. Meanwhile Red was still a nervous wreck. "Be strong now," she told him, nodding firmly. They were the first words she had ever addressed to him, the first time they had been permitted really, and he took them to heart. "Let's go."

Anro shuffled out first, Red next, and Tamrin taking the rear as they slipped into the tent. They would encounter Peter and Bennett first, though Anro bypassed them to go after Toni. Tamrin had knocked out Peter, turned to do the same to Bennett only to find him already on the ground. Red looked back to her, just as shocked as she was, and still she smiled and nodded to him.

"Back away now, Roar!" Toni ordered, though she had already fallen back on the ground, looking to the beast prowling over her.

"His name is Anro," the Doctor's voice broke through as he dragged himself into a seated position. "I don't think he likes the name you gave him all that much. I don't blame him there."

"Doctor!" Tamrin was relieved to see him, and he took in the scene proper.

"You've all met now, fantastic. What about…"

"She's safe," Red promised, sidestepping the man he had knocked out. Toni laughed and they looked to her. "Why is she…"

"Funny, looking at what you did there, I could almost see him." They hesitated, puzzled by her statement.

"See… See who?" Red asked. The Doctor flinched like he could feel it, something about to happen. He started fidgeting, attempting to turn his shackled hands in such a way that he could reach in his pocket and find his sonic screwdriver.

"Renlo…" she drew out the name, holding the trio's attention and half of the Doctor's. "They really did a number on you, didn't they? You didn't crash here, you didn't lose your memory. They took it from you when you tried to escape," she revealed.

"Don't…" the Doctor tried to tell them, twisting, reaching, reaching… Toni was reaching, too, reaching behind her back.

"Is she saying…" Red looked to Tamrin and Anro, who observed him now.

"You're Renlo?" Tamrin frowned, surprised. "I've heard tales here about you. I thought you had died…"

"I did, he… he did…" his addled mind was barely grasping the load of information.

"Stop her, stop her now!" the Doctor begged as he finally felt the metal of the screwdriver beneath his fingers. He closed his hand around it, pulled it out and worked it to aim at his restraints and unlock the shackles.

At this same instant, the trio had come to hear his warning and they looked up, only just in time to make a quick decision and act, but there was only a small window in which to do this.

Because in the time they had been distracted, Toni had retrieved the knife tucked in her belt and, with three targets to choose from, she had aimed and let the blade fly.

TO BE CONTINUED (TUESDAY)