Saving Roger

The next morning, the children were escorted to the cafeteria, and we were eating breakfast. As Mia sat with some other girls, she began whispering.

"When I raise the alarm, I'm going to provide a distraction so that we can get away,"

"What kind of distraction?" Annie asked.

"One that will guarantee we can get safely,"

"But what about the ice?"

"There's help coming. They're only less than a day's journey away. I know it's coming. You must trust me,"

The girls including Annie seemed uncertain.

"Okay," she agreed. "We'll spread the word,"

"Roger Parslow!"

For a split second, Mia's heart jumped. She turned and saw the nurse with the fox daemon appear through the door. She rotated her head towards Roger from across the room pale with shock.

"Would you come with me please?" she requested.

Mia stared at Roger, shaking her head.

"Come on. Don't make a fuss," she ordered.

He slowly rose from his seat, sharing a glance with Mia as he walked out. Everyone went back to eating, but the girls look pale.

"We've got to do something Lyra," Aster whispered to me. "They'll cut Roger from Saecillia,"

Mia struggled to think. They couldn't proceed with the plan now. But I couldn't let Roger get cut like poor Billy. Mia felt torn. But ultimately her decision was made.

"Pss," she whispered getting the girls' attention. "I need you to all to create a distraction so that I can sneak out and save Roger,"

"No way. We can't risk getting into trouble,"

"They're going to cut him," she said. She sounded like she was going to burst into tears. "He'll die. Just like poor Billy Costa. I need to get to him. Please," she implored.

The girls considered for a sec.

"Food fight!" Annie shouted standing up. Standing up she grabbed her plate and threw it across the plate at a fat boy.

"Oy!" he grabbed his plate and threw it at Annie who ducked. It hit another girl. Then she threw and it hit another boy. And another. And another. And...

Soon the entire cafeteria was a hurricane of flying food and plates and cutlery. With the doctors and waiters distracted, Mia dashed out the door, as fast as her legs could carry her.

"We'll have to head to the power room. We don't even know where the room where they cut children is," she said to her daemon who was flying beside her to keep up the pace.

"This way," Aster remembered where it was. Quickly he guided Mia through the steel door with the lightning symbol. Much to her chagrin there was a code-number panel.

"Curses. We need a code," Aster said.

"What do we do?"

"How do I know you're the one who wants to rescue Roger,"

Mia struggled to think. She was running out of time. Roger was running out of time.

Roger tried to break free from the nurses as they tried to place him and Saecillia in separate cages. But they were too strong.

"Please! Please don't this!" he screamed.

Mrs. Coulter stood at the control panel, smiling proudly.

"I don't see why I have to stand here and watch this," Mr. Sysselman groaned next to me.

"Don't you want to see the excellence of my project's great discovery?"

"So... kidnapping children. And cutting them. You really think you can free our world from sin?"

"Yes. I know I can," she boasted arrogantly.

"We'll have to find something to get us inside," Quickly Mia dashed around the corridor looking for something to help me get inside. Just then she passed a spare room with a door that was left open. She dashed inside hoping to look for something. She spotted a wrench. She grabbed it. She rushed back to the power room and she stared hitting the code panel. It started coming apart.

"Okay. That's enough," Aster shouted. "I think that should do it,"

He was right. Mia pulled open the door and closed it. Inside were giant boxes of steel with wires hooked in and out.

"Which one is for the room where they've taken Roger?" he asked.

"How am I supposed to do know?"

"Okay. We'll want to find the panel for the right room and not damage the other rooms otherwise someone will come, and we'll get caught,"

Mia scanned her eyes over the labels. Girl's bathroom. Boy's bathroom. Girl's bedroom. Boy's bedroom. Kitchen Cafeteria...

I came to a twentieth label. Intercession Room. What kind of name is that?"

"Mia. This has to be it,"

"Here goes. I really hope this saves Roger,"

Quick as a whip Mia started banging on the consul, causing sparks of electricity to shower everywhere. She banged and banged and banged until the unit for the Intercission Room was almost completely destroyed. The power must be damaged enough. I hope Roger was saved and they didn't cut him with some sort of awful machine.

Suddenly she felt a hand over her mouth and a pang of pain from Aster.

Mrs. Coulter couldn't block out the boy's screaming as he cried out to his daemon. The blade was raised. She waited a second. Then...click.

The blade came down and...

"What the..." the nursed paused.

"What is it? Tell me!" she demanded.

"The bond hasn't been cut," she said.

"What?"

"I…I..don't know. Nothing's happened. The power's down," Suddenly the lights in the rom went out.

"What the hell is going on with the power?" she demanded. She marched outside into the lit corridor.

Suddenly a nurse appeared from around a corner with Milly Surrey's wrist clasped in her strong grip, her dog daemon with her daemon trapped between its teeth.

Mia was pushed to the floor, landing right in front of Mrs. Coulter.

"Caught this one in the power room. She damaged the power to the Intercission Room,"

Mrs. Coulter knelt at her. "What did you think you were doing?"

"Stopping you from cutting an innocent boy," She hissed.

From right behind Mrs. Coulter appeared Mr. Sysselman. The moment his eyes were laid on me, he gasped. "That's her! That's her! That's the girl I saw in Trollesund,"

"The aeronaut's daughter?"

"Yes. Mia Scoresby,"

Mia's heart jumped twice as it did the first time. Her cover was blown.

Mrs. Coulter steered her head back to her with a snarling growl. "Mmm. You're as much trouble as you look if you think you can deceive us with a fake name. What do you know of a girl named Lyra Belaqua?"

"I don't know who you're talking about," Mia quickly answered.

"Oh...I think you do. And as for that, we're going to have a separate chat in another room. In the meantime, get the power to this room fixed all of you!"

"It will take a few hours," a mechanic confessed.

"Then get to work!" she ordered impatiently.

"What do you we do with him?" asked the doctor. He had taken out Roger from the cages.

"Take him to a separate room," she ordered. "He mustn't tell the other boys what we're doing,"

Roger was hauled out the room. He tried to scramble out of his captor's hands and get to Mia but the man was too strong.

"It's goanna be alright Roger!" she called. "It's goanna be alright!" Suddenly she was hauled up by her hair by Mr. Sysselman.

"You're goanna wish you hadn't be naughty," he sneered. He pulled her out through the door following Coulter whose monkey daemon kept a tight grip on Aster. His strong grip made Mia struggle to catch her breath. She was taken inside the same room that the poor female bear was kept in. As they entered, she was met with the sight of a poor bruised and chained and muzzled bear. Her eyes stared at Mia. She saw sorrow inside them.

Sysselman threw her to the floor on the far side of the room. The golden monkey kept Aster pinned down, pinning her down too.

"It seems like we're going to have do this the hard way," Mrs. Coulter said as she circled around the young girl whose paranoia seemed to rise every second along with her heartbeat rate. "Usually I don't take children inside this room. But naughty children? That's...an alternative,"

"At least...I don't capture children...and take them from their families," She hissed. She screamed as Aster's throat was squeezed tighter.

"Mr. Sysselman here told me that you and your father lee took his bear and you were seen with a slim girl with short brown hair. That was my child...Lyra Belaqua. Now am I going to ask you again. Where - is - she?"

"Even I wanted to...I couldn't. I don't know...where she is," she croaked.

She frowned. She grabbed her throat, strangling her.

"You know. I know you do. Now tell me. Where is my daughter?"

"You're wasting your time searching for someone who doesn't want you,"

"She may not want me, but she needs me,"

"No! She needs people who are openly kind to her. Not people who don't abuse her...like you did. You can threaten me. You can torture me. You could do whatever you want to me. But I will never tell you where Lyra is. She deserves so much better than you,"

"She's my daughter!"

"A woman who kidnaps and cuts children doesn't deserve someone like her. You are far too cruel...and she is far too good.

"You'd better reconsider if you don't want to be cut," she sneered.

"Never," Mia croaked, bravery taking over her body over fear. She would not shudder the same way she did to Sysselman before "Go ahead. Do your worst,"

Mrs. Coulter pulled back holding a menacing face and let go of her throat. She clicked her fingers.

The golden monkey stopped squeezing Aster and he scrambled into his other half's arms.

Mrs. Coulter towered over her. Mia was beginning to get scared. She tried her best to remain strong for her father and Lyra.

"Fix the power," she ordered to the doctors outside. "Prepare it for the next cut,"

She froze. She gulped. She struggled to breath.

"I will leave you in here to have a time to reconsider. And don't even think of trying to escape or freeing this bear. These Tartars will be outside the door at all times,"

"You're leaving her in the same room with my bear?!" Mr. Sysselman shouted.

"She is not your bear yet,"

"But we had a deal!"

"We did. And I will not give her to you unless this girl has served her purpose,"

"But she's refused to give in. And you're going to cut her,"

"She might change her mind. Unless she wants to be cut. In the meantime, you should begin a search warrant for this aeronaut Lee Scoresby. Now that we have his daughter, we can use her for persuasion, whether she's cut or not cut,"

Mr. Sysselman growled as they disappeared.

They went out the door locking behind them, leaving her alone in the forbidden room with the poor restrained bear. Mia had never felt more scared than she had now. Her bravery was a show. She hugged Aster close to her chest. He nuzzled her fingers and kissed her face with licks.

Oh dad, Lyra, Iorek! Please come soon.

Another chapter done. Please let me know what you all thought. Will Mia be saved in time? Will Lyra come rescue her? Please send me some ideas and don't be around let me know what you all think of this chapter. I hope you're all enjoying it.