The reason why this chapter is out so early, despite of my current workload? Well, my long-time muse, Fortune, joined forces with Vamp, my new dark-fic muse, to make sure that I didn't start to slack when it comes to 'Journey'. And who can say 'no' to two muses...? O.o...
A/N 1: Ideas for fic and character development, questions, plotbunnies, suggestions, flames, character pictures, ficlets, corrections, additions, comments, and everything in between can be mailed to hack_heaven@usa.net.
Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy
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Chapter Fifty-Seven: Exodus
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A faint click rang through the tense silence in the cell, and four pair of eyes instantly found the door. Kyle clenched his fists, ignoring Blade and Jordane's presence as he prepared himself for whatever waited outside the metal door. Another moment of tense silence passed, and then with a soft, electronic hum, the door opened, revealing...
...An empty hallway?
Confusion turning to suspicion, Kyle stepped closer to the door, vaguely aware that Blade did the same. For a long moment time seemed to have stopped, then someone in a prison suit ran past them in the hallway, followed by another. A strangely hollow sound of shouting and then gunshots followed from somewhere far away, and Kyle started to get a nagging suspicion. If Blade had been right about a staged prison riot...
They're going to kill us.
"Jordane."
Kyle turned his head and saw Blade motion for the girl to follow him as he headed out in the hallway, into the crowd of prisoners that hurried past them outside.
"What are you doing?" Kyle asked. "If you were right about a riot-"
"-Then we're dead, anyway," Blade replied, his eyes continuously scanning the hallway for any possible threats among the many mutants. "Let's go."
Kyle paused for a moment, considering his options. Suddenly having the doors open was suspicious to say the least, and Kyle did not believe in miracles. Much as he hated to admit it, it was starting to look like Blade had a point. And if that was the case...following him might not be a bad idea.
"All right," Kyle replied and suppressed the unpleasant thought that he had betrayed his team by following Blade's orders. "Suzuka...come on," he said, and too late did he realize what Suzuka's reaction would be.
"You can't be serious!" Suzuka replied angrily and pointed at Blade. "He's a psycho! He killed Prue, and he'll do the same thing to us the moment we turn our backs on him! How can you even consider following him?!"
Annoyance flashed in Blade's eyes, and Kyle decided to step in before things escalated.
"Do you have a better idea?" he asked quietly, keeping his voice low enough so that Blade and Jordane wouldn't hear what he said to Suzuka. "I don't trust him, either, Suzuka, and I don't like this any more than you do, but this is the best chance we have at getting out."
"He'll betray us the moment he sees a chance to," Suzuka argued, her quiet voice doing nothing to hide the anger she felt. "You can't trust him!"
"And I don't," Kyle replied. "But if we try to find a way out of this place on our own, we're likely to get killed. The four of us are in the same situation here - Blade and Melee have just as much to lose as we have."
"He's going to get us all killed," Suzuka said and glared angrily at the man in question.
"Suzuka, I'm not asking you to trust him," Kyle tried again. "I'm asking you to trust *me*. I'm not stupid; I know what he's done, okay? But in this case, I know what I'm doing."
"He'll kill us the moment we turn our backs on him, we both know that," Suzuka repeated.
"I won't let him," Kyle replied with finality, conveniently ignoring the fact that in a one-on-one fight, there would be little he could do to stop Blade. "I know what I'm doing, Suzuka. Trust me - please."
"Sanderson!" Blade snapped. "We don't have time for this. Either she comes with us now, or we leave her here."
"I know!" Kyle shot back, then turned to Suzuka again. "Suzuka, please...trust me."
Suzuka glared at Blade again and clenched her fists, then looked away. "All right," she replied, then raised her voice to make sure that Blade heard what she was saying. "But if they try *anything*, I'll kill them, consequences be damned!"
Blade's once reaction to the threat was a look of complete indifference. "Are you done with your temper tantrums, girl?" he asked, not bothering to wait for a reply. "Then let's get out of this place."
He quite deliberately turned his back on Suzuka and headed out into the hallway with Jordane, his arrogant behavior only serving to infuriate Suzuka further. She took a step towards him, itching for a fight, but Kyle stopped her before she could attack.
"No! Survival has first priority - revenge will have to wait, understand?"
Suzuka glared at him, then sent Blade a disgusted look before she walked out of the room, not pausing to check that Kyle was following her.
Kyle sighed, then headed out of the cell as well. He had just put his own life as well as Suzuka's in the hands of a notorious killer, they were heading into something that could very well be a government-arranged genocide, and Suzuka was treating him like a traitor.
"Great," he muttered. "Just great."
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In another part of the high security wing, the situation was the same - everywhere, doors and locks clicked open, leaving the prisoners confused, suspicious...and free. Some hesitated, unsure of what was going on, but most didn't really care about *how* the doors had opened, only that they had a chance of escaping.
And that very thing was the case in the small cell that housed two familiar mutants.
"Let's go!" Zach snapped and dragged Deirdre to her feet. He didn't know why the door had suddenly opened, or what exactly was going on, but quite frankly he didn't care. He wanted to get out of this hellhole and away from the humans, and how he managed to do that didn't really matter, as long as he succeeded.
Deirdre looked at him in surprise but didn't fight against him. They had a chance to escape, and she had enough common sense to realize that if she started to argue with Blitz, that chance of escape could very well disappear.
The two headed into the hallway, unconsciously making sure not to get separated in the chaotic scene that greeted them - they weren't the only ones who were determined to get away, and the hallway was filled with mutants trying to find a safe way out. Shouting, yelling, and the sound of footsteps filled the air, only adding to the chaos. Zach and Deirdre exchanged a look, then hurried down the hallway.
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The situation was the same not very far behind them.
Shouting, talking, the sound of running, a tense atmosphere that only waited for that small spark that would ignite the blaze...Ryan didn't like it one bit. This was too chaotic, too unpredictable, and he desperately tried to make sure their small group stayed together. His protectiveness towards Ben was understandable - after all, they had been friends for a long time, and Ryan didn't want anything to happen to the young healer. The fact that he tried to keep an eye on Jhonen and Aaron as well was a bit harder to explain. He wasn't even sure why he did it - they weren't even on the same team as him. Jhonen had betrayed all of them, and Aaron had made it clear beyond any doubt that his loyalty belonged to Blade.
He had no reason to help them, and still...
...They were just kids. Jhonen was seventeen, and Aaron was several years younger. Alone, they wouldn't stand a chance. And enemies or not, Ryan was not about to leave two young teenagers to fend for themselves in a situation like this. He had a conscience, and he had to look himself in the eyes every morning when he looked into the mirror. And he by far preferred to look at someone who didn't disgust him.
Yes, Ryan would help Jhonen and Aaron, team loyalties and past crimes aside, if nothing else then because he didn't want another death on his conscience...not even when it came to people like the Shadow Alliance.
More running, more shouting, and Ben's voice somehow managed to reach Ryan through the chaos surrounding them.
"Ryan - look!" he said, pointing into the chaos ahead.
Ryan's eyes searched the people ahead of them, and suddenly he saw what Ben had seen - a very familiar person making her way through the chaos.
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"Deirdre!"
Deirdre spun around, frantically searching for the source of that familiar voice. She forced her way past the other mutants around them, only vaguely aware that Zach was following her, then finally found the person she'd been searching for - Ryan, followed closely by Ben.
"Ryan!" Deirdre exclaimed, then threw herself in Ryan's arms and hugged him tightly. "Thank God you're here."
Ryan looked at the girl, surprised at the emotional reaction, then hugged her back, an affectionate smile lingering on his lips as he saw that she was okay. He was worried about all of his teammates, and seeing Deirdre alive and well helped lift the heavy burden of concern a bit. Ryan looked around, his eye falling on Deirdre's companion who was now talking with Jhonen and Viper...and only then did Ryan discover whom the boy was.
Blitz.
No...
"Deirdre...are you okay?" Ryan asked, his voice serious as he looked at the girl in his arms. "He didn't...?"
Deirdre sighed, unwilling to let go of Ryan just yet. "Yeah...I'm okay, I guess. He didn't hurt me or anything."
Ryan turned his attention to Zach again, and the boy met his gaze without blinking. Ryan hadn't believed that Deirdre could have shared a cell with Zach without getting hurt, but maybe he'd misjudged Zach. After all, Deirdre *did* seem to be okay...maybe there was more to young Blitz than met the eye.
"We should get going," Ben remarked, motioning down the hallway that was all but empty now. Their fellow prisoners were already gone, looking for a way out, and faraway shouting reached their ears.
Ryan nodded.
"Let's go," he said and continued down the hallway, holding Deirdre's hand in his own, hoping to reassure her a bit.
Zach, Aaron, and Jhonen exchanged a look, then followed Ryan, silently agreeing that it would be easier to escape if they worked together...even if it *did* mean following someone who protected the humans, rather than fighting against them.
"Benji? Are you coming?" Ryan asked, and looked over his shoulder at Ben.
"Yeah..." Ben replied slowly, following the others.
No one noticed the frown as he saw Ryan hold Deirdre's hand.
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