Chapter 25
phoenix the 1st: He'll be feeling it for a while indeed. :p
Acey1: Bold? Not really. Bryan hits Boris a lot in my fics. But I can tell you he enjoyed that one a lot. Bryan that is.
Disengage: Feel sick? How come? Getting withdrawal already? :p
Cat in the web: Boris will be feeling that one in the morning for sure.
LingXiaoyu: I'll have to buy you a new one. Anyway, enjoy this chapter while you wait.
Bloody Mary: Striptease!?!?!? RAOTGLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
russle: Boris always knows when Bryan is there, just as Bryan knows when Boris is there. They just know each other.
Ashla: Don't you wish he'd do it again?
eyriess: Yep, they're escaping all right.
KuronekoHikage: Of a night I pray for hentai dreams. #--# And go easy. Don't kill Boris there.
Curtis Zidane Ziraa: Didn't kill anyone? Stories not over yet. :p
Falc0n: Hello! Welcome! Hope you hang around and keep on writing so I can keep on reading and then writing and you can keep reading and then writing and... yeah. --;;
Castles in the Sky: I'd say that's what he's thinking.
Lady Snowblossom: He'll wake up. The bad guy usually does. :p
umi n secylia: QuickEdit's doing it. And I've updated!
And they're on the move.
Disclaimer: See first page
"You guys took your time."
"Forgive us, Captain," Ian answered sarcastically as he fell into step beside Tala as they hurried for the boiler room, Tala having effectively rendered the interior surveillance system offline. "We were a little busy being held at gunpoint."
Tala shot a look at him, then at Spencer who nodded confirmation. "Excuse accepted."
They made it to the boiler room unchallenged, slipping through the trap door and closing it behind them, dashing down the passage to the room. Reaching it, Spencer and Ian made last minute checks, throwing on their jackets as Tala and Bryan divided up the last of the food Aizik had thrown Bryan.
Once they were ready, they slid on the backpacks, pulling their cloaks on over the top. They exchanged quick looks, Tala nodding and moving toward the second doorway, pulling it open. A blast of cold air whipped up toward them, tugging at their hair and filling them with foreboding. Tala drew a deep breath, reaching back and finding Bryan's hand. They exchanged a quick look, Tala taking the first step; there would be no going back from here.
Bryan's free hand found the light switch, flipping it off and plunging the room behind them into darkness. Spencer pulled the door closed, the sound echoing down the passage like the steady beat of a war drum. They hesitated, Tala setting himself.
"Let's go."
They moved forward, falling into step with one another, Ian taking the lead with Spencer just behind, Tala and Bryan bringing up the rear. Their eyes were focused on the faint white light ahead, a bright point that continued to grow as they drew nearer to it. Their steps seemed as loud as their heartbeat in their ears, faint nerves playing through them mixed with excitement. Only Bryan seemed untouched by these raw emotions that plagued the others.
Ian stopped at the foot of the ladder, glancing back before scaling it, reaching the top and pushing up at the door. He grunted as it refused to budge, Spencer narrowing his eyes and joining his young friend at the ladder top, reaching up with one hand and forcing the lid to open. There was a scraping of stone on stone, all four blinking as the pure unfiltered light poured in, Ian blinking and clambering out, waiting for the others.
He glanced back at the passage entrance, stopping dead and letting out a faint whimper. The others frowned at him as they climbed out, following his gaze and starting. Once they were all out of the passage, Spencer resealed it, the four staring in silence until Bryan raised an eyebrow.
"Well, how many people do you know who would open a grave?"
Ian shuddered violently. "It's an omen, I know it."
"If it is," Tala agreed, turning his back on the large marble-topped grave with its faded headstone, "then it signals the end of one life and the start of a new one."
They slowly made their way through the headstones, Ian swallowing hard, frowning as he saw Bryan reach out and drag his fingertips along two headstones that sat side by side. Ian looked closer, catching the name 'Kuznetsov' under the mould that grew on one, and pausing to take in the date of death, stomach tightening as he saw that Spencer had been right: Bryan's parents had indeed died the year Bryan had been born. Within a month in fact, which caused suspicions to bubble to life in Ian's young mind as he glanced back at the towering Abbey.
Noting that the others were getting ahead of him, he let those thoughts lie as he widened his step, hurrying after them, not wanting to be left in this place.
They picked their path carefully, sprinting across any open area though so far none had seen them. The alarms did not yet pierce the silence that fell thickly around them, making every small sound seem amplified.
They reached the fence, looking up at the last thing that stood between them and freedom of the place that had been their home for so long.
Ian frowned. "Now what?"
Bryan grunted, judging the height and nodding, setting himself as he took one last look around. Seeing that all was clear, he took off toward the fence, ignoring the pain in his leg as he took a springing leap, fingers catching hold of the top as he vaulted up to perch himself on the rim, looking back at them.
Tala was the first to join him, finding it easier to reach the snow-covered peak as Bryan helped pull him up. Spencer glanced at Ian, knowing that due to his smaller size he would be unable to leap so high. Grabbing the boy by the arm they hurried to the base of the wall, Spencer kneeling and cupping his hands in a step, Ian placing a foot in it and allowing Spencer to fling him upwards, Bryan and Tala catching the boy.
As Spencer prepared for his own run-up, Ian dropped to the other side, glancing around them and taking in the woods. He saw no sign of any of the sensors that had caught out the Blade Breakers less than a month beforehand, but then they were outside of the Abbey's grounds, so perhaps there would be none out here. Nonetheless, they still had better watch themselves.
Bryan and Tala grunted as they pulled Spencer up onto the wall as the elder's jump fell short of the height, all three dropping to join Ian. There was no time for congratulations as they took off at a quick pace, making a break into the woods, cloaks billowing out behind them.
I've actually divide a segment up. This is part I, and part II will be the next chapter. Oh, and in case you're wondering, I haven't forgotten Bryan's broken arm, it's just that he's very good at ignoring the pain in it. And then there's the fact that they're all on a Adrenaline rush as the moment…