Skye tentatively stuck her head out the door and looked down the hall. It was empty. It was time to go. She creeped out of the cell and took a left, following the instructions Ward had given her on how to get out. She reached the large room where they had tortured Fitz and Simmons. She avoided looking at the chair where she had witnessed her friends suffer. She pushed through and crept walked through the room to the corridor Ward had mentioned.
"I should be able to take care of the gaurds from here to the atrium, but after that, it gets a little spotty. I'm going to leave you a gun on the top of the door frame as a precaution." He paused for a moment before he continued, "Hopefully you won't have to escape with a bang."
"You mean we wont have to escape with a bang, right?" Skye asked, nervous about his wording, she may not trust the guy, but he was risking his life for her, and she didn't want to see him dead, not yet anyways. Grant gave a small smile and nodded,
"Yea, we won't have to escape with a bang." He affirmed before continuing on with his explanation of the plan.
Skye made sure the corridor was clear before she jumped up and reached for the top of the door frame. To her relief she could feel the cool touch of a pistol. She checked the magazine before she tucked it into the back of her pants. She only wanted to use it if it was absolutely necessary. Grant was right, this place echoed, one shot would alert all the guards in the compound that something was going on.
She crept down the hall, pausing for a moment when she heard the thud of boots coming closer. Looking around, all she could see was a chest further down the corridor, What is this? Some video game? She thought, as she sprinted to the chest and threw it open. To her relief there were only a few dirty rags lining the bottom. She jumped in and squeezed herself into the space, thinking how lucky it was that training had made her lose just enough baby fat so she could squeeze into the chest. Just as she closed it, she heard the voices of two guards as they came around the bend. They were talking about the recent happenings within the compund, unaware they had an escaped prisoner within feet of them.
"Can you believe that Shield Agent? She'd rather her friends die then give into General Barnes. I don't know whether she's stupid or what."
"I think it's brave, I mean, she was calling him on his bluff. She didn't think he would kill her team. Anyone willing to gamble with General Barnes should be rewarded with a medal!" The other said. Skye could hear their voices getting closer. She tensed, preparing for if the guards decided to look in the chest.
"Well she has one thing going for her. The girl's not dead." Skye almost hit her head on the top with surprise, apparently the other guard was surprised as well,
"What do you mean? I saw her bleed out with my own two eyes."
"No, you saw her go unconscious," Skye could hear the smile in the first guards voice, "As soon as we carried her out, she was off to the med bay. A few blood transfusions later, badda bing badda bang, she's good as new." He said matter of factly before adding, "Granted she may never be able to walk right again, and she's got some pretty nasty scars, but other than that, she's picture of health." The other guard didn't respond. Skye could barely hear their footsteps fading away over the sound of her own heart pounding in her chest. Simmon's was alive!
"What's with the theatrics though?" She heard the second guard say,
"Barnes figured if she didn't give us the hack, she might as well feel responsible for the death of her friends. Heck he didn't even tell Garret's man Grant, he didn't want him to get too emotional."
"That's truly evil..." Their voices died off as they walked through the door. Skye burst out of the chest, breathing deeply, trying to understand everything she had overheard. Simmon's is alive. I have to go rescue her! A little voice in the back of her head brought her back to reality for a moment, You need to rescue yourself and the team first. Then go after Simmons. Her first mission was to rescue the team. Skye continued to sprint down the halls, turning left and right, following the instructions Ward had laid out for her.
She reached her first obstacle, a thick wooden door, with 3 different deadlocks sealing it. If Grant was right, Coulson and May would be right behind this door. She stood on her tippy-toes, running her hand over the top of the door frame.
"The guards are lazy. Rather than carry around keys and passing them on after each shift, they sometimes just leave the keys on the door frames." Grant had explained. "More often than not you can find a key on the door frame than a key ring."
Just as they had hoped, Skye soon felt the ridges of a key, no wait, make that two. She grabbed the key's and eagerly put them in their respective locks. She could barley breath as she turned each lock. She breathed a sigh of relief as they both clicked smoothly. One lock left. She returned to her tippy toes moving her hand back and forth, searching for the third and final key. She began to feel panic rise up in her chest when she realized there was no third key. Looking around she spotted a simple little rock further down the hall. You're kidding me. Who's stupid enough to think hiding it under a rock would be less conspicuous. She grabbed the rock and removed the key from under it. She inserted the last key and turned it. She then turned the nob and opened the door.
She was met with a swift kick to the chest. She flew back and hit the opposing wall. The breath was successfully knocked out of her.
"Skye?" May asked as she went to go check on the young girl, Coulson alo emerged, concern filling his face as he saw his protege lying on the floor gasping for breath. Skye nodded, unable to speak. "I'm sorry, i thought you were one of the guards. Are you okay?" Skye nodded again, grabbing May's outstretched hand. May pulled her up and Skye finally spoke,
"We need to get out of here. I tell you the way out." She began to relay the directions Ward had given her before Coulson interrupted,
"You're coming with us right?" Skye nodded,
"Yes, eventually. I have to free the others first," She skipped over her intent to bring Ward along with them, "You and May should leave now before the guards realize I'm gone." Coulson grabbed her arm firmly, fear and concern painted all over his features.
"We're not leaving without you Skye. We're a team." Skye gently pulled her arm back as she faced Coulson,
"With all due respect AC, you are. Wether you like it or not. You and I both know theres no way you're going to convince me to run with you with the rest of the team still here." She turned to May, who's face was filled with determination and concern, "Tactically, we're outnumbered and outgunned. Our best bet for survival is to sneak out of here. The longer we stand here arguing, the more likely it is they realize we've escaped, so now please just listen to me and I'll tell you how to get out." She began to relay the directions again, this time Coulson and May didn't interrupt. When she was done, Coulson grabbed her arm and pulled her in for an embrace.
"Please don't die." He whispered in her ear as she returned his hug.
"I'll see you on the other side AC." After a tender moment, they took a step back. Skye looked over at May, who gave a slight nod of encouragement. With that they parted ways, Coulson and May towards freedom, and Skye toward the belly of the beast.
I'm going to have the next chapter up hopefully before the end of the day. This is a little longer than the other chapters so far but whatever. Please rate and review! Let me know what you think is going to happen!