Chapter 6: Freed By Blood

The group began to move out at a steady trot, keeping pace as to allow Garret to keep up. Garret would be of incredible importance when they infiltrated and needed to know exactly where things were. Jason ran slightly behind him, with Mikhail taking the lead. Morgan and Darren held the flanks. Dean was bringing up the rear, keeping watch for any ambush they might have managed to slip past.

Garret apparently was not used to running very long distances, as the poor boy was huffing and puffing all through the run. Jason, running behind him, asked if he needed to be helped or carried even, but Garret refused. He may not have the stamina of the boys around him, but the young one most certainly had some grit on him. Jason had showed that to him during the initial lesson he'd given him, and Garret seemed determined to continue his steak.

The woods flashed by as they ran, Garret still keeping up. Mikhail whispered that they should not be too far now, and the group slowed down to ease in detection avoidance. Garret seemed grateful for the slower pace, and also seemed to try to be hiding just how hard he was breathing. Jason felt a surge of confidence in the boy however. For someone to soldier on through hardship and misery and still have enough spirit to impress a group of hardened warriors deserved to be commended.

They saw lights in the distance, and they stopped and crouched down. Then they began move slowly toward the perimeter of the fenced perimeter, staying low at a crouched walk. Jason moved ahead to take point and he led them to the very edge of the woods.

On the other side of the fence, was the large prison like complex. Several structures stood, like large warehouses. The large mansion described was in the distance, and a ways away from it, closer to the warehouses, which were obviously the work buildings...had to be the holding building. Jason leaned down and pointed.

"Is that it?" he asked Garret.

"Yeah, it is," Garret answered. Jason detected a bit of fear in his voice. Obviously, that building represented some extreme horrors for him. Jason squeezed his shoulder as he walked over to Mikhail, who was watching for guards.

"See anyone yet?"

"We've got two goons walking up along the fence line. They don't seem to be interested in anything other than talking. Shouldn't be no problem."

Jason nodded. Darren pulled out his bow and waited. Dean slowly did the same, and aimed for the two distant guards walking past the fence line, talking almost as if they were drunk. And they probably were, considering how they walked. Garret saw the two taking aim and asked a question in a hurried, anxious voice.

"What are they doing?" he asked, indicating Dean and Darren.

"Their gonna' take those guards so we can get past this fence line."

"But they are on the other side of the fence!" he whisper/shouted.

"SHHHH! That's no problem for us. Just watch."

The guards came closer and closer. Jason was relived to see that the apparent budget of the place was too low for searchlight, and so the area near them was mostly darkened enough that they could perform without alarm. Darren and Dean waited until they were almost right in front of them, and then let loose.

The arrows tore through the air, right through the little holes in the fence, and buried themselves in the guards necks. Each of them jolted slightly as the arrows made their home in a vital area of them, and they both gurgled whatever final words were upon their cruel minds. Jason nodded with satisfaction at Darren and Dean's marksmanship. There was no force on the gods' earth that could match them in archery, save a few, and even they could not best them. Only match them. Garret seemed impressed as well, not being able to hold back a quiet "wow".

They advanced through the remaining woods toward the fence line, their faces jerking to the left and right, eyes peeled for any more guards. They saw none, and Jason was relived to think that they might possibly have come upon them while the guards were overwhelmingly asleep, or perhaps partying somewhere. If this kept up, then they should easily be able to get the kid's sister out of here.

They reached the fence and began to climb. Garret was able to do this without much trouble. Though they made great pains to avoid rattling the fence or making to much noise, Garret still took a while, and he climbed down, rather than jump from the top as the others did. But they were conditioned and well-maintained, while the poor kid had been through hell. So they ignored his shortcomings, knowing that if worse came to worse, then they could always just throw him over the fence.

As Garret finally was on solid ground, they quickly assessed the area. The two guards bodies were the only ones they currently saw, but that did not mean that there could be more within those warehouses. They would have to be quiet going past them. And there were sure to be guards in the living building if that was indeed the living quarters for the workers. Jason leaned over Garret's shoulder and pointed at the supposed building. He nodded and Jason signaled toward it.

The group began to do a kind of slow run toward the building. Jason stayed alert for any sign of activity as they drew nearer, but he saw no other guards. They might possibly not have assumed that anyone would ever try something like this. Jason almost could smile with the way they were being so sloppy, but the situation did not really call for any humor.

As they drew nearer, the holding building looked more and more ominous and haunting. It almost looked like a smiling face, if one was half-out of his mind, and it seemed to be smiling at them as they approached, almost as if it were looking at food that it was about to swallow right up. Jason got a shiver up his spine looking at that building, and he knew that whatever they were going to find in there was not going to be a pleasant thing.

Dean opened the door slowly, surprised that it was not locked or anything. He quickly scanned the entryway, and signaled the others inside, seeing that it was empty. The group entered and quickly entered, shutting the door slowly behind them. The entry was dark and forbidding, simply a large room with two hallways jutting out from the back areas. Jason leaned down and whispered in Garret's ear.

"Which one?"

"That way," Garret said, pointing at the hallway to the left side.

They slowly moved down the hallway, which quickly curved to the left again. And when they reached the entrance, Jason had to whip his hand out and stop Garret from taking another step, for a guard was there, not ten steps away from the opening. The group behind him saw him saw what he did and immediately stopped as well. Jason stood rock solid as he watched the guard for a moment, and was relived to see that he had not turned to face them. His back was to them, leaning over a desk of papers, organizing them as he muttered to himself.

Jason turned to Garret and put a finger to his lips, indicating the need to remain silent. Garret nodded and Jason slowly began to walk toward the guard. The guard continued to mutter and shuffle through his papers, and Jason drew his knife slowly, as not to attract attention. Garret's eyes widened at what he saw Jason about to do, and he then closed his eyes tightly.

As the guard put down a stack of organized papers, Jason sprung forward and covered the guard mouth. The guard was able to get off a muffled cry of alarm before Jason plunged the edge of his blade into the small of his back. He screamed but Jason held his mouth firm, so his last cries were heard by only those who were in the immediate vicinity, which was fortunate for the group. Jason violently ripped the blade upward, increasing the lethality of the attack. The guard struggled for a few seconds before slowly going limp. Jason slowly lowered the guards body to the ground, and closed his eyes for him out of habit. Then he signaled to the others to continue through the only way seen, Darren covering Garret's eyes as they passed the body.

Garret pointed out a new way as the passageway split once more, and they slowly followed him, allowing him to take the lead. Jason was satisfied to see that he had seemed to get the idea that stealth was a very good thing to use right now, and he moved steadily and cautiously, checking the way before he blindly walked through it.

Garret finally found what he seemed to be searching for. A black door was in the middle of the hall they just entered, and Garret paused for a moment, almost as if the door was something that he did not wish to pass through. He simply stood there and stared at it as they caught up with him, and Garret fidgeted as he stared. To him, that door looked like the opening of a monster that was about to swallow them up. Jason gave him a gently nudge and he gathered his courage enough to point at the door.

"Through there..."

That was all they needed to know.

Mikhail took the lead and slowly pushed the door open. It made a fairly loud creak as it opened, and they hoped for a moment that no guards were nearby to hear it or be right on the other side, for if that were the case, the mission could be over before it reached it;'s halfway point. They waited for nearly a minute, staring into the darkness that filled the area behind the door. There were very few sound heard, and the group relaxed. One by one, they each crossed over the border of the door, Garret having to be somewhat forced. Jason did not want to bring him back to the site of his pain, but they would need the guidance, and he needed to face his demons.

The darkness of the place was stifling. Jason could hardly see past the edge of his hands when he reached out completely. He looked around and found that he could just barely make out the outlines of the brothers around him, and that strange blob between them was most likely Garret. Garret slowly took the lead, and they had to hold each others shoulder, for to walk even a few feet away from each other meant losing all visual contact.

They slowly made their way down the damp, cold and dark hall, and reached an area with a little more light. But the fact that there was more light was very low compared to the sight that faced them. They halted against their own will, for they simply could not help but stop and start at the insides of the barred rooms to the sides of them. Saddam Hussein might be smiling upon this place from the depths of Tartarus.

The room on the side of this hallway seemed to be taken right out of some medieval torture dungeon. Within them, Jason saw instruments and stacks of tools that looked like they had been designed for the sole purpose of inflicting pain upon others. One had a rack where chains were attached, in order to hold the helpless victim as the operators did whatever they wished to do upon them. Blood still lingered upon the dark wood, and hooks and other objects were in a stack nearby, and Jason could swear that he they had seen recent use. Stacks of thumbscrew and wrist breakers were in others, and other objects that Jason could not contemplate, for only a mad sadist could know what they were.

As they passed the hall of torture and death, shaking their heads and trying to block out the scent of death that prevailed throughout it, they entered another part of the long hall, and this one was obviously for use of a different sort, if nothing any less sadistic. This area was obviously where the guards and others could enjoy the opposite sex with whatever they wished, whether their own bodies or various objects. Mats and mattresses were strewn about, and Jason felt bile rise in his throat at the sight of what lay upon some of the sleeping mats. Garret seemed numb to all this, and Jason could understand why he would be reluctant to enter this place. Only a true monster could ever find joy here.

Finally they came across another door, and this one seemed halfway maintained, being clean and having it's gears oiled. Jason stepped to the side and opened the door while Mikhail and Darren stood in front with arrows on their bows, ready to shoot down any guard that might be standing guard before he could see what was entering. But no guard was in sight, but people were in there indeed. The coughs and occasional moan was sign enough. Jason nodded at Mikhail and he slowly entered, the rest filing in behind him.

They had reached the holding cells. All around him, the barred cells were filled with people, most with one or two, though some had a group of three or more. Many hugged each other as they slept fitfully, and some looked at them with amazement, unable to understand what had just crossed into their own little Hell. The people were filthy, and dressed in equally filthy clothing. The group stood in shock yet again at the sight of the inhumanity before them. Even during their war with the hated huntresses, they never would have even considered such treatment of them. This made the monster of Tartarus seem more like tame puppy dogs by comparison.

Garret immediately began to walk rapidly, snapping them out of their shock, and they swiftly moved to stay close to him, making sure he did not get out of their sight. He seemed possessed by some will, and that may very well be the case. He had come to get his sister out of this hell-hole, and now that he had the help to do it, he obviously was not going to waste any time on anything else. His mind and being was focused on that one objective, and that sole objective alone.

On and on they moved, through the twist and turns, all the way past the emaciated people, some crying in their sleep, and others too exhausted, almost dead, to be crying about anything. Garret made a final turn and then broke into a run, the group catching up to him before even a second had passed. He swerved to a stop right in front of a cell at the very end, where the shape of a definite female was curled up on the mat, shivering in the coldness of the area. Garret ran up and gently beat on the bars.

"Elizabeth, it's me! Wake up, it's me, Garret!"

The form slowly moved. She crawled up, and the dim light revealed her to be an almost exact copy of Garret, just of the opposite gender. Her eyes and hair were the same color as his, and the way she moved was very similar as well. She slowly raised her self up and looked at him with half-closed eyes, the said eyes swollen shut from a very painful sleep.

"Garret...?" a soft voice asked.

"Yes, it's me! I've come to get you out of here! These guys are going to help me!"

The girl suddenly seemed to snap to reality and realize just who was standing outside her cell. She bolted up and tried to hug him through the bars, her eyes filled with tears and her voice coming out in sobs. Garret reached his arms through and did the same attempt at hugging, though the bars sort of hampered the attempts. Jason studied the bars, trying to deduce a weakness for a kick to open them. Mikhail took over that honor though.

"Allow me," he said. He grinned at Jason and then signaled the girl to stand back. She did so and Mikhail took several deep breathes, trying to summon the strength he would have as a child of Ares. Then he lifted his foot and violently brought it upon the cell door. There was a resounding snap and the door was broken straight down, making a second thud as it hit the ground. Elizabeth bolted out of her cell and embraced her brother tightly, both of them crying.

"Garret...you came back for me!" she sobbed as she held her brother.

"Of course I would...your my sister..." Garret sobbed back, and held her for all he was worth.

Jason could not help but smile at the touching scene. He never had a sister that loved him like Elizabeth obvciously loved her twin brother. Then Dean walked up and whispered loudly to Mikhail.

"You do realize that whole charade was not exactly necessary, right?"

"Huh? What do ya' mean?"

Dean then held up a set of keys and dangled them.

"They were on that guard we took down. He had several sets on him. So that little hulk impersonation was not really necessary."

"Oh, blow it out your-"

"Guys, we've got the girl, now can we hurry up here?" Jason interrupted.

"Oh...yeah."

Elizabeth and Garret were still locked in embrace, still holding each other as tight as they were able. Jason decided to give them a moment longer to come to terms with the fact that they were reunited once more. But time was of the essence, and after that moment, he reached forward and tapped Garret's shoulder.

"Garret, I know your all happy now...but we seriously have got to get going..."

Garret slowly peeled away from his sister, and nodded.

"Okay..."

And then Jason heard something close by, the sound of keys. He looked over to see Morgan messing with the door to a nearby cell, which held two young children who seemed no more than eight or nine. Jason walked over and gently grabbed his shoulder.

"Morgan...what are you doing?"

Morgan looked at him with discontent in his eyes.

"Jason...look around you. These people need help."

Jason gave him a rare moment of understanding. These people were in truly deplorable condition, and it would behoove them to do something for them. But they could not afford to waste much time, and the far better option, in Jason's mind, was to alert the local authorities of what was going on here. They did not have have the ways that would be necessary to help them on their own.

"We cant do anything for them yet Morgan. I know you think that this is the right thing, but we seriously can't help them on our own. We need to get some higher, mortal authority on this, and let them deal with it."

"And what if these guys already have those guys on their payroll? The cops could know full well of this place and are being bribed to not touch it. Just look around ya'. These people are not going to last much longer, living in this shitty hell-hole! We have got to get as many of them as we can out of here."

Jason's hand slowly lowered from Morgan's shoulder. He looked around at the people, who mostly had awake and were standing at the bars of their cells, looking at the strange boys in wonder. He looked all around at their filthy clothes and faces. They were of many age ranges, but all were the same in one thing. The same hopeless look in their eyes. Jason slowly looked to the ground. Then he looked up at the ceiling, or rather past it...then he turned to look at Garret and his sister.

Jason had survived a horrendous abuse at the hand of his mother and older sister. His mind flashed back to the things they would do to him, things that still haunted his dreams and awoke him in the middle of the night. He remembered the feeling of hopelessness, the feeling that there was no light at the end of the tunnel for him, and that he would die, cold and abandoned, if not for the actions of Orion that cold and rainy night. Ever since then, he had tried to do the same for those who had eventually become part of the brotherhood, and he always loved to see the fire of hope in their eyes...

The look in Garret's eyes said it all...He turned to give the order to Morgan...

SMASH!

Mikhail had decided to take matters into his own hands and had placed a kick right at the cell of the two kids, breaking their door down. They squealed and joined Garret and Elizabeth, looking back at the boys. Mikhail turned back to Jason and Morgan, staring in disbelief.

"Well, ya' guys were takin' your dear sweet time..."

Jason shrugged. Morgan took that as his cue and began to go down the rows of cells, unlocking one side as Darren unlocked the other. Dean stayed near the assembling group of former slaves, as a kind of rallying point. When all were done, Jason guessed they had a group of between sixty or seventy people, a rather large load for five boys to escort.

Jason had to think for a moment about the reality of what they were doing. This was a large group of people that they had just become responsible for, and now they were going to have to get them all out of here. The only way out was the way they came into this building, and then there would be the open ground of the property until they reached the fence. And then they would have to climb that fence, which would take some more time, especially in their abused bodies.

This was not going to be easy...

"All right," Jason said in a loud whisper. "Is everyone feeling capable of running at least moderately fast? And does everyone feel that they can climb a fence? We can't leave through the main gate, that is sure to have a good amount of guards."

They all nodded, though Jason swore he could see some doubting themselves. They had good spirit, but what he was asking of them may be too much. They had been living in Hell and would probably not be able to move as fast as the situation warranted. But Jason knew that someone who saw freedom at the other end of the tunnel was someone who did not want to get left behind, and so he took a deep breathe and began to give his orders.

"Dean, take point. Make sure the way is clear before we move. Darren and Morgan, you will go once about half of them are outside. Me and Mikhail will bring up the rear. Rally outside in the shadows, and I'll give you guys further instructions...now move!"

The people hastened to follow Dean out of the cell block. Jason saw them paying attention with ample ability, and he was impressed with the resolve that the freed people were showing. They obviously saw their chance for freedom and were not going to be left behind. Jason waited until the last person exited the cell block, and then nodded to Mikhail, who followed him out. They followed the trail of people running out of the building, and ran into the cold night air.

The horde of freed people were huddled in the dark corner cast by the building they had just left, the building where the nightmares haunted them, and they spent their time praying for salvation. Many of them no doubt wondered if these strange boys were just the salvation that they were hoping for. Jason looked into their cold and hungry eyes for a moment before giving more instructions, this time taking the risk of raising his voice slightly.

"Follow Dean toward the fence line. Dean, lead them to where we entered from. Try to stay low and not make a lot of noise as you run. When we get there, Dean will go first, and then will run a bit into the woods. He will give you guys a signal to know where to go if you can't see him. Dean, you still got some flares?"

Dean nodded. Jason swallowed hard and gave the order.

"All right folks, move it!"

The horde of people began to run for the fence where the group had entered, and it was at this moment that Jason knew that thewy were all vulnerable. All it would take was for an armed guard to come out and see the mass of people running. He could draw his weapon and open fire, and even one shot would be needed to alert the others that were surely within the other buildings. Jason brought up the rear, silently goading the slower ones on, for they could afford no extremely slow people to bog the rest down.

It was probably the longest run that he had ever done, or at least it felt like it. The darkness was thankfully darker. There were no guards that he could see, at least for the moment, and the people seemed to be making goo time getting to the fence, following Dean. When Dean got there he paused, looking back at Jason for any further instructions. The last of the people caught up and began to catch their breathe whiler Jason moved through them to tell Dean what was needed of him next.

"Alright, get a little ways in, and then light one of your flares. Folks, when you see that light of his, get over to him. He'll lead you guys to a safe place, at least for the moment."

Dean climbed the fence with expert skill. He quickly hopped down and ran off into the dark woods. The people began to climb as well, and that was when all hell broke loose.

"There they are! They're trying to get away!"

A gruff voice yelled something in the distance. Within seconds, a distant alarm was sounded, and Jason could hear dozens of feet coming right for them. he swore every curse word he could imagine as he threw off his coat and drew his bow.

"Son of a bitch, I knew it wasn't going to be this easy..."

The people heard the noise of the approaching guards, and more than a few let out cries of terror. They began to climb faster, but it still was not fast enough. People jumped on the fence right after one got a good distance up it, and climbed as hard as they could, for their very freedom, if not their life, was now depending upon it. Jason kept glancing back toward the guard house, and saw the shapes of at least two dozen guards coming right at them. Jason notched an arrow and raised it to fire. He picked out a target about a hundred and a half yards away, took a deep breathe, and let loose.

The arrow sailed right for it's target and he clearly scored a hit. Jason had not time to acknowledge his fine archery, as the people were still struggling to get up the fence. The abuse they had gone through had drained them physically, and their cries of fear tore at the stoic hearts of Jason and Mikhail, who had come to support his lieutenant.

"Come on, goddamn it!" Jason roared. The people seemed to get the picture of just what the situation was and climbed faster, but it still was not enough. Those guards would catch them pretty quick. The last few people were still waiting to get over the fence. The guards came even closer, and both Mikhail and Jason fired once more, dropping two more guards. But it would not matter how many they killed in the precious little time left, for by that time the rest would be on them with their rifles and pistols.

And that was when Mikhail shoved Jason back toward the fence. The move caught him completely off guard, and he glared at Mikhail, who simply looked at him with a grim determination.

"Mikhail...just what the hell do you think you are doing!" Mikhail stepped in front of Jason, that act alone showing demonstrating something that was immediately putting a tightness in Jason's gut...

"Listen man. You have got to get those people away from here. There is no way that they can get out if someone doesn't buy you a little time..."

Jason was dumbstruck for a moment, and then the horrible realization came over him. He wouldn't dare...

"Mikhail...what ever your thinking..."

"I think I said what I was thinking enough, now get out of here!"

"Mikhail!"

"Go man...I got this..."

He turned and Gave Jason his cocky grin, the grin that only a child of Ares would have. Jason felt his gut tighten even more as he reached forward and gripped Mikhail's shoulder tightly, giving him a strong, yet brotherly grip.

"Find peace...brother..."

Mikhail gripped his shoulder just as much, just as the final person managed to clear the fence. And the solder were almost in spitting distance. Why they had not fired already was anybody's guess.

"Find peace, my brother," Mikhail responded, and turned to face the black clad monsters. Jason turned and basically jumped to the top of the fence, adrenaline rushing into his legs giving him strength. He was on the other side and running, heading for the signal light of Dean's flare in the distance.

Mikhail turned to see the guards forming just twenty yards away. His bow was useless now, as he would be gunned down before he could reload. He would be gunned down anyway he chose to fight, and he would not get much of a chance to do that. But he was buying a crucial few second with this final stand. He drew his sword with a resounding swoosh, and faced the guards, who were rasing their weapons. Mikhail grinned...children of Ares lived for these moments. He raised his sword.

"What are my final words? oh yeah...fuck you!" he charged.

He rushed forward, a final battle cry in his throat. The guards raised their weapons and fired, the bullets striking the armor beneath Mikhail's coat. Mikhail felt the pain of the rounds smacking into him, but he completely ignored it as he rushed forward. The guard in front of him managed to put three rounds into his armored chest, the bullets impact being blunted by the armor. Mikhail drove his sword into the guards neck, and then tore it out, whirling to strike at another guard. As he ran him through as well, The rest of the guards kept their distance, and then delivered a mass of fire, several rounds going through Mikhail lower throat, where it met the shoulders.

Mikhail fell to the ground, blood following out of his mouth...and that same mouth forming a final smile, in his last moments. Mikhail died satisfied...he died a member of the brotherhood. There was nothing more anyone could have asked of him...

Jason felt the final volley of rounds as he ran. Due to the darkness, no one saw the tears that began to flow down his cheeks, and that was exactly as Jason wanted it...