Here we go 16...x
Pain, hot and white ripped through Rachel's consciousness. She coughed back into reality, as her ribs burned. She was lay on the floor of a brown room.
"Rachel!" Alan's voice called. As did Leo and Carl's.
The voices swam just in front as she sat up. A growl of pain ripping up her throat. Her ribs were on fire. Her whole body a dull ache.
"You ok?" Carl asked.
"Mugh…" she mumbled.
"I'll take that as a no," Leo said.
Rachel took a deep breathe despite the pain that ran along her sides. A smell reached her nose, a new smell other than the blood and fear she was now used to. Fresh air. Horrible polluted dirty London air, but air from outside.
"air," She muttered, trying to stand. The three men around her helped her to her feet.
As Rachel stood, her weight felt heavier on her feet, she looked down at herself. Her belt, with all it's weapons on was on her waist.
Her rucksack, the one she came with was sat in the corner. Ignoring the pain on her body, Rachel unsteadily walked towards it, and put it on her back.
Then, a familiar voice that haunted Rachel's every nightmare came over the speakers.
"You, are the first to try an escape," It said, "And you made us realise something in our contracts," There was a rustling of papers, over the speakers, and then read out, " In a case of an attempted escape, the escapees must be given the chance to prematurely finish the course at Hollow by completing a test, to grant their freedom." It finished. "The only problem is, if you don't get, out chances are, you're going to die in the tests." Drake's laugh echoed in the room.
"Good Luck," He sneered.
Rachel looked around the room. She couldn't see a way out any where. She checked all around, her companions doing the same. Rachel decided to follow her nose, taking a painful breath, as her chest expanded with air her ribs seared.
She looked up. A ledge, at the very top. Maybe 100ft up, light was peeking over the ledge. That's where the smell was.
"Guys," Rachel murmured. The three of them followed her gaze upwards.
"How do we get there?" Alan asked.
"I've got wings," Rachel muttered.
"Rest of us don't," Leo stated.
Carl was pacing the room, looking intently at the floor. He stopped.
"Guys, look here," He had seen a small metal chain on the floor. He bent down to touch it. This was a test, no way was it going to be this easy. Alan and Rachel thought this at the same time. They both yelled out.
"Carl, no!…"
"Don't!…"
Too late. He bent and tugged on the chain, but as he pulled, spikes shot from the opposite wall, deadly aimed with a trail of almost invisible razor wire behind it. Carl didn't stand a chance each spike pounded into his body pinning him to the wall, he couldn't move, but he was still alive. Groaning in agony, he was going to die either way. His friends watched in horror, as he slowly bled to death. From the opposite wall where the spikes had shot from, there was a loud clunk. Several planks of wood were dropped to the ground.
Rachel walked to the planks warily. In case of more danger.
Planks? What are these for? She thought.
Look at the Razor wire, like a platform, make a platform. The demon told her in her head.
Carl.
Is Dying anyway. The demon said. Rachel thought she could hear a sense of sadness.
Rachel picked up the planks of wood. Took them to where Leo and Alan stood, still in shock.
Then, she made her way to the dying blowfish.
"Gungh……" He groaned.
Tears springing to her eyes Rachel stood to the side of him, avoiding the wire.
"I can make the pain stop," She whispered. "I can make it go away,"
Carl didn't speak, Rachel saw the understanding in his eyes.
"El…Eleanor. Eleanor Isabelle Edwards." He groaned.
"T…Tell her, tell her I…I wasn't sc…scared."
"You're a hero, a true hero," Rachel whispered, leaning forward and pressing her lips gently to his forehead, the fin on his head slowly going down. She took her gun from her hip, placing it at his head, he smiled,
"Th…Thank y…you, my…C…Captain," He whispered, as Rachel pulled the trigger. The bang echoed around the room.
Rachel wiped away her tears, as she walked away from the dead fish. Taking a deep breath. She turned to Alan and Leo, Alan who was silently letting tears down his face and Leo, who had his head in his hands, took a ragged breath and then bent down picking up one of the planks, went towards the wire and placed it on top.
"Alan," Rachel said quietly to the man. He looked at Rachel with agonised eyes, and then nodded and picked up a plank. The three of them continued in silence. The platform was about 10ft of the ground, deadly razor wire filled the gap from the floor.
"What now?" Alan asked.
"We go up," Leo said solemnly.
"What trap do you reckon is up there?" Rachel asked. There was no answer, but the possibility of the same end as Carl, kept them all still for at least 10 minutes.
"I'll go first," Rachel said. Leo put his hand out to stop her.
"No one else can get up," Rachel said, she could fly up there.
"Yes they can," Leo said. Taking a few steps back and then couching into a pounce shape. Like a cat stalking its prey. He slowly took another step back and then launched himself upwards. Landing safely on the platform. He looked around, there was another ring slightly higher up, but he had no plans to touch that.
"I'll go up, and then you throw this to me and I can get you up," Rachel said, passing him the rucksack.
Rachel bent her knees, opened her wings and launched upwards, when she tried to flap her burgundy wings her ribs set alight. Agony burned through her, every instinct telling her to stop. She reached for the end of the platform, her fingers reaching out and gripping on, she felt Leo's hands on hers, her legs dangling dangerously close to the wire. The thick leather soles of her boots, found a footing on top the wire, not tearing on contact. Her ribs screaming at her, Leo helped drag her up. She lay on her back on the platform, tears of pain pricking at her eyes as she tried to stop the fire in her body. That's why they broke her ribs, flying was agony, she couldn't make it 10ft let alone 100.
"How's Al going to get up?"
"Rope. In my, ruck…sack." Rachel panted.
Alan throw the rucksack upwards and on the fourth attempt Leo caught it.
As Alan was pulled onto the platform, Rachel was regaining some of her composure.
"Why do you have rope in your bag," Leo asked. Rachel would have shrugged but that was to painful, still not trusting her voice she merely shook her head, no.
"Who wants to press that one?" Alan said, looking to the next chain. Rachel looked up at the walls, there were little chains about ten foot above one another, all the way till about ten foot below the exit.
Rachel stood with difficulty, and walked to the chain,
"Rachel, no!" Leo called.
"It's the only way up, and I'm the one least likely to die," She said, Pulling the chain, there was a noise of protesting metal, and then a sound from above caught their attentions. A huge metal barrier fell towards Rachel, who backed herself into the wall, praying for no spikes to jet out. The barrier fell between Rachel, Alan and Leo. Separating her from them, it then began to topple towards her, the wire and handmade platform holding up the barrier. It fell towards Rachel who let out a scream.
"Rachel!" Alan called, the two men couldn't see past the barrier but could only hear her scream.
Rachel opened her eyes, the barrier had stopped by the wall, making a ramp up towards the next chain.
She walked around the barrier, and saw Alan and Leo.
"Are you okay?" Leo asked, Rachel nodded mutely.
"My whole life flashed before my eyes," She muttered. "I'm a stubborn bitch," She reflected, they let out a small smile as the head up the ramp.
They finally reached the last chain. With minor injury, Alan had dislocated his shoulder but they had popped it back in and he was alright. Leo had broken his wrist, and Rachel was still in agony when she moved.
Alan made his way to the chain.
"Ready," He said, both Leo and Rachel nodding. Above them a platform slid across. Small holes in the base for them to climb through. Rachel was near one, so she reached up and began to pull herself through, just as she pulled her shoulders through the gap, another barrier slid across, she dropped her head quickly, where her head had been, lay the barrier. Enough space to crawl between them.
Rachel pulled her self back up, and crawled between the two platforms, in the second one there was also gaps, Rachel fired a shot through it first. And like she guessed the third platform slid across. After the fifth platform, Rachel sot through but nothing happened. She pulled herself through, and stood warily on the platform. Alan and Leo close behind her. Rachel walked across, the stone ledge was a couple of fett above them, the fresh air making the three of them almost delirious, Rachel reached out to grab the ledge, but on contact spikes erupted from it, shooting in every direction, like the first chain, they shot through Rachel's flesh. Alan and Leo watched in horror.
But the spikes had no way near the same aim, Rachel dodged the majority of them. That is until one sailed through her waist, that was enough to distract her one then crashing through her foot, right the way through to the other side pinning her to the rock. Rachel couldn't move, whenever she did, the razor wire cut deeper.
"pocket," She growled to Alan and Leo. "I'm not dying here. Not here, not now."
Alan went in her pocket and found a pair of plyers. As gently as he could he cut the wires. Then, pulled them out. Rachel pulled herself onto the stone ledge. Leo behind her, holding her weight.
Alan followed. In front of them was the way out, easy as.
Rachel turned, smirked up at the camera. Showed it a small device that would have been on her belt.
"Bye, Bye," She laughed. She threw the device high into the air, before yelling run to her friends. They bolted through the door. Ignoring all pain Rachel kept running, behind her in the brown room the device she had thrown into the air was sailing downwards, beeping quietly. As it hit the platform, it gave one loud beep before self-destructing.
The force of the explosion, knocked Rachel Alan and Leo of their feet. Heat radiating the whole area. The noise deafening. Rachel lay on her back in agony, but the fresh air around her was making her giddy. She sat up, the pain must have peaked because Rachel could feel her body becoming heavy and numb.
The police would be coming soon, this wasn't over, not by a long shot, but for now. Rachel was out of hell. She was free.
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