"So, everyone knows the plan, right?" Drew asked the group.
Everyone nodded.
"I can't believe that after tonight we'll finally be free!" Ava smiled at the thought.
"As long as everything goes according to plan." Drew said hopefully.
"How long have we even been down here?" Myra asked curiously.
"I lost count after six months, but I bet it's almost been a year." Oscar said.
"Only a year?!" Ava gasped.
"Shh!" Oscar shushed her. "You don't want anyone to hear us!"
"Sorry!" She whispered sheepishly.
The four young teenagers were huddled in a circle in a small space they secretly created with alchemy to discuss their plan of escape. Normally, creating their little hideout would be no small feat, but with Oscar's exceptional alchemical abilities, it was made possible.
They had done this several times before to meet up when they needed someone to talk to or to continue working on their plan.
"Make sure no one dies tonight." Drew told them. "We lost too many already." His eyes were solemn and the others looked away sadly as well, remembering all the others who did not make it.
Myra traced a faded scar on her arm with her right hand. Her body was covered with bruises and faded wounds. But she wasn't the only one. Drew, Oscar and Ava all had scars of their own. Scars that reminded them of the individual pain they each had to endure. Some will fade over time, while some will stay as a reminder of their pain forever. Physically or psychologically.
The clothes on their backs were thin and worn. It never provided warmth in the cold underground. They were prisoners in this dark prison.
A warm hand covering her smaller one suddenly dragged Myra away from her thoughts. "You ok, My?" Drew asked, concern laced in his electric blue orbs.
Myra looked up, realizing that Oscar and Ava were also staring at her with similar concern.
These are her friends. Despite all of the hardships they each faced, Myra made three important friends who became a big part of her life. If only they had met under different circumstances.
"Sorry, guys." Her demeanor suddenly changing to a determined one. "I guess I'm just excited to get out of here." Oscar smirked while Drew and Ava mirrored her determined expression with smiles of their own.
"Ok, so despite our cells, this room is the only place we can go freely without the homunculi knowing. This whole place is under lockdown and we need to get to the surface and escape without being detected." Oscar began, getting down to business.
"And they used a Philosopher's Stone to ensure that we couldn't use alchemy to escape." Ava continued.
Despite a Philosopher's Stone preventing the use of alchemy to escape the walls that encased them, the four teens had discovered a flaw. Drew had found a small "soft" spot in the ground where the Philosopher's Stone didn't quite cover. The stone was constantly being used to secure a large area underground, there was bound to be a weak spot. Through a great amount of care, the four teens managed to dig further underground, always making sure to cover the entrance to the hole without getting caught. For months they dug further underground and then changed the direction of the tunnel until they were finally out of the Philosopher's Stone's territory. They had discovered a sewer and they were going to use that as their escape route. Each night they only had a limited amount of time before someone came to check on them in their cells.
"Right." Myra nodded. "So once we make it to the edge of the tunnel, Ava and I will create an exit from the tunnel and into the sewer using our alchemy, while Drew and Oscar take the precautions to make sure it's safe and we're not walking into a trap of some kind."
"Alright," Drew said. "It's been about 7 minutes since we were checked on. We have 53 minutes until they come again so we need to be above ground and safe before then. They're bound to come looking for us once they realize we're gone."
The four were stealthy and quick, making their way through the tunnel and sealing it's entrance as they've done many times before to prevent any alarms.
It took them 28 minutes to reach the edge of the tunnel. Myra and Ava looked at each other and nodded while Drew and Oscar watched their backs.
The two females pulled out small pieces of chalk hidden in their clothes. Drawing a transmutation circle on the wall to the sewer, they activated the circle. The second the wall came down, Drew and Oscar moved ahead to survey the area.
Their bare feet splashed in the shallow sewer water as the boys confirmed that it was safe.
The four began walking down the sewers. The only sound was the echo of their feet trudging through the mucky waters. Despite attempting to act calm, each of them were itching with nervousness. It had been a whole year since any of them had inhaled fresh air, felt the sun on their skin or the cool wind in their hair. It might have only been a year, but a year of torture and training underground caused these simple memories of security to fade. They missed the warmth of a comfortable bed, the satisfaction of eating a full meal and all the friendly people they passed on the streets. But most of all, they missed their family and friends and all the memories they cherished with them. To them, one year felt like an eternity.
"How much time do we have until someone checks on us?" Ava asked, trying to rid the torturous silence.
"About 19 minutes." Drew replied.
"We need to hurry and get out of here." Myra said.
Ava opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off when an explosion went off behind them.
The four teenagers spun around to meet eyes with Envy and Lust.
"Well, well, Father is going to be pretty mad to find out you four escaped. Why don't you come back and we might overlook this." Lust snarled. Despite her bargain, the evil glint in her eyes meant that no one would walk away unharmed if they were to go back.
"You four have some nerve!" Envy yelled. "After all the hospitality we gave, you decide to—"
"Shut up!" Oscar yelled, already in a battle ready position.
"We're done being your useless toys." Drew glared. He had a piece of chalk in hand and Myra realized he had drawn a transmutation circle on the wall when Lust and Envy were talking.
"Why you—!" But Envy didn't get to finish his sentence before Drew activated the circle, caving in the wall to separate the two groups.
"Run!" He told them.
They wasted no time running further down the sewer, water splashing in various directions.
They heard a noise behind them and Myra stopped to draw another circle on the concrete wall. She created a wall to separate the two groups once more in order to give them more time to find an exit.
"That's not going to hold them for long!" She told them.
Drew gritted his teeth. 'How did they know?! We should've had more time!'
"They had suspicions that we were up to something." Myra said while they ran, her gaze focusing on the path in front of her.
"That's why we didn't have enough time." Ava concluded.
Drew looked ahead and spotted a latter to the surface. "Quick!" He pointed to the latter. "We need to get to the surface!"
The next few moments happened in a blur. Lust and Envy caught up to them. There were several transmutation circles activated as a short battle proceeded. Myra didn't know what happened, but the walls began caving in from every direction. Probably a result from a large amount of alchemy being used in a confined space. Myra yelled at Oscar and Ava to get to the latter. Drew was engaged in a battle with Envy and didn't have time to move. Myra ran and pushed him out of the way in time.
Everyone was completely separated.