Chapter Twenty Seven

The Hole

JANUS

The "Hole", as the Deputy Warden had called it, wasn't really a hole. It was a hole filled with water. A deep well. The idea was that the hole would be empty at first, and then water from the river would wash into the well at certain times of the day, filling it up and forcing the prisoners to tread water to stay alive.

Then, hours later, the water would drain from the well via some sort of filtration system, which would be purified and provided to the prisoners and the guards to be drank or for bathing. However, the guards were using "The Hole" as a makeshift place for solitary confinement which was just another form of legalised torture.

The horrible thing was that once the prisoners got exhausted enough, they would simply drown and die. And that was what Janus was afraid of. It wasn't that he didn't have the stamina, but it was because this situation he found himself in right now was nightmarishly similar to one he had experienced during his childhood. He had survived, of course, but it had left him scarred as a child, and the trauma was coming back to him now like a flood tide.

Right now the water hadn't flowed into the well yet, so they were still on dry ground, albeit at the bottom of the dark well. At the top of the well, a large metal grate with thick bars covered the opening, which prevented the prisoners from escaping. It would also serve as handles for the prisoners to hold on to, to desperately keep their heads above the water when the river flooded the well.

Janus had tried to scale the walls in hopes of forcing the metal grate open, but the stone walls were too slimy with moss and algae growing that his hands and feet could not find purchase. And so, the only thing they could do now was wait. Hours had presumably gone by since Tracy and himself had been tossed into "The Hole", so the water had to be coming soon. In fact, any time now.

"Hey." Tracy broke the silence upon stirring from slumber. She had been taking a long nap after having been thrown into "the Hole" with him. "You don't look so good."

"No," Janus tried to feign calmness. He tried to hide his hands which were trembling ever so slightly. "I'm fine."

"Nah, you ain't." Tracy said perceptively. For someone who was this blunt in speech, she was surprisingly sharp with her eyes. Either that, or his fear was really showing on his face and body language. "Wanna talk?"

"Not in the mood right now." Janus avoided eye contact with her. "Let's just try and get through this in one piece."

"It helps to talk about it." Tracy scooted over to where Janus was seated, and to his annoyance, settled down beside him. "Besides, it's not like there's anything better to do now, is there?"

Janus sighed in defeat.

"So?" She probed tirelessly.

I give up. "If you must know," Janus began. "I've been in a place like this before."

"You grew up in a prison, right? What was it called again? Modelock?"

"Moordeloch." Janus corrected. "Off the coast from Bruvesqk, my home town. I was born in prison and raised by my mother. After she was murdered by another prisoner, I killed him. And for that the guards beat me and after they grew tired, I got thrown into a well like this one."

"When was that?"

"I was eleven."

"Oh, shit." Tracy muttered under her breath.

"The well they threw me in filled up with water every six hours, and back then I didn't know how to swim. I almost drowned a few times." His face twitched at the horrid memory. "I had to force myself to learn to survive. Whenever it was dry, they would throw in food as if I was an animal, and even then it wasn't enough to sustain me. There were so many times I almost passed out from exhaustion and drowned."

"How long did they leave you in that well?" Tracy asked. Her tone was genuinely sympathetic and there was no trace of her trademark mock insensitivity.

"Four months." Janus recounted, the painfully memory seared into the back of his mind, now being brought to the forefront and confronted. "The guards were shocked that I was still alive. Many adults died after two. Eventually, they fished me out and threw me back into gen-pop."

"Holy…" Tracy whispered. "I'm sorry. That must have been hell. Your childhood must have been hell."

"It was."

"How did you survive all of that?"

"I had to tell myself that I had to hold on. That one day, I would get out eventually and see the outside world." Janus said. He remembered that determination and fire he had as a teenager, enduring the beatings, torture and psychological torment, all so that he could escape one day when the time was right and he was ready. All so that he could have a life outside prison.

"And you did." Tracy said. "You got out and became Prometheus. The most feared mercenary in Bruvesqk."

"I suppose I did."

"You got out once. You can do it again." Tracy flashed a grin at him. "We will get out of here."

"Elsa was right. You really know how to maintain your optimism."

Tracy shrugged. "I prefer to think of it as not worrying too much about things. They work out eventually, for better or for worse."

"In Jordan's case, it was worse." Janus pursed his lips.

"Right…" Tracy trailed off.

"I'm sorry about Jordan." Janus said. "He was…a good lad."

"That he was." Tracy agreed. "Too quiet by far, but the bravest of us lot."

"Maybe I could have done something." Janus was surprised that he was allowing himself to be vulnerable to Tracy. Normally, he wasn't one to reveal his thoughts or regrets to anyone. Maybe being in solitary confinement really brings it all out of a person. "I was there. Maybe I could have moved faster."

"Don't be stupid." Tracy said. "You don't have powers. You're just an ordinary guy. No offence."

"None taken."

"There's only so much one man can do." Tracy said. "And you've done enough for us. You've atoned by becoming one of us."

"Have I, really?"

Tracy raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, look at where we are?" Janus waved a hand at their surroundings. "We're stuck in Stormtide, after everything we've done. Which really makes me wonder. Am I really on the right side? Or am I still a villain who deserves to rot here? And don't get me wrong. I want out of this damn prison, but a part of me feels the need to suffer for all my crimes. For all the killing and bloodshed."

"Now you sound like a cheap penny opera protagonist." Tracy snorted. "The great Prometheus, questioning his actions?"

"Now that's offensive."

"Don't be an idiot." Tracy said, her old insensitive nature shining through again. "Bloody hell! After everything you've been through with us, how can you still be a villain?"

"It's…difficult to explain."

"Like hell it is."

"It just feels like I'm not sure if I'm on the right path." Janus admitted. "After the past few months of working with you guys, I'm questioning my intentions. I really don't know if I'm doing the right thing."

At this, Tracy snorted with laughter, the sounds echoing up through the well. Janus found himself quite puzzled and annoyed. Had she gone mad? Why was she laughing at him now?

"Thanks for laughing at my vulnerability." He said exasperatedly.

"No, no. You don't get it." Tracy gasped, trying to stop the giggles from escaping. "It's…it's so ironic, you know?"

Janus narrowed his eyes. "I don't follow."

"I said the same thing, Janus." Tracy finally stopped laughing. "You know I was a sea witch, right?"

He nodded.

"Back then when you were still working for Ingrid, Melody and I were down in the ocean trying to find the 'Qa'nneth'. Remember that little trinket?"

"Yes." Janus said dryly. The 'Qa'nneth' was an amulet that could cancel out Ingrid's black magic, and the witch had been furious that her powers had stopped working when she had been so close to her goals of finding the mystical 'Eternal King' down in the catacombs of Ancient Hyutreno. "How could I forget?"

"Right. Believe it or not, I was still relatively new to the gang back then. The Warriors did welcome me with open arms, in spite of my past as a sea witch and being the daughter of Melody's old enemy." Tracy explained. "But that didn't stop me from questioning myself. Was I really on the right path? And confronting the Pilgrim in Quodrun, I was so afraid that one day I would turn out to be like her. A witch.

"So down into the ocean I went with Melody, and we went to the trading post known as Eiden. It's a small village under the sea." She shrugged when she saw Janus raise a brow. "Yes, there are civilisations under the sea too."

"Interesting."

"And well, fate willed it to be so, I suppose. My brother, Harry, was living in Eiden at that point in time. He was a crook, back then. A ring leader of some protection racket. Don't worry, he eventually turned away from his criminal ways and went on the straight and narrow - I think. But it's what he said to me that struck a chord."

"And what did he say?" Janus asked.

"'I'm just shocked that you became a do-gooder. I always thought that you would become like Mother.'" Tracy mimicked her brother's voice and snorted. "Hah. You think I'm insensitive? You should talk to Harry."

"He sounds like an ass."

"He said that to hurt me, really." Tracy went on. "But then before we parted ways, he told me the truth. He told me that I'd come a long way and that he was proud that I'd become one of the good guys." She chuckled. "That's when I knew, I suppose. That I really was on the right path. Because I changed. I was no longer the sea witch that my brother remembered. And that was enough to inspire him to be better too.

"So I guess what I'm saying is," Tracy looked into Janus' eyes. "You're doing better than you think you are. You don't see how much you've changed, but the rest of us have. Don't doubt it. You're not a criminal anymore. You're on the right path, just like I am. I mean, come on. If a sea witch like me could end up being a veteran of the Warriors?" she grinned at him. "Trust me. A year ago, I wouldn't have cared less if you drowned in this hole."

"Thanks." Janus muttered.

"You're alright, Janus." Tracy punched his arm lightly. "Hell, we'll get out of this. And we're going to win. We're the good guys, after all."

Janus grinned back at her. "You're not so bad yourself."

Tracy shrugged. "Can't help it. I amaze myself sometimes."

He chuckled. As rough as the former sea witch was, her words really did hold enough truth to offer him a fresh perspective. Perhaps he really was on the right path, albeit he was in a hole right now.

"Oh bloody hell," Tracy squawked, jumping to her feet. "The water."

Swiftly, Janus got up and looked at the ground. Sure enough, water was beginning to pour in through an inlet at the base of the wall, quickly filling up the well.

"You can swim, right?" Janus asked as the water reached their knees.

She barked a laugh. "You idiot. I was a sea witch, remember?"

Oh. Janus suddenly felt very stupid.

The water reached his waist, and continued to rise fast. It's freezing, he thought as he shivered. The cold winter climate really wasn't doing them any favours. Teeth chattering, he glanced at the metal grate above the opening of the well.

"When the water gets high enough, grab the bars." He told Tracy. "We can stop treading water and save our strength."

She nodded, shivering too. The water was now at their necks.

Janus looked up at the opening, where the faint light of an oil lamp from outside filtered through the holes. It was evening. He was supposed to be executing the escape plan, but here he was, stuck in a well. He cursed as the water rose above his head, and he began to tread water. Eyes flicking over to Tracy, he was relieved to see that she seemed to be in her natural habitat. Former sea witch, after all.

Very soon, the water carried them very near the top of the well, where the water stopped rising. The two of them grabbed the bars of the grate, and held on tightly. They both lifted their heads high, breathing fast and deep as the water sloshed about, threatening to drown them both.

"Don't let go." He told Tracy when he had caught his breath.

"Course not." She said.

Now all they had to do was wait the tide out. Soon, the well would drain, but he didn't know when. It could be an hour. Or two. Or six…

There was a sound coming from outside. Janus strained his ears to make it out above the sloshing of the water inside the well. A few voices were screaming, and there were thuds. It sounded like…fighting.

ELSA

The riot was on. After working out the finer details with the rest of the Warriors, they told Monco and Venetia to help spread the word among their new allies. Elsa herself went with Deirdre to tell Petra and her people the plan. The plan, simply put, was to cause a huge distraction that would keep the guards occupied.

In the confusion, Elsa, Deirdre, Maui, Venetia and Monco would go to "The Hole" where Janus and Tracy were being held. Then, they would make it seem as though they were just simply rioters bringing the fight into this part of the block. They would knock the prison guards out, and use their keys to free Janus and Tracy. It would be perfect cover, really. How they would account for Janus' disappearance, Elsa and the others agreed they would worry about that later. Right now, the goal was to make sure Janus could escape from Stormtide Island in the chaos.

Elsa had been the one to start it all. After dinner, she had drawn in a long breath and gotten down to it. Conventionally, she was never one to shout and draw attention to herself, but in this case, it was necessary. She had yelled something loud enough to get the guards' attention as well as the Deputy Warden's, and then from there the prisoners had answered her call and the mess hall had descended into utter chaos.

The hope was that the Warden would notice that she had been the one to instigate the riot, and call her into his office. Then she would have an opportunity to learn more about the disappearances of the sorcerers and also more about the mysterious men in cloaks. It was a long shot but it was their best chance at learning who was really behind the disappearances.

To her surprise, even Jade, who had been rather sullen and subdued for the past few days, had joined in the riot once it began. Elsa suspected that the girl needed to vent her anger and negative emotions somewhere, and this would be a good outlet. She told Maui to watch over her, however, just in case. But it was a good sign. Jade was beginning to heal.

Suffice to say, the riot was spectacular. Even better than Elsa could have hoped for. She had made it sufficiently clear though, that there was to be no killing, with the threat that anyone who killed would not be granted safe passage to Swynvort after the breakout. From what she could tell, the prisoners were keeping things controlled - as controlled as a prison riot could be anyway.

The riot would eventually be quelled by the guards and their excessive force, but that was all part of the plan. Elsa knew she just needed enough time to free Janus and for him to execute his escape strategy.

When she was sure that all the guards were sufficiently occupied, Elsa beckoned to Deirdre, Venetia and Monco who had stuck close to her in anticipation of the throngs of shoving and jostling humanity.

"Come on!" She shouted, though she was quite certain they couldn't hear her above the yelling and screaming from both sides.

Thankfully though, they seemed to understand what she was saying. They followed her through the sea of prisoners clashing with the guards, abstaining from breaking out into smaller fights of their own. Sticking close to one another, they emerged from the mess hall into the corridor, which was a lot less crowded. Down the hallway, there were a few prisoners fighting with guards, but none seemed to take notice of the small group of inmates.

"Where's the Hole?" Elsa turned to Venetia.

"That way." Venetia led the way, and they sprinted down the hallway. Turning left, they entered a separate cell block, and encountered a few guards that were rushing to the mess hall to provide reinforcements, however futile that might be.

Maui and Monco took the lead, using their big frames to their advantage and ramming into four of the guards and bulling them out of the way. Deirdre and Venetia each took on a guard by themselves, while Elsa fended off a baton blow by another guard. She faded beneath the man's arm, and threw her weight against the man's midsection. He doubled over and was dragged to the ground by her. Breathing fast, Elsa snatched the baton out of his hand and tossed it aside. She straddled him, clenching her fist.

"Stay down," Elsa hissed. "For your own sake." Before the man could respond, she punched him across the cheek and he fell unconscious.

Her heart beating sporadically in her chest, she got up. Hand to hand combat had never really been her speciality, but she didn't really have an option since her magic wasn't working now.

She found that Deirdre, Maui, Monco and Venetia finished dealing with the guards, and they all hurriedly moved on down the next corridor. Winding down another few passages, Venetia who was in the lead finally skidded to a halt. The former thief peeked out from behind the wall, checking the block.

"First door on the right." She hissed. "Three guards."

"We have to make it look like we're passing through. Bulldoze your way through them and make sure they're out cold." Elsa reminded the small band, who all nodded in agreement.

With a loud cry, Venetia rushed out from behind the corridor, joined by Monco, Maui, and behind them followed Elsa and Deirdre. It didn't take long to deal with the three startled guards. Venetia bent over one of them and fished out a bunch of keys, jangling them in front of Elsa with a grin.

"We got them." Venetia was all smiles.

"Good, good." Elsa heaved a sigh of relief. The plan was working.

Venetia jiggled one of the keys in the lock until something clicked and turned. The old steel door creaked open, and Elsa rushed in with Deirdre and Venetia.

The cell was cramp, cold and all but empty, except for "The Hole" in the ground. Looking down, Elsa saw that it wasn't exactly a hole. It was a well filled near to the brim with water, and Janus and Tracy were clinging to the rusty metal grate for dear life.

"Janus! Tracy!" Elsa knelt down in front of the grate. "We're here to get you out!"

"We figured," Tracy chortled, her head above water but hair dripping wet. "You guys made a lot of noise coming in."

Venetia turned another key in the lock of the metal grate, and together, the three girls popped open the heavy thing and swung it aside. It clanged against the stone floor with a loud crash, bringing about cringes from all those around.

They helped to pull Tracy and Janus out of the freezing water, and the two of them lay on the ground, breathing hard, clothes soaked through with seawater. Elsa watched as Janus was the first to get up, while Deirdre helped Tracy to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Elsa asked him anxiously.

"I'm alright." There was a tiny hint of shakiness in his voice which came at a surprise to her, but he quickly regained control.

She couldn't help herself, and drew him into a hug in spite of the fact that he was drenched. He wrapped his arms around her too, soaking her skin and clothes with cold dripping water. Elsa remembered that Janus had told her stories about his time in prison as a child, and that he had been thrown into a well similar to this one. It must have been truly traumatic for him to relive those memories. He hugged her tightly, his body still shivering from the cold.

"Not that the little reunion is sweet, but we're running out of time." Venetia said.

Elsa forced herself to pull away from Janus. "You have to go. Now. There isn't much time."

"But the schedule." Janus seemed uncertain, and glanced at Venetia. "It's not even near quarter past nine. I don't know if they'll be-"

"You'll just have to improvise." Deirdre said sharply. "Get moving. We're running out of time."

"Go." Elsa kissed him full on the lips. "Get back to Anna, Melody and Kristoff. Bring back help and free us all."

"I will." He gave a half smile, touching her cheek gently.

For a moment, she considered telling him about the plan to use herself as bait, to allow herself to potentially be captured by the men in cloaks. She decided against it. Janus would have enough to worry about, and she didn't want to add to his load. If he knew she was going to risk her own safety that way, he would stay to make sure she was safe. That wasn't an option.

Instead, Elsa squeezed his hand. "Go. I'll see you soon."