Survival Rout

by Ana Mardoll

  She's stopped because Handler isn't rejoining the others. Darting out into the wide cavern, he turns to the right and dashes towards the gate. I'm astonished at how fast he can run, his long stride carrying him over the distance before the other Handlers can spill from the far hallway. What's he doing? The answer arrives hard on the heels of the question: He knows we have to get out of here. We can't fight them.

  "I'm going with him," I announce as I suck in a long breath and steel myself to run. I don't doubt my choice; I only hesitate from dread of pain: running has escalated from something I can grit my teeth and endure to an intense stab of dizzying agony with each step. All I have to do is kick off and run full pelt, I tell myself. I can rest when we get to the gate.

  Miyuki catches me, holding me still as xie pumps what healing magic xie can through my clothes. "Wait, Aniyah! What are you doing?"

  I turn to look at xer, frowning as I do. I could wriggle away, but the required movements will hurt. Just like everything else. "Miyuki, let go. I'm going after him. We have to get to the gate!"

  Chloe shakes her head from where she props open the other door, sweat beading on her forehead even as she seems comfortable with the effort it takes to keep the heavy portal from closing. "Aniyah, sweetie, it could be some kind of trick. He only helped us with this door because we made him. We can't trust him."

  I try not to squirm. "I do trust him! As much as—" I don't want to finish that thought, not here in front of the boys. But what reason do we have to trust any of them, after what Lucas did to Sappho? Keoki and Christian and Tony are safe, but the other boys are strangers to me and at least one of them has shown he doesn't think of us as equal partners in this prison. "I trust him, Chloe."

  Miyuki's hands tighten on my waist and I see the question flicker through xer eyes. I shake my head at xer, begging that xie won't ask me to explain. I barely have the words to explain it to myself.

  I'm not stupid; I know Handler is our jailer. I have little reason to assume he isn't complicit in the Master's treatment of us. Yet he was so nervous when he spoke up to protect Miyuki from being sold, and I'm certain he was risking the Master's wrath. I believe he's a captive here too, with a different job from the rest of us. Maybe the other Handlers are bad, but I cling to a thread of hope that this one is not.

  Hana watches me with a stern expression, her eyes darting back to the Handlers spilling slowly from their hallway and spreading out in a frontal line of assault. "Aniyah, even if you're right about him, it's safer here. The hallway is more defensible. We can shove the weaker people to the back and let the fighters handle a smaller number here where they're forced to funnel in. Out in the open, it'll be harder to protect everyone."

  I shake my head, feeling panic rise as our jailers plod closer. It isn't just the fear rolling from them that causes my blood to pound, it's something in their excruciatingly slow gait. I've never seen Handler move quickly until that run to the gate just now, but this exaggerated pace feels wrong. I peer at their feet looking for magic, only to see the flash of metal as a robe shifts around a plodding step.

  They're shackled, I realize with horror. Does he keep them like that when not in use, or does he know we're running away? I ought to want to save them, to strip off their chains and take them with us, but those flickering red hands bring a lump to my throat and banish all charitable impulses in deference to survival. If they want to come with us, they'll need to make the first step. But we have to go. Now.

  "Hana." My voice is low, pleading for her to trust me, to view this situation with all her experience of watching the arena fights. "I can see how strong they are. We can't hold off that many, and what if there are others on the way? What if the Master comes?" I see the waver in her eyes; I'll either convince her or I'll break away and run. She'd follow me, I'm sure of it; Hana wouldn't leave me behind.

  I press on, urging harder. "If want to survive, we must run. We can't win this fight."

  She looks again at our jailers, counting softly under her breath in a language I don't recognize as her expression hardens. "Okay. Everybody through the doors! Chloe, get going; I'll hold this one until everyone's gone through, then I'll bring up the rear."

  Sounds of protest bubble up behind me: boys' voices that I don't bother to differentiate. They're accustomed to fighting, but Hana understands survival. She's taken the decision out of their hands by ordering Chloe on and announcing her intention to follow; the boys can either lose two of their fighters to hold the doors open or they can follow us in retreat. I don't stick around to find out, kicking away and running full pelt after Handler, the pounding of Miyuki's feet close behind me in pursuit.

  Fresh agony stabs me with every step, but I'll suffer worse if the Handlers catch me. I skirt the side of the cavern, running as close to the wall and as far from our jailers as I can. Miyuki keeps pace beside me, placing xerself bodily between them and me. Tears blur my vision and my heart swells until I think it might burst. When we get out of here, there'll be kisses, I promise. We just have to get out of here.

  We slam to a halt next to the enormous gate, breathing hard. "Please tell me you can open this," I beg Handler, digging my hand into the small of my back and blinking away new tears from the pain. I feel a flash of dizziness so intense that I have to lean against the wall to avoid falling over; as the room spins, Miyuki presses xer hands into my back to steady me with more magic.

  "I've opened the smaller locks," he says, his voice a soft pant laced with panic. "But I'll need help with the bigger ones. There! Can you see?" He gestures wildly at the wall against which I'm leaning.

  I don't see anything resembling a lock, only the cavern wall which curves into a puckered tunnel to the outside world and the metal bars stabbing down from the ceiling to block our passage. The wall is made of crumbly stone peppered with craters that look like burst bubbles. I peer where Handler points and see light buried in a hole the size of my fist: magic as white as our robes and hot as the sun, flickering with hostility.

  "How can we help?" I ask, but I'm cut off by an agonized yell behind us. The three of us whirl to look, the gate pressed against our backs as though we could slide through the bars if sufficiently motivated.

  Chloe is closest to us and runs beside Keoki and the stretcher, ready to help if needed. Imani and Sappho lag close behind, escorted by Tony with his sword. Heather is after them, jogging with a flat expression as she steadfastly avoids looking at the encroaching Handlers. Lucas and Matías come after her, the older boy speed-walking with his cane in a way that makes me wince in sympathy.

  Christian and Hana bring up the rear, or rather they did before one of the Handlers broke away from the larger group to attack them; he must have lunged forward, or maybe his chains were longer and left him less hobbled. When we whirl at the sound of the pained scream, we see Handler gripping Christian painfully by the shoulder just before the fighter crumples to the ground in spasms of agony. Red light flickers over him like a net, binding him in place and keeping him from popping away as it torments him.

  Hana's hands come up as fists in front of her face, clutching the shaft of her spear as close to the blade as she can. I expect her to jab at the giant man but instead her leg flies up to hit him in a frontal half-kick, half-shove, moving him away from Christian. He stumbles back but doesn't falter, his hands reaching for her. She ducks under his grasp and kicks again in two quick blows: one from the side that connects hard and fast, then a sweeping rounded kick that would take off his head if he were as short as the rest of us.

  The kick sends him stumbling into a fall. Hana is there in a blink with her spear, striking with a weapon that has become an extension of her fists. He scrambles at the floor and I think he's dying—which doesn't bother me after what he's done to Christian—but then his hands find Christian's blade where it fell. I try to yell a warning, but all that comes out is a useless gasp as metal flashes through the air and Handler buries the knife deep in Hana's chest before collapsing in a pool of his own blood.
/>
  Sappho screams. Heather leaps forward to catch Hana as the smaller girl coughs and a gout of blood erupts to coat her chin. "Help... me... with him," Hana rasps out, her voice hoarse from the effort. Heather hesitates, but releases Hana so the two girls can stoop to pull Christian to his feet. The magical red net is already fading, leaving pain but not paralysis, and he is able to throw an arm over Heather's shoulders and walk. Hana limps beside them, all three moving to join us before the rest of the Handlers can cut them off.

  "Hana, you've got to sit down. Your lungs—"

  "I'm... fine." Hana cuts off Imani with a pained wave of her hand as they reach us. Tony jumps forward to help with Christian, leaning him against the wall by the gate. "Help me... pull this out."

  Imani hesitates, her burned hands hovering over the hilt of the blade that protrudes from Hana's chest. "I don't think I should."

  "Just. Do it." Behind them, the Handlers loom closer. Keoki and the other boy set Justin on the floor and take up position to fight, their expressions equally grim. Chloe looks between the encroaching threat and the reclining Christian before hefting her spear and moving to stand in front of him and Tony.

  Imani takes a deep breath, looking profoundly unsure about what she's going to do. She grasps the hilt with both hands and pulls the knife out with a swift straight stroke. Blood gushes out of the wound and Hana drops to her knees. Miyuki and Sappho grab her on either side to prevent her from collapsing.

  "Hana?" Imani asks, her voice very soft, as she clutches the knife.

  A golden glow courses through Hana's body, so bright she resembles the sun itself. "I'm... fine. Still works. Ha." Imani's shoulders sag with relief and my lungs ache with the sudden influx of fresh life as I suck in gulps of clean air. "Give me a minute and I can fight with the others. Damn, I dropped my spear."

  Sappho presses her weapon into Hana's hands with a shaky laugh as I feel a heavy clap on my shoulder. I turn to see our Handler watching me with urgency in his face. "I need your help," he repeats gravely, ignoring our elation. "It takes two to open the door, a fail-safe against escape. You must do whatever you did to open your door. That was you, was it not? The one you killed would not have done it for you."

  I blink at him, fear muddling my head as the Handlers reach our tiny defensive knot and their magic threatens to overwhelm my thoughts. I hear the sounds of fighting behind me and it's the most nerve-wracking thing in the world not to look, not knowing when I'll feel a hand clutching my shoulder and a red net of pain dragging me to the floor.

  "We opened the door, yes; but it wasn't me, it was Imani! I figured out how it worked, but she was the one who made the cracks in her skin to channel the magic. It burned her badly; she can't do it again."

  His face crumbles, but Imani looks up from where she's examining a recovering Christian. He looks much better; he clutches his knife and eyes the fray with a look that shows he's aching to join in and help. "What's that, Aniyah? What did he say?"

  I swallow hard and meet her eyes. "This gate needs two Handlers, not just one. But your hand. Imani, it burned." Ugly scars crisscross the silken skin of her face and hands, the network of cracks marring the shifting silvery reflection of her magic.

  She thins her lips, setting her teeth into a hard edge. "Why didn't you say so earlier?" she says, stretching out her hand. She concentrates, straining with the effort as pain flickers over her face. I look around for Miyuki in a growing panic; xie looks up from where xie stands protectively over Justin and takes in Imani's grimace at a glance. Darting over, xie places hands on Imani's outstretched arm, xer magic easing the worst of the agony as deep furrows are coaxed into the girl's hand with excruciating slowness.

  "There," Handler rasps, pointing. "That hole. The one on this side is mine. On the count of three." He hesitates before turning to his designated hole. "It will hurt."

  Imani nods curtly, not looking up from the hand on which she concentrates. The furrows are there and in the right patterns, but not as cleanly as before. Her burns extend into the cuts, and I see the wild flicker of magic as she struggles to hold the form she's taken. Her free hand clutches the changed one at the wrist, steadying herself as she moves towards the hole. "One," she counts, her voice tense. "Two. Thre— ah!"

  Her last word rips away in a scream as she jams her fist into the lock. On the other side of me, Handler leans his head against the wall where his hand disappears while a low keening groan escapes his throat. I don't know which one to help and I'm not sure what help I could offer anyway—I'm barely strong enough to hold myself up—when the bars shudder and draw up into the ceiling with a heavy grinding rattle.

  "Hurry!" Handler's shout is hoarse with pain. "We have to go now!"

  "Hana! Keoki! We're leaving!" My shout reverberates through the cavern as Miyuki grabs my hand and pulls me forward through the open hallway. I don't want to leave everyone behind, but xie's right; I'm one of the slower ones, which means I have to go first or risk dragging the whole group behind with me. As we stumble out into the sun, a flurry of activity erupts behind us and blends into the sounds of battle.

  "Tony, you got this? Reese and I will get Justin."

  "I got it! Lucas, get Matías out."

  "I'm fine. Help Christian."

  "Don't need any help, guys. Shit, you'd think I took a knife to the chest or something. Baby, you getting your girl out?"

  "We've got her. You better follow, or I'm not gonna be happy. Sappho, you got Imani?"

  "She's hurting real bad, but we're holding up."

  "Just a question, but does anyone know how to close the gates? You guys only killed five of them." A wet gurgle and the sound of a heavy thud causes Heather to amend this. "Six."

  "I do." Handler's gasp is barely audible and I twist my head to look back at him as Miyuki pulls me inexorably forward. "Just get everyone through, quickly."

  He sucks in a pained breath as Tony and Lucas back out of the cavern into the sun, the last of our group to stumble out. Their weapons are raised high against the Handlers who move in a crowd towards the gated tunnel, jostling each other as they push towards the traitor who presses his fist into the wall.

  With a sharp cry of pain, our Handler yanks his fist from the lock and throws himself forward, rolling where he hits the ground and scrambling forward on his hands and knees. Bars rattle down with a menacing roar, driving towards the ground with lethal speed. The other Handlers draw back in alarm as Tony leaps forward with perfect grace, grabbing the taller man by the arms and dragging him away from the onrushing bars.

  Metal slams into place with a grinding screech and the two men collapse wearily into the sand of the outside world.

  Chapter 30

  Keoki

  We're trying to jostle Justin as little as possible, but nothing can keep me from Tony right now. A quick signal at Reese to lower the stretcher, then I'm striding to where Tony has fallen. I pull him to his feet, check to make sure he's still got all his limbs attached, and sweep him into a hard kiss. He stiffens in my arms for more heartbeats than my ego can bear to count before pressing into my kiss with equal force.

  It doesn't matter who sees us now. We're free. I won't break the kiss to say it but from the way his lips move greedily over mine, I'm confident he's thinking the same thing.

  A girl's voice pierces my happy haze, speaking long before I'm anywhere near done. "Well, that was thrilling, but how long will it take them to open the gate again? I ask merely out of curiosity." There's a spike of fear under her drawl and I reluctantly tear away from Tony. The speaker is the delicate blond girl with blank green eyes; she's ripping bits of skin from her fingers, her gaze tightly focused on her hands.

  "They will not get through that gate."

  Handler pulls himself to his feet, brushing at his robes with one hand. No one rushes to help him, which isn't surprising because I can't imagine who would. Except Aniyah. I twist to look for her in alarm and find her leaning on Miyuki. She's panting, her face wan and her pupils dilated as
if she's about to pass out. Shit. I can carry her, but I'm not sure who could take my end of Justin's stretcher.

  "Why not?" Imani stands next to Hana, looking almost as bad as Aniyah. She clutches her hand, blood dripping between her fingers. "What's to stop them from opening the locks?" She laughs, the bitter sound carried on a gust of hot wind. "It'll be easier for them than it was for me."

  Handler's expression is grim as he clutches his own hand in reflection of Imani's pain. "Yes. That is why I tore out as much of the lock as I could when I brought the gate down." He opens his wounded fist and allows a dozen tiny chunks of stone to tumble upon the sand. The tips of his fingers are charred and blackened.

  "How long do we have?" Hana asks, her voice tight. She's standing on her own without aid, but her face is pale and she doesn't look entirely recovered from that stab she took to the chest.

  "And how far do we have to travel?" Matías adds, his knuckles standing out against the grip on his cane. "Are we looking at a short sprint between here and survival, or a long route?"

  Lucas snorts, doubled over to catch his breath after the fight and our subsequent retreat. "What's the difference?"

  "Difference is how we pace ourselves, stupid, and how we ration the food and water," replies Christian. He flashes Lucas a mocking smile, but his eyes don't dance. I give him a worried look; although he swore he was fine, he's moving slower than usual.

  "Matías can only manage short bursts before his knee gives out; you know that," Reese says, running fingers through his hair with a sigh. "And we'll have to conserve strength if we're carrying Justin a long way."

  Handler shakes his head. "We do not have long before they reach us. They will pursue us through other exits and will be unshackled for the chase. We must move." He doesn't budge from where he stands and an odd sheepishness creeps into his imposing demeanor. "I do not know the way or how far," he admits.