Ariana collapsed, her arms heavy from the burns. Her lips still felt the sting of where a cigarette had been burned into them, and her wrist was shattered. The deep cuts in her back were steadily dripping blood, and the gentle sound was almost peaceful in the quiet. "Baby? You alright?"
"Yep." She answered toughly. The top of her thigh was still searing with pain from the hot metal that had been held to it. "I'm alive, just sore. I could really use one of those warm massages you give people."
A flashing red light from under the door made her turn her head, and despite the heavy pain in her leg, she crawled to the food slot. Opening it with her good hand, she saw the red light continuing to blink. "The hell is going on?"
Garrett wheezed heavily and slowly through the vents, but the sound of footsteps, shouting, and metal banging could be heard coming from the hall.
"Kai, all the guards sound distracted! Quick, we need to check everything for a way out." She shouted excitedly. "This could be our chance."
A deafening boom shook the entire building violently, throwing Ariana and Kai to the ground. "What the fuck was that?" She shook her head to try and stop the ringing in her ear. "Kai? Garrett?"
Stomping, gunfire, and heavy screams filled the air from voices she didn't recognize. "Kai?"
She continued to call out for another minute before Kai could hear her. "I'm here." He coughed.
"Garrett, are you there?" She waited but no answer came back. "Kai, I think he might be hurt. More than he was." She yelled.
The gunfire grew louder and closer as she and Kai sat with tension and fear. The pair heard the sounds of agents screaming, the bursts of gunfire that ripped through the walls upstairs, and the occasional thud of a body hitting the floor. After another minute of silence, the pair heard the metal door at the end of the hall clang as it opened, and in stepped a man shouting for them. "Garrett? Kai? Ariana?" Miles was calling for them as he started to look at the cell doors.
"We're over here!" Kai bellowed, his voice hoarse in relief and fear.
"Gimme just a second!" Miles yelled as he ran over to the farthest cell where Ariana sat. With a bit of fumbling, he jammed the old key into the lock, and turned it. The door swung open, and even the red light of the hall was nearly blinding to Ariana.
"Oh my god!" She cried out with tears in her eyes as she ran forward and hugged Miles as tight as she could. "We need to get Garrett, he could be dead. Do you have keys?"
Miles jingled them as he swiftly moved to Garrett's cell, opening the door quickly and finding the boy on the ground. He looked as though he had been painted with how much blood covered his body. His left eye was a seeping wound, and his legs were both twisted in incorrect positions. He had been beaten within an inch of his life. "Jesus Christ." Miles whispered. He handed the keys to Ariana and crouched next to Garrett, holding fingers to his neck. "I got a pulse!"
Ariana turned the keys one by one as she tried each of them to open Kai's cell, until finally the right one clicked. With the door open, they were suddenly face to face with each other's injuries. "Kai!" She screamed. She ran to hug him and quickly looked him over with her eyes pouring tears. "Oh baby!" She cried as she gripped him tightly.
"Hey!" Miles shouted, lifting Garrett up. "We gotta get the fuck out of here!"
Sirens blared, and red light poured through the building as Miles, Kai, Garrett, and Ariana slowly worked their way back through the once pristine halls that were now splattered in blood and dust. "Where's Derrick, where's Jason?" Ariana asked Miles as he checked corners.
"They're outside, waiting for us to back them and the others up." Miles said sternly. The group traversed the stairs leading back to the upper levels as fast as they could.
"Others?" She asked anxiously.
Miles turned to her with a smile. "Don't worry. We're getting you out of here." Miles took another pistol from his side and held it out. "Which of you can still shoot?"
Kai looked down at his wrapped up hand mournfully, his face puffed and bloody from the torture. "I..don't think I can."
"I can." Ariana took it in her left hand. "Just lead the way."
Quickly they went through each of the rooms leading up to the cells. Each one with burning computers and desks. Bodies littered the floor, and bullet holes had been scattered across the walls. "What the fuck..." Ariana looked around as fast as she could at the various data the agents had been collecting on their bodies.
"I dunno." Miles said as he moved to the next doorway and peaked around. He motioned for the others to line up behind him. "This whole place is full of weird stuff."
Ariana wanted to stop and examine all of the stacks of files that were tipping over, but she prepped and checked the gun to make sure it was ready. Miles advanced down a hallway and fired three shots, the others following only as he called out for them. Ariana stepped over the corpse of the agent Miles had just killed with no remorse as they reached the doorway to the outside.
The group emerged from the building and back onto the battlefield. At least thirty of the Technocrats agents littered the ground, their limbs and blood sprayed in every direction. From behind a concrete barrier Vicente and Derrick were reloading their guns, but smiled when they saw the group. Vicente popped above the cover to fire shots off at agents who were tucked behind a truck, but missed both times.
A speeding and squealing car suddenly drew their attention as Estela and Jason jumped out the side of the speeding black machine. The car continued to launch forward, slamming into a large electrical panel and bursting into flames. Two of the agents close to the blast were instantly thrown to the ground, their jackets burning.
Jason and Estela took cover and started working their way over towards the rest of them, giving cover fire for each other as they moved. Ariana and Miles appeared from behind their corner and laid down cover fire to help them, and with a few frantic steps, they were reunited. Kai and Garrett were tucked behind a barrier closest to the building, while Vicente, Jason, and Estela were tucked into another. Miles, Ariana, and Derrick hid behind a third, and Ariana took a second to hug her son tightly.
Kai shouted over the sound of crackling flames, screams, and gunfire. "How do we get out of here?"
Vicente turned and called back to Kai. "My car is to the south!"
In turns, the armed combatants rose and shot at the forces remaining. Derrick barely flinched each time the bullets chipped away at the concrete barrier. Estela yelled to the others as she took her turn firing. "If you can get me to the car, I'll drive us out." She looked around. "I need a distraction!" From inside her jacket she pulled out one of the Molotov cocktails she and Derrick had prepared.
"Got it!" Derrick said, taking the bottle and pulling a lighter from his pocket. He waited until a group of agents were gathered, and once the opportunity arose, lit the bottle and stood to throw it. The bottle landed near them with a crash, spraying glass, fuel, and napalm in every direction on the ground. Shots rang out as he threw, and Derrick fell back to the ground.
"Fuck!" Derrick screamed as he hit the pavement, his left side soaking with blood quickly. Ariana pulled him tightly into her arms so he was hidden from fire, and began putting pressure on the wound. The agents had begun scrambling as they avoided the fire, spreading out and trying to put out the ones they could.
Estela stood and ran to the corner of the building for cover, sprinting her way into the forest where the truck was hidden. She was soon out of sight, and the others were all looking at each other with a mix of terror and worry.
Bullets ripped through the air in every direction on the battlefield. Kai held Garrett tight in his arms, stained in his bloody wounds that continued to leak. Jason kept himself in just the right position to fire over a concrete barrier, his shots feverishly clicking through the rounds in his pistol. As he ran out though, a bullet bounced first off the barrier, and Jason let out a cry as he hit the ground.
