Silver Shadow (Maven x Mare)

Chapter 13: MARE

"I know that people have failed you, but trust me on this one," Kilorn's eyes plead. I approached Farley about my plan, and she had gone far enough by giving me the directions to the Colonel's headquarters.

The Colonel's place was underwater- the perfect location to imprison a Silver burner. Kilorn had years of experience as a fisherman's apprentice, and he was my best bet.

But can I trust him?

I let the question wander in my head as we scout the area. Not even the Lakelanders bother to guard closely, and Farley said that the Colonel usually never stays during the day. They would never expect for someone to access the bunks through the ocean.

Kilorn removes his shoes and tries to repeat Farley's instructions. We were to swim down twenty five feet until we reach bunker 1. It was a marine lab before, and now the Colonel utilized it for storage and his own chambers.

I shiver, the cold wind giving me goosebumps. Kilorn doesn't mind, and warms up as we get ready. I eye him wearily.

"You know, Maven betraying you doesn't mean that the rest of the world will," he says, staring back at me, trying to make me reconsider. I sneered, plainly because even though he is my friend I cannot plainly explain to him how complicated I was. He is saying the opposite of what Maven tells me.

But what they have in common is the assurance that Kilorn will always be behind me, my partner. For the many times I tried to save Kilorn, I know that he would also do the same for me.

We swim, and Kilorn guides me with gestures underwater as I try to mimic his way of swimming silently, trying not to disturb the calm waters. The electricity is so strong with the pressure that I can already point out the exact way, and Kilorn confirms.

"Hold on to me," he mouths, and I followed as we swam deeper, our breathes escaping in bubbles. I could feel that even Kilorn was having a hard time, but he continues until we reach the surface of the moon pool.

I tried to catch my breath while coughing. Kilorn laughs at the sight of this. "You're never going to last as a fisherman," he comments, as he lifts himself out of the water to inspect the compartment. It was full of papers, but one photograph caught our attention.

Kilorn points to the teenage blond girl in the photo of four, beside the Colonel who looked so young and refreshed, although they were as if posed for a military requirement. The necklace around the girl's neck was identical to the gold chain Farley gave me as a key to Cal's cell.

"She's his daughter," Kilorn finally managed to say. I am confused by the thought of Farley betraying her own father by helping me, but I give her the benefit of the doubt. There is a great chance that she believed in my plan more than the Colonel's, or she simply wasn't up to obey him.

We are careful not to touch anything, and we walk towards the end of the hall, where Cal's fists hits the wall. As he sees me approach, his hands stop midair, and I see Silver blood dripping from them.

"Cal," I said, opening the door in a hurry. As soon as I walk in, I feel as if the whole room was draining me. And I guess they were.

"Silent stones," I mutter, slowly sitting beside Cal on the bed. No wonder Cal had not burned and melted his way out. Inside here, he was just like a normal Red. He spits blood, and I remember how proud Silvers were. The mighty Cal was stripped off his fire, and this was an insult to his dignity.

"We have to go out of here, Mare. We have to now," he says, and even though I know that the stones were weakening him, he stands up, and pulls me along with him.

We walk out, but before we could even reach the door, Kilorn locks it.

"What's the matter with you? Let us out," I panicked, shaking the door.

Kilorn stares at me, his green eyes cold. I feel my blood rushing, and ache for the lightning to come so I can struck him. But the stones were doing their job, and I stare at Kilorn back, unable to find anymore words.

He walks away, and I give the nearby desk a kick. It hurts now that I am normal. What an ironic thing for a Red to think.

Cal is quiet, and he doesn't even budge. I wait for him to say something at my stupidity, but instead he disregards it as if nothing had happened.

He was used to getting betrayed.

"I will kill the traitor," I finally manage to hiss. Cal's eyes turned to me.

"Welcome to my world, Mare."

We are silent for a long time, as if the stones were also taking away our ability to even hope. I think of nothing but the many times I had let myself get stabbed. I remembered Kilorn's request to trust him, and look what I got.

One guard pushes a plate through a slight opening below the door. We don't move, and he shrugs at the sight of us. A few moments after footsteps come down, and the Colonel's face appeared on the hall, and beside him was Kilorn.

Seeing him made me hit the wall with my fists, and red blood trickles from it. Kilorn had the nerve to winch. Behind him, the other guards were pushing a resisting Farley, locking her on the other prison before she could even see me. I snarled at the Colonel. He would do this even to his own daughter.

"You cheat. You're the monster here," I shout, and the Colonel tries not to notice my words. He merely shook his head, waving the other guards off.

Before he could speak, he stops abruptly, and falls to the ground. Cal stands up in alert, but Kilorn stands alone, an injection in hand. Cal looks confused, but I instantly understand. He opens Farley's door first, and she opens ours. I realized that she had been in this too herself.

"Hurry, we're just buying time," she says, kneeling down to check her father. No matter how much the Colonel treats her, she is still his daughter. I help Cal, and once out of the silent stones, I spot Kilorn and hurl a fist into his stomach.

He yelps. "What was that for?"

"For locking me up," I said. I don't care if he meant to save me, (and he just did). He recovers, afterall it was a weak punch. I did not have energy to spare.

We hear footsteps coming, and Farley bolts up quickly. Kilorn follows her, and gestured frantically to me.

Cal stands beside me, still quiet, and I hold his arm as we run.

******

Farley leads us to the end of the beach, where a big plane rests. I spot Shade already, his crutches supporting him. He grinned at the sight of us.

"Fly it!" Farley shouts, and at first I thought she was referring to me.

Cal nods, and this time he picks up pace, tugging me with him. "I can fly that thing, just get in!"

Kilorn and Farley each help Shade. Cal and I reach them and we get on quickly to the front seats of the plane. Knowing his thing, Cal takes over, and the rest of us were catching our breathes, hearing the approaching sound of the Lakelanders.

"Hurry up, Silver!" Farley shouts.

"I'm trying!" Sweat run down on Cal's forehead. I wish I could help him, but I do not know anything about machines.

"Get it to fly, Mare! The battery!" Cal says, and points to a black box in between us, with wires of different colors. I could feel the electricity in them.

"Focus or you'll burn us all," Cal says. If we were not pursued and I was not in a nervous situation, I would have laughed at Cal's statement. My hands were shivering as I hold on to the wires, and focused on creating the power that Cal needs to fly.

"Mare!!" Kilorn's panicked voice come from behind me. I glance at the shore and see the Lakelanders getting near, ready with their guns. Cal concentrates on the machine, and I give in all I had left.

The plane finally roars to life, and Cal brings it upward, as if with all his might, and takes us into the clouds.