Oriehn

Chapter 34- Taliesin

Chapter 34- Taliesin

"Go down to the end of the hall and turn left into the fire stairs. These are small and precarious, so it will be harder, though shorter. Once you get to the ground floor, open the door, take a right after two doors. After that, walk straight until the end, turn right and then there will be another door. Take that, round the corner towards the left, and run," Alice directed in a panicked voice.

"How about you?" I asked.

"I will be fine, and I will take a longer route," She hesitated. "Do not worry about me. As far as they know, I am one of them." My gut twisted at that thought, but when she turned around to face me, I gave her a  small nod and turned down the other direction.

Feet quietly pounding down the hallway, I found the fire escape quickly, and entered down the stairs only to find three wardens at the base, all with their guns pointed at my temple, heart, and stomach. I raised my hands slowly towards the ceiling, furrowing my brow. "How did you-?"

"Wardens! Advance!" A familiar voice called from behind the wall of white-clad men. I struggled to backtrack up the stairs, slipping and landing on my side. They pounded my body, drawing blood with the butt of their guns. They were still too cowardly to wound me with their own hands, instead opting to hide behind their weapons.

"I wonder," I fought to raise my voice above the noise of their beating, grunting with each blow. "I wonder, d-does it make the killing any easier to swallow, if you hide behind your machines?"

"Enough!" The doctor shouted from behind. He parted the soldiers like a sea, his hand still raised when he came into view. "Where were you going? Where is Miss Proctor?" He questioned.

"Miss Proctor?" I furrowed my brows and smirked. "She was commandeering a shuttle."

"Co-commandeering?" The man became flustered. "Our shuttles?"

"Why, yes. I believe she was. But now she should be in the air above your facility, carrying out the last survivors and finest soldiers in our military," I grinned at his shocked expression. "You see, this is an escape."

He was silent, crunching the edge of his crisp white coat in his fist. I laughed, and that seemed to spur him into action. "W-wardens! Check the cellblock! Quickly!"

The majority followed his orders, but two stayed behind to drag me to my feet. Dizzy, all I could do was slump between them. They pounded at the locked door, shaking it in its hinges, until it fell in.

The Doctor, who had had enough time to recompose himself, brushed his coat when he saw that the room was nearly empty of its contents. Nearly. "Why, Alice, I did not fancy seeing you here," Doctor Prose entered the room calmly.

"Taliesin," Alice whispered, eyes wide and glued to my face.

I looked upwards, scarcely carrying enough energy to meet her eye. "Alice," I whispered back lightly, and then fell into a fit of coughing.

"Why, yes, Alice. Captain Graile here was found trying to escape through the fire emergency exits. I do not suppose you had anything with this?"

"N-No, Doctor. Of course not. You know how hard I tried to get the Oriehns here," She visibly gulped. I looked up at her, glaring, using my anger at her treachery as fuel. "Another lie," I tried to whisper, but no sound came out.

She had lost all my trust, and I wondered when I would ever learn. But then I looked around. She had gotten everyone out of their cell.

Something like sadness flickered in her eyes, before she composed herself.

"Then, why, Alice, are you helping the Oriehns out of the window? Are you truly that two-faced, you can not even pick a side and stay with it?" Doctor Prose sneered.