42 | Sitkolson

Chapter Five | Devil's Night

The one complaint Vinny could have for this job, his employers didn't seem too interested in giving him days off. In years past, he would've spent Halloween with his mom, handing out candy to kids in her neighborhood and watching scary movies with her. She sent him pictures of his little cousins in their cute costumes, telling him how much she missed him. As much as he wished he could be there instead of in a prison, he put forth his best efforts to be an optimistic person.

"You know what today is?" He asked Friday as approached her cell with her dinner in hand.

Her smile was half innocent, half eerie. "I might forget my own birthday, but no way I'm forgetting Halloween. I don't need a calendar for that. You can just feel it in the air."

"Huh, yeah? Guess you're right." Vinny knelt down, setting the tray on the ground and pushing it through the force field. "I gave Ryder one of my mom's cookie recipes last week, in case he wanted to make something for the occasion."

"Ooo," She picked up a fresh baked cookie from her plate, observing it. "Are there candy corns in here?"

"Yeah, she made 'em every year since as long as I can remember. I hate candy corn on it's own, but it's really good in cookies." He responded.

"You tell me I'm way too nice for a hardened criminal, but you're way too nice for a prison guard. Thank youuu."

Friday was convinced he was oblivious to what was happening behind him. On the contrary, he'd learned after two months of working here, panicking does him no good. There was a sprite, no bigger than an apple, stealthily pulling his key card out of his back pocket. Vinny swiftly turned around, yanking it out of it's hands.

Before he had time to wonder where the Hell it came from, it raised it's tiny pixie arms and shot energy bolts into his eye. Vinny instinctively grabbed his face with his hand, dropping his key card in the process. Thankfully, there wasn't much power behind the sprite's sting. The pain subsided quickly, but it wasn't fast enough. The creature flew off with his key card and slid it through the lock on the outside of Ryan's cell.

"Fuck me." He scoffed under his breath as he watched the warlock calmly step out.

Vinny realized the only way he was getting Ryan back in his cell was by force. He rushed the inmate, taking a swing at him. Ryan threw his arm up to block the hit, of which he was anticipating to be weak. Imagine his surprise when he was knocked to the ground by an immense amount of pressure. When Vinny attempted to grab him off the ground, he rolled out of the way and delivered a kick to the guard's stomach.

Ryan got to his feet while his opposition stumbled back. He swung his fist at Vinny, only for his arm to phase straight through his body. Vinny took his bewilderment as an opportunity to get a hit in. He decked Ryan in the face, causing his nose to begin gushing blood. Instead of getting upset, he simply smiled.

The warlock used his own blood to write out a spell against the air. A flash of light spawned a long metal staff. Ryan grasped it, and threw it back over his head. Vinny was confused, until he saw the staff land in Ricky's hand. While he was busy sparing with Ryan, the sprite unlocked the mercenary's cell.

Vinny knew damn well that wasn't a fight he was going to win. As Ricky began to come for him, he threw himself against the railing and phased through it, causing himself to fall down to the first floor. Once he landed on his feet, Vinny ran over to the main control panel and slammed his hand against the emergency button. Not only would it alert the rest of the guards of a breakout, it activated automated defenses that were programmed to target the inmates genetic signatures.

Hefty guns descended from panels in the ceiling. Ricky twirled his staff fast enough to divert every bullet they unloaded until his partner was able to do something about them. With a simply whistle, Ryan directed his sprite to destroy the machines by flying through them. The room may have been covered in bullet holes, but they remained untouched. At the very least, the thirty seconds it took them to achieve such a thing allowed the first wave of guards to arrive.