The Iron Hallway

Chapter 21

(Baird's POV) 

Our two pods were sucked up into a strange drainage chamber in the underbelly of the massive triangular submarine. I covered my face in fear as I realized just how helpless we were, how much of an underdog position we'd been thrusted into. 

After all the water had drained away, a door opened on one end of the chamber. Several soldiers marched out, an extraction force. Some of the men held bazookas, evidently to be used for much more forceful extraction, if necessary. 

At the front of the line marched a black-cloaked man, prim and proper in his mannerisms, and with a face as stony as an Odegoan canyon wall. He eyed us with pure hatred as he peered into the cracked looking glass near the front of our pods. 

"Thou hast increased thy misery all the more, through thine impetuous actions!" the man screamed indignantly. "Disembark from thy vehicles immediately, offer no resistance, and raise thy hands above thy heads! Do it!" 

I shuddered in fear at the man's voice, despite the fact that it was somewhat muffled by both distance and the pod's insulation. I led the way out of my pod, clambering out through the hatch up top. I immediately threw my hands behind my head and knelt down on my knees at the soldiers' feet. 

Aaron, Hannah, and even Sila did the same outside their pod, submitting themselves to whatever the black-cloaked man had intended for us. I gasped, however, as Jedrek wasn't required to humble himself in the slightest, but instead emerged from the pod and shook the man's hand professionally. Suddenly, his whole motive from the very beginning made perfect sense. 

"You...you...traitor!" I shouted at Jedrek, incredibly tempted to break out of line to punch him. "How dare you?" 

Jedrek met my gaze without hesitation. "Survival of the fittest, like I told you." 

"I should've known you were trouble from the moment I saw you." Khemera growled. 

"I did indeed find you quite gullible." Jedrek said, "You made my job all too easy." 

Aaron appeared more infuriated than any of us. He succumbed to temptation and leapt to his feet in a rage. He swung a mighty punch at Jedrek, who managed to duck, unholster a revolver, and shoot him in the shoulder. 

Aaron hollered and hissed as the bullet tore into his flesh, blood splattering on Sila behind him. He collapsed to Jedrek's feet in pain, struggling to find strength to attempt a second attack. A nearby soldier tossed Jedrek a strange, glowing rod, which he immediately touched to the fresh wound. Sparks flew. Aaron howled in agony. I covered my eyes and ears, for this was too much for me to handle. 

"Witness this and despise rebellion!" the black-cloaked man shouted, "For this is the bitter end all insurgents shall taste in due time!" He then turned to his men. "Take them to a holding cell. And instruct thou the Iron Hallway to prepare for six more inmates." 

With that, we were dragged away through a door and down several corridors before being roughly tossed into a dark holding cell. We all sat in a fearful silence, Sila and Keira trying to offer Aaron what little comfort they could. Hannah and Khemera both bowed their heads and closed their eyes in prayer, and I soon followed suit. 

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(Abigail's POV) 

Wendy and I finally emerged from the armory, fully equipped and ready to break out for real this time. She kicked an inquisitive guard in the knee as she stepped through the doorway, before snapping his neck to silence his cries. I looked away, because as necessary as the violence was, I still didn't like seeing it so close.