Final Truth

Chapter 48: Escape

Julia's point of view:

Peter and I invisibly stumble through the halls of the prison, making our way to Steven's office while trying not to let the alarms render us deaf.

"Why...why are those things going off?" Peter hisses in my ear, the sound likely making his muddled mind all the more frantic.

"They probably caught me on some camera knocking out Henley and setting you loose. We should see guards soon," I answer, practically having to shout over the incessant blaring.

At the next corner, we hang a sharp right and find the door that leads to Steven's office, walking straight through without any second thoughts.

Steven sits on his bed, evidently annoyed with his hands over his ears, but his expression soon turns to that of shock when I let Peter and myself become visible to him.

"What have you done?" He asks wildly, looking frantic.

"I..." I begin to explain, but Steven continues to ask questions.

"Why is Peter here? How is Peter even...and how did you...Henley, the alarms...what happened?!"

"Let me explain!" I shout, feeling bad immediately afterward when I notice Peter recoil at the added noise.

"Henley showed me what they've been doing to Peter and I snapped. I ended up knocking her and some guards out, freed him, and then we came looking for you. I know you have knowledge of this prison and where things are as they trust you more than the others, so I need your help: we need to find the room where they control the locks for the cells. We could free everyone and try to escape," I explain to him.

Steven regards me skeptically, giving me that easier-said-than-done look.

"You'll get yourselves killed doing that, not to mention the people you're trying to free," he retorts, wincing with each cry of the alarm.

"Everyone here has already had their human rights stripped away from them. However small this chance of freedom is...I think it's worth taking," I urge.

Steven turns his gaze to Peter, watching him with conflicted emotions as he remembers all the horrible aspects of him that he was forced to handle. Peter has begun to pant again, his mind a frenzy as he leans even more heavily on me to keep from falling over.

"And what about him? Can't you see that he's barely keeping it together as it is? Say this plan does work; who's to say that when you get out into the woods, he won't turn back into that monster and kill you?" Steven prods, watching Peter nervously.

"I'm...I'm trying..." Peter trails off, fighting himself.

I look at him sadly, wanting to silence everyone and everything to focus only on him, getting him better, but the world will do me no such thing.

"I can handle him, but Steven, this is our only chance-"

The door to Steven's office is thrown open and five guards file in, effectively cutting me off with weapons at the ready. I shove Peter into Steven's arms and turn to face them, feeling more angry than afraid.

"Don't make me hurt you," I tell them, annoyed.

"Don't flatter yourself," one the men retorts, firing his weapon straight at my head and making Steven yelp at the sound.

With a returning sense of agility, I quickly leap out of the bullet's path before it can find my head, hearing it whizz past me and lodge into the wall at the back of the room.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," I sigh, outstretching a hand while slowly drawing my fingers together in an almost choking-motion. The men look simultaneously afraid for a second before my hand makes the shape of a fist, upon which every last one of them falls to the ground like lifeless rag-dolls.