--Point of View: Katie--

“There must be something we can do! Have you checked everywhere?” I asked as I started to frantically inspect every corner of the room.

Everyone seemed to divert their gaze. I could not blame them. We had lost a lot of good people in the past couple days to an enemy we thought no longer existed. An enemy that was both physically, and technologically, better equipped than us. Things looked bleak.

“I poked around the room some but to be honest, there is not much to see.” remarked Robert, motioning with this hand to show off the room. “It is pretty bare and pretty secure.”

Robert was right, of course. It only took a few pokes and prods at the walls and door to confirm that this room was both basic and sealed tight. They had given us no bed or any other necessities you would expect in even the most basic of jail cells. The walls were made of the same steel like material we encountered down in the laboratory. You could hammer at it as long as you wanted but it always reformed moments later. If we were going to escape, it would need to be out the main door.

“Anybody tried to wedge open the door? Pick the lock?” I inquired as I walked over to snoop around some more.

“Yeah, Chris had the same idea, but no luck. The door doesn’t even have a handle. We pretty much ran out of ideas.” Robert answered, flagging Chris to come over.

I should have figured Chris would give it a go. He was young and full of spirit. If only he had the brains to match. There was never a time where he was too far from getting into serious trouble. I am both glad and a little surprised he made it here unscathed.

“Yep. I looked all over for it, but that door is as sturdy as they come.” Answered Chris before pulling me into an unwanted, but not hated hug. “I am glad you and Tom made it back alive.”

“I’m glad you all made it too Chris. Let’s hope it stays that way.” I replied, gently pushing him off and returning my attention to the door.

The doorway did not look fancy at all despite how big it was. It had a small slot in the center just big enough for a food tray to slide through. Unlike the doors back at the laboratory, these ones seemed to be controlled via mana. I imagined this is partly the reason Tom and I set off an alarm when we tampered with it originally. I would have to wait and find out. Or maybe we would not have to after all. I had an idea.

“Robert! I assume they have at least been feeding you all, right?” I asked, whipping my head around to face him.

He scratched his bald head and sighed. “Yeah, twice a day so far. They are like clockwork too. Same time every day. Actually, it should be around that time now.”

“Do they open the door when they come?”

“What? No. They just slide it all through the slot in the door.” He replied, giving me a very puzzled look. “What crazy idea are you concocting in that head of yours. Should I be concerned?”

“Okay. Listen. I need to find out how they unlock that door and the only way to do that is to get one of them to open it. So, we just need to give them a reason to.” I answered, a long smirk across my face.

“Hmm, I think I know where this is going.” Robert smiled. “If you can find out how the doors work, you think you may be able to get it open. Is that right?”

“It is worth a shot. Not like we have anything to lose.” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

We had to try something at least. Sure, there was some risk involved but if we just sat here our fates were as good as sealed. Action was needed.

“I agree. We need to do something. Do you have a plan or are we going to just wing it?” asked Robert.

“I figured we could just start a fight amongst ourselves when they show up. Guard will need to try and break us up.” I explained, my hands darting every which way as I spoke.

“Would they even care?” asked Chris dubiously.

“I think so. They have kept us all alive for a reason. Otherwise, they would have just killed everybody right away.” I responded, turning to Chris. “Plus, they want leverage to use against Crim, I guarantee it.”

"Do you think they will fall for that though? You all call me an idiot and I don't think I'd fall for something like this." Chris countered.

"Well, I was told they probably don't see us as a threat, especially compared to Crim. They are underestimating us, I guarantee it." I explained, thinking back to what Draya had said before sending us here.

“That makes a lot of sense. Hmm, a fight huh? That should be pretty easy. Chris, good of you to volunteer.” Robert said with a chuckle, patting Chris on the back.

“Wait, what?” Chris remarked, a surprised expression washed over his face. “What do I need to do?”

“When the guard with the food arrives, we are going to get into a fight.” I answered simply. It was best to keep it simple with Chris.

“Like, for real?” he asked, a little confused.

“No, not for real. It just needs to look real. Just follow my lead, okay?” I explained.

I ran over the plan with everyone once more to make sure we were all on the same page. The fight only needed to last long enough for the door to open. I did not want one of the guards to forcibly separate us. That could end miserably for one or both of us. We agreed to split as soon as we noticed. The only downside to the plan was the fact I would have to rely on others to watch the door. In hindsight, I could have had anybody act the part with Chris, but at the time it made sense for me to do it. If we failed, we would just have to try something again tomorrow.

We waited no more than twenty minutes for the sounds of heavy boots to echo down the hallway. I had to stand on my tip toes to even peek outside the door, but it only took a split second to confirm it was time to put the plan into action. I sure hope this worked.

“Quick, I’m going to lay down. Just stand over me and pretend to kick and throw punches.” I quickly whispered to Chris as I threw myself down onto the floor.

“Got it!” answered Chris as he threw himself after me and started to pound at the spaces just next to my head. I was so startled I nearly shoved him away.

“Stop! Help! I did not do it!” I screamed while flailing around on the ground, really trying to milk the scene.

Immediately the sound of footsteps grew faster, and the guard was at our door in record time. His face came into view as he glared through the grated window.

“Cut that out immediately!” he barked, banging on the door with one of his giant fists.

“Buzz off!” yelled Chris who turned and gave him a very colorful gesture before returning to my fake beating.

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That did the trick. Even from my position, I overheard the guard bark a phrase at the door which slid open happily in response. Just as our warden stepped inside, we both flew apart and hid behind the others. Everyone trembled.

“That’s what I thought. Filthy humans. Can’t even survive among your own kind.” He said with disgust, spitting on the floor before turning to leave. “Don’t see why we don’t just off the lot of you.”

The room was quiet as the guard relocked the door, not even bothering to feed us after our little stunt but it did not matter. When the coast was clear, we all huddled back together and discussed what we witnessed.

I turned to Robert and the others that were in charge of watching the guard. They all seemed eager to relay what they learned.

“I’m assuming you all heard him say something right? I did not quite catch it but I’m hoping one of you did.” I asked first, curious. The phrase or word or whatever had to be important.

“Yeah, I did thankfully. Glad I’m deaf in one ear because you two were causing a racket.” Laughed Robert as he drew closer. “It is a little strange though. All he said was unlock and open.” Robert explained, emphasizing the simplicity of the phrase.

“Unlock and open? Are you sure?” I asked, a little confused at first. Surely it could not be that simple.

“That’s what I heard too!” added one of the other soldiers I tasked with the same job. “Though he did press his hand against the door panel first.”

“You know, that makes perfect sense. The Old Ones use magic and all the examples I have seen so far are very direct. You say what you want basically.” I muttered to myself as I started to pace back and forth. It helped me think.

“Unlock and Open!” exclaimed Chris who was now standing confidently in front of the door. I did not bother to correct him.

“Sit down Chris. It sounds like you need to interact with the panel outside as well.” Chastised Robert, pulling Chris away. I am glad he was here.

“The only issue though is the fact we cannot cast spells.” Called Tom from the back of the room. I had almost forgotten he was here.

“You make a good point. It would also explain the lack of a real lock.” I added, rubbing my temples.

Surely there had to be a way. If only I was able to use mana like them. Was it possible? I never asked Draya, but Crim mentioned nearly everyone using it in the past. Surely that meant anybody could learn how to, right? Would I be able to cast a spell?

More and more thoughts raced through my head as I stopped my pacing and just stood silently in the middle of the room. Everyone’s eyes were on me. Tom, thankfully, came to my side, still with a slight limp, and offered up a suggestion.

“Why not just try it? What is there to lose?” he said simply, looking me in the eye. “If anybody here has a shot of making it work, it is us. We have been around this stuff the longest. Maybe some of it rubbed off on us, you know?”

I could not help but smile at the simplicity of his answer. That was very much like him. I over thought and over engineered. Tom on the other hand just took the simple and direct approach. Without him here, I probably would have sat around for another hour before just giving it a try.

“Thank you, Tom. How is your leg?” I asked.

“It has been better, that’s for sure. Still not as bad as that time Chris drove the jeep into a sinkhole though.” He snickered, looking back at Chris who immediately started to mutter swears under his breath.

“Let us give it a shot, as you said.” I laughed, walking over to the door with him at my side. “Mind giving me a lift? Uh, if you can, that is. Sorry.”

“No worries. I can do that much at least.” he replied, cupping his hands together to form a step.

I stepped up into his hands and he heaved me upward so I could see out the barred window. The hallway was empty. Pressing my head in between the bars, I just barely managed to squeeze it through so I could see the panel just to the left of the door.

“I see it. I’m guessing I just press my hand against it?” I said before reaching out towards it.

“Stop!” barked Tom who spotted the problem before I did. “Where is your head and where is that door going to go if it works?”

I stood dumbfounded for a second, feeling completely foolish. That would have been a very interesting situation.

“Oh wow. Uh, Thank you. That would have been an embarrassing way to go.” I sputtered as I first pulled my head back out from the bars before reaching down and around for the panel.

“No worries.” Called Tom, “You got this. We all believe in you.”

“Thank you. Here goes nothing.” I yelled as I reached for the panel.

My arms were just barely long enough to scrape the control board with my finger tips, but I hoped it would be enough.

“Open and Unlock!” I bellowed confidently, shoving myself against the door as hard as I could to reach just a smidge further.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt a small tingle at my fingertips. It was bizarre. They grew hot for a split second before returning to normal. This was followed by the door starting to slowly rise. I quickly tossed myself down from the door, nearly knocking Tom over in the process. I landed with a thud just as the door completely slid open, revealing an open and empty passageway.

“It worked!” I exclaimed, jumping up to my feet in awe. “I can’t believe it worked!”

“I knew you would pull it off.” Chimed Robert, walking up to give me a hefty pat on the shoulder. “Now, what is next?”

“Next? Uh, well. What is next?” I said to myself, running a hand through my hair. I had not thought this far ahead.

“Well, I think the next step is to probably find out where Crim is being held and bust him out. We don’t have our weapons anymore and he is probably our only shot of taking down one of these brutes.” Answered Tom, coming to my rescue like always.

“You are right. We know what he is cable of, or at least we all do now. He can handle himself and then some. I have no idea where to start looking though. The other Old One, the women that brought me back here said they had him chained up. I could check the other cells around here.”

"You will not find any other prisoners besides us here. I forgot to mention. This is not a cell block or whatever they call it. We were deemed too fragile to be held with their other prisoners. They did not mention names or anything, but they prepared this room just for us it would seem.” Interjected Robert. That would have been nice to know sooner.

“Okay, fair. Should probably mention that next time. I guess the only thing we can do is look for him. I imagine they will have more guards around Crim’s area. That would be a pretty good sign we are heading in the right direction.” I said aloud, trying to think of the best course of action.

The longer I thought about it, the more I came to realize it would be much safer if I went on my own. If one person went missing, the Old Ones may not notice. Tom and I came after the initial capture so most of the guards probably did not know our faces. Plus, it is a lot easier to sneak around alone. I was used to it at this point. It was decided.

“I’m going to head out on my own to find Crim. I need everyone else to stay put.”

Tom and Robert both turned in unison, “Excuse me? No, you will not.”

“Calm down you two and listen to what I have to say. We do not really have a choice in the matter.” I said, being very firm, as I raised a hand to quiet them. “You are in no condition for this Tom. If we had to run, you would be a goner.”

“She is right Tom. You will not be able to get around with your leg in that condition. I will go…” Robert began but I cut him off midway through.

“And you Robert need to stay here to keep everyone under control and ready. They all look up to you and if something were to happen to me, who would lead them? Tom? Chris?” I continued, pointing at each of them in turn.

“She has you there Robert. I am not a leader and Chris is well, sorry Chris.” Tom started, looking first at Robert and then back at Chris who gave a nod.

“I would not follow me.” Chris said simply.

“So, you see, I really am our best shot at this. Plus, Crim is my friend and I owe him my life a few times over at this point.” I paused and waited for their rebuttals, but they never came.

“You are right Katie. As much as it pains to see you do this alone, you are our only chance.” Said Tom first followed by Robert.

“I agree. While it is not a perfect plan, it’s the only one we have right now. I will stay here with the group and ensure nobody discovers you are gone. If we are not here when you get back, don’t wait on us, understand?” he said, falling back into his usual commanding officer tone.

“Let’s hope for the best. We are all getting out of here, together.” I said, reaching up to grip each of their shoulders. “We’ve been through tougher acts then this.”

Thankfully we were all in agreement. I was not sure what I was going to do if they had argued a bit more. Running out the door and locking it behind me would have been the obvious choice of action. I’m glad it did not come to that.

I said my goodbyes, and everyone wished me good luck. With one final salute, I stepped foot outside the cell and pressed my fingertips to the door control panel.

“Close and Lock.” I said quietly, figuring the opposite would work to close and relock the door. Thankfully, I was correct.

The hallways were barren, much like when we first arrived. I had no clue where I was heading but imagined if I just kept going in one direction, I would eventually find something. So, that is what I did. I set off down the hall, pausing at every intersection to check for patrolling guards. There was nobody. Even when we first came through here, we had seen a few. I wonder if they were all guarding Crim. It would make sense.

One cue, I heard the echoing rhythm of boots stomping across the hard steel floor. Not just one either, it sounded like half a dozen at least. Peering around a corner, I spotted them a few hallways down. They were fully armed like every other person we had seen and were all heading in the same direction. That is where I needed to be. I double checked once more before darting down the passageway to follow them, the sound of their marching ringing in my ear.