Name: Orb
Age: 15
Birthday: Capricorn 28th
Hair: Primary White (standard), Red (anger), Green (excitement), Yellow (fear), Brown (nervousness), Grey (confusion), Cream (hunger), Lime (lying), Orange (discomfort), Black (worry), Pink (happiness), Purple (?), Gold (arrogance), Blue (embarrassed)
Secondary: Silver
Eyes: Blue (left) and Gold (Right)
Height: 168 cm
Likes: Drawing, Food, Snow Sculptures, Books, Captivant, Wolfie, Draga, Meat, Villagers
Dislikes: Being left alone, Physical contact, Cliffs, weakness, Cole
“Orb, this is a good spot.”
“All right then, hold on,” I say as I move quickly so we can make it there undetected.
I drop Maple in said spot and say, “Repeat the plan for me.”
“As you sneak, I will watch you from afar and assist with long-range shots whenever you need help. And when you come out of the mine, I will tell Atalanta to get Willow the 2nd ready, and then we go.”
“Now, tell me the route I am going to follow.”
Maple tells me exactly how I am planning to reach the mine. Because of this, I start rubbing my hand on her head. I say, “Good Job.”
“Don’t talk to me as if I am a baby.”
“I am not just rewarding you for all your hard work. You were never good at studying, but you learned all that for everyone’s sake, so good job, Maple.”
Bashfully she tells me to, “Get going, Orb.”
“I will, and the next time you see me, I will be back with your husband.”
“He isn’t my husband,” Maple says as I run off.
Now it is finally time. I can’t screw this up. So, I started to follow the path laid out for me. I move from point to point quickly, and with my ability to create ice on my hand and feet, I can stay in places where I won't be seen.
While moving I did notice something strange; there was a severe lack of guards everywhere. I cannot hear a thing. I thought they were supposed to have more security today, not less. But regardless of that, I move on with the plan.
One of the reasons, we chose this specific route is because Atalanta saw some guards my size around this area, so I needed to knock one of them out and take his clothes since, in the mine I won’t have as much space to hide so blending in is my best option.
So, after a bit of searching, I find the guards in question there are two of them, so after a few preparations, I jump in and knock out one of them. But as I try to hit the second, he moves back quickly and is about to shout. But a white arrow hits him, causing him to stop, so I also knock him out.
As the arrow disappears, I realise it was Maple who shot it. I should thank her for coming after all. So, I freeze the bodies at the bottom of one of the bridges and change my clothes. They wear silver uniforms with red and black designs. They also come with hats which I can use to hide my face. The man whose clothes I stole has black hair, so I need to try and start panicking.
“Orb comes on; think about things that make you worry,” I say. So, I started thinking that the worst might have happened to the people back at the tunnels, that everyone in the mines are dead, and that this plan will fail miserably, and in no time, my hair turned pitch black.
Okay, I have to keep this mindset until I have reached everyone. I follow the laid-out path until I get to the mine, and as nonchalantly as I can muster, I walk inside.
-Break-
Φ “Everyone gets ready,” I say as I return from the 2nd floor. “We are getting out, now.”
In mere moments after I say this, everyone stands up and prepares to follow me.
So far, everything has been going well. I knocked out the person with the kaidenwa on each floor, then freed all the prisoners who wanted to escape. Then I bring them to the lunch area while I move onto the next floor.
But now, as we move onto the last floor before the lift, I tell everyone to come with me to save time.
We pass through the 2nd floors prisons and free all those who want to come with us. And then, we make it to the second-floor mining area. I tell everyone with me to wait as I walk in.
I get close to the guard with the kaidenwa. As he sees me, he says, “Willow, you look out of breath. What’s going on.”
“What do you mean? I was told you were in trouble, so I came from the lunch area as fast as possible.”
“Who told you such a thing?”
“It was Jerry.”
“That idiot to think he would do something like this on such a day. Let me talk to him,” Mion says as he takes out his kaidenwa.
While his back is turned, I hit him in the balls, and as he falls, I smack him at full force on the back of his head, then scream, “SEQUOIA!” And at that moment, not only the prisoners of this floor but the ones I told to wait in the hallway rush in and start knocking out the guards.
After we clean up the guards and free the prisoners on this level, I and some other people start picking up the crystals we need for my plan, while the others lower the elevator to this floor.
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I have been wondering where Cyrus has been. He wasn’t on any of the other floors, so I thought for sure he would be working here. There is no way Tana would ever willingly let Cyrus off work.
But as I mulled over these thoughts, I heard enormous screams as bodies flew through the room. Surprised by these events, I run over to see what is happening, and I see Tana sitting with his knees crossed on the elevator and Cyrus standing in front of him.
Frightened by the sight in front of me, I freeze up. But not the other prisoners. They rush directly at Tana.
Tana says, “Cyrus,” and in mere moments, Cyrus knocks all the prisoners away effortlessly.
“EVERYONE DON’T DO ANYTHING!”
Seeing me, Tana said, “Oh, there you are, Willow; I was wondering where you ran off to,” he then sent the elevator back up and walked up close to me. He kicks me in the face, and said, “You must take me for an idiot.”
Recoiling from the blow, I say, “How did you find out?”
Crouching down in front of me, he says, “Do you know why all these people are following your dangerous plan? That is because you offered them something worth the risk, so all I had to do was offer them something more. isn’t that right Quant.”
From the crowd of people behind me, Quant walks out. Shocked by this, I scream, “WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS.”
“He offered that I could spend the rest of my time on this earth with my daughter. That is all I want. Your plan was just a way to reach that goal. I don’t care about freedom.”
“But Quant, you would have been able to live with your daughter without screwing us all over.”
Tana kicks me in my face again and says, “Due to all the infliction Quant sustained while he was here, he won’t live for another year. So, freedom isn’t worth much to him. And that goes for you all as well. Anyone who has been here for three years is already past the point of no return, and do all of you think you could make it through the back route? I can guarantee eighty per cent of you would die on such a journey. You guys never had any hope of escaping. All you have done is put yourself on my radar.”
He gets up and walks away, saying, “Now I guess it is time for punishment,” as he smiles at everyone. “What should I do? Rip off the hostage’s skin, slowly, takes out their eyeballs, break each finger one by one. I can’t wait But don’t worry they won’t suffer alone, since you will all be getting your punishments as well.”
I look around, and I see faces full of despair. The words Tana said have crushed their already weak spirits.
“Though I would rather not do any of that, so let’s compromise. If you all bow down right now and apologise, I will pretend that none of this has happen.”
Hearing this, I say to everyone, “DO AS HE SAYS!” I can’t let anyone get in any more trouble. So, following my words, everyone gets down on their hands and knees and says, “UNISON, I AM SORRY.”
“Good, now all of your sins are forgiven, except you Willow. You’re going to die right now.” Before I had a chance to register his words, Buloke jumped at him. But was sent flying back by Cyrus.
Tana then grabs my head, smashes it into the ground, and says, “I can forgive everyone else here. They were drunk on false hope, but I can’t forgive you. Unlike everyone here, you spent a lot of time with us. You know that if you were to do something like this and those scummy money-grubbing bastards up there found out about this, they would eradicate this place. So, for your wrongdoings, I won’t forgive you.”
Forcing my head against the weight of his hand, I tell Tana, “What’s wrong about wanting to save lives.”
“Oh, if that is your angle, let me tell you your prison break will take more lives than it will save by a large margin. But I guess your ignorance is the only thing blameless about you.” As he walks away, Tana says, “Cyrus crush his skull.”
“Huh, what-a-a-at?”
“Cyrus, I didn’t stutter. I said crush his skull.”
“Bu-t-t-t-t murder is wron-n-n-ng”
Tana then walks up to him and says, “Cyrus, you happen to be stupid, so like always, leave the decision-making to me ok. Now go and crush his skull.”
Cyrus walks up to me, raises me in the air with his two hands on my head and begins to squeeze. Some of the members of my village try to help me, but I scream, “STAY WHERE YOU ARE.”
I then look into Cyrus’ eyes and say, “Cyrus, if you want to kill me, I will let you, but if you don’t want to, then stop. You shouldn’t do something like this due to someone else’s will. All it will do is scar you.”
Tana says, “Cyrus, you just told me murder is wrong. If you don’t do this, more people will die in the long run. You have never been good at making decisions, and that boy is taking advantage of that.”
“YOU’RE WRONG!” I scream. “Cyrus, I know how you feel, your scared of failure because your actions have led to catastrophe. I know the horrible pressure that falls on you when you have to make a decision, I have felt it all. It is suffocating. But just like my friend told me, I believe in you Cyrus, No matter how many you make or how many times you fail, I will believe in you. And when you can get over that fear, it is the most fulfilling feeling in the world. So, Cyrus, right now, do what you want.”
“Don’t listen to such a fool Cyrus.”
“Believe in yourself.”
“That little boy is manipulating you.”
“Don’t live a life full of regrets, Cyrus.”
“FOLLOW MY ORDER CYRUS!”
“CYRUS” I scream at the top of my lungs. Looking at him with eyes filled with nothing but determination, I say, “Right here, right now, take back control of your life. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?”
As Tana continues to scream, Cyrus lets go of me. Looking at him, I see tears running down his face, and he says to me, “I wan-n-n-nt to help my friend.”
“Thank you, Cyrus.”
I look at Tana to see him scratching his head, and then he says, “You’re a fool, Cyrus.”
“Tana, it is over for you. Let us pass.”
“You think with Cyrus’s strength, you can escape. That’s funny, but since I am not like you, I had a backup plan, earlier when I sent the elevator up without anyone. It signalled the guards to report everything to the mother and call all the reminding guards to that position. So up on the first floor, a small army awaits you.”
“We will just rip through them.”
“Oh, but you all won’t be making it up there,” Tana says as he takes off his top to reveal he has crystals all attached to his body. “These are some of the highest quality crystals. If they explode, most of you will die. Just like you all have the resolve to leave, I have the resolve to keep you here.” so he runs forward at the crowd of us.
This crazy bastard, doesn’t he know some of the guards are unconscious on this floor, or is he telling us their lives aren’t worth us escaping? What the hell am I going to do?
But while my brain is frantically scrambling for an answer, Cyrus says, “What I want to do the most right now, is protect my friend.” And moments after he says that Cyrus tackles Tana, they fall down the elevator shaft.
Φ Falling is scary, I think; this must be why dragons grew wings.
“CYRUS, YOU IDIOT, DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE COMPLICIT IN. YOU WERE ONCE BLAMELESS, BUT NOW YOU HAVE DIRTIED YOUR HANDS FOR SOMEONE ELSE’S SAKE.”
Willow was right; I feel much more at peace since I did something for myself. I hope the escape works for Willow with very minimal deaths.
As we continue to fall, I start to realise that something, that what I want right now is not to die. When this thought flows into my head, Tana explodes.
Φ I run over to the front of the elevator shaft, and moments later, I hear a large explosion. No, Cyrus, you can’t be. In a rage due to these events, I punched Quant in the face using all my strength, which sends him flying, amazed by the strength I just used, I compose myself and say to everyone with tears in my eyes, “We have no time to waste. Let us use Cyrus’ sacrifice to the fullest.”
So, calling the elevator down, I tell everyone, “The strongest will go first. We to fight off the guards, I will need you guys to keep coming up in groups of the strongest to weakest, and when everyone is up, we will use the crystals explosions to make our way out.”
“Willow, what should we do about him,” someone says as they point at Quant.
“Take him with us. I am not done with him yet.”
So, I and the first batch of people go up prepared to fight all the guards currently up there. While we go up, my actions replay in my head. If only I had decided to let Cyrus kill me, he would still be alive, but maybe he felt at peace dying by choice, or maybe that is wishful thinking. Still, regardless of that, I want this plan to work. If the strength I used was spirit arts, I should be able to fight better now. So, all I can do is my very best.
As we arrive on the first floor, we are greeted by the bodies of all the guards, frozen and beaten up. “What the hell happened here,” I say in shock, but after looking, I see one guard perfectly fine in the middle.
As this guard walks towards us, I say to everyone, “GET READY TO FIGHT.”
But then I hear the guard say, “What a cold reunion,” while taking off his hat. And the face I see under it is Orb.