e time before I was able to raise my head. Opening my eyes, it brought back the fact that this certainly wasn't a dream, my vision was still hazy, but the earth walls surrounding me, connected to another wall of what was my town before all this. What a weird few days it had been. I began crawling to the wall of rubble, without even conscious realization. Arm after arm, little movements after who knows how long got me to the wall. A slight incline. Hand after hand I began hauling myself up the wall. I managed a good few feet before I felt someone grab onto my feet, sending me flying back to my starting point, after rolling quite a few times I came to a stop. Looking back, I saw one of the bandits standing over me.

"You best not try that again , I have no trouble killing kids me."

I could barely respond, I found myself conscious of my breathing once again, the rasping breaths surprised me quite a lot. I had thought I had been breathing normally. The bandit began to move away, back towards the wall, where he just laid his back and stayed looking at us. We had no freedom. I had to get another one of the only four kids left in the earthen prison now, there had been a lot more. Ben was here, along with two others I only knew vaguely. They were huddled in their own little group a few metres from me. Ben seemed pretty animated about something although I couldn't hear what they were saying. Seeing me looking over, he began to make his way over. Looking down on me as well for a second, he crouched down, offering me a hand.

"Come Micael, we are just planning our next few moves, we are the outcasts."

I wasn't sure completely what he meant, with his help I managed to make my way over to the group.

"You are even more beat up than Ben was and that's saying something"

"Shut up Joyd"

Ben was quick to take charge of the situation even now. Setting me down on a small outcrop of the new wall. It wasn't comfortable by any means, but sitting upright did help me gain back a little bit of conscious thought. Looking up I could see all the group looking at me as if waiting for something. After a few seconds I felt a little self-conscious.

"What, what do you guys want"

"A thank you maybe"

A glare from Ben shut Joyd up once again.

"We were just wondering how you felt, what made you think you could escape like that?"

It took me a second to remember what they were talking about. My head still wasn't working properly, I could feel that much. After finally gaining some idea of what happened I was almost as confused as they were.

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"I don't know, I just know I wanted to escape so badly, I had to get out of this place, no matter what"

Ben grins spoke volumes about what he had planned.

"Finally someone with some balls, these two assholes don't have the guts for the escape I have planned."

That perked me up, I always knew Ben was smart, Still I felt a sinking feeling in my gut because I say in such a partnership I would more likely to be the one distracting than the one escaping. There had to be another way for me to escape even now. I couldn't be stuck here, what the hell was going to happen to me. My thoughts began to spiral as the panic of having to stay here and get punished for being the distraction in the first place. They continued to spiral into a pit of despair. That was when I was slapped in the face.

"Focus you idiot, I don't know what you were trying to do, getting lost in your own head is going to get you killed one day."

Nodding to keep the tears out of my eyes, I attempted to put some bravado in my voice.

"So what's the plan. One of us distract the guards while the others escape?"

Ben looked at me askance for a second.

"Leave someone behind to take the brunt of the Guards attention, probably getting killed in the process. No. The plan is to awaken, pretend to be perfect little soldiers and slowly take them down from the inside"

He paused and looked us each in the eyes to make sure we understood at least a little what was happening. Satisfied at least one of us was paying attention.

"When we do that, we can go back to the empire as hero's, become Citizens and from there the world is ours to do whatever we want with it."

I wasn't totally sure about the plan. Without the Ancient schooling I would never be able to get back my house that was rightfully mine in the Capital. Sure being a citizen again would help greatly, but without that training, I would always be weaker than the powerhouses in my former clan. I couldn't see another way out though. The thick dangerous walls of town that surrounded was impassable, especially with mr throwy back there keeping watch. They probably had some magic detector past the wall as well just in case someone escapes. There is no way I would be able to outrun an awakened Mage, so I was left with very little options.

Nodding my head resolutely I had to go in on the plan. There was no other choice.

"Micael good, at least one of us isn't a coward. For now all we can do is wait to be awakened and see what our options are from there. Come, it isn't long now, lets all rest for a bit."

That sounded good to me, lying back into my makeshift seat, I let myself relax as much as I could.