CHAPTER 9: SUNLIGHT

Stale dust and crumbling concrete rained down on my cell as the walls shook and cracked from a nearby that explosion rocked the building above me. Not even fifteen minutes (or about two hundred and eighty three mississippi's by my count) had passed since the commotion had started and I was right, it was getting louder and closer. 

The pandemonium outside increased in tempo like the transformation of a rave into a riot, with wild and strange sounds joining the cacophony of combat. Overlaid above the more recognisable sounds of a prison riot gone wrong were what could only be described as sound effects from a movie. I heard laser rifles and blasters, hair raising crackles of energy and gouts of furious flame, and found it fascinating and alarming in equal measure.

I could make out guards yelling out orders on the floors above me as they prepared for whatever it was to reach them.  

What was going on out there and can I have in on the fun? 

No I’m not some sort of battle junkie, but if there is a prison riot goin on I want my chance to vent my ‘frustrations’ on my captors.

I licked my lips at the thought of getting my hands on the interrogator from the intercom, I know it was pretty unrealistic seeing as I had never seen his face and only heard his voice through a distorted speaker, but a girl can dream right? In the meantime I had some more practical worries.

I’m not sure anything really prepares you for this sort of situation, but given my first worry was this building coming down on my head, I backed myself up against the bars of my cell hoping elementary school earthquake drills were right about the relative safety of entryways.

I’ll be honest, out of all the things that could happen to me in this prison, being crushed or killed by a building falling on me was not something I had accounted for. Poor planning I know.

My second worry was what I was going to do when whatever was tearing up the place reached me. Whatever it was, it didn't seem like the armed guards were having an easy time stopping it from their panicked shouts. 

As much as the sound of the panicked shouts of my captors was sweet music to my ears, I couldn’t count on the old maxim, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. I might be able to take advantage of this confusion and escape, but my experiences in life had given birth to a nihilistic inner voice that warned against such hope, ‘You might have to fight for your life before the end’.

With an explosion of sound followed by my frightened squeals, the building groaned and screamed as it rocked on its foundations and a downpour of rubble shook loose as the walls and ceiling cracked under the strain. 

I held onto the cell’s bars for dear life, as I was almost thrown to the floor. That one was close, too close, rather the destruction had finally reached the building that housed me with all the subtlety of a twenty-one gun salute. 

So, have you ever tried to meditate on a battlefield or in an earthquake? Not easy right?  I am sure you can imagine the difficulty I had as I manifested my sword and ball of shadows ready to blast the first thing to enter my cell. I had scarcely succeeded, when the half the ceiling and one wall of my cell just vanished, allowing sunlight to spill into the darkness like water no longer held back by a dam wall.

I hadn’t seen sunlight in months and it was blinding. I felt like I was staring into the sun, my eyes burning even as I felt the sunlight suffuse me as I unconsciously consumed it’s fortifying energy.

I squinted as my vision returned and found myself looking up at the silhouette of a figure hovering in the now empty space no longer filled by concrete and soil. The figure descended into my cell and now I could now make out it was a caped man, garbed in a mask and armored bodysuit  like something out of the comic books. A Hero? 

“I heard your calls for help, young lady. I have come to rescue you from our mundane oppressors,” quoth the figure dramatically, with an outstretched hand. 

It may seem odd in such a moment, but I couldn’t help admire my rescuer’s heroic persona, he had a flair for the dramatic  and was dressed for the part. His identity was concealed by a black helm with silver highlights, that covered the top half of his face and continuing the theme, his body suit was black with silver plating, that I couldn’t help but think of as modern body armor crossed with a knight's shining plate. Billowing out behind him as if caught in wind or threaded with metal wires was a regal dark purple cape.

He still held his arm out as if waiting for a reply and I realised I had been open mouthed gawking at him. My face flushed red from embarrassment.

“A-ah! Thank you… I wasn’t expecting my SOS to actually work, or a- a hero to come to the rescue,” Ok I was stammering, sue me! I’m embarrassed and I dare you to try and sound normal when an overly dramatic caped hero, breaks you out of prison.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Hero?” He chuckled.

“What makes you think I am a hero?” He growled. I gulped as he flashed me a vicious smirk. Nice teeth though, must have had good dental work and guessing by that defined chin he’s probably a pretty handsome guy under that mask, not that I was into handsome guys. Not to mention he was probably at least double my age.

“I guess you haven’t heard of the notorious villain, rabble-rouser and general menace to society, Unbowed. You mail one tiny manifesto to the media, threatening the government and all of a sudden they label you a villain. A villain! It's absurd really!” he monologued, sounding equally amused and outraged.

Is this guy for real? He is joking right? Who am I kidding, I would hug Marvel’s Loki if he broke me out of this prison. Sign me the fuck up for Magneto’s evil brotherhood of mutants.

“Villain or Hero, I’m coming with if you’re here to get me out of this hellhole,” I replied with as much bluster as I could manage. I’ll sort this mess out later once I’m the waaay outta here.

He shot forward, causing me to let out a startled girlish squeal, as he scooped me up with one arm and tossed me onto his shoulder like a sack of grain. What? No princess carry?

Watching over his shoulder, my dark home of the last few months shrank away as we glided up out of the hole, until we were just above prison’s roofs. It was then I caught my first sight of the place of my long captivity. It was like an anthill disturbed. Prisoners poured out of the prison’s four large blocks, as guards besieged by vengeful inmates holed up in small groups, unable to stop or pursue those making good their escape. 

Sirens screamed in the distance as the long arm of the law slowly responded. A flash caught my attention and I screamed at Unbowed to dodge as a beam of pure light shot past us before a pulse sped up it’s length and exploded just above us.

Fear stabbed at my heart, as the golden figure of a six winged avenging angel rose to confront us. Waving his hand, Unbowed materialised a wall of flame, sending it at the angel, before diving towards the ground. 

As we sped low across the prison grounds, a blue and green Captain America rip-off, summoned a plow shaped, shield of rippling blue energy and charged at us with all the intent of an incoming semi-trailer.

Acting on instincts I had come to trust, I launched a ball of shadows into the ground in front of him. The ground exploded as if a shell had hit, sending a fountain of dust, dirt, grass and stone billowing into air, blinding the hero. The charging hero, now blind and unable to stop, continued forward into the crater stumbling as the ground disappeared beneath his feet and he went skidding across the ground leaving a shallow furrow behind him.

“Enjoy eating dirt fuckhead,” I jubilantly yelled, before yelping in pain as my trusty steed slapped the back of my legs.

“Watch your language, young lady!” my rescuer sternly reproached. 

“What does me swearing have to do with you? You’re not my dad and if you were I’d blast you where the sun doesn’t shine for leaving me in-,” I was rudely interrupted by a clod of mud landing in my open mouth, as another beam of light impacted the ground next us, showing us in earth.

“If I was your dad I would have raised you better, anywho I guess Seraph just washed your mouth out for me, well... Now that you literally have a dirty mouth,” he chuckled.

Spitting out the chalky tasting dirt, I prepared to unleash a string of expletives at the angel and Unbowed, only to have Unbowed clamp a hand across my mouth muffling me, as he again rose into the sky.

“Brother! Sister! You would turn your talents, your gifts against your own kind in defence of these humans. Who kidnap us. Imprison us. Experiment on US! You should be standing with us! Against the true villainous personas in their perches of power. Who wield their state sanctioned force against us. Out of the most base fears and jealousy!” Unbowed peached with all the passion of a priest, the fire of a revolutionary and the soul of a poet, I felt moved despite myself.

Oh God, I am being rescued by a real life Dadneto… 

Not swayed by his speech, the angel let loose another beam of light, hitting my villainous hero center mass. The angel flashed a triumphant grin that quickly turned to shocked outrage as the beam... Did nothing. It struck, pulsed and then just vanished...

“How? Damn you! I don’t care about your twisted ideology or your damaging manifesto! The law has the ultimate right to judge and condemn the people, and the people in this facility have been condemned. Submit... before I make you submit, and justice may be merciful!” the angel said, her voice boiling with rage and frustration. 

“The law? Condemned? I never saw, lawyer, court or ju-” Unbowed again covered my mouth, before shooting me a stern glare that seemed to say ‘the grown ups are speaking.’

His voice came out a menacing whisper, cutting through the noise like the chill quiet after winter snowfall.

“Submit? I believe you are talking to the wrong person, I am Unbowed. I submit before no one and certainly not a puppet of this gangrenous justice. I will burn it away, wherever it rears its corrupted head.” Heat licked at my face, as a plume of fire coalesced in front of us, before shooting off towards the winged hero.

With a sword of light, she cut through the flames, emerging unscathed to find the space we’d once been vacated. 

Having dived out of sight behind one of the prison blocks, Unbowed made good our escape. I couldn’t help but think it was barely in time, as new heroes arrived on the scene, the police scarcely far behind. 

As we flew off, low to the ground and dodging between skirmishes, I watched as the few inmates who remained, made their choices to fight or finally flee.

Within minutes we were at the outskirts of the state forest and from my hero’s shoulder I watched the lazy clouds drift across a brilliant blue sky. I’d never realised how beautiful the afternoon sunlight was. A bit cliche, but I was free and I was going to find Kelly!

Wait what about my revenge...