There was no time to think about what had happened.

They made their way down, and it led them to a very narrow and dimly lit hall. It was difficult enough to carry one person on her back and guide a child with her other hand. Now the cramped passage makes it even harder. If the assailants came from behind, Kinney would be unable to react in time.

They heard footsteps ahead about halfway through. Kinney froze as she clutched Elizabeth's hand tightly.

“Elizabeth, reach for my pistol and give it to me.”

The child fumbled as she attempted to draw the gun from her holster and place it in her hand. Kinney then handed Alice the gun.

“Kinney, It’s been so long-”

“Princess, I cannot fire while I am carrying you. You have more height, which will give us an advantage.”

“Kinney no, I cannot-”

“Please Alice, Please.”

Alice trembled as she held the gun.

The three of them continued to go deeper until they reached an intersecting hall. Kinney was unsure which of the three paths ahead of them would lead to safety.

“Ely.” Alice said softly. “Use your necklace. Hold it and ask it where to go.”

Done as she was told, the child tried but felt nothing. Elizabeth closed her eyes and gripped it tighter. It came to her suddenly, as if a voice had whispered in her ear.

“Right. We need to go right.”

The necklace led them through the corridors and down a flight of stairs that led deeper into the hull. Kinney knew the boarding hangar was at the bottom, and that it was their best chance to escape the attackers.

There are some lifeships down there. We just need to get past this floor, and we'll have a clear path to safety.

Another floor down, and it got darker with the lights so spread out that some of the halls were completely covered in darkness.

The three of them held their breath as they followed the necklace deeper in, but they had not encountered any threats thus far. They passed by numerous shafts and intersections, and Kinney was convinced that luck was on their side because they hadn't encountered a single one of the assailants, which was a miracle.

They walked through a pitch-black corridor, and Kinney placed her hand on the wall to feel where they were going. She sensed they were approaching another intersection. Before Elizabeth could guide them, they heard the sound of footsteps.

Kinney couldn't tell where the steps came from. Suddenly, Elizabeth was grabbed from behind.

She struggled to see behind her as the child screamed at the top of her lungs. Alice panicked as she tried to make Kinney turn around when the assailant tackled them both to the ground.

Elizabeth's screams were muffled as the attacker covered her with his forearm and Alice dropped the gun she was holding. Kinney felt that the assailant landed on her legs and pinned them down. The attacker punched her and Alice, unsure who he was going to hit because the pitch black passage made it impossible to see. The hits devastated Kinney as she tried to shield Alice from the punches.

The attacker then cried out in pain.

Elizabeth had bit the assailant's forearm, and when Kinney felt the man shift, she used it and kicked him repeatedly in the chest.

“Alice get the gun! Find the gun!”

But in the total darkness, Alice couldn't see what was going on, let alone where the gun landed. Alice crawled forwards on Kinney's back, as she scrambled to find the gun in the dim light.

Elizabeth was still trapped in the man's arms, and Kinney received blow after blow to her legs and back. Each hit landed with a sickening thud on her body. Then, after a flash of light and a loud bang, it stopped.

As Elizabeth cried, Kinney kicked whatever was on her legs. When she flipped over, all she saw was darkness.

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It is a total miracle that the princess hit the assailant in the dark. An absolute, complete miracle.

Alice comforted her daughter, but Kinney knew the fight echoed throughout the halls.

“We don’t have time for this! Get on my back! The whole ship must have heard us by now!” As Alice climbed on her back, Kinney could feel the damage done to her legs, the pain stabbed, flared, and stung as she stood. She tried her best to suppress a scream. Her legs seared with white hot pain, but they could not stop there.

“Elizabeth which way?!”

The child did not respond.

“Elizabeth which way?!” Kinney roared.

“Kinney! She has been-”

“Right!”

Kinney dragged the child forcefully down the hall when she heard the direction. When an alarm went off throughout the ship, they could see the light at the far end of the hall. Kinney led them through until they came to another staircase.

One step down, and the agony in her legs erupted, causing her to lose her balance. Kinney was still holding Elizabeth's hand, and the three of them fell down together. Kinney hit the bottom first, causing her to black out.

=0o0=

Kinney was on her back when she opened her eyes, and her ears rang while her vision blurred. She could see two figures on top of her. And as more of her vision returned, she recognized them as Alice and Elizabeth.

As they desperately tried to wake her up, tears streamed down their cheeks. She did not hear anything, but their faces were relieved when Kinney shook her head. She flipped over to see that they had landed at the airship hangar.

“Get on. Quick.”

Kinney said as she shook her head, hoping to restore more of her vision. Alice climbed onto Kinney's back and noticed that she had a large gash on the top of her head, causing blood to flow freely. Her tears flowed as she felt sorry for the woman who was laying her life at stake to protect them both.

Kinney led them into the vast hangar. The hangar had two floors, the first of which they were currently standing on. Above them, high on the hangar ceilings, were the life ships suspended in mid-air, accessible from the second floor. Kinney moaned at the sight of the ladder, unsure if she could make the climb.

The alarm went off, and she realized they were running out of time.

As they approached the ladder case, Kinney noticed something that made her heart sink. The controls for opening the doors were located near the steps. She'd have to get both of them up the ladder, then go back down to open the hatch and let the lifeships fall, but that would take too long.

Kinney's pain exploded as she took her first step up the ladder. She needed both hands to support herself and Alice on the railings, so she needed to let go of Elizabeth. She released the child’s hand, but Elizabeth grabbed her hand again. Kinney shook her off.

“Elizabeth, listen to me.” But the child clung back. “Elizabeth! Listen to me! I will be back! I need you to be a big girl alright? I need you to stay here and when I yell out, open the hatch, you pull this lever here-” she pointed to the controls. “Got it?”

“Kinney, she is a child! Leave me and please just take her!”

Elizabeth began to cry loudly as she tried to cling to Kinney while Alice protested loudly on her back.

“Elizabeth, please! We are running out of time!” Kinney shook the child off and pushed her when the child refused to let go, causing the child to stumble and fall.

She wasted no time in making the agonizing climb up the steps while Alice yelled to her daughter, who sat at the bottom. She cried and begged Kinney to abandon her and save her child instead.

Once at the top, Kinney opened the nearest lifeship and opened the hatch doors. She then dropped Alice inside.

“Elizabeth, pull the lever!” But the child cried as she sat there. “Elizabeth, pull the lever! Now!”

Elizabeth loudly wailed, but shakily got up and pulled the lever, and soon the hangar doors began to carefully open. The strong wind that blew in when the door was opened caused everything in the hangar to shake violently. When the lifeships swung freely, a bullet whizzed past Kinney's shoulder.

“They're here! They're here!” An attacker yelled out at the distant end of the hall.

More men started to emerge, but Kinney’s plan began to unfold as well. The lifeships were now loose and some of them began to fall all over the hangar. Kinney used this chaos to race down the ladder and reach the child.

None of the attackers could get a clear shot as they scrambled to avoid the lifeships that fell. Others were not as lucky, as the lifeships landed right on top of them. But it was then that Kinney, as she carried Elizabeth in her arms, realized her mistake.

The lifeship Alice was on fell as well. The hatch door snapped shut as it slid and fell through the wide open hangar door.

"Mama! Mama!" Elizabeth repeatedly yelled out. She tried to wriggle free, but Kinney held on to her tightly. One of the last few lifeships that still dangled fell and landed close to them, its hatch door wide open. Kinney took the chance; she sprinted towards the open door and, once she was close enough, threw the child inside. She then slammed the hatch door shut from the outside.

The lifeship only had a small window at the hatch door, and once Elizabeth had recovered, she ran to the door and slammed her fist against the metal and yelled for Kinney, but she did not reply. The window was out of reach, but she struggled to climb it just so she could see what was happening outside.

Kinney pushed the lifeship towards the wide open hangar door, but she was so focused that she did not see what was happening behind her.

The masked assailants recovered from the debris, and aimed their rifles at them when another person crept from behind. It wore a mask that resembled a human skull with sharp fangs instead of teeth and eyes that were darker than coal, with its head crowned with two horns.

It was the same one she saw just before Jasper shut the door, and this time it was coming after Kinney.

Elizabeth screamed in fear as the person wearing the horned skull mask dashed towards them.

As it got closer, time seemed to slow down in the child's eyes. Elizabeth slammed her hand against the glass, pleading with her guard to turn around, but her grip slipped and she fell to the floor. Elizabeth hit her head, and her vision began to fade, but not before she heard Kinney scream.

The lifeship then jerked violently, and she felt it come to a stop again, but this time the sounds of Kinney's scream seemed to vanish as well.