Apparently two of the creatures were clouting each other for no reason outside Kiara’s chamber. After half an hour of waiting, the brawlers moved away and Kiara finally took her chances.

“I am going,” Kiara said to me. My link with her required less effort as she shifted to the door. “The corridor is empty. Should I go left or right?”

“Try out both,” I directed her. “I will see which one’s correct.”

Kiara did as told. The difference was very slight. Yet it was recognisable.

“Go left.”

“I just hope one of those Frankesteins doesn't show up,” Kiara said. And then a few moments later, “Umm, Vicky, I think there is someone coming my way.”

My heart was galloping like a derby horse. I wasn’t at the scene so I let Kiara think on her own. My opinions might only confuse her.

“This is crazy,” Kiara said, “but there is a pillar here and I am modifying my body to become as flat as possible. Pray for me, Vicky!”

I did pray for her. I remembered Kiara experimenting with her appearance for fun and to please me. Who would have thought such a spell would come in handy in a survival situation?

“All right, all right, all right!” Kiara sighed.

“What happened?” I asked.

“They passed me,” Kiara said. “They were too busy hitting each other’s faces, and they missed my flat form. These creatures don’t seem to like each other very much. All right, there is a turn ahead…”

A few heartbeats later, I noticed that the link with Kiara was requiring additional effort, which was very odd. Then Kiara declared that she had come to a dead end.

“There is just a room here, and it’s reeking!” Kiara said. “I think it’s their toilet or something. I can’t bear the stink, I feel like I am going to throw up. But I don’t understand, you told me to come this way!”

“Yes, it doesn’t make any sense to me,” I said, absentmindedly pulling the hairs of my chin. I saw only one explanation– the corridors were laid out in a fashion that some parts were closer to the dimension than others.

“There’s only one thing you can do,” I told Kiara, “go back to the initial point, and take the right turn.”

“Are you sure?” Kiara asked.

“Unless you want to use the toilet, get moving.”

“Darn it,” Kiara said. “I just hope I don’t come across those creatures again. I find them revolting. Okay, I am going back. Shit! Someone’s coming out of that toilet, I need to be fast.” Kiara tiptoed all the way back to the starting point, the chamber.

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“I just saw someone entering the chamber,” Kiara said. “They are shouting! I think they have realized that I am missing. All right, I am running now. Will they see me crossing the door of the chamber? I don’t know. Pray for me, Vicky!”

My prayers didn’t reach the gods.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Kiara said. “They have seen me. I see a turn ahead. I am taking it.”

Not moments after Kiara had taken the turn, I sensed that I barely required any energy to keep the mental connect. Kiara confirmed why:

“I see a door ahead,” she said, “But—”

“I think it’s our door. But what?”

“Two creatures are coming towards me from the door,” Kiara said, “Plus there is one at my heels. What do I do Vicky!”

My heart sang lub-dub and adrenaline pumped. The worst part was I could do nothing but bite my nails. I was standing close to the door and I could hear someone running outside. Kiara.

“Kiara? Kiara?” I said. But she didn’t respond. I still had the mind link with her, but Kiara had gone quiet. I understood why. She was figuring out a solution on her own.

More commotion outside.

A woman’s shrill scream.

I pressed my hands and prayed, shaking with emotion.

Funny how I remembered God only in times of trouble. Selfish me.

More noises. My heart pounded in my chest. I knew that Kiara was very much conscious but I didn’t dare disturb her asking questions. She had to deal with this alone. If she failed, we were all doomed.

I had thought Kiara was the one who needed to be helped. But things had flipped. She was not the damsel in distress, but the heroine. I was the distressed dude who needed to be rescued from the dimensional prison.

All of a sudden the door burst open.

In fell Kiara, her legs bound together by a ring of pulsing plasma. Behind her, one Smartian was down on the floor and getting up, another was controlling the loop of plasma around her legs with an iron club. A third Smartian was hobbling in fast from the far end of the corridor.

The prisoners snatched the opportunity. This was what they had been waiting for a lifetime. They flooded out of the door like water bursting out of a dam. There were way too many monsters and just a handful Smartians. Kiara was free in seconds. The plasma had burnt portions of her trousers below her knees, scalding her skin.

“Kiara!” I said, as I put her head on my lap to rest. She was inhaling hard.

“Wow,” Kiara said, clenching her jaw muscles, her eyes narrowed, “I don’t know how I got past them. I just ran zig zag and that somehow did the job. I am glad I was able to save you.”

I had health vials with me. One of these I fed to Kiara so that she was up in a jiffy. We grabbed each other and kissed. I looked into her eyes, filled with all the thankfulness in the world to be seeing and touching her again.

“So, are you glad that you brought me along?” Kiara asked me, tilting her head backwards and raising an eyebrow.

“I would have remained a prisoner for the rest of forever without you,” I said, for it was the truth.

“Well, you are going to remain my prisoner for the rest of forever,” Kiara said and she pressed her lips against mine.

Hearing sounds of bodies falling to the floor we broke apart.

More Smartians had arrived. In total they were still far fewer than the monsters. There were only a maximum of twenty Smartians. They were carrying pipes in their hands that vaguely resembled guns. They were spilling a black gas with these. It was the same one that the Smartians had used to make Kiara and the soldiers unconscious earlier.

The Smartians were putting up a brave last stand. But the determination of the free prisoners after a long period of confinement was explosive. Though many fell unconscious, there were others who were able to hold their breath resolutely. They cornered their abusers, and seized the pipes.