We arrived at the security room. Oddly enough, there were no guards still. The room itself had surveillance monitors for the prisoners. There were a bunch of buttons, wires, and screens all intertwined together like spaghetti.

Everything looked pretty complicated, so I decided to take a look at the monitors for some potential information about where Dans could be held. Mark, on the other hand, started rummaging through some papers lying around the desks.

From the security footage, I couldn’t really see the faces of the prisoners. I also couldn’t tell where these cameras were located, so even if I found Dans, I wouldn’t know where to look. These monitors seemed like a dead end. I needed to find something more reliable. I walked over to Mark to see what he was up to.

“Find anything?” I asked.

“No.” He handed me a binder. “Look through that.”

I took the binder and started flipping through. It was a list of prisoners. This could be useful.

I started flipping through the pages, but there were so many prisoners. It didn’t help that the names weren’t in alphabetical order. I thought maybe they were in chronological order, so I flipped all the way to the back, but Dans’s name wasn’t there. Who made this stupid book? I flipped back to the start and started reading through the list of names again.

While we were flipping through the binders, I heard quiet footsteps getting louder and louder. Before I could confirm who they were, I instinctively dropped the binder and locked the security room door. I turned to face Mark. He put his fingers to his lips, signaling for me to be quiet. We stood still, listening to the footsteps outside.

The sound of footsteps stopped in front of the door. It was quiet for a few seconds before the doorknob rattled. Somebody was trying to get in. Then the rattling stopped. It got quiet again. I readied my baton and held my breath. Are they gone? I was about to turn back to Mark when suddenly a loud bang shook the entire door. It sounded like they were trying to smash through the locked entrance. I quickly faced the door again, holding the baton forward, ready to zap whoever was trying to bust into the room. If it weren’t for my gloves, I could only imagine how sweaty my hands were.

Another loud thud hit the door. The sound was deafening. I could feel the door hinges vibrating. And then another bang. And another. Then an unusual silence. For a few seconds, it felt like whoever was out there stopped. I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe they gave up.

BANG!

The door flew open with a final slam. I first saw the feet. Bare feet. Then the legs. They were wearing an all too familiar wetsuit. Then they walked in. She walked in. It was Dans.

Saying that I was shocked was an understatement. The baton I had held so tightly in my hands fell to the ground. I furrowed my brows in confusion, but my mouth was wide open. I quickly exchanged glances with Mark. He was as wide-eyed with surprise as me. But the most surprised was Dans. She looked back and forth between the bruised Mark and me. The clanging of metal when the baton hit the ground was the only thing that broke the silence.

Mark suddenly fell to the ground as his legs gave way. “Oh, it’s… it’s really you, Cap’n.” He let out a warm smile. It seemed like he was more worried than I had first thought.

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“Why… are you here?” Dans asked.

“Why do you think?” I chimed in. “Don’t tell me you had no faith in Mark.”

She turned to face me. “This isn’t a game, Mel. Nobody’s getting out alive if they find out.”

“Sheesh, you two are so similar,” I said. “I’m just returning the favor. And you’re not gunna persuade me otherwise.”

She sighed. “Alright. I need to find a way to open a cell. Will you give me a hand?”

“What for?” I asked.

“Darrell’s still alive. I need to get him out.”

Before I could react, I noticed something strange. Dans kept hiding her right arm behind her back. “Wait.” I tried to turn her around, but she backed away.

“We need to focus, Mel. I need you to help me find a way to open the cell.”

“Dans, what are you doing? Why are you backing up like that?”

Mark who was smiling all warmly suddenly changed his tone. “Captain? Is that blood dripping there?”

Dans quickly swiped her feet across the floor. “What? No. No, just… let’s just focus—”

I grabbed her right arm and pulled it out from behind her back. It was dripping with blood and the place where her hand was supposed to be, it was covered in bandage wraps splotched with red. Dans winced in pain.

Mark stood back up. “Captain.” He grabbed her right arm from my hand and held it up for everyone to see. “What is the meaning of this?”

“It’s fine. It’s not important.”

“What do you mean it’s not important?” I asked.

Ignoring the both of us, Mark pulled out a new set of bandage wraps somewhere from his suit. He pulled Dans to a nearby chair and sat her down. He knelt down and started unraveling the bloody mess around Dans’s arm.

As Mark slowly revealed her injury, I was appalled at the situation Dans’s hand was in. It was no minor injury. The hand was sliced almost cleanly off. I averted my gaze.

For a few minutes, I could hear Mark rewrapping new bandages around her arm. I tried to focus on the security streams, but I couldn’t get the image out of my head.

I heard Mark ask, “What happened? If we find your severed hand, I can reattach it.”

“There is no need. It was expected.”

“Expected?” I turned back around. “What do you mean, expected?”

“Instead of being executed, I was let off with a minor injury,” she replied calmly. “This was the best outcome.”

Best outcome? I angrily slammed my hand on one of the desks. “What’s wrong with you?” I yelled. “He took your hand! What’s next? Your legs? You’re just gunna let him rip pieces of your body off and be happy he didn’t kill you?”

“Mel, please.” Dans responded tiredly. “You don’t understand.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really?” I turned to Mark. “Tell me, Mark. Would you just lose an arm for Sakon?”

“Well…” He seemed to hesitate for a moment. “She didn’t have much of a choice.”

“Choice?” Are these guys idiots? “Why are you guys so calm?! I’m not even the one that lost a hand! Are you guys not mad at all? They took her hand!”

Dans calmly rubbed her temples with her one remaining hand. “Mel, please. It’s just a hand—”

“Don’t!” I yelled. “Just… don’t.” I took a deep breath. “Don’t make it sound like I’m crazy because I’m an outsider. I know better than any of you on how to take care of myself! You guys are idiots! You’d sacrifice your life for a stupid king—”

“Just shut up!” She looked down at her bandaged arm. “You’re just selfish, Mel! You only have to take care of yourself! I have a brother! If I didn’t defy the Emperor, Darrell would’ve been safe. It’s my fault…” Her voice started to shake. “If I had just kept calm, my brother would’ve been free. None of this would’ve happened…”

“Mel?” Mark looked at me. He gestured for me to quiet down.

I sat down on the ground without another word. Me? Selfish? I came here for you Dans! But I couldn’t tell her that. I didn’t have the courage. Deep down, I was wavering too. Maybe I really am selfish. Maybe Dans was right.

Yeah, I am selfish. You’re right, Dans. I’m just a self-centered prick. So you know what? From now on, I guess I’ll just do things my way.