Chapter Twenty Nine

I tried to still the drum beat of my heart that was pounding heavily around inside the ivory cage of my chest; every now and then I spun around frantically and waved the barrel into the empty dry scenery. I was panicking but I welcomed the adrenaline to keep me going and to stop me from thinking about what I was doing; Ebony on the other hand seemed to be happy to be out in the open for once as she bounded along beside me. Those two guards were the real trouble now, I’d lost the element of surprise now and they’d probably have an army waiting inside the complex. I tugged at the collar, they didn’t even need an army really, just one guy with the button for the damn explosives. I prayed something had happened, that the heat would have shorted out the electronics or that some explosives were damp with sweat. I cursed myself for being a lipless lizard as I remembered I hadn’t given out a single bead of perspiration since my transformation.
My train of thought was rudely interrupted as a dart smashed into my thigh, a yell of shock exploding out of my lips as I dropped to a knee and fired blindly into the distance. I finally looked up, rolling sideways ungainly as I tried to see where the bullet had come from; the grey complex standing in front of me like a monolith was the only thing I could see, where did the bull- There! In the third window from the right, a flash of metal! The ground next to me exploded into a cloud of dust as I rolled away, scrabbling to my feet as I dashed forward as fast as I could. Ebony was leaping back and forth, a strange weaving dance that was almost enchanting to watch; I couldn’t stop and look however, darts were raining down like hail stones all around me and the occasional sting told me I wasn’t fast enough.

I couldn’t remember how many shots were in the gun I was toting so I didn’t dare fire off any more rounds; my aim wasn’t good enough to hit the figures bobbing and weaving behind the windows so I concentrated on getting inside. The darts began to thud into the floor faster as I stormed towards the doors, the tranquiliser laced pellets slamming against my shoulders and feet almost numbing them with jarring pain.
My shoulder was so battered that I didn’t even feel the impact against the doors, the steel doors swung out like massive guillotines and caught the three waiting guards waiting there in ambush, sending them careering like flies in an updraft. Stumbling and rolling I fired three shots wildly before I got my footing back; two men fell to the laced darts but the third shot simply rebounded off the ceiling to spin off out the window.
A scream from behind me told me that Ebony had managed to claim another person’s leg with her crushing jaws. I didn’t have time to worry about her though; a third guard was approaching me with gun raised. Apparently no one had realised yet that the darts only stung but I wasn’t about to let that on.

I jumped sideways as the black suited guard shot at me, my limbs sticking to the wall like glue and keeping me hovering a few inches above the floor. The guard wasn’t expecting this and a shot rang out and a dart impacted off the floor right where I would have landed; it spiralled off somewhere down the corridor where the ensuing screams of terror and pain told me Ebony was enjoying herself. I took my chance as the guard tried to comprehend that I wasn’t falling, flailing ungainly with my gun barrel and firing off two shots. The darts raced towards the guard; with one shot he was lucky but the other hit dead on his neck. He spun on the spot and folded up like a deck of cards, crumbling into a black heap on the floor.
Six down by my count already, three by the door and three by the darts; I swear a guard who had been hit by the opening door was faking unconsciousness just to avoid injury. There were no more gunshots so I guessed the other guards had fled or been hurt; indeed when I turned around I saw two gun wielding cronies lying on their sides with blood pooling around them. I didn’t know if they were dead or not... and right now I couldn’t care less.

I didn’t want to relax though, just because this fight was over didn’t mean I was home free; I scanned back and forth along the corridor yet again. The only signs of life were Ebony loping along towards me, hints of blood dripping from the corners of her mouth; this sight even sent a shiver down my spine. My gaze was so concentrated on the lolloping cat in front of me that I didn’t notice the faint click from behind me; I did notice however as a cold barrel pressed into the back of my neck.
Eyes wide in terror I heard a gruff “Don’t move freak, and stop the beast before I blow your skull off” in my ear, the gun pressing harder against the exoskeleton as if promising pain; I waved desperately at Ebony to make her stop in her tracks.
With the cold steel still pressed against my neck I heard cloth scraping together as the radio was unhooked from his belt; a crackle of static started up as the guard got ready to report his capture of the escaped prisoners. The only sound that made it through the receiver was a horrible screech of pain; a familiar heat washed over my back as the guard was lifted bodily by the blistering air and slammed against the wall with a sickening blow.

“Can’t I leave you alone for half an hour without you getting in trouble?” Steamer asked as she strode over to me; she was wreathed in a plume of evaporation, with each foot she placed on the floor the rock glowed red hot.
“T-thank you...” I stuttered, my claw like fingers gently probing at the spot where the memory of a gun barrel still rested.
“No problem” Steamer hissed her wheezy laugh, standing a good few feet away as the hot air rolled up over her “You were right... I needed to get out of the cage before I became tame. I’m a wild creature after all.”
A glowing red foot connected with a helmeted head as Steamer took out her frustrations; the tinted glass melted to the floor in a sticky puddle. I was busy scooping up cartridges from the guns, there were barely enough darts left to fill up my own gun let alone double my fire power. I found Ebony cringing as she pressed up against the wall of the corridor, paw over her face in an act of shame. I knelt beside her and stroked her soothingly, I could feel Steamer’s eyes on the back of my head as if her burning hand was on my white skin; I didn’t care what she thought, I looked after Ebony and Ebony looked after me and I couldn’t move on without her.
Carefully she raised her head under my gentle strokes, my fingers running along the dirty fur where the collar had restrained her neck; slowly she raised up again, coaxed into movement again and nuzzling my leg to show me she was ready to move. With a quick glance at Steamer we got moving again, there was so little time left... left for what? I never got past this stage, even in my head; what were we possibly hoping to do? Win our freedom and escape this forsaken place, yes but how? Still my feet kept moving, running towards a freedom that would be almost impossible to achieve. I still had the collar on; the first guard with a controller would turn my brain into a fine red mist. There were those who would survive the blast though, TNT was a living grenade after all and there was probably more out there who would be able to fight on. Even if there weren’t many who could keep going there was power in numbers and somehow they’d get out of there, they had to. How long had they been running now? These corridors were endless and all the same but I saw doors approaching in the distance, freedom or a fire fight waited behind it.

We rested for a second beside the doors, standing either side with our backs pressed against the wall; Steamer caused a stream of molten tile to drip slowly onto the floor and into a glowing puddle. With a slight nod a grim expression spread over our faces, even Ebony looked grim, and spun around to plant a kick on both doors. We just stared at the sight a head of us; the prisons stretched out into darkness, echoes of cries and wails crawling from the waiting blackness. The bars nearest us held no prisoners, empty beasts awaiting fresh meet to fill their chasms like stomachs, but there were so many voices calling out, or muttering darkly, or the faint sob of the broken willed. It made the bile rise in my throat, such suffering and depravity waited down those corridors... With a broken step I crossed the line, letting the darkness embrace me as I began to take tentative steps forward; only the faint glow of cramped windows and the ever present burn of Steamer lit the way as all three of us ventured further into the cells.

Disclaimer: Yes, I've started to write it a bit more now... just finished this chapter because I had nothing else to do. Enjoy! DON'T TOUCH!

Ebony and Ivory Collection