Anita

Her chance came a few weeks later.

Robert walked in for their morning search, practically glowing with pride as he paced up and down the line of Guardians. The smile on his face was so broad that Anita was surprised his teeth didn’t fall out. “Who put fairy dust in your breakfast?” she snorted and he puffed his chest out. She tensed for the hit when he stopped in front of her. Seconds passed by but it never came and she glanced up at him, confused. He must really be in a good mood.

“It seems the higher ups have put me in charge of the protection spell today,” he purred.

“Oh, really?” Perfect. She didn’t think, just acted, adrenaline pulsing in her veins, driving her forward. When his back was turned she lunged, wrapping her arms around his neck and ripping a crystal from her shoulder with her teeth.One thing the Keepers didn’t think about when they searched the Guardians for weapons, they were covered in them. While their magic may be ineffective against humans, the crystals themselves were still sharp enough to cut.

Not sparing a second she drove the sharpened stone into the side of his neck. Thick crimson blood sprayed from the wound and she shoved him into the nearest guard before bolting through the closest door. She heard the guards shouting as she spun around and locked the door, slamming it shut behind her. For the first time she was glad the Keepers were so paranoid; they’d made the doors on either side of Guardian halls lock from the outside and it bought her some time at least.

She fixed her shirt so it covered the now bleeding wound she’d made on herself and wiped the blood from her hands on her pants while she sprinted down hallways. She cursed her stupidity when she realised she didn’t actually know the layout of the building; let alone how to get out without running into more guards. Downstairs seemed like the safest option so she shoved through one of the doors marked “Staircase” and took her chances, barrelling down the steps like a psycho.

She figured she had a minute, maybe less, before someone realised the Herects were freely walking into the courtyard and discovered something was up. Maybe thirty seconds after that before the protection spell was put back in place and she’d be trapped inside, unable to escape. After assaulting a Keeper? Her previous punishments would seem like tickles compared to what they’d do to her after this.

Blood dripped from her shoulder, soaking into her shirt and gliding down her arm but she ignored it, focusing on the task at hand. She had to escape, had to get out of there without being seen and had to run like hell away from this place once she was outside. If they found her...Anita shuddered at the thought. They would break her if they caught her. Whatever it took. And Layette...oh god, the thought almost had her running back upstairs and begging forgiveness but she pressed on, knowing Layette would want her to take this chance.

She’ll be okay, Anita muttered the words over and over again, they wouldn’t hurt Layette. Layette had a perfect record. She’ll be fine, just go, you’re running out of time. Anita shoved open another door, well, tried to. It didn’t budge from her movements and she snarled, ramming into it a few times. Fuck fuck fuck. She looked around quickly and the big “1” beside the stairs had her doubling her efforts. This had to be the exit.

Fuck. From her count a minute had passed and she was running out of time. She could have ripped her hair out at that point, being so close and stuck on a goddamn door. There had to be something, anything. One glance told her there were no windows to break through, a second and she noticed the pinpad on the doorframe. Uh oh, it was sure to be armed. Just move quickly, you’ll be fine. She jammed in random numbers and it beeped, flashed red once and was silent. She tried one last time, beep, beep, red light, silence.

She didn’t want to know what would happen if she did it wrong again and turned away from the door in a rage. There were several crashes above her head and she hissed in frustration. Think Anita, think!

She paced the small space, biting the tips of her fingers in an attempt to concentrate. In her rush she hadn’t thought to block the other doors and she regretted it now, as footsteps pounded overhead. For all she knew they had already reset the protection spell and she was just delaying the inevitable.

No. She had to try at least, she couldn’t have gotten this far for nothing. Anita shook her head, her face brushing against the blood on her shoulder. She shot her head up, an idea rearing its head. Gritting her teeth as she pulled out another crystal, she approached the door. It was a crude idea sure, but it was the only hope she had. Anita closed her eyes and let out a slow breath, praying it would work.

Footsteps pounded on the stairs, rasping breaths coming loudly from the top of the stairs. She could almost feel their stares on her skin. Her heart pounded like a hummingbird in her chest, so loud it was almost deafening in her ears. “Halt!” the shout spurred her onward, no time left. She rammed the crystal into the pinpad. Precious seconds went by as the machine sputtered and spat, electricity burning so close to her hand she could feel the searing heat; though she received no burns. Anita banged on the door a few times, ramming her head against the cold surface. Please, please. She was so close.

Click. Anita paused, thinking she’d imagined it. Her attention drifted towards the little light blinking green on the pad. She took a step back and kicked high, watching the door fly open before taking her first steps into the outside world since she was a child.

Oh.