Escape

It wasn't time. Whoever was outside our door stopped, then bent and slid in a tray of soggy Cheerios, cold scrambled eggs and bacon, with hard toast in through the dog opening. There was only enough for one person. Behind me, I heard Snowbird come back into the main room with her bed in it.

"Oh," She sighed out in disappointment,

"I got all worked up for nothing!"

I attempted to smile at her, for I did too.

"At least you have all the stuff you need with you now! Why is there only enough for one person?" Snowbird's stomach growls ferociously,

"Uh, maybe they forgot mine,"

"Why? This is your cell. If anything they forgot mine."

"No, it's yours." Snowbird sits down heavily on her bed, "They stopped bringing me enough food the last time you were here. They're punishing me by not giving me enough, and I guess by moving you in here. They think I'm not killing you because I'm rebelling, they're trying to starve it out of me. I'll get a feast when you're dead, but oh Raylee! They don't know that I can't kill you! If I tell them then they'll shoot you or something and then you will die! I don't want you to die!"

I bring the tray over to the wailing Snowbird and hug her tight.

"It's okay Snowie, I'll share with you. We'll split the eggs, bacon, and toast, then one of us can eat the cereal and the other and drink the milk." Snowbird turns to hug me back,

"Oh thank you Ray-Ray! I'm so hungry!" I lightly kiss her hair,

"Then you can eat the cereal," I whisper.

After eating, we sit in tense silence waiting for the floor to shake again. When it does, I slowly turn to glance at Snowbird.

"No," She says shaking her head, "They're just here to pick up the tray."

We're taken by surprise when the door alarm goes off, I look at Snowbird again while she gets up to go to the cage. It never emerges.

"Maybe they fired the Rockies after our little interrogation the other day," I suggest,

���Maybe." Snowbird slides her palms down her thighs, she's nervous and I don't blame her.

"Just stay by the wall I guess, try not to touch anyone. We don't need any more trouble." She nods her head, eyes wide.

A group of six guards come in. They're wearing long coats with various shades of grey coloring them. They have multiple buttons, tall black boots, grey gloves, and a thick black belt. They have no helmets and I can clearly see the faces of Rip, Arrow, Gabriel, Crynn, Vega, and Signey, who looks a little green around the gills.

"It's alright Snowbird, they've come to rescue us." I don't turn around to look at her, Crynn had launched himself at me with a ferocious hug.

"Oh thank the Three Islands Raylee! I thought you'd had another attack or you died! Thank the Three Islands!"

"Crynn, video cameras? Bugs?"

"Oh, uh, yeah right, sorry." I laughed,

"There's no cameras or bugs don't worry," Behind Crynn I heard Vega,

"Oh, you poor little thing!" She was approaching Snowbird like she was a hurt animal. Snowbird was slowly inching away. I saw a sudden flash of Crynn with black hair from my dream and shouted,

"Don't touch!" Everyone stopped and stared, even Snowbird was startled.

"Hello? We have an appointment to get to!" Alpha called from the hallway, she was right, we had to hurry.

"Quick! Vega, Arrow, make us shackles and remember, don't touch Snowbird! Okay?" They both nodded and the gems began to glow, chains formed, and knotted in the middle so that my hands were almost stuck at shoulder height.

"Vega you have to make Snowbird's look like your paranoid that she'll break out. Move her hands behind her neck." She did as I instructed until Snowbird was in the position the Government told you to get in when you were being arrested.

"Good, now let's go. Crynn you probably shouldn't be so close to me because someone might recognize the similarity of our faces. Vega and Signey, hold onto my arms. The rest of you, besides Alpha who should be leading us, create a protective circle around Snowbird but not too close!" They got into position.

"How'd you even get in?" I asked Vega,

"There's no lock on either door. Just a handle on the outside of this one but the first door you encounter has no handles. You just need a Rockie to push it open." I didn't know this, I'd never paid much attention to the doors or how to open them. I just assumed there was some four-digit code that Crynn could fry.

"Oh. Well, that makes it so much less suspicious than fried buttons." Vega laughed and Alpha immediately shushed her, then we were on our way to freedom.

Whenever we passed other guards or employees, Alpha would flash them her Mother's ID card to show them that she was on an errand for Doctor Ingemar. Fortunately, they all believed it. Since the elevator was full and we didn't want anyone to start a conversation with us, we took the stairs. At the top, I was panting and my side hurt but I didn't dare tell them what Alpha's Mother told me. We wandered around for a while as Alpha tried to discreetly look at maps to find where we were and the fastest route to the back door by the dumpsters. In the end, Rip convinced her to just ask because she was,

"--starting to look like a child in one of those mirror mazes. Lost!" In which Alpha gave him a glare that could have fried his eyeballs off and replied with venom,

"Fine. Then I'll ask, but what's our excuse, genius?"

"You're taking the trash out," Vega scoffed,

"Raylee and Snowbird are not trash! Do you think they look like it?"

"I meant after ding-dong!"

"Shh!"

Everyone shut up after it was Snowbird telling them to be quiet and not Alpha. Eventually, she gave up and decided to ask where the back door was. A balding scientist with neon green hair was the poor unfortunate soul on the receiving end of Alpha's glare.

"Uh, I-I d-don't-erm." The man looked back and forth between Snowbird and me, "Th-they don't look like trash."

"I meant after ding-dong!" The poor man was starting to sweat,

"Oh, uh, yes of course! My apologies. The back door to the dumpsters is on the floor below us, you take the stairs over there…" I stopped listening to the directions because Signey had let go of my arm and was kneeling with her hand on the floor,

"What was that about?" I asked her when she'd risen back up,

"Tying my shoelace," She squeaked. I grunted, I didn't know their boots had laces. I noticed we were on the move again, in the opposite direction so as not to look suspicious, and Vega, Alpha, and Rip were arguing.

"See I told you to be more specific!"

"Well, it's not my fault Dr. Zephyrine is an idiot!"

"You stole my words! I call copyright!"

"Shut up Rip!" The two girls scream. Gabriel explodes into hearty laughter and we all shush him.

Hurried footsteps are approaching from around the corner. A female guard wearing the same outfit as Crynn and his friends turns the corner. The woman has pale purple hair pulled into a Barbie-style ponytail, she has skin the color of driftwood and grey eyes. When she sees us, she stops. Signey lets go of my arm and rushes toward the woman and hugs her while also hiding behind her,

"Mom! They're trying to free Snowbird!"