The sound of heavy panting echoed through the room. The surroundings were silent and shrouded in darkness. Footsteps from a group of guards drew closer.
"Find that damn kid. She can't have gotten far!"
<
:
{Number C1-011-GX has escaped from the dorm. Repeat, this is a critical alert. All personnel are to mobilize and locate the subject immediately. Repeat, Number C1-011-GX has escaped from the dorm…}
The panting reverberated, loud and desperate, as I tried to stay as quiet as possible to avoid being caught.
"Unit 3, search the north wing. Unit 5, head south."
"Understood, sir."
"If we don't find her, it's gonna be a huge problem. Damn that kid!"
"It's just one little girl. She can't do much!"
Pant Pant What do I do? What do I do? I found some documents, but… what now? There are people out there. There are others outside Enseria. Who are those people? How do I get this information out to the world—?
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:
{Additional escapes detected from other buildings. Repeat, Numbers C6-001-BX, C6-009-GX, B7-039-BX have escaped from their designated dorm areas. Intensify search and apprehend immediately. If resistance is encountered, authorization is granted for immediate elimination.}
They managed to escape after all, but on my end, the place is crawling with soldiers. Only three got out—fewer than expected, but… we have to move now.
Bang! A soldier collapsed as a bullet pierced his back.
I've got a gun I stole from them. I need to hurry and regroup with the others.
"There she is! Grab her, quick! That damn kid!" Bang! Bang! Gunshots rang out, bullets whizzing past me as I ran. The sharp smell of gunpowder and metal stung my nose, thick in the air. Smoke and sparks flashed around me.
"Damn it, if I don't shake them off fast, I'm done for. I've only got two bullets left—I can't afford to mess this up—"
"Naira, this way!!" A mysterious voice rang out near a wall at a corner with two branching paths.
I was yanked into a hidden room within the right wall, where the path split between straight ahead and a left turn. My body was pulled swiftly into the darkness.
"That was close," the voice said.
I collapsed, panting heavily, and looked up to see two figures standing before me. It was Liara, marked with the number C6-009-GX on her shirt, and Zaem, marked C6-001-BX.
"What about the second-year kid?" I asked.
Liara and Zaem exchanged a glance before turning back to me.
"We don't know either," Liara said. "Zaem and I were just focused on escaping. We didn't care about anything else."
Zaem chimed in, "They're swarming out there like ants. One wrong move, and you're done. That's why we've been running flat-out, sticking to the plan."
Liara sighed and added, "Besides, that second-year kid is in a different building. It'd be tough to go looking for them now."
"What's the plan then?" I stood up, looking at both of them.
Zaem turned to me and replied, "We didn't all make it out. We planned for a dozen of us to escape, but only three of us are here. It's gonna be tricky."
Zaem let out a heavy sigh and pulled out a map of the building, holding it up for me to see. "Here's the deal: we head for the north exit. I think it's got the tightest security system but the fewest guards, since they rely more on the system than manpower."
He pointed to a small mark on the crude, hand-drawn map, made from sauce, dirt, and whatever else they could scrape together. The paper was messy but just clear enough to make out. "I reckon there's about six guards left, but if we're reckless, we're done for—heads off, no question. Let's wait for the next announcement from the intercom."
I nodded and glanced around. The small, hidden room was unknown to the adults. We hadn't known about it either until last month when Zaem accidentally leaned against the wall, and it opened. We'd kept it a secret within the group ever since.
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: {Activating maximum security protocols. All doors will be locked; only authorized personnel may pass. All lights will be turned off, and all power will be cut… [static] in five minutes.}
No matter what, we had to get out. We had to bring this secret to the world's eyes, even if we weren't the ones to stop this. We wouldn't let our plan go to waste.
"Alright," I said.