.
.
.
I had decided to go to sleep in an attempt to get some rest and build up energy for the escape. Too soon after I went to sleep, though, I felt a hand on my shoulder shaking me awake. I blinked the sleep away to see Simon.
“I…Is it time?”
My voice was groggy as I asked him and he nodded.
“Everyone else is already awake and gathered. Let's go.”
As I stood up and looked around I saw that all the others in the cell were asleep, still. I followed Simon towards the group where Jellal gave us a nod at our approach.
“Alright, time to make our escape.”
“But…how?” Sho asked, “The guards, they lock up the cell each night.”
Jellal just smiled as he pulled out a ring of keys from his pants.
“A…key?”
“How…?”
“Well, when you're an orphan,” Jellal started as he unlocked the door, “You learn a few things. It was actually pretty easy to get the key than you might have thought.”
“Jellal,” I deadpanned, “Most of us are orphans, and I’m pretty sure you’re the only thief.”
His face was priceless when I said that.
“Don’t say it like that! You make me sound bad…”
The door unlocked with a soft click and the rest of us started to make our way out of the cell. I turned back, however, my gaze drifting off to the corner of the cell Grandpa Rob usually sleeps at.
“Lyssa, something the matter?”
I turned towards Wally and shook my head.
“No. Let's go.”
At the time I could only hope that Grandpa Rob and William would be safe long enough for us to get help.
Wally shut the door behind us and we followed Jellal down the corridors. Even if we weren’t running, our footsteps seemed unnaturally loud in the dead silence. My entire body was shaking as adrenaline made my heart feel like it was beating louder and harder than any drum. I was afraid, and everything could have gone wrong just by turning around the corner at the wrong moment.
“Are we using the stairs that the guards use?” I heard Simon asking.
I glanced towards the two boys as we stopped. We were on the path we had to travel everyday as we were put to work, somewhere in the centre of the tower.
I stepped forward to a railing to look down into a larger atrium while Jellal mused over everything. However, I was shocked by what I found.
“There…there is no one here!?”
“Where did they all go?” Wally asked, “It's not like they’d just leave everyone here alone, right? Where are the guards?”
“Maybe…they just didn’t expect anyone to try and escape the island?” Jellal mused, “We're out at sea…that would discourage most people already.”
“But we should have seen someone by now,” Simon said, “Something isn’t right about this…”
“I know, but we can’t go back now. No matter what.”
I looked down with tightened fists. We all continued forward down the stairs as I had begun to develop second thoughts. It’s not normal. We should have seen guards by now. Something was wrong.
This escape shouldn’t be this perfect.
Nothing should be this perfect…
I was about to voice my worries when Jellal stopped suddenly.
“W-What is it?” Erza asked with worry in her voice.
“I thought I heard something.”
He looked back where we were coming from, but no one could see anything. That didn’t stop the feeling that something had changed…that terrifying feeling of an unknown monster breathing down our necks…
Jellal looked forwards again and I could tell from his face that he had begun to feel the same pressure and worry I had started to feel. The lack of guards was something we couldn’t ignore even if we wanted to. Their lack of presence made them more prominent in the back of our minds.
Then we heard a deep growl from within the darkness.
We glanced up and saw the shadow of a large creature in front of us. It was one of the guard’s beasts they used. Large doglike creatures that had no fur or eyes, they seemed instead to rely on smell and hearing to see and their large maws were the size of our heads. These predators alone were enough to strike fear in us.
“In here,” Sho said softly, pointing to a room.
All of us went inside as Wally closed the door behind us. We were all breathing heavily as the sound of growling and heavy boots grew stronger as the hound and guard approached the door.
“Smell something?”
We all froze as the sound of growling accompanied a scratching on the door. If that door opened, it was all over. I felt people grab my arms, the blonde and red hair telling me it was Erza and Sho.
The scratching on the door stopped and the guard gave a light chuckle that echoed through the door.
“You already had your snack. You’ll get some more tomorrow. Now come on, you big glutton.”
The footsteps walked away and left us in a dead silence, causing me to release a breath I didn’t know I was holding and for the other two to release the grip they had on my arms.
“That…was too close,” Wally said as he fell to his knees in relief.
“Yeah…,” I said in agreement as I tried to calm my heavily beating heart.
“Um…guys,” I heard Miliana say softly.
I turned my attention to her and opened my eyes in surprise. The room was filled with crates upon crates filled with different salted meats, fruits, and vegetables. I didn’t hesitate to grab an apple the moment I saw it and started crying at the delicious sweet taste of the fruit.
“This must be the storage room,” Simon said as he started looking through some barrels off to the side that had fish in them.
“This is probably the food the boats brought in,” Jellal said, “There's enough food in here to last for a few months. For the guards at least…”
“Seems the mutt sniffed us out but the guard thought it only wanted food,” Simon said, “We really were lucky.”
“Hey guys…there is a hole over here,” Sho’s voice squeaked from behind a stack of crates.
The small boy had found a hole hidden behind a curtain at the back of the room that was big enough for us all to crawl through.
“Great job, Sho,” Jellal said, patting the timid boy as they gave each other bright smiles, “The corridor isn’t an option now, so we can use this way to try and find our way to the room with the hatch that I saw. I’ll head out first, you guys follow when I give the clear.”
We all agreed, and then Jellal got on all fours and crawled through the tunnel. We stayed quiet and waited for him to give any type of signal in complete silence. The seconds had started to tick by as they felt longer and longer without any response.
“J-Jellal…”
“Sorry it took so long,” Jellal said as he quickly appeared on the other side causing me to jump in surprise. “There isn’t any sight of anyone. C’mon.”
We started to make our way towards the hole, but Erza had stopped behind us.
“Come on, Erza,” Simon said, “We gotta go before the guards can catch us.”
“Yeah, I know, I wanna go, but I’m scared,” she said as she trembled in place, “Because…I know what happened to all the other kids…their dead…”
“There's nothing to be afraid of, we’re gonna be fine,” Jellal said as he climbed back out through the door, “We’re finally gonna get back our future. Our dreams.”
“Lets go, okay?” he said as he reached his hand out for the timid girl to grab.
“Okay…” she took it with shyness and followed Jellal through the breach. Simon and Sho followed her with Mili and Wally going after them. I was the last to get through and Simon and Wally helped me up.
“We must be in the central tower.”
I looked around and saw a balcony in front of us, the ceiling was largely circular in shape as it opened up into nothing. This part of the structure was the easiest to access and the most vulnerable.
We shouldn’t be here, out here in the open. If we stay here longer, we will be…
Then a loud thud echoed from behind me and I instantly turned around. It was one of those hounds, and threw myself backwards when I saw it causing me to bump into one of the others.
“Run. Run!”
Everyone followed my order as we ran across the bridge that was in front of us. How did that creature come out of nowhere without us seeing it? Everyone abruptly came to a stop causing me to run into Wally’s back.
“Wally…what's…?”
The words died in my throat as I noticed more of those creatures and this time, they had guards with them which had their staffs aimed straight at us.
“Damn…,” Jellal started, “W…We’re surrounded.”
One of the masked cultists smirked as he stepped forward.
“So you are the brats that stole the key,” he said, “The entire tower had been on high alert because of that…to think you would walk straight into our laps. This is rich.”
“I have already contacted the bosses. They should be here soon.”
Soon after, two guys approached us.
The fat one I recognised all too easily. It was my torturer, overly fat with a green cloak that couldn’t do anything to cover his body. The other was skinny and lean, wearing a blue cloak instead. Both of them carried staves and wore the cults mask on their heads.
“Did you brats think you could get away that easily?” the fat one started, his voice gravelly and chunky, “All of you are going to be punished big time for trying to pull one over on us.”
“Now, now,” the other began, “I usually agree with you on punishing our prisoners but we cannot let any more construction delays happen to the R-System. If you can tell us who came up with your escape plan we’ll take them and leave the rest of you alone.”
I was scared. Something told me that they didn’t really care. They just wanted to make an example out of someone. I could tell. I wanted to speak up, to make myself the scapegoat, but my eye burned from the memory of the torture, and my scars began to itch. I couldn’t speak, no matter how much I wanted to.
“That's a pretty nice deal from us don’t you think?” The skinny one finished with a smirk on his face.
The fat one slammed the bottom of his staff upon the ground causing the group, mostly Sho and Milliana to jump at the noise. I turned my attention towards them and saw Erza holding her head in her hands, Sho had tears falling from his eyes and Mili was holding Wally’s arm for comfort from him. I wasn’t any better, as my body was trembling in fear and phantom pains.
“I was…,” Erza started on my right, but Jellal stood up drawing everyone’s attention to him.
“It was me,” Jellal stated, “I came up with our escape plan. It was all me.”
“Oh?”
“Well aren’t you brave,” the skinny one started, “But I know it wasn’t you. It was the red-head!”
“Take her away!” the fat one ordered the guards who moved to drag Erza away, one of them easily carrying her under their arms.
“No! It wasn’t her! I swear it was my idea!” Jellal screamed at the cultists, “She didn’t do anything!”
“Yeah, let her go!” Simon roared in tandem.
“That's enough!” The fat one slammed his staff on the ground again causing the electric shock spell to zap the two boys screaming in her defence.
“Please…don’t worry about me…,” Erza’s weak voice said as she was carried away. I could feel the tears streaming down my face in full knowledge of what she’s going to feel, my scars and eye burning with sympathy and dread for what she was going to face.
“Erza!”
“It’s just like you said, Jellal,” she looked at us with a weak smile, “There's nothing to be afraid of.”
— * —
It was in the early hours of the morning that we were thrown back into our cell. I was feeling pain all over my body from getting electrocuted, as despite my mind having grown use to the pain my body still sings when I have to go threw the brief but painful torture.
“T…They took her,” Sho said, tears falling from his eyes, “They took big sis.”
“Damn it,” Simon said, a frown upon his face, “It’s like they were waiting for us out there…When we hadn’t met any guards…I should have guessed it was a trap.”
I took a seat in the corner, feeling tears falling out of my eyes as I cried silently. I put my head into my knees as my body was racked with soft sobs.I wish I could’ve spoken up, but I couldn’t. I hated myself, I hated the cultists, I hated the woman that left me at the orphanage, I hated everything at that moment because I knew what Erza was going to go through inside that torture chamber.
All I felt was hatred.
An arm twisted around my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me and I glanced up towards its owner. Jellal had taken a seat right beside me, his face set and stony in contrast to my downtrodden and angry appearance. The look in his eyes was focused and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
“Jellal…” I said softly and drew his attention to me, “I’m…I’m sorry…”
He had actually managed to crack a smile, if forced, before ruffling my hair.
“You have nothing to apologise for, Lyssa.”
I sniffed, swallowing thickly as I turned my attention to the ground.
“No, I do,” I told him, “If I spoke up he might have recognised me, and taken me instead. I should have spoken up. But now Erza is going to have to go through what I did and I just-”
Jellal sighed as I gripped my fists and gritted my teeth, burying my head back into my knees.
“You don’t need to cry. I came up with the plan…it should be me in there, not Erza.”
He stood up and I watched as his determination redoubled.
“Save your tears for when we escape,” he said, “I’ll save Erza, and we will fight to our last breath for freedom. Then, when it's in our grasp, we won’t have to live in this tower any longer. Then you can cry to your heart's content…”
He turned around with a smile on his face.
“Because those tears will be tears of happiness.”
I stared at him in shock at what he said. I could feel a new hope burning through my chest at the moment, taking the place of the worry and despair that had overtaken me when I had seen Erza get taken…
“Yeah,” I said softly as I wiped my eyes, “Yeah, you’re right.”
Jellal gave me a smirk when Simon approached us.
“You’ve got a plan?”
“Yep,” the blue haired boy smiled, “I’m going to get Erza out of that horrible place.”
“If you’re doing that, I’m going with you Jellal,” Simon said.
“Me too,” I said as I stood up.
“No.”
I blinked in confusion at his abrupt answer.
“What do you mean no?” Simon asked, “This is the torture chamber we’re talking about. If you go alone you are going to get caught!”
“I’ll move faster by myself and you two have never been subtle,” he said in a firm voice, “I understand why you want to come, trust me, But I want you two and Wally here to watch over Mili and Sho.”
Jellal then looked at the ground.
“And I’d rather not bring anyone to the place of so much torment. We were lucky Lyssa had made it out alive, but you saw the state she was in when they were done with her. I really don’t want to imagine what they’re doing to Erza…”
I frowned in unison with them.
I didn’t want to think about what pain Erza could be facing in the hands of that man…and I felt a shudder run through my body as I once again remembered what they had done to me. My perfect memory forcing me to remember each laceration that formed a permanent mark on my skin was a curse, and I found my hand absentmindedly running my fingers around the scars on my arms.
I looked up to see Jellal and Simon staring at me. I wiped what was left of the tear stains off my face and gave him a smile.
“When are you going to act?”
He glanced back through the cell doors and saw that there was a guard patrolling the hallway causing him to lower his voice to a whisper.
“Not now. They have more guards active than usual. I’ll wait for the right opportunity, and then strike.”
“Are you sure you want to do this by yourself Jellal?” Simon asked with uncertainty still in his voice.
“Trust me,” Jellal told him with a smirk, “Erza will be back with us and our group will be complete once more. You two, me, Erza, Sho, Milliana, and Wally.”
I turned my attention to the others. Sho was crying with Wally and Grandpa Rob trying to cheer him up. Milliana tried to do the same, but it was obvious there was a shade of sadness in her eyes, too.
“Just watch out then,” Simon sighed, “You won’t know what kind of security they have on that level.”
Jellal gave me a glance, wanting to know if I was going to say something but instead of talking I took him in a hug. His body froze since he wasn’t expecting it, but slowly he wrapped his arms around my form and returned the hug.
“Just be safe, okay?” I told him, “Because if you die, I’ll kill you.”
He chuckled and stepped out of the hug.
“You can count on me,” he said, “I’ll be back here along with Erza before you know it. And then…when we get back…we’ll have no choice but to fight for our freedom.”
— * —
The next morning I had woken up to see Simon and Wally sitting next to each other and talking while Sho and Mili were trying to join the conversation, but lacked the heart to do so.
I sat there watching them interact with each other. Grandpa Rob, who was seated beside the kids, looked up in my direction and beckoned me over to take a seat beside him.
“The whole tower has heard what guys tried to do.”
I looked down, not meeting his eyes.
“I understand the desire to have your freedom, and I don’t admonish your attempt to get it,” he said, “I’m just glad that you were unharmed.”
I tightened my hands.
“But they took Erza,” I told him, “They took her…and I did nothing…”
He put his hand on my back in a comforting move, even if I didn’t voice it, I was truly glad that he was there to comfort and reassure me that not everything was lost in the world. Then Wally spoke out.
“Where is Jellal?”
I instantly glanced up and searched the room for the blue haired boy, but he was nowhere to be found. I stood up and glanced toward Simon who did the same toward me.
He said he was going to wait a day or two, but he left in the middle of the night, instead. Just like us, he couldn’t sit around without feeling useless…
“He went after her, didn’t he?” Grandpa Rob said, already piecing the information together.
“I hope he’ll be safe,” Mili said with worry as she looked at the cell door.
Simon crossed his arms and glanced at the old man.
“Grandpa Rob, you’ve been there before, right?” he asked, “What do they do in there?”
I glanced at the old man in surprise. I never knew that he was sent to the torture room and from the way his body tensed he didn’t exactly want to remember either.
“From what happened to Lyssa,” Grandpa said, “I think you already have a good idea.”
“You mean they’re going to do the same thing to Erza!?” Wally said, angry.
Grandpa Rob raised his hand in surrender to them.
“I am sure that Erza will be fine,” he said in a calm voice, “If your mind is strong, your spirit is the only thing that they can’t take.”
Simon was confused.
“What do you…?” he started.
He never finished that question, because someone opened the cell door drawing our attention to it. I felt my heart jump at the sight of Erza with three guards coming in right behind her, one of them pushing in a cart full of tools. The small red haired girl swayed as she walked before falling into a heap on the ground.
“Erza!” I cried as I ran toward the girl and knelt beside her.
The girl looked like a mess, her red hair falling all over her face and her body was covered in day-old bruises. I felt my body flare up again in hatred when I saw the eyepatch covering her eye, knowing exactly what it meant for the girl in front of me. I had to consciously loosen my grip on Erza’s shoulders because of how my rage made me want to grip them and I was fully aware that my face had gone blank.
“Where is Jellal?” Wally asked as the group reached us.
“Just let her be,” Grandpa Rob said, “Be happy that she returned alive to us.”
“But…,” Simon started.
“He must have been taken in her place,” Grandpa Rob told him with sadness permeating his voice.
‘Jellal,’ I thought as I tightened my hold on Erza, causing the girl to limply fall into my arms like a broken marionette. She was defeated…
And it only made me more pissed.
“No more…,” a sobbing voice said from behind me.
I turned my attention to Sho as tears started to descend down his face. Tears I couldn’t replicate, as I found my attention moving towards the cart fool of mining tools, the rusted metal of the pickaxe’s head drawing my attention as Jellal’s words ran through my head.
“I’ve had enough of this place!” the young blonde boy yelled.
“Pipe down, brat!”
“Hey, calm down Sho,” Simon said to him.
We’ll have to fight to our last breath for our freedom. No more planning.
We were brought into this hell through violence, and we can only leave through violence.
Grandpa Rob took the young boy in his arms in an attempt to comfort the child.
“Don’t worry…he is still nearby…”
But this only made Sho start to cry even harder.
“I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”
At that instant any and all restraint broke in me, and Erza too had found a new resolve.
The two of us flew like monsters possessed, Erza, the usually shy girl had thrown two of the guards out of the cell doors and over the railing to their death. I made a run for the cart and wrenched the pickaxe from the hook that was holding it to the side and swung it towards the guard that was pushing the equipment driving the end through his armour and deep into his ribs. I pulled him down to the ground and pried the pickaxe free as I held the tool over my shoulder with both hands, my dirty dress and face being smeared with blood that sprayed from the man’s pierced heart.
Erza looked back to the rest of the people in the cell with so much determination shining in her single eye they were taken aback. Both of our bodies were shaking with anger and adrenaline alike.
“Pick up a weapon,” Erza said, her voice brimming with the determination that was burning through her small form, “Because we will never be free, however much we obey or try to run! Our only choice is to fight, stand up…STAND UP FOR OUR FREEDOM!”
Her voice travelled throughout the holding cells and those who couldn’t hear her rallying cry could feel the same spirit that incited the revolt that was held on that day. Everyone, young to elderly, grabbed tools and fought, ripping the equipment from the still warm hands of the guards’ corpses and used it against the very same forces who once proudly used them on us.
All the rage and hatred I had built up without giving it anywhere to go had found its target as blood began to coat my ten year old body. I relished in the righteous violence as I fought, uncaring of my own health after reaching this boiling point and only determined to kill as many as I could before dying myself. Each time I crossed someone wearing a mask with the cult’s brand upon it, I made sure to drive the edge of the sword I had acquired as deep into their throats as I could.
Erza had managed to stand at the forefront of the battle, keeping a roaring cry that rallied everyone that she had freed from their cells. She had obtained a sword and shield that gave her the appearance of a young knight that fought with a radiant valour. The fact that we, children who were barely ten years of age, were capable of killing adults was a testament to the grewling labour we were forced to endure. We were children with muscles more defined than these adults that tried to hold us prisoner, and my muscles laughed with an exertive glee as I hunted them down with a heinous smile.
The sound of explosions drowned out my sickening laughter as I reaped joy from this revenge, knowing full well that I acted more akin to a wretched demon than Erza’s brave knight. There was only one thing that managed to keep my sanity and that was ensuring the safety of those I cared about, the only family I’ve ever known.
I rampaged my way down to the hallway that had William and Bosco. There were slaves reaching out from their cells trying to figure out what was happening. I opened the doors to let them help as I went further and further down.
It was like a domino effect, at least one person from each cell began to help in freeing everyone else causing the speed of our revolt to grow faster and faster. Everyone joined the fray as screams of rage and cheers of joy were accompanied by explosions and clanging metal, the symphony of our freedom. I sighed in relief when I saw my brother figure, now in his early twenties with a slight stubble growing on his face, and he was just as surprised as I was happy after seeing the meek young girl who loved card tricks caked in blood.
That day, the Tower of Heaven gave birth to a glorious knight, a sadistic demon, and several brilliant mages.
.
.
.
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.
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I had decided to go to sleep in an attempt to get some rest and build up energy for the escape. Too soon after I went to sleep, though, I felt a hand on my shoulder shaking me awake. I blinked the sleep away to see Simon.
“I…Is it time?”
My voice was groggy as I asked him and he nodded.
“Everyone else is already awake and gathered. Let's go.”
As I stood up and looked around I saw that all the others in the cell were asleep, still. I followed Simon towards the group where Jellal gave us a nod at our approach.
“Alright, time to make our escape.”
“But…how?” Sho asked, “The guards, they lock up the cell each night.”
Jellal just smiled as he pulled out a ring of keys from his pants.
“A…key?”
“How…?”
“Well, when you're an orphan,” Jellal started as he unlocked the door, “You learn a few things. It was actually pretty easy to get the key than you might have thought.”
“Jellal,” I deadpanned, “Most of us are orphans, and I’m pretty sure you’re the only thief.”
His face was priceless when I said that.
“Don’t say it like that! You make me sound bad…”
The door unlocked with a soft click and the rest of us started to make our way out of the cell. I turned back, however, my gaze drifting off to the corner of the cell Grandpa Rob usually sleeps at.
“Lyssa, something the matter?”
I turned towards Wally and shook my head.
“No. Let's go.”
At the time I could only hope that Grandpa Rob and William would be safe long enough for us to get help.
Wally shut the door behind us and we followed Jellal down the corridors. Even if we weren’t running, our footsteps seemed unnaturally loud in the dead silence. My entire body was shaking as adrenaline made my heart feel like it was beating louder and harder than any drum. I was afraid, and everything could have gone wrong just by turning around the corner at the wrong moment.
“Are we using the stairs that the guards use?” I heard Simon asking.
I glanced towards the two boys as we stopped. We were on the path we had to travel everyday as we were put to work, somewhere in the centre of the tower.
I stepped forward to a railing to look down into a larger atrium while Jellal mused over everything. However, I was shocked by what I found.
“There…there is no one here!?”
“Where did they all go?” Wally asked, “It's not like they’d just leave everyone here alone, right? Where are the guards?”
“Maybe…they just didn’t expect anyone to try and escape the island?” Jellal mused, “We're out at sea…that would discourage most people already.”
“But we should have seen someone by now,” Simon said, “Something isn’t right about this…”
“I know, but we can’t go back now. No matter what.”
I looked down with tightened fists. We all continued forward down the stairs as I had begun to develop second thoughts. It’s not normal. We should have seen guards by now. Something was wrong.
This escape shouldn’t be this perfect.
Nothing should be this perfect…
I was about to voice my worries when Jellal stopped suddenly.
“W-What is it?” Erza asked with worry in her voice.
“I thought I heard something.”
He looked back where we were coming from, but no one could see anything. That didn’t stop the feeling that something had changed…that terrifying feeling of an unknown monster breathing down our necks…
Jellal looked forwards again and I could tell from his face that he had begun to feel the same pressure and worry I had started to feel. The lack of guards was something we couldn’t ignore even if we wanted to. Their lack of presence made them more prominent in the back of our minds.
Then we heard a deep growl from within the darkness.
We glanced up and saw the shadow of a large creature in front of us. It was one of the guard’s beasts they used. Large doglike creatures that had no fur or eyes, they seemed instead to rely on smell and hearing to see and their large maws were the size of our heads. These predators alone were enough to strike fear in us.
“In here,” Sho said softly, pointing to a room.
All of us went inside as Wally closed the door behind us. We were all breathing heavily as the sound of growling and heavy boots grew stronger as the hound and guard approached the door.
“Smell something?”
We all froze as the sound of growling accompanied a scratching on the door. If that door opened, it was all over. I felt people grab my arms, the blonde and red hair telling me it was Erza and Sho.
The scratching on the door stopped and the guard gave a light chuckle that echoed through the door.
“You already had your snack. You’ll get some more tomorrow. Now come on, you big glutton.”
The footsteps walked away and left us in a dead silence, causing me to release a breath I didn’t know I was holding and for the other two to release the grip they had on my arms.
“That…was too close,” Wally said as he fell to his knees in relief.
“Yeah…,” I said in agreement as I tried to calm my heavily beating heart.
“Um…guys,” I heard Miliana say softly.
I turned my attention to her and opened my eyes in surprise. The room was filled with crates upon crates filled with different salted meats, fruits, and vegetables. I didn’t hesitate to grab an apple the moment I saw it and started crying at the delicious sweet taste of the fruit.
“This must be the storage room,” Simon said as he started looking through some barrels off to the side that had fish in them.
“This is probably the food the boats brought in,” Jellal said, “There's enough food in here to last for a few months. For the guards at least…”
“Seems the mutt sniffed us out but the guard thought it only wanted food,” Simon said, “We really were lucky.”
“Hey guys…there is a hole over here,” Sho’s voice squeaked from behind a stack of crates.
The small boy had found a hole hidden behind a curtain at the back of the room that was big enough for us all to crawl through.
“Great job, Sho,” Jellal said, patting the timid boy as they gave each other bright smiles, “The corridor isn’t an option now, so we can use this way to try and find our way to the room with the hatch that I saw. I’ll head out first, you guys follow when I give the clear.”
We all agreed, and then Jellal got on all fours and crawled through the tunnel. We stayed quiet and waited for him to give any type of signal in complete silence. The seconds had started to tick by as they felt longer and longer without any response.
“J-Jellal…”
“Sorry it took so long,” Jellal said as he quickly appeared on the other side causing me to jump in surprise. “There isn’t any sight of anyone. C’mon.”
We started to make our way towards the hole, but Erza had stopped behind us.
“Come on, Erza,” Simon said, “We gotta go before the guards can catch us.”
“Yeah, I know, I wanna go, but I’m scared,” she said as she trembled in place, “Because…I know what happened to all the other kids…their dead…”
“There's nothing to be afraid of, we’re gonna be fine,” Jellal said as he climbed back out through the door, “We’re finally gonna get back our future. Our dreams.”
“Lets go, okay?” he said as he reached his hand out for the timid girl to grab.
“Okay…” she took it with shyness and followed Jellal through the breach. Simon and Sho followed her with Mili and Wally going after them. I was the last to get through and Simon and Wally helped me up.
“We must be in the central tower.”
I looked around and saw a balcony in front of us, the ceiling was largely circular in shape as it opened up into nothing. This part of the structure was the easiest to access and the most vulnerable.
We shouldn’t be here, out here in the open. If we stay here longer, we will be…
Then a loud thud echoed from behind me and I instantly turned around. It was one of those hounds, and threw myself backwards when I saw it causing me to bump into one of the others.
“Run. Run!”
Everyone followed my order as we ran across the bridge that was in front of us. How did that creature come out of nowhere without us seeing it? Everyone abruptly came to a stop causing me to run into Wally’s back.
“Wally…what's…?”
The words died in my throat as I noticed more of those creatures and this time, they had guards with them which had their staffs aimed straight at us.
“Damn…,” Jellal started, “W…We’re surrounded.”
One of the masked cultists smirked as he stepped forward.
“So you are the brats that stole the key,” he said, “The entire tower had been on high alert because of that…to think you would walk straight into our laps. This is rich.”
“I have already contacted the bosses. They should be here soon.”
Soon after, two guys approached us.
The fat one I recognised all too easily. It was my torturer, overly fat with a green cloak that couldn’t do anything to cover his body. The other was skinny and lean, wearing a blue cloak instead. Both of them carried staves and wore the cults mask on their heads.
“Did you brats think you could get away that easily?” the fat one started, his voice gravelly and chunky, “All of you are going to be punished big time for trying to pull one over on us.”
“Now, now,” the other began, “I usually agree with you on punishing our prisoners but we cannot let any more construction delays happen to the R-System. If you can tell us who came up with your escape plan we’ll take them and leave the rest of you alone.”
I was scared. Something told me that they didn’t really care. They just wanted to make an example out of someone. I could tell. I wanted to speak up, to make myself the scapegoat, but my eye burned from the memory of the torture, and my scars began to itch. I couldn’t speak, no matter how much I wanted to.
“That's a pretty nice deal from us don’t you think?” The skinny one finished with a smirk on his face.
The fat one slammed the bottom of his staff upon the ground causing the group, mostly Sho and Milliana to jump at the noise. I turned my attention towards them and saw Erza holding her head in her hands, Sho had tears falling from his eyes and Mili was holding Wally’s arm for comfort from him. I wasn’t any better, as my body was trembling in fear and phantom pains.
“I was…,” Erza started on my right, but Jellal stood up drawing everyone’s attention to him.
“It was me,” Jellal stated, “I came up with our escape plan. It was all me.”
“Oh?”
“Well aren’t you brave,” the skinny one started, “But I know it wasn’t you. It was the red-head!”
“Take her away!” the fat one ordered the guards who moved to drag Erza away, one of them easily carrying her under their arms.
“No! It wasn’t her! I swear it was my idea!” Jellal screamed at the cultists, “She didn’t do anything!”
“Yeah, let her go!” Simon roared in tandem.
“That's enough!” The fat one slammed his staff on the ground again causing the electric shock spell to zap the two boys screaming in her defence.
“Please…don’t worry about me…,” Erza’s weak voice said as she was carried away. I could feel the tears streaming down my face in full knowledge of what she’s going to feel, my scars and eye burning with sympathy and dread for what she was going to face.
“Erza!”
“It’s just like you said, Jellal,” she looked at us with a weak smile, “There's nothing to be afraid of.”
— * —
It was in the early hours of the morning that we were thrown back into our cell. I was feeling pain all over my body from getting electrocuted, as despite my mind having grown use to the pain my body still sings when I have to go threw the brief but painful torture.
“T…They took her,” Sho said, tears falling from his eyes, “They took big sis.”
“Damn it,” Simon said, a frown upon his face, “It’s like they were waiting for us out there…When we hadn’t met any guards…I should have guessed it was a trap.”
I took a seat in the corner, feeling tears falling out of my eyes as I cried silently. I put my head into my knees as my body was racked with soft sobs.I wish I could’ve spoken up, but I couldn’t. I hated myself, I hated the cultists, I hated the woman that left me at the orphanage, I hated everything at that moment because I knew what Erza was going to go through inside that torture chamber.
All I felt was hatred.
An arm twisted around my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me and I glanced up towards its owner. Jellal had taken a seat right beside me, his face set and stony in contrast to my downtrodden and angry appearance. The look in his eyes was focused and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
“Jellal…” I said softly and drew his attention to me, “I’m…I’m sorry…”
He had actually managed to crack a smile, if forced, before ruffling my hair.
“You have nothing to apologise for, Lyssa.”
I sniffed, swallowing thickly as I turned my attention to the ground.
“No, I do,” I told him, “If I spoke up he might have recognised me, and taken me instead. I should have spoken up. But now Erza is going to have to go through what I did and I just-”
Jellal sighed as I gripped my fists and gritted my teeth, burying my head back into my knees.
“You don’t need to cry. I came up with the plan…it should be me in there, not Erza.”
He stood up and I watched as his determination redoubled.
“Save your tears for when we escape,” he said, “I’ll save Erza, and we will fight to our last breath for freedom. Then, when it's in our grasp, we won’t have to live in this tower any longer. Then you can cry to your heart's content…”
He turned around with a smile on his face.
“Because those tears will be tears of happiness.”
I stared at him in shock at what he said. I could feel a new hope burning through my chest at the moment, taking the place of the worry and despair that had overtaken me when I had seen Erza get taken…
“Yeah,” I said softly as I wiped my eyes, “Yeah, you’re right.”
Jellal gave me a smirk when Simon approached us.
“You’ve got a plan?”
“Yep,” the blue haired boy smiled, “I’m going to get Erza out of that horrible place.”
“If you’re doing that, I’m going with you Jellal,” Simon said.
“Me too,” I said as I stood up.
“No.”
I blinked in confusion at his abrupt answer.
“What do you mean no?” Simon asked, “This is the torture chamber we’re talking about. If you go alone you are going to get caught!”
“I’ll move faster by myself and you two have never been subtle,” he said in a firm voice, “I understand why you want to come, trust me, But I want you two and Wally here to watch over Mili and Sho.”
Jellal then looked at the ground.
“And I’d rather not bring anyone to the place of so much torment. We were lucky Lyssa had made it out alive, but you saw the state she was in when they were done with her. I really don’t want to imagine what they’re doing to Erza…”
I frowned in unison with them.
I didn’t want to think about what pain Erza could be facing in the hands of that man…and I felt a shudder run through my body as I once again remembered what they had done to me. My perfect memory forcing me to remember each laceration that formed a permanent mark on my skin was a curse, and I found my hand absentmindedly running my fingers around the scars on my arms.
I looked up to see Jellal and Simon staring at me. I wiped what was left of the tear stains off my face and gave him a smile.
“When are you going to act?”
He glanced back through the cell doors and saw that there was a guard patrolling the hallway causing him to lower his voice to a whisper.
“Not now. They have more guards active than usual. I’ll wait for the right opportunity, and then strike.”
“Are you sure you want to do this by yourself Jellal?” Simon asked with uncertainty still in his voice.
“Trust me,” Jellal told him with a smirk, “Erza will be back with us and our group will be complete once more. You two, me, Erza, Sho, Milliana, and Wally.”
I turned my attention to the others. Sho was crying with Wally and Grandpa Rob trying to cheer him up. Milliana tried to do the same, but it was obvious there was a shade of sadness in her eyes, too.
“Just watch out then,” Simon sighed, “You won’t know what kind of security they have on that level.”
Jellal gave me a glance, wanting to know if I was going to say something but instead of talking I took him in a hug. His body froze since he wasn’t expecting it, but slowly he wrapped his arms around my form and returned the hug.
“Just be safe, okay?” I told him, “Because if you die, I’ll kill you.”
He chuckled and stepped out of the hug.
“You can count on me,” he said, “I’ll be back here along with Erza before you know it. And then…when we get back…we’ll have no choice but to fight for our freedom.”
— * —
The next morning I had woken up to see Simon and Wally sitting next to each other and talking while Sho and Mili were trying to join the conversation, but lacked the heart to do so.
I sat there watching them interact with each other. Grandpa Rob, who was seated beside the kids, looked up in my direction and beckoned me over to take a seat beside him.
“The whole tower has heard what guys tried to do.”
I looked down, not meeting his eyes.
“I understand the desire to have your freedom, and I don’t admonish your attempt to get it,” he said, “I’m just glad that you were unharmed.”
I tightened my hands.
“But they took Erza,” I told him, “They took her…and I did nothing…”
He put his hand on my back in a comforting move, even if I didn’t voice it, I was truly glad that he was there to comfort and reassure me that not everything was lost in the world. Then Wally spoke out.
“Where is Jellal?”
I instantly glanced up and searched the room for the blue haired boy, but he was nowhere to be found. I stood up and glanced toward Simon who did the same toward me.
He said he was going to wait a day or two, but he left in the middle of the night, instead. Just like us, he couldn’t sit around without feeling useless…
“He went after her, didn’t he?” Grandpa Rob said, already piecing the information together.
“I hope he’ll be safe,” Mili said with worry as she looked at the cell door.
Simon crossed his arms and glanced at the old man.
“Grandpa Rob, you’ve been there before, right?” he asked, “What do they do in there?”
I glanced at the old man in surprise. I never knew that he was sent to the torture room and from the way his body tensed he didn’t exactly want to remember either.
“From what happened to Lyssa,” Grandpa said, “I think you already have a good idea.”
“You mean they’re going to do the same thing to Erza!?” Wally said, angry.
Grandpa Rob raised his hand in surrender to them.
“I am sure that Erza will be fine,” he said in a calm voice, “If your mind is strong, your spirit is the only thing that they can’t take.”
Simon was confused.
“What do you…?” he started.
He never finished that question, because someone opened the cell door drawing our attention to it. I felt my heart jump at the sight of Erza with three guards coming in right behind her, one of them pushing in a cart full of tools. The small red haired girl swayed as she walked before falling into a heap on the ground.
“Erza!” I cried as I ran toward the girl and knelt beside her.
The girl looked like a mess, her red hair falling all over her face and her body was covered in day-old bruises. I felt my body flare up again in hatred when I saw the eyepatch covering her eye, knowing exactly what it meant for the girl in front of me. I had to consciously loosen my grip on Erza’s shoulders because of how my rage made me want to grip them and I was fully aware that my face had gone blank.
“Where is Jellal?” Wally asked as the group reached us.
“Just let her be,” Grandpa Rob said, “Be happy that she returned alive to us.”
“But…,” Simon started.
“He must have been taken in her place,” Grandpa Rob told him with sadness permeating his voice.
‘Jellal,’ I thought as I tightened my hold on Erza, causing the girl to limply fall into my arms like a broken marionette. She was defeated…
And it only made me more pissed.
“No more…,” a sobbing voice said from behind me.
I turned my attention to Sho as tears started to descend down his face. Tears I couldn’t replicate, as I found my attention moving towards the cart fool of mining tools, the rusted metal of the pickaxe’s head drawing my attention as Jellal’s words ran through my head.
“I’ve had enough of this place!” the young blonde boy yelled.
“Pipe down, brat!”
“Hey, calm down Sho,” Simon said to him.
We’ll have to fight to our last breath for our freedom. No more planning.
We were brought into this hell through violence, and we can only leave through violence.
Grandpa Rob took the young boy in his arms in an attempt to comfort the child.
“Don’t worry…he is still nearby…”
But this only made Sho start to cry even harder.
“I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”
At that instant any and all restraint broke in me, and Erza too had found a new resolve.
The two of us flew like monsters possessed, Erza, the usually shy girl had thrown two of the guards out of the cell doors and over the railing to their death. I made a run for the cart and wrenched the pickaxe from the hook that was holding it to the side and swung it towards the guard that was pushing the equipment driving the end through his armour and deep into his ribs. I pulled him down to the ground and pried the pickaxe free as I held the tool over my shoulder with both hands, my dirty dress and face being smeared with blood that sprayed from the man’s pierced heart.
Erza looked back to the rest of the people in the cell with so much determination shining in her single eye they were taken aback. Both of our bodies were shaking with anger and adrenaline alike.
“Pick up a weapon,” Erza said, her voice brimming with the determination that was burning through her small form, “Because we will never be free, however much we obey or try to run! Our only choice is to fight, stand up…STAND UP FOR OUR FREEDOM!”
Her voice travelled throughout the holding cells and those who couldn’t hear her rallying cry could feel the same spirit that incited the revolt that was held on that day. Everyone, young to elderly, grabbed tools and fought, ripping the equipment from the still warm hands of the guards’ corpses and used it against the very same forces who once proudly used them on us.
All the rage and hatred I had built up without giving it anywhere to go had found its target as blood began to coat my ten year old body. I relished in the righteous violence as I fought, uncaring of my own health after reaching this boiling point and only determined to kill as many as I could before dying myself. Each time I crossed someone wearing a mask with the cult’s brand upon it, I made sure to drive the edge of the sword I had acquired as deep into their throats as I could.
Erza had managed to stand at the forefront of the battle, keeping a roaring cry that rallied everyone that she had freed from their cells. She had obtained a sword and shield that gave her the appearance of a young knight that fought with a radiant valour. The fact that we, children who were barely ten years of age, were capable of killing adults was a testament to the grewling labour we were forced to endure. We were children with muscles more defined than these adults that tried to hold us prisoner, and my muscles laughed with an exertive glee as I hunted them down with a heinous smile.
The sound of explosions drowned out my sickening laughter as I reaped joy from this revenge, knowing full well that I acted more akin to a wretched demon than Erza’s brave knight. There was only one thing that managed to keep my sanity and that was ensuring the safety of those I cared about, the only family I’ve ever known.
I rampaged my way down to the hallway that had William and Bosco. There were slaves reaching out from their cells trying to figure out what was happening. I opened the doors to let them help as I went further and further down.
It was like a domino effect, at least one person from each cell began to help in freeing everyone else causing the speed of our revolt to grow faster and faster. Everyone joined the fray as screams of rage and cheers of joy were accompanied by explosions and clanging metal, the symphony of our freedom. I sighed in relief when I saw my brother figure, now in his early twenties with a slight stubble growing on his face, and he was just as surprised as I was happy after seeing the meek young girl who loved card tricks caked in blood.
That day, the Tower of Heaven gave birth to a glorious knight, a sadistic demon, and several brilliant mages.
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