Kevin was tying the sleeves of his coat to the door. He let out a hiss, then said, \u201cThe guard\u2019s coming. We\u2019ve got about 30 seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jane produced her own lockpick and had their door open in the first of those seconds. The three girls spilled out, Karen unwillingly \u2013 Marie had her by the elbow. I think she was still a bit fuzzy from the drugs.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKevin, get out here,\u201d said Jane. \u201cCan you lift that machine? I want to take it with us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Kevin started over towards the machine, which was the size of a large desktop laser printer. I hefted one end. It seemed possible, though I wouldn\u2019t want to carry it far, and I nodded to Kevin, who said, \u201cYes.\u201d Nobody except him was looking in my direction. They were all still forgetting I existed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGrab it, then, and let\u2019s get going,\u201d said Jane.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cThe guard\u2019s nearly here!\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThen grab fast\u2026\u201d began Jane, but at that moment the guard appeared in the doorway, skidding to a halt \u2013 he\u2019d obviously broken into a run and was panting. He checked himself with his shoulder against the door pillar and levelled his rifle at Kevin, who was crossing his line of sight to get to the machine.<\/span><\/p>\n I felt a spurt of intense fear that seemed to come out of nowhere. I didn\u2019t see exactly what happened next. Something came from Marie\u2019s direction and hit the guard, who convulsed and dropped the gun. I had already pushed off from the table, I think with the idea of tackling Kevin out of the way of a bullet or something, and rocked the rickety platform enough that the lantern fell off and smashed on the floor. It was suddenly almost pitch dark, just a bit of dim light coming in from the corridor. I cannoned into Kevin and bounced off, but he grabbed me and kept me from going down.<\/span><\/p>\n Over the guard\u2019s moaning, Kevin shouted, \u201cEveryone stay still for a second! OK, I know where you all are. Just let me guide you. Marie, reach out to your left and grab Karen. Jane, Karen\u2019s in front of you. We\u2019re both over here in the middle of the room. I\u2019ll come over your way and then I\u2019ll guide Marie to the door.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat about the machine?\u201d wailed Jane. It was as emotional as I\u2019d ever heard her get.<\/span><\/p>\n Kevin let go of my arm, took two steps in the darkness which rang on the concrete floor, huffed, and came back. He nudged me. \u201cTake the other end, mate, this is heavy,\u201d he said. I fumbled for it in the dark, got an end, nearly dropped it and then managed to stabilize it. Towed by Kevin, I stumbled across the room, back towards our cell, I had to assume. He took me on a slight detour to avoid the guard, who was still incapacitated, and I heard him kick something \u2013 by the sound, likely the gun. It skittered off further into the room.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll right,\u201d he said, speaking a little breathlessly \u2013 the machine was heavier than I had realized. \u201cMarie, take one small step to your left and then a medium step forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n There was a moment\u2019s pause, and then, \u201cMarie!\u201d he yelled. \u201cThe other guard is coming. Snap out of it, you\u2019ve got to get us out of here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSorry,\u201d came her voice out of the darkness, and a confused noise of shuffling feet as the three girls, clinging blindly to each other, lurched towards the door. I heard a small squeak from the hinges, and then there was a light. She\u2019d opened a door back to our home base.<\/span><\/p>\n Kevin and I hurried as best we could in the wake of the girls, who rushed through the door. Marie stood to one side, holding it, and slammed it behind us just as a portable light came bobbing along the corridor outside our former prison. We half lowered, half dropped the machine, and I shook out my hands, which had been cramping.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re well out of that<\/em>,\u201d said Kevin.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat did you do to the guard?\u201d I asked Marie, but she ignored the question until Kevin repeated it. \u201cI found something in my pocket all of a sudden and kind of \u2013 fired it at him,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2026 do you think he\u2019ll be OK?\u201d She held out a small yellow-and-black device in one hand.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs long as he doesn\u2019t have heart problems,\u201d said Jane. \u201cThat\u2019s a taser.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou tased him?\u201d asked Karen. She reflected for a moment, then added, \u201cGood. He looked at me in a way I didn\u2019t like. Like I was\u2026 good to eat or something.\u201d Her eyes turned inward. Marie\u2019s expression went from worried to dangerous. She took a couple of steps towards Karen and put an arm around her, upon which Karen melted down and started sobbing and clutching Marie. Marie led her off gently, opening a door into a room with some couches where they could sit down.<\/span><\/p>\n Kevin and I looked at each other awkwardly. Jane had ignored the whole incident and was clucking over the machine like a hen with one chicken.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI could miniaturize this,\u201d she said. \u201cSmall enough to wear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGreat,\u201d I said. \u201cI might be able to be visible from time to time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She ignored me, but with Jane that didn\u2019t necessarily mean a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou know,\u201d Kevin said, \u201cI felt a surge when the machine went off. Like my power came back stronger than ever. I knew that other guard was coming, and I\u2019d only glanced at him in passing. I usually need to have at least a conversation with someone before they show up on the radar.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMaybe that\u2019s why Marie could pull something out of her pocket without a door,\u201d I said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIs that so?\u201d said Jane, still ignoring me. \u201cThat\u2019s very interesting. If suppressing the effect temporarily makes it surge up stronger afterwards, that would imply\u2026 hmm. Help me carry this downstairs to the lab.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kevin was tying the sleeves of his coat to the door. He let out a hiss, then said, \u201cThe guard\u2019s coming. We\u2019ve got about 30 seconds.\u201d Jane produced her own lockpick and had their door open in the first of … Continue reading
\n<\/span><\/p>\n