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“My only plan is to quietly sneak in, steal their stun guns and free everyone in the facility.”
Sounds easy enough.
Too easy.
Slowly, Tekil descends the rock steps, heading back down into the lab. My heart pounds as I stare down the dark opening, then reluctantly follow Tekil. Andred climbs down after me.
It’s very dark and as I inhale deeply to calm myself, I force myself to focus. The familiar musty stale scent of the cave and high humidity makes my heart race.
I can’t go back to living in the cage again. I can’t!
My vision dims to near darkness and my breathing is ragged until someone grabs my shoulders, shaking me slightly.
“Myla,” Tekil whispers softly into my left ear. “Calm down. I will protect you.”
His scent surrounds me, and my shoulders relax as something inside takes over. It’s a welcome relief. To my surprise, my vision sharpens until I can vividly see everything around me. My heart calms to a normal pace, I inhale deeply, and smile my thanks at Tekil.
I worry about the changes taking place in me, but this one is pretty cool. It makes me feel better to see and know what’s around me.
And having night vision just might be useful, so I keep following Tekil, now noting the eerie surroundings of creepy, moldy moss gliding along the ground. Perfect for insects and rodents. The thought makes me uneasy.
Tekil halts so abruptly that I bump into him. Without a word, he points. I peer around his shoulder and see the beginning of the line of cells.
Instead of walking forward, Tekil grabs my hand and pulls me back around the corner.
This is it.
My heartrate increases a little and I swallow hard.
“What’s the plan?” I ask again in a barely audible whisper.
Tekil looks at me, then quickly glances around the corner. “Vi’del and Zeno are being kept in a separate area, at the northernmost point in the lab. There should be no more than twenty Arcadidia inside…”
“TWENTY?” I mouth dramatically to get my point across, still afraid of making any noise.
“There are shock weapons kept in an alcove close to the cages,” Tekil replies quietly. “I have seen it.”
“Okay that’s great,” I whisper. “But how are we going to get close enough to grab them? Won’t there be guards along the way?”
Tekil gives me a truly startling but brilliant smile.
“It is night,” he says simply. “The Arcadidia sleep at night.”
My eyebrows rise. “ALL of them? And leave the place unguarded?” I think back, trying to remember. I don’t think that can be right. Surely I would’ve noticed that!
He nods. “All of them. Even though we have escaped, they will have the others secured. They will not think we would return so quickly, and they can only search by day, if they search at all. Just as the sun pains us, the darkness makes it impossible for them to see.”
“Wow, they really are giant spiders with brains,” I mutter, but in the back of my mind, I keep thinking about artificial lights. I really don’t think it will be as easy as he believes.
Tekil cocks his head slightly. “Spiders?”
“Bugs,” I offer by way of explanation. “Insects, on my homeworld. They’re usually pretty tiny, but some of ’em get to be bigger than your fists. Kinda intelligent, but not sentient. The Arcadidia look like gigantic versions of them.” I grin. “And weirdly enough, spiders can’t see in the dark either.”
Tekil blinks, and I’m not sure he understands what I’m talking about.
“That is our advantage,” he says, still speaking in a hushed tone.
Andred crosses him arms, visibly annoyed. “Are you two going to stand here and chat all night, or are we going to get this over with?”
