Chapter 13-Break Out!
Waria quickly sneaks her way outside and back to the campsite. HQ in other words. She explains their predicament to the team. Rose almost goes balistic. She makes a make-shift Shadow Siren suit from twigs and leaves, along with some tape she had packed, and runs for the front door. She simply knocks twice and waits.
The door opens to reveal a stout but big Siren. “I take it you are the substitute?”
Rose simply nods.
“Good. Now, we didn’t catch your name on the ballot. What is it?”
Rose quickly mixes and matches her own name to make “Roselina.”
“Rosalina? Nice name.”
“Not RosAlina, RosElina. With a E in Rose.”
The guard shrugs. “Eh, still said the same way. Doesn’t matter. Come on RosElina, your post is this way.”
The guard opens the doors all the way and lets Rose inside. After shutting them, he quickly takes Rose by the arm, and takes her ahead. “Your post is the most important one. Guarding our prized prisoner. Think you can handle that RosElina?”
Rose shoots her arm out of the guards grasp. “Yes I can. And you don’t need to put so much emphasis on the E in my name.”
“Pfft. Fine. Whatever. But, to save time, hows about just calling you Rose?”
Rose almost laughs at this. “Sure. Go ahead.”
“Alright. Now, as I was saying, this post is most important. The prisoner here is the infamous Keenan; or we think it is anyway.”
They are at the moving staircase now. “What do you mean you think it is?”
The guard shrugs. “Well, the description we have, matched this person exactly, minus the hair color, the height, the weight, and that he’s a human, but he still responded to the name Keenan. So, we figured, if we got a bad description, it ain’t or fault. We can’t be blamed for this.”
They reach the spiraling staircase entrance door. “Well, here we are. Good luck coping with him. If he asks for something, you NEED to somehow get it for him. Otherwise he may start yelilng and we don’t want that; not at all!” The guard turns and heads back down the stairs. Rose pretends to guard for about ten minutes. She then looks around, sees no one watching, and heads inside the door.
Soon as the door shuts, she hears a familiar voice. “Look, I said I wanted a little bit of privacy, so just back off!” Rose smiles and slowly heads up the stairs. “What did I just say? Go away!” Rose reaches the top. Once she peeks her head out, she hears a small sound behind her. She jumps out, nearly hit by an Xbox 360 console, and she jumps at the attacker. They wrestle around a bit, but soon Rose pins him down. Keenan starts struggling. “Let me up! What did I ever do to you?”
“Well for one, you got kidnapped…”
Keenan stops struggling and looks at the Siren guard, who removes her purple disguise.
“…and two, you left me alone for so long!”
Keenan smiles from ear to ear and hugs her tightly. She, of course, hugs back. “I’ve missed you.”
“I know Rose. I know.”
They hug for about three more seconds then let go. “But what I don’t get is why you didn’t turn back into a Koopa and escape.”
Keenan gets up and turns away from Rose. “To be honest, it’s a little embarassing…”
Rose grabs his shoulder. “I don’t care what it is or how stupid, if I can help I will.”
Keenan grabs her hand and smiles. “I lost the remote.”
Rose seems more confused than a psyduck at a surprise birthday party. “Allow me to explain as soon as we get out of here. And how are we going to?”
Rose smiles. “I got it” she says as she pulls out a walkie talkie. “Big Black and Herculina come in; I repeat, come in. Over.”
Back outside with Wesley and Waria, Waria picks up the talkie that was sitting by the tent. They have been waiting for this a while. “This is Herculina. Continue on Thorn. Over.”
Rose gets up and grabs her disguise. She walks over to the windows. “We need a pickup. How can you do that? Over.”
“We have mapped out the exterior of the building, and we have found a plossible escape exit. Can you reach the top of the Steeple? By the fireplace to be more precise? Over.”
Rose walks over to the fireplace mantle. “Already there Herculina. Over.”
“Good. Be prepared for pickup. Our ETA is 10 minutes. Repeat: 10 minutes. Over and out.”
“We read. Over and out.”
Keenan gets up and grabs his backpack. “Ready.”
Rose nods at him and she puts on the disguise. “I’ll see what I can figure out about your remote Keenan. Wait here. If I’m not back five minutes after they get here, then go on without me.”
“I’ll never leave without you. Not unless against my own will. I’ll wait as long as it takes.”
“No! How will you defend yourself? Tell me that!”
Keenan holds up two hands which are sparking with energy. “Psychic. Remember? I can take care of myself.”
Rose nods and puts on her disguise. She quickly goes back downstairs and out the door. She leaves her post and finds the lunchroom. Good thing too. It’s everybody’s lunchbreak. She goes and gets her lunch of Mashed potatoes, a bread roll, jello, and a milk. “Jeez. I feel like I’m back at high school.” She takes her lunch and sits at a table full of Siren guards. She starts to eat silently; not trying to grab any attention.
The Siren next to her notices her being “shy” and tries to grab her attention.
“Hey. Hey, girly, you ok?”
Rose looks up at him. “I guess I’m just a little nervous. It’s my first day on the job and everything. I know next to nothing about this place or about the prisoner.”
“Well that’s not good! If you’re working here, then you know what you’re working to guard! Hey guys!”
Some other sirens at the table turn to the siren. “We got a new recruit here! She knows virtually nothing about this place!”
“So she doesn’t know about the prisoner?” Says a gothic Siren. He’s wearing a black and blue striped hat.
“No! She doesn’t!” The siren responds. He’s wearing a blue and green striped hat. They almost clash since the green is so bright and the blue is so dark.
“Well, I say that we fill the new girl in!” Says another siren. This one wearing a blue and yellow. “She shoule know!”
“I agree with that Jeff! Hey, Charles,” the gothic one turns. “What Joe?”
“I think we ought to bring our new little friend into the light. Or the dark, as the case may be!” The group laughs loudly. Rose laughs to stay a part of the group. “Well, I appreciate this guys, but all I don’t know about is who the prisoner is and how he or she was caught.”
The blue and yellow one turns. “Joe, do you think we should tell her, it is against the rules after all…”
“Nah, don’t think about it Jill. We won’t get caught.”
Rose snickers. Jill looks at her angrily. Rose tries to apolagize. “I’m sorry, but a guy named Jill?”
“It’s short for Jillian. My ancestor’s name has been carried down for generations ever since the midieval times.”
Rose quickly stops snickering and Joe continues. “Well, this is what happened, or so we have been told. Beldam, our main boss, was ordered to kidnap some leader of a rebellion or something like that. That leaders name was Keenan. Now, Beldam, being the lazy witch she is gave US the job. Not US us, but this sector us. Only Jill here went with the team. He doesn’t remember much. He has a memory problem.”
Jill turns to him. “Who has a memory problem?”
Joe shakes his head. “Case and point. Anyway, he and the others went onward into a town near here to find and apprehend this Keenan character. We were told he would be easy, what with him being a Koopa and all, but before they could get him, he had already ducked into a laboratory. The laboratory of a Prof. E. Gadd I believe. Anyway, they waited, and waited, and waited still, but finally, about half an hour later, the door opens. Now the team is completely out of patience by this time and they nab the person that comes out. This person had dropped a remote of some kind when he was grabbed. Jill here saw it before the others did and took it for himself. He hasn’t thrown it, out of fear of what it may do, but he has given it to me for safe keeping. Here, look for yourself!” He pulls out of under his hat a remote. A grey box with an antennae and a single red switch, just like the receipt that Waria had read!
“May I?” Rose says motioning to the remote.
Joe shakes his head. “I don’t know…maybe somewhere secret and secure…”
Rose snaps her fingers. “I know where we could do it! Listen…” she starts to whisper to him. “How about out behind the gate to the steeple. There’s a well there. Meet me there in ten minutes and I’ll take you to a secret place.” She leans back out and Joe nods.
Rose heads to the tower after lunch. She sees that all three are there waiting for her. Wesley is still inspecting the human boy before him. She explains that she found the remote and that she will be able to get it, but that they will have to wait a little longer. They agree to this.
Later, out at the gate, Rose is already waiting. About five minutes later Joe finally shows up. “What took ya?” she asks him.
“I eat a big lunch alright?” He says. “So, this secret place, where is it?”
Rose points to the well. “It’s actually INSIDE the well.”
Joe immediately jumps in after Rose. From the tower, Keenan and the others are quietly watching, and five seconds later, Rose emerges. She isn’t in her disguise anymore. She motions her hand like she’s talking into a walkie talkie. Waria turns hers on and presses the ring button. Outside, Rose is looking around, and soon she finds the other talkie. “Come in Herculina over” Waria’s talkie says. Waria quickly responds. “This is Herculina, respond. What is it, over?”
“I have Keenan’s remote. Go on ahead and get Keenan out of there. Over and out.” She puts the talkie into a slot in her boot-leg. The other one contains a knife. She usually uses the Tomb Raider look, and with her team, it was no exception.
“So just how are we getting out anyway Waria?” Keenan asks. She and Wesley walk over to the fireplace. “We’re climbing.”
Keenan’s mouth drops. “THAT’S your master escape plan? I could’ve done that at any time!”
Waria glares at him. “Then why DIDN’T you?”
Keenan gulps. “Because I liked the games they were getting me…heh-heh…”
Waria does a majorly loud facepalm. “Come on! Let’s get out of here already! I’m starting to get my hair full of cobwebs!” She starts to climb up and out of the fireplace. Once she reaches the top she calls down for the next one, Wesley goes up next. Then Keenan follows soon after.
“Alright, we’re out of the room, now how do we get off the roof?” Keenan asks Waria.
“………”
Wesley walks up to her on the shingles. “You DO know how to get down off of the roof, right Waria?”
“……….I guess I forgot about that part of the plan…”
Both guys in unison yell out “WHAT!?!”
“I said I forgot about that part! Happy?!” She was very frustrated.
“Well that’s just great! We’re stuck on the roof of one of the enemy’s own secret bases! How could it get any wor-“
“Do NOT finish that sentence!” Wesley yells at Keenan. “Do you not know what will happen?”
“No what?”
“EXACTLY! You can’t tell what will happen if you say it can’t get any you-know-what!”
“Well how is it supposed to get BETTER huh?”
Wesley turns around thinking. “Well, we could always jump down. If you two grab onto me, then maybe I could flutter kick us down.”
The three decide to give it a shot. They get on Wesley’s back and he charges right off
the end. As they plummet down, he starts to kick in the air, which propels him upward slightly, and then gently onto the ground. They quickly head back to camp.
Soon as they reach camp, Rose immediately grabs Keenan and kisses him on the lips. This catches him completely off guard, but he doesn’t try to stop her either. Waria just makes a gagging noise while pointing inside her mouth. Wesley just stares and says “how romantic…”
Rose stops the kiss and hands the remote to Keenan. He immediately flips the switch, and after a few seconds af blinding white light, a Koopa stands before the team. It’s the old Keenan.
Keenan walks up to the team. “So, what now?”
“Well, we are still being chased, and once they find out that you’re gone, they’ll be stepping up their force. I recommend we head back to the portal pool” Rose says. “After all, they apparetly don’t know about the pool, otherwise they would’ve gotten us before we could leave it.”
Wesley nods and agrees. “That’s right. If we’re lucky, then they still won’t know about it, and we can figure out what to do next from there.”
Waria nods as well. Keenan starts to pack up anything he could carry he had from the room he was held in. “Well then, let’s disembark! Onwards!”
END OF CHAPTER