Gabby stood in front of the heavy door, their body tense with purpose. The others paused, confused, as Gabby turned to Jack and said flatly, "Hit me."
Jack blinked. "What?"
"It's part of the plan," Gabby said without flinching. "Make it look real. If I'm roughed up, I can call for backup — tell them the prisoners got aggressive. They'll bring weapons. You take them out, get armed. Simple."
Maarg raised a brow. "You sure?"
Gabby gave him a wry smile. "Just don't miss."
They stepped toward the door and knocked hard, then nodded to the others. Immediately, everyone sprang into motion. Johan and Andy shattered one of the broken chairs, tossing pieces aside to make it sound like a brawl. Jack threw himself against a wall, grunting. Henry kicked the floor and shouted.
And Gabby? Gabby started screaming.
"GET OFF ME!" they shouted, their voice echoing down the hall. "THEY BROKE OUT! THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL ME!"
Jack didn't hesitate now. With a deep breath, he launched a clean, controlled punch — not too hard, but just enough to leave a mark — right through the open gap in the door.
Gabby reeled back with a perfectly performed yelp and took off down the corridor, staggering as they shouted, "PRISONERS ESCAPED! I NEED BACKUP! NOW!"
The hallway swallowed them up.
Minutes passed.
Then came the sounds of boots. Loud, sloppy stomps on concrete. The jingle of scavenged armor. Muffled laughter. Weapons clinking.
Five of them.
The door burst open with a clang.
They looked like a twisted cosplay group — leather jackets patched with dried blood, random pieces of Roman chestplates or medieval arm guards, scavenged from God-knows-where. One carried a massive sledgehammer, resting it casually on his shoulder like a bat. Another had a dented crossbow slung lazily over his back. Two carried axes, and the fifth wielded a jagged spear with a cracked handle.
The tallest one with the hammer cracked a grin. "Where are the little rats?"
"NOW!" Jack roared.
From the shadows, Henry tackled the one with the crossbow, slamming his head into the wall. Johan swung a chair leg at the spearman's knee, knocking him off balance. Andy drove a broken chair arm into an ax-man's throat before kicking him back.
Jack grabbed the sledgehammer guy and drove his elbow into his nose, then spun and disarmed him. The hammer hit the floor with a bone-rattling thud. Jack grabbed it and turned in one smooth motion to floor another raider.
Maarg rushed for the dropped axe. He ducked under a clumsy swing from the last guy and brought the axe down on the man's leg with a sickening crack. The man screamed, then fell silent as Henry finished him with a brutal punch.
Silence.
Five bodies on the ground. All unconscious. All breathing — for now.
Gabby returned, breathing heavily, blood trickling from a small cut on their lip where Jack had hit them.
"Told you it would work," they muttered.
Jack tossed the hammer to his shoulder, and Maarg handed Andy the crossbow.
Everyone armed up, moving quickly, checking the corridor.
"Let's move," Jack said. "The real fight starts now."
***
The room pulsed with quiet intensity as the group caught their breath, now armed and armored with whatever they could salvage from the downed guards. Jack gave a nod, and they all gathered one last time to finalize their split.
Gabby was already pulling on one of the fallen guards' jackets, strapping a mismatched pauldron over their shoulder and smearing a little dried blood on their face. They grabbed a rusted helmet and tucked their purple hair under it as best as they could. The kerosene drum sat snug in a torn rucksack, now filled with soaked rags, makeshift torches, and bits of oily cloth. The scent of fire already clung to them.
"Once I blend in," Gabby said in a low voice, adjusting the collar, "I'll start walking the outer halls. Spray the walls, hallways, even the old crates they stack near the support beams. When I scream your code word — smoke and thunder — Andy hits the switch."
Andy, the short but brawny electrician, nodded. "I'll be right behind you, looking for the main junction box. Should be where the ceiling dips low — there's always wiring overhead there."
Jack turned to Henry and Johan. "I'll come with you to the garage. Once I'm sure the truck's good to go, I'm heading back to help Maarg."
Henry clapped Jack on the back. "We'll make it quick. Just make sure that kid doesn't do anything stupid."
Maarg scoffed from the side. "I'm right here, y'know."
Jack smirked. "Exactly."
The group split.
Garage: Johan, Henry, Jack
The garage was dim, the smell of rust and gasoline heavy in the air. From behind a stack of crates, the three of them spotted the grey pickup sitting by the gate. Two guards leaned against a nearby shelf, talking over cigarettes.
Johan whispered, "I can hotwire it in under two minutes."
Jack nodded. "Do it."
Henry tossed a bolt into a pile of spare parts, drawing the guards away with the loud clatter. As the guards moved to investigate, Jack and Johan sprinted low. Johan popped the hood and got to work while Jack crouched beside the truck, watching the corridor.
"Got it," Johan muttered, the dashboard lighting up faintly.
Henry gave a thumbs-up from across the garage.
Jack gave one last look at the truck, then nodded to both of them. "Keep it warm. I'm going to help the kid."
Without waiting for a reply, he vanished back into the dark halls, silent and determined.
Meanwhile
Gabby moved with confident ease, now fully disguised, blending in among the guards. Every few steps, they paused at a crate, a wooden post, a loose bundle of rope—quietly spraying or stuffing oily rags behind them. Their face betrayed no emotion, only calculation.
Andy followed in silence, occasionally adjusting a fuse or prying open a panel. When they reached the central hallway, Gabby whispered, "Almost there. The old fuse box should be through that vented door."
Andy nodded, pulling out a small tool to wedge it open.
Maarg crept through the musty corridor, just as Gabby described.
The red pipes.
The rusted gate.
The smell of damp misery.
He was close.
Suddenly, behind him—
"About time," Maarg muttered as he turned to see Jack.
Together, they advanced into the heart of the darkness—ready to rescue Tara and Carla, and bring the whole place crumbling down behind them.