Page 98 of Mated on Live

Serval stared at the door thoughtfully before approaching. His next kick wasn’t forceful. The curious taps at the bottom of the door created an echo he could hear through the halls. His hearing was much more acute than Korvii’s would be…

“There has to be a vent or something,” he said, stepping back, looking at the door carefully. “That sounded too clear for us to be totally sealed in here.”

Korvii gave a single, forceful grunt.

Turning, Serval walked back to him and turned. He crouched down, getting his hands near his face. He couldn’t see since it was behind him, but he could feel for the latch on the gag and free it. Once the seal was undone, Korvii spit it out on his own and Serval stood, turning to face him.

The other restraints were magcuffs. Metal rings around his limbs that were magnetized to each other and needed the control switch to turn off. He couldn’t do anything about them.

But now, mouth freed, Korvii was free to curse and renew his struggles. “They took my kriking mate, Serval! We have to get out of here! We have to get out now!”

Hela screamed again. Korvii joined her. Serval gritted his teeth against the noise.

“Yelling won’t help anyone!” He snapped, returning to his perusal of the door.

“I think I can break my tail,” Korvii continued desperately, like he hadn’t spoken. “If I break it, I can get it out of-”

“I have no use for a broken appendage! Stop exhausting yourself and let me think.” Serval’s voice was sharp, but Korvii was beyond rational thought. He couldn’t blame him. If Sophie had been the one screaming like that…

Shuddering, he returned to his perusal.

It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. There was indeed a vent. The open slats above the door weren’t wide, nor were they in reach, but they provided access to the outside. Serval stared up at them, thinking of something he could do. If they created something long and stiff, they could reach the control panel, perhaps, but that was predicated on having hands available. Breaking his tail might let Korvii slip it free of the restraints, but domini tails weren’t the most dexterous appendages at the best of times, but it was better than…

“What’s that flashing?”

“What?” Serval turned, looking back at Korvii.

As requested, he had stopped struggling. He was on his back now, looking up towards the door. Serval followed his gaze, but he couldn’t make anything out in the dimness. Though, that wasn’t particularly surprising. Just as Serval’s hearing was better than a domini’s, a domini’s sight was better than an allowee’s.

“What do you see?” He asked, searching but spotting nothing.

“There’s something moving out there,” Korvii said. “Outside the vents. See it?”

Serval squinted. Tilted his head. He was about to say that he didn’t, but as he opened his mouth, the shadows seemed to shift. There was something out there.

The vent to the door was high above his head. And while he certainly wasn’t a giant by any measurement, the door was certainly big enough that anyone being up that high would be nothing short of impossible.

But there was something there.

“Hey!” Serval kicked the door again. This time just to make noise, to get attention, rather than as a real attempt to kick it down. “You kept us alive for a reason, right? What do you want? Huh!?”

Hela wasn’t screaming anymore. He didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing, but the anxiety in his gut wouldn’t decrease until he laid eyes on her himself. At least the silence meant that Korvii wasn’t losing his mind anymore – though he looked no less worried.

Something began clicking from the other side. Serval frowned, tilting his head, trying to determine the source of the sound. It was definitely metallic. Kind of violent, but so soft that whatever was making it had to be small.

“What-”

The door hissed, then popped, then released. It didn’t fully open, but it slid back just enough to allow a crack to be seen. Serval blinked, surprised. That was an emergency reaction. If power to the control panel suddenly ceased, doors were automatically designed to immediately open enough to allow the occupants to force their way out. It was a safety feature hardwired into all doors that would be difficult to remove without dismantling and rebuilding the door completely.

“What happened?” Korvii asked, having rolled over towards the wall. He was using it and his shifting legs to force himself up into a sitting position, breathing hard from the effort.

“I don’t…”

Serval didn’t get any further than that, because Lucky flew into the room.

He blinked, stunned. Even in the dark, he would recognize his old, reliable combot. It was so out of date, it was a different shape compared to most other bots, it was dented on one side, and its little motor made a soft, distinctive whirring sound.

That was Lucky.

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