Page 47 of Steel & Thunder
The sound of the toilet flushing makes the decision for me, and I turn my hand, dropping the bits of magical herb into the mug. I stir the liquid quickly with a finger, trying to get what’s still floating on top to sink to the bottom. I hope that dissolves enough and the beer covers any weird taste. I have to remember not to lick my finger clean, wiping it on the couch as I hop back in my seat, doing my best to look like none of that just happened.
It works. I get a warm smile on his return, and he’s got the book back in his hand, picking up where he left off. He sips his beer a second later, and I watch his face for any changes. But there’s none; he just continues reading. I relax a little after that, ignoring the growing ball of guilt in my stomach. I’m no longer drinking my beer, only pretending, but Ironstorm downs about half of his before I start noticing the tell-tale signs of drowsiness. His eyes get a little droopy. Words are said slower. A few more sips in, he’s practically slurring, and he even nods off once. Until finally...
“He held his sword aloft...ready to...strike...” The book falls gently into his lap as his form slumps back onto the couch, followed by the sound of light snoring.
I wait a moment, worried that any movement might wake him up. But the second I’m confident he’s really out, I’m out of my seat and moving. I sprint to the bedroom, throwing open the chest with my clothes. I really wish I had something in black, but I end up going with dark brown pants and a dark blue shirt. I throw on some socks and my shoes (damn, not gonna get those new boots now) and look around for anything else that might be useful. I think about a sword but trekking through town with one of those on my back might look a little suspicious. I kinda wish he bought that bundle of rope at Brull’s now because I don’t see anything else that might be useful.
I’ve got a small window of time, so I move back out into the living room. Next is grabbing the ring of keys. I don’t have a good place to hide them, so I end up sticking them down my waistband for now. After that, I put out the fire in the fireplace. I’m not a monster. I wouldn’t let the house burn to the ground.
Just...drug its owner so I can steal his keys and break into the local jail.
I watch Ironstorm still passed out on the couch, and the guilt weighing on me feels even heavier. I think back to everything he’s done to me the past week, the anger I’ve felt, the pain, the humiliation, trying to tell myself that I’m doing the right thing here. But looking at him also makes me remember things like cooking together, going on runs, waking up in bed together...
…The other stuff we’ve done in bed together.
I shake the thoughts from my head. What are you doing, David? None of this mattered before you got here, and none of it is going to matter after. The things you’ve had to do this past week aren’t really you. Don’t forget that the only reason you’ve gone along with any of it is because you didn’t have a choice. This is what you’ve been waiting for: a chance to escape with all your friends.
I look around the room one last time. To see if I’m forgetting something, not for anything sentimental. I think about grabbing some food but not sure how practical that would be, especially when getting in and out of the jail. We can figure all that once we’re out of this place. No turning back now. I’m doing this. I blow out the lanterns and walk out the front door.
It’s dark outside and fairly quiet. The streets are mostly empty, and the people I see out pay me no mind. I keep my eyes to myself, one arm slightly stiff at my side as I try to minimize the sounds of the keys jangling under my waistband. I’m just a man out for a nice quiet stroll outside.
It’s about a fifteen-minute walk to the jail, and I slow down once I see it a block in the distance. Time to try to find a way in. The walls outside are tall and made of solid, smooth stone. I walk on the opposite side of the street around the building, unsure of which wall is hiding the yard with the cells behind it. I think back to being led out of the building and figure it out easily enough, but finding a way to get over it is a lot harder.
It’s the only building on the block and the streets are all so wide that jumping from another building isn’t a possibility. There’s a pole with a light atop on one corner, but it is also smooth so climbing it isn’t an option either. At least not without getting noticed, probably. But other than putting on a disguise and going through the front door, that might be my only option. Paranoid about being on the street for this long, I duck into an alley to think things over.
The walls are too high for me to reach with a jump, though thankfully there’s nothing along the top preventing entry. You’d figure some barbed wire or something, right? But that’s a point in my favor. If I could jump from high enough on the pole with enough momentum, that might do it. I’m not a gymnast or anything, but when I was little, I climbed a lot of trees. Spending the last month in and out of the forest after all my skills in strength moved over into speed, some of that has come back to me. I think I have an idea.
I duck my head out onto the street, looking around for signs of anyone else. It seems I’m alone and that means showtime. I walk across the street and the only thing between me and the cell holding my friends is the wall in front of me. I turn so I face the light pole, putting the jail on my right. After one last look around, I take off running. As I move to the lamp pole, I bank left slightly so that I’m partially in the street.
This will be risky, but no riskier than saving a little girl from being run over, right?
I turn slightly, aiming for the edge of the wall on the corner with the light. I leap, connecting my right foot with the wall and pushing off to jump higher toward the pole. I grab on with both hands, swinging around the smooth surface once before kicking my legs up and vaulting myself at the wall. I just barely catch the edge as I come down, my feet dangling three or four feet from the ground.
Holy shit. I can’t believe I pulled that off. I almost wish someone else was here to see that.
I quickly pull myself up, listening for the sounds of footsteps and making sure I’m alone before dropping to the ground. Oof. Alright, I gotta get new shoes after this. I creep silently through the rows, carefully peering down each alley to make sure I’m not seen. These first few structures don’t look like cells, no wall of bars, just a single large door. Storage maybe?
After a couple more rows of that, I finally see the jail cells. There are twelve cells in each row, six on either side grouped together in twos with more alleys in between. They’re all empty so far. I don’t remember seeing or hearing anyone else out here during my very brief stay, but it still seems weird. I look at the main building, trying to suss out the location of my friends’ cell. It’s dark out here, the only light on this side of the fence coming from the building itself. After passing a few more rows, I finally see a familiar looking door at the end, the one I know leads inside. This is the row our cell was in!
Excited but still quiet, I pull the giant ring of keys from my waistband. I hold them steady in my hands, not wanting to risk a noise drawing any attention. Not sure from who, seeing as every cell I’ve passed has been completely empty, but better safe than sorry. I can see the cell the guys are in just up ahead. I can’t wait to see the look on their—
Their cell is empty.
I look around, making sure I have the right one. I look in the cell behind me, I look in the cells next to me, then I start running up and down the rows of cells looking for anyone. They’re all empty. I go back to the cell they’re supposed to be in.
They’re already gone. They haven’t been here since this morning. They probably took them to the camp right after—
I jump at the sound of a door opening to my right. Fuck, somebody’s coming. I try to run around to the side of the cell as fast as I can, praying the darkness gives me enough cover to hide from whoever just came out here. I mold my body to the wall, afraid to even breathe. Things are silent so I think I might be in the clear.
“Ati gat?” Shit. I hear footsteps move toward me before they stop abruptly. Then they seem to go in the other direction, and I hear the door being opened again. Phew, he’s going back inside.
“Jiak dez, giz Kritar Ghun’zuf!”
Shitshitshitshitshit. I don’t know what he just said, but it couldn’t have been good. He’s not moving, and the door is still open.
I quietly make my way back to the far side of the cells, tucking the ring of keys back into my waistband to free up my hands. As I do, I hear a second voice start talking to the first and another set of feet stepping outside. Great. I need to get out of here now. I make my way into the far corner, staring at the wall as if that will do anything to it. How do I get out of here? I may not have thought this all the way through.
I peer around the corner down the row, and I can see a flicker of a light at the other end moving closer. I have to get to the other side of the yard, put more distance between us so I can think of something. I peer around the next row only to be met with a second light, and I can see the orc attached to this one. I can hear the first one getting closer. I don’t have a choice.
