CHAPTER 37: ESCAPE

(A/N Big thanks to everyone for the Power stones and Golden tickets, they mean a lot. As usual, please don’t hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

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"That rust bucket is ours," Orion said with a grin.

"You want to steal the Nexcraft?" Michael said with an expression that suggested insanity.

"Yes, that’s our best course of action," Orion stated.

"Yeah, I don’t think we can outrun him, and the Nexcraft is most likely our best chance of escaping this prison if what you said is correct," Alice said.

"Exactly. Taking his only means of chasing us is basically escape 101," Orion said.

"Escape 101?" Michael said, curious.

"Escape page 1 of 1, keep up, Michael," Alice said, with a shake of her head.

Michael’s face practically screamed of being wronged.

"Haha, anyway, we have issues," Orion chuckled before saying.

"Of course we do, none of us can fly a Nexcraft. Orion didn’t even know what a Nexcraft was before today," Michael said.

"Hey, have your revenge on Alice, not me. Besides, it’s not exactly my fault, I didn’t know what a Nexcraft was," Orion said with a frown.

"Excuses," Michael said with a scoff.

"Not everyone is a geek like you, Michael," Orion retorted with a smirk

"I’m not a geek," Michael said with a flushed face.

"Yeah, tell that to your favorite engineer," Orion said with a chuckle.

"You-"

"Enough!" Alice interrupted.

"While I’m glad you both are having a bonding moment, can you do it when we don’t have a grown man actively looking to defile me?" Alice said with an expression of distaste.

"Right, sorry," Orion apologized.

"Yeah, it was thoughtless of us," Michael said.

"We may not have flown one before, but I don’t think it should be that hard. Besides, like he said, it’s next gen, so it should be easier," Michael reasoned.

"What if it has a lock of some sort? A new model is sure to have better security." Alice asked.

"I doubt that. He’s been living alone, there’s no one to lock it from, and from the look of the rust bucket, he most likely built it himself from scrap," Orion said.

"That’s a big conjecture, Orion, " Alice said with a frown.

"It’s the best we’ve got. I’d rather work with it than remain here with a ticking time bomb. Sooner or later, we are going to run out of time." Orion said.

"You are right," Alice said with a sigh.

Orion could tell she was worried and scared, and she was right to be; any girl her age would be. It was impressive enough that she could try her best to stay level-headed and calm.

"All that’s left is how to escape this pyramid without him knowing," Orion said.

"He opened the entrance with magic, right?" Michael asked.

"Yes"

"Do we dig out? I don’t think I have any such tools to help, but it’s made entirely out of rock, I doubt it’d be easy, and the noise is definitely going to alert him." Michael said, his mind working on a solution.

"Compromising the pyramid is going to alert him, however we do it. We don’t know exactly how attuned he is to his primary element, but considering he built the whole thing, I’d reckon highly attuned," Orion explained.

He turned to Alice with a complicated expression.

"You have a plan, don’t you?" Alice asked with mild certainty.

"Yeah," Orion replied.

"And it involves me and him, doesn’t it?" Alice said.

"Yeah. He has to open the pyramid himself, and the only way we can convince him is through you," Orion explained.

"Excuse?" Alice asked.

"You feel trapped and can’t sleep in here; you love sleeping under the stars, something like that," Orion said.

"That sounds stupid," Alice said.

"Best I got," Orion replied

"He’d get suspicious if it’s you or Michael, since you’d made a play earlier and Michael seems to love it in here, and considering I’m the object of his desires, common sense would be slightly eroded," Alice stated as though reading his mind.

"You are taking this better than I thought you would," Orion said with a raised brow.

"What can I say, I am the Lady of the Abyss," She said with a grin.

"Wait, what if he insists on staying with her and things get out of hand?" Michael said with a worried expression.

"Get out of hand, how Michael?" Orion asked.

’I’d never really thought about it, but how do these two know about such matters?’ Orion thought, intrigued.

"You know what I mean," Michael said with a sigh.

"Well, she employs her naturally gifted gaze of disdain, and if things still don’t work, we burst in and say our prayers," Orion said with a smirk.

"That’s not very reassuring," Michael said.

"It’s not meant to be, Michael," Orion replied.

"I don’t know how you are so calm," Michael asked.

’Maybe because somewhere at the back of my mind, I know that father of mine won’t let me die. I still think he’s somewhere close, watching all this’ Orion thought with a sigh.

"You don’t seem to be panicking, Michael," Orion said.

"Well, I am freaking out internally," Michael muttered.

Orion turned to Alice

"You ready?" He asked.

"Of course," She replied with a smile.

About thirty minutes later, Orion and Michael could be seen standing by the entrance to the pyramid, listening and waiting for Harry to return after escorting Alice outside, also in case anything went wrong.

"He’s coming," Orion announced silently.

The two immediately darted back to their original sleeping positions.

Harry walked in with a clenched fist, his expression one of frustration.

Orion opened one eye and peeked.

’He looks like a deprived addict,’ He thought, amused.

They stayed in their position for a few more hours, from the time of their arrival till now, it was probably almost midnight.

Orion tapped Michael before standing up and making his way to Harry’s quarters. He activated ETF, looking at Harry and making sure he was asleep.

His glowing eyes dimmed before he gestured to Michael for them to take their leave.

They quietly made their escape, the exit of the pyramid looming before them.

They got outside to see Alice huddled up in front, gazing at the stars. A sudden gust blew, sweeping the dust on the ground and bringing a stark chill, her white hair flowing and scattering in the wind.

They walked up to her.

"Prison or not, the stars really are beautiful here," Alice said.

"Yeah, if we escape this, maybe we can come back," Orion said.

"Come back!, come back here!, Orion, no amount of pretty can make me come back here," Alice replied with a scowl.

Orion chuckled, amused.

His expression changed, becoming serious.

"Let’s go," He said.

The three quickly made their way to the Nexcraft, doing their best not to make any sound.

They soon arrived at the door hatch in front of them.

"What now?" Michael asked.

Orion tapped the door. They waited a bit, their anxiety rising; fortunately, the door soon started creaking open.

The sound of the rusted metal was creating a metallic symphony that somehow seemed louder than it had earlier today.

The sound raised the alertness of all three of them for fear of waking Harry up.

Orion had accounted for this, but he couldn’t stop the door from making any sound; opening the door itself had been a what-if risk.

He activated ETF, his eyes glowing, staring at Harry, who shifted in his sleep before falling back asleep. He breathed a sigh of relief.

They entered and made their way to the cockpit. Entering, they saw the controls of the craft.

Orion held a surprised expression on his face.

"So much for next gen," Orion said.

"How simple," Alice said.

"I know, right?" Michael followed.

The whole control station was made of a simple half-moon steering, three colorful buttons on the side, and a throttle that most likely controlled the speed of the craft.

"Are all crafts like this?" Orion asked.

"I don’t think so," Michael replied.

"So who’s going to do the honor of being our pilot?" Alice asked.

"Let Michael do it," Orion replied.

He was the only one with any degree of fighting prowess in case things went sideways.

Michael didn’t complain; he immediately sat down, strapping an X-shaped belt on himself. The more time they spent here, the higher their chance of getting caught.

He looked at the three buttons: red, orange, and one that had been almost completely scratched but still had hints of purple.

He quickly pressed the most worn-out one, the purple.

Unfortunately, it didn’t have the desired effect; instead, the originally closed hatch opened again with that same metallic groan.

"Sorry, wrong button." He said with a wry grin, turning to Orion whose eyes he could swear were glowing golden.

Orion had activated ETF the instant the door opened, his gaze turning towards Harry, who had his eyes wide open. If the earlier one had merely made him shift, this one had fully awoken him.

"Fuck" Orion couldn’t hold himself from saying.