Chapter 2
Dear you,
It has been ages, hasn’t it? I’m so sorry about your friend. I do hope he is okay. We have been okay over here. As I mentioned before in my last letter, we are in hiding. I do not have much to say, as everything has been the same. Nothing ever happens here, fortunately. I do await your letters with much anticipation. As ever, stay safe. The Other Side is becoming more and more ruthless. Please let your coven know I give them my condolences. Also, let your family know I say hi. I do miss weekly tea with your mother very much.
Regards,
Your friend
The sounds of footsteps on fresh grass cut through the silence of the night. The footsteps were moving fast across the field, with no sign of stopping. One of them suddenly stopped, signaling the others as well. They lifted their hand, which was humming with energy. The said person turned around to face the others. The electric sparks were enough to light up the holder’s face.
In the faint light, the others could make out the thick curls pulled into a ponytail, and the sharp eyes. Their leader straightened her back.
“We are entering a heavily guarded area. I need each one of you on high alert. Do you understand?”
A series of affirmative responses followed. The leader put a hand on her earpiece.
“Do you understand too, Barty?”
“Yes, boss! I’ve checked in on positions. We are sticking with the plan right?”
“Yes. We are sticking with the plan and if any of you go off plan, I will not hesitate to kill you. Understand?” She nodded once as the rest of her team answered with small salutes.
“Keep your earpieces on. If anything happens, let us know. Everyone ready?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Okay, let’s split. Good luck everyone, don’t die.”
As soon as she gave the signal to move, they took off running. The group of five split off into different paths.
“Reg, there are three armed guards right as you enter the left wing.”
“Copy that.”
Regulus silently crept along the edge of the wall, stopping right before the small door. He quickly took out one of the many gadgets Barty had given each of them from his pocket and attached it to the lock. The lock clicked open and he opened the door slowly. Peeking through, he could see the three guards pacing the dimly lit hallway.
He breathed out and entered through the door. He quickly blended into the shadows and crept behind the guards. With a small grunt, Regulus quickly knocked out one of the guards. The other two gripped their weapons, ready to fire.
He stepped backward, waiting for them to charge. When one of them barreled toward him, he took his chance. As quickly as he could, he grabbed the weapon from his hands and struck the guard on the side of the head with the blunt end. He jumped back before the guard could collapse on him.
Right as he was about to turn, he felt a searing pain in his calf. Hissing, he looked up to see the last guard holding what seemed to be a gun. He bit his tongue as he stepped down, and growled. He blended into the shadows behind him and appeared behind the confused guard.
With a jump, he pushed him over and landed on top of the guard. Pinning his arms behind his back, Regulus grabbed the taser he had kept in his back pocket. He slammed it against the immobilized guard’s neck, putting a hand around his mouth to muffle his screams, and watched carefully as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Taking his hand back, the young boy looked around and noted that the coast was clear.
Regulus took the gun from the guard’s hands and hung it in his utility belt. Finishing the job, he stood back up, wincing when his foot hit the ground. Regulus fished through one of the guard’s pockets and found a key card and I.D. Pocketing those, he let Barty know her status.
“Great! The key card should help you get into the laboratory. The coast is clear for now, so I suggest you hurry up.”
“Got it.”
Ignoring the constant throbbing of his lower calf, he ran down the hallway. Hearing footsteps, he blended into the shadows, waiting. The footsteps faded, signaling him to get a move on. Regulus hurried down the halls. He finally stopped in front of two double doors. Looking both ways, making sure that no one was there, he took out the key card. Quickly scanning the card, he pushed the doors open and closed them gently behind him.
“Took you long enough.”
“Shut it, Vanity.”
“Both of you, quiet.”
Regulus fell quiet as he watched his leader pace around. Emma raised an eyebrow.
“Dorcas, what are we waiting for? Also, where is Pandora? She should be here by now.” Dorcas glared at Emma, shutting her up.
“Why do you think we are standing here, Vanity? She’s not answering Barty, nor is she answering me.”
Regulus’ eyes widened as he took in his leader’s words. The team looked over at the door and watched Evan enter. He looked at Dorcas and just shook his head. The leader cursed under her breath. She looked at the rest of them and sighed.
“You three. That backdoor right there,” she nodded to the door in the back of the empty lab. “It leads to the cells where they have locked up the prisoners. It’s heavily guarded, so I suggest you be cautious. I am going back out to search for Pandora.”
The three nodded and started for the door. Regulus put his hand on the gun he stole and kicked the door open. Right as the door slammed open, a series of shots were fired. The bullets of metal melted before they reached the three, a wall of white-hot fire blocking them. Emma had her hands out, controlling the flames. She motioned for them to go around. Regulus grabbed Evan’s hand, blending the two into the shadows behind them.
The two crept along the walls, staying hidden in the shadows. Regulus stopped them from walking and turned to the taller.
“I’ll take the front half of the room and you get the rest-”
“Nah, I can take them all.”
Reg sighed and put both his hands on the taller one’s shoulders. Evan’s crazed eyes made contact with Regulus’ emotionless grey ones.
“Evan, clear your mind. If you take on the entire group you’re going to strain yourself. We do not have the time for that so stick to the fucking plan.”
Evan snarled at him then sighed.
“Fine,” he whispered to his younger friend.
Regulus nodded then unveiled the shadows and immediately latched onto a guard in front of him. What seemed like black smoke flowed around his arm as he attached his fingers to the guard’s head. The guard writhed in his hands, and his eyes turned black.
The umbrakinetic jumped from guard to guard, bending them under his will. After the tenth one, the familiar pull of exhaustion stopped him before he could keep going. He pushed himself back against the wall and took a quick look around.
Across the room, he could see Emma throwing fistfuls of fire at a handful of guards. Evan was slightly glowing, as he controlled more and more guards’ emotions. Half of the guards were standing still, as they had not gotten any orders from Regulus. Other guards were crying and yelling in pain, Evan torturing them from the inside.
Regulus stood up straight, eyes flashing gold and his smirk increasing tenfold. With one move of his hand, the guards under his control started moving. He watched in satisfaction as they started firing at their own colleagues. His fingers twitched and two guards came up to him and handed him a ring of keys.
Hopping over a few guards, who were thrashing in pain on the floor, he managed to get to the heavy metal door at the end of the room. Regulus unlocked the door and quietly slipped in. It was as if someone had muffled the air as soon as he closed the door behind him.
It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and to fully take in what he was seeing. He was standing at the beginning of a long, dimly lit hallway. The sides of the walls were filled with what seemed like cages. Regulus’ heart hammered when he caught shadows moving around in the cages.
The freezing air on his skin brought him out of his stupor. Shivering, he moved forward to the first cage on the right. He peered in between the metal bars and his heart dropped at the sight. Inside was a child who couldn’t be older than eight, all battered and bruised. The child was sleeping, unaware of Regulus’ presence.
Regulus had to stop his hand from flying to his mouth as he took in the occupants in the rest of the cages.
“They’re all… They’re all kids.” He whispered, unable to process what he was seeing. The young boy walked around, seething in anger as he took in everything. Regulus stopped his pacing and watched as one of the kids at the end of the hall started to stir. He carefully walked up to her cage and crouched down to her level.
Regulus took in the way her eyes widened and how she pushed himself to the back of the cage, trying to distance herself from him. Everything about her screamed, don’t come near me. He put both his hands up, trying to make her trust him.
“Hey, hey… It’s okay! I’m not going to hurt you. I’m staying right here okay?”
The small girl looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Regulus’ heart clenched as the girl curled into herself.
“It’s okay… Can you tell me how old you are?”
She looked at him, then at her hands. The girl held up all her fingers, nodding at Regulus. He smiled softly as he could, trying to be warm and inviting.
“So you’re ten? That’s… so young.” He sighed and stood up. The young girl followed him with her eyes, watching carefully. Regulus pressed on his earpiece, calling Barty.
“Barty. I found them.”
“Okay good. Wait, is everything alright? You sound… not good.”
“It’s so much worse than any of the ones before. The hostages are all… they’re all children!” Regulus tried his best to maintain a quieter volume, unable to control his anger. At his small outburst, more kids woke up, looking at him in fear.
“...Children? As in little kids? You aren’t fucking with me, are you?”
“I’m not Barty, there are literal children here. They’re all being held in cages and… It’s not looking pretty.”
“Oh my fucking god, what the fuck? Give me a minute, I’ll call in the rest of the team.”
Regulus hummed absentmindedly in agreement and looked around again. All of the kids were now awake and in different stages of confusion. The metal door opened and Emma and Evan walked in. The two looked around in horror. One of the young kids started crying, unable to control her emotions.
Evan walked up to her, wanting to console her. The girl cried harder as he got closer.
“Please don’t hurt me! I’m sorry… I won’t c-cry again!” The three froze as they took in her words. Evan put his hand to his mouth, shocked beyond words. Emma took in a shuddering breath and walked a little closer.
“We’re not here to hurt you! We just… We are going to save you, okay? We’re here to save you! After defeating the bad guys outside.” The girl sniffled and looked up at Emma.
“Are you guys the g-good guys?” Emma looked at the other two and looked back. She took a hesitant step forward and nodded.
“Yeah, yes we are. We’re going to save you, all of you.” She said the last part facing the rest of the room. She stepped forward and smiled.
“My team and I want to make sure every one of you stays safe. We don’t have much time, so we can do introductions later, okay?”
A small and weak chorus followed, but it was good enough for them. Regulus walked up to one of the cages and winced when he saw the cuffs on the kid’s hands. The Other Side had publicly boasted about their ability-neutralizing weapons and machines. One particular ‘popular’ method they used, was the cuffs, which would hold back the wearer’s ability.
Regulus took out a tool that looked like a wrench, given to him by Barty. The wrench-looking device attached to the cuffs, unlocking it and letting it fall to the ground. The kid looked at the open cuffs in surprise and flexed his wrists. He looked up at Regulus in astonishment.
“Thank you.”
Regulus nodded and went on to the next kid. With the three of them helping, the kids were all uncuffed quickly. Regulus walked up to Emma, standing beside her.
“We need to get out and return these kids to their covens,” he said in a low voice, so only the others on his team heard. Evan frowned and looked around.
“Where did Pandora and Dorcas go? Barty, can you let us know their location?”
“Shit, I forgot to let you know. They’ve found something and are currently collecting samples of some sort.”
Emma sighed and pitched her eyebrows.
“How the fuck,” Emma glared at Evan when he hissed, “Language!” at her.
“How the fuck do you forget to give us status reports Barty?”
“Maybe because you are standing in front of a room of enslaved children? Sorry but my mind was bit occupied with that.”
Regulus just rolled his eyes at Barty’s outburst and signaled Emma to get a move on. Her fists were curled up but she took a deep breath and turned to face Evan.
“We need to get a move on. Evan, lead the way. Reg, Evan and I will take care of the guards so you take care of these kids. Everyone clear?”
Regulus gave a hesitant nod and turned to face the kids. He stepped forward and internally sighed in relief when their attention turned to him.
“Alright, we’re getting you all out of here. I need you guys to stay in a close group. I will be behind you guys while you follow those two. Does everyone understand?”
The kids gave crying responses but Regulus did not care. No matter what, the main priority was to get them all to safety. He nodded at Evan, signalling them to get the fuck out of there.
After gathering the group, the group started to move out.
As soon as they left the cold room and were back in the open hallways, Regulus shrouded them all in shadows, partly hidden from any guard that walked by. The one ten-year-old girl who he had conversed with earlier, put a hand on his shaking shoulder, concerned.
Regulus smiled, though it seemed more like a grimace. Evan signaled for them to keep going. Emma put a finger over her mouth and looked over the corner to make sure the coast was clear. When she deemed it safe, Emma signed for the others to follow her.
The group quietly followed the oldest girl out of the building. They could only breathe properly once they had safely exited the drafty building. Once the group got out of range of the building, Emma looked at the other two and frowned.
“That was easy, too easy. How were there no guards to stop us?”
Regulus frowned and was about to answer when a bush of pink roses shot up from the ground in front of them. The young kids gasped as the roses bloomed in front of their eyes. The three oldest stayed silent, waiting for another signal. A few minutes later, thick vines circled the rose bush, the vines adorned with gorgeous yellow peonies.
Right as the flowers stopped blooming, they could hear a pair of footsteps running toward them.
“Are all of them out?”
Everyone turned to look at Dorcas and Pandora, taking in their ruffled state. Evan stepped up to respond to their leader’s question.
“Yes, we got every single captor out, all of them are now safe.”
Dorcas walked past her team and simply looked at the children. If she was surprised as to how young they were, she didn’t show it.
“Are you all okay?” Her voice was soft and gentle, instantly letting the kids feel comfortable.
While their leader conversed with the kids, the rest of the team gathered around, figuring out a plan on how to return the kids to their homes.
“We could take them back to our base and figure out where their covens are with Barty’s help?”
Pandora immediately shut down Emma’s idea with a glare.
“They are children Emma, they definitely should not be allowed anywhere near our base. They need a safe space to hide until they can get back home.”
Emma grumbled but kicked at the ground, silently agreeing. Evan looked at the group of children with a solemn expression and turned back.
“Well, do you have another solution? We can’t have them be here for too long, we don’t know how long it will take for those guards to come for us. We need to get on the move as soon as we can!”
Regulus put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. The last thing they needed now was a frustrated empath. He looked at his team and sighed.
“I think I might know a place. It’s completely deserted now so it’s probably our best bet.”
Before any of the others could say anything, Dorcas came back to join their small huddle.
“Well, the children have calmed down a little. Any updates on our plan on getting out of here?”
The others immediately looked at Regulus, who looked almost nervous.
“We don’t have much time, so I thought maybe… Shadowcairn?”
The silence felt heavy as they all looked at him in shock. Dorcas stepped forward and put a hand on Regulus' shoulder.
“Reg, you… Shadowcairn? Are you sure?”
He avoided his leader’s eyes as he nodded. She opened her mouth to say something when she was interrupted by shouts coming from somewhere not far from where they were.
Emma’s eyes widened and she quickly gathered all the children next to her. She motioned for the others to huddle around.
Dorcas fumbled around with a small gadget, and with a click, the group disappeared from the scene with a pop.