15) The Priest, Genius, and Worm Man’s Great Escape

The plan was simple. In the morning when the sun just breaks and the power dynamic shifts between the roaches and ghosts changes, they were going to make their run for it. The backroom with the escape tunnel had two openings, they would hall ass from their room to it and block off the doors.

The roaches should be a bit more timid and slow to react due to the lack of confidence in the ghosts being around. It seems like they kill the roaches on sight as well so they spend the nights hiding. No matter how many of them there were, they could only die helplessly to the slow moving specters if caught. 

They had to make their way through 2 rooms to get to the back one, which wasn't too far of a space but would be enough to alert the roaches to their movement. Skye was able to point out where each door or opening was so they could prepare and get through it as soon as possible. 

Once back there, Skye and Kai would block the doors with their bodies and Elli would get the door open, they'd then both disengage and enter the pathways. Once in the pathway Elli and Skye would hold the hatch shut and Kai would lay down his ring of protection to insure they couldn't follow. With any luck the protection also extends to the air space above them and a few roaches will die above as well. 

They thought about doing that first in the room with the hatch, but they were not confident in their ability to hold that room for the amount of time it took to lay down the ring. Pulling a hatch down with two people who can leverage their body weight was easier than one person pushing back against a tide of roaches. Kai and Skye had more weight on their bones to press against the door, so they had a better chance.

If either one of them fails, or if the wood breaks, that would be the end of it. It was another gamble, with the last one failing, they were due a win. That's how gambling works right?

They went over the plan a few times, checked the gear on themselves and each other, and waited for the sunlight to glow orange and yellow through the cracks of the door.

The moment finally came, and they burst into action.

Skye was leading the charge since he knew the layout better, pushing through the first door and instantly making a beeline to the right corner of the next room where its door was located. They quickly crossed the room in a few strides, getting to the next door, opening it with his body as he slammed through it. The world then came alive, the sounds of chirps and scurrying could be heard in the walls and in the ceiling, under the floorboards all around them. 

The first room was cleared and they made their way through the second, the door annoyingly located on the left of the room, forcing them to cross a greater distance. They ran in a straight line with Skye, then Kai, and Elli taking the rear. Skye had told her in great detail how to find the trap door and where it was in proximity to the room. She would also see his roots sticking out of it making it an easy target.

The walls rumbled and the flood broke into sight behind them, coming from every opening in the walls and from behind them. The ones in the courtyard must have gone around the ring of protection through the side buildings and joined the fray. 

The group pushed themselves for the last stretch, not trying to save their energy, they had to give it their all in these next few moments or else nothing would matter. 

Skye pushed through the door of the last room first and instantly ran to the left to block off the other door, pushing his back against it and wedging his body to give him more pressure. Kai entered the room right after him and instantly turned to close the door and Elli blinked into the centre of the room now that she could see it. Kai slammed the door right as the tide rushed into it, causing a few roaches to fling their body through the crack of it. 

They quickly turned around and lunged at anyone they could find, only to be met with the hard boots of Kai. Their strength was in their numbers. Alone, they gave a satisfying crunch when crushed. Skye trusted his hand down and materialised his weapon into it, jabbing Thorn into a few as they charged at his direction too. Lucky enough they seemed to completely ignore Elli who was too far away to draw their attention.

The flood of monsters heaved against the door Kai was holding, almost sending him flying back. He gritted his teeth and pressed more firmly into it, feeling the vibrations of their assault through the door and across his body. They started to ram themselves against the door in unison, like a hundred miniature battering rams. 

SLAM

Their bodies hit the door

Soon after they must have circled around because the same started to happen to Skye's door. A one, two, smash, one, two, smash, besieging the doors. Elli frantically felt around the floorboards and found a place to grip, though with just her fingertips. 

The hatch was old and has not moved in a long time. The roots were small enough to get through but that doesn't mean a human hand could do so easily. 

SLAM

"Skye!"

Elli yelled

"Throw me your spear now!"

Her voice didn't leave any room for questions, only compliance. He trusted her fully in that moment and threw Thorn at her. He felt naked the second it left his hand, he was the only one without a weapon now. These two could leave him as bait for the roaches as they escaped and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

SLAM 

Dust shook from the door frame and walls.

No, don't think, just hold. They would never do that.

His whole job was to hold the door. Hold the door. Hold. Door. Nothing else.

Elli caught the spear and quickly turned around in one motion, jamming the spear between the floor boards and using it as leverage to pop it open. She pressed down with all her weight on the spear, hearing the wood groan and creak under the wrapping of the roots. 

SLAM

The wood of the old door begins to splinter against Kai's body.

The hatch finally popped open enough for Elli to fit her fingers underneath, able to then lift with her legs and full body; she got it open enough for the team to get in. 

"It's open, let's go!"

Elli yelled under the stress of the weight

Kai and Skye looked at each other and nodded, a silent understanding of when they would both go. The slamming against the door in unison exerted a lot of force, but it also was rhythmic and easy to understand. As soon as their rat sized bodies slammed into the door they both knew they had a window of opportunity.

SLAM

They released and pushed themselves towards the opening in the floor, running side by side. Taking three massive strides across the room the next slam came, and the doors burst open, letting the flood of grey bodies into the room. As they spilled into the room a moment of confusion seemed to wash over the hive mind of rodents, like they didn't actually expect that to work. Suddenly they were in the room and had to figure out what to do after that. Luckily there was some food in sight.

Skye and Kai had the lead but the force of the horde pushed the monsters in front forward. They both took another step and then dived into the hole, threatening to tackle Elli who was in their path. She instantly disappeared and the door started to fall on top of their bodies, skimming the back of their legs as they flew underneath it. 

They both tumbled down the stairs and the heavy door slammed half way shut, the bodies of the roaches who were right behind them getting wedged in the opening, not allowing it to close all the way. Elli was there, pulling down on the latch of the door as their bodies wiggled in the gap, more monsters trying to leverage it open with their flat heads, threatening to pull it up.

"Help me!"

She yelled again, not only was this her idea and plan, she was also taking charge of the execution of it. No one seemed to mind and followed orders like good little soldiers.

"It's so nice to have strong decisive leadership isn't it"

Dubs said to confirm he was here too. Skye almost forgot about him, he's become so quiet around people. Was Dubs actually really considerate? Or was he shy around other marks?

Skye jumped into action and helped Elli pull down on the latch, their combined weight starting to crush the roaches that were trying to push themselves through the opening. The more that joined the more effort it took to keep the hatch down. They were now intertwined in a tug of war over the door. They monsters wanted it opened by another inch or two so they could start to squeeze through, and the team wanted not to be eaten alive. 

Kai stood behind them with his brow pinched and a scowl on his face. His jaw held tight as he focused his mana. It seemed like even this spell hurt Kai to cast, as if the runes weren't just being engraved in the ground but his body as well, allowing himself to become the conduit for the holy power. 

It took 15 seconds to cast, but in a fight like this, where you have to put everything you have into each moment, that felt like a lifetime. A few of the roaches were starting to squeeze through the crack, wiggling back and forwarth as their legs scurried, only to be stomped to death by Elli or impaled by Thorn. Her frantic feet stomping as they fell and the sparks of metal on stone were a sight to behold, the icy blue sparks from the tip of Thorn lighting up the room. It could be mistaken for an old ritual dance if anyone had the time to appreciate it.

The Hatch would lift, then Skye and Elli would throw themselves downwards to pull it again. Everytime it lifted a few more would get through the gaps and would instantly direct themselves to attach whatever they could find. In the dark of the tunnel they were almost impossible to see with her grey fur. The light admitting from the crack in the hatch was their only way to see anything around them but even that was being eclipsed by the thousands of bodies. 

The dance continued and Skye let out another yelp as something else attached to his leg and began to bite away chunks. They shredded through the roots wrapped around him like it was paper. 

He could feel his blood start to flow down his leg and onto his roots underneath his feet, sending weird sensations into his brain. The stickiness of it on the ground felt like it was flowing from his skin onto his skin. He shook the thought from his mind and ignored the pain. Only one thing mattered right now and that was to not allow themselves to be overwhelmed. If a few got through and decided to take a bite he would just ask Kai to suffer and heal him, he would do it right? They were best friends after all.

The glow of the runes around them started to light up the dark tunnel and eventually, as they couldn't hold out any longer, his spell took effect on the world.

Kai crumbled to his knees and gasped for air, the runes burst into action in recognition of the monsters, catching their very souls on fire. The few that were stuck in the wedge of the hatch started to flail and push themselves backwards to escape, firmly lodged. Some succeeded and others did not, wailing in pain until their bodies gave out. 

Skye took the moment of peace to stomp on the monsters that were flopping on the floor, getting payback for every bite they had taken. He then reached up and pulled in the bodies that were trapped in the hatch. Once he was done, he and Elli joined Kai on the cold floor, catching their breaths. It worked. It actually worked just like they thought it would. 

We'll not just like they thought it would. They did get lucky. The battering ram of bodies made their escape easier. The roaches acted like a hive mind and that was unexpected. Originally they thought they just had a mob mentality but seeing how they rammed both doors, in different locations, with the same rhythm it was the only theory that made sense. 

There were about 20 roaches on the ground as well, far less than they thought would have followed them into the tunnel.

Skye was the first to catch his breath and took Thorn, cutting open the roaches. The sharp dagger that made up the tip of Thorn left a frosty streak along the bodies as he sliced them open, stopping the blood from flowing out. He took on the job of retreating the slivers while the other rested. He took 6 himself and gave 7 to Kai and Elli.

"Why are you giving us more, what are you trying to pull"

Said Kai, still breathing heavily, suspicious of anything free.

"It's a victory reward for a plan accomplished beautifully. Our very first mission and it was a success. Go team Valkyrie!"

Skye pushed his hand in front of the two still on the floor, inviting them to put their hands on top of his to do a victory chant. But no one moved, and in the corner of his eye he saw Kai's name and status bar disappear.

"I'm joking! Don't be like that! Join the team again Kai"

"I wasn't fucking around, you had one chance and you blew it. Come on Elli let's leave this asshole behind"

Kai got up and turned around to start walking, Elli stayed in place and said 

"Oh come on Kai, that's no way for a dignified man of team Valkyrie to act. Come put your hand in the middle."

She gave a smirk and put her hand in the middle along with Skye, both of them looking at Kai who stood frozen, dumbfounded by the turn of events. He looked around for help but no one was coming to save him in this dark tunnel.

He patted his body quickly, checking his pockets, and asked as he walked back.

"Do any of you have another exploding sword or something? I'm trying to do something"

They both smiled as wide as they could, Elli tilting her head towards their hands in the middle, inviting him again. His name appeared in the corner of their eyesight once more and he placed his limp hand in the middle.

"Good job team"

Elli said in a soft tone

"We actually survived."

"To surviving!!

Kai exclaimed and threw his hand up in the air, causing both Elli and Skye to do the same.

"Did you really lead the cheer just so I wouldn't say team Valkyrie, Kai?

Skye asked while laughing to himself.

"Yeah well my first idea was to see if I could blow us up really quick, this was the second. Be happy Elli didn't bring me back another sword with a fun enhancement."

He was happy, they were all happy. Bruised and battered, bleeding and scraped. Their bodies felt like they were crumbling around them. But they were happy. Happy to be alive