Bloody Escape II: Finally Free

Boom!

The thorn exploded with a bright red light that blinded everyone.

Number 15's shrill cry echoed across the field, reaching every single person in the facility.

Dorian saw that they had been momentarily distracted and tossed a few more of the broken thorns randomly into the air as he ran toward the rope.

The thorns lodged themselves in the ground, the walls, and the bodies of some of the staff who had run in after Rose.

He grabbed the rope and pulled on it, glancing behind him to see if anyone was still coming after them.

The figure above pulled the rope once, and it hauled Dorian up, his lungs burning and muscles strained.

The bloody thorns had retreated back into his body, save for two, one holding Rose and the other blocking the bullets shot at them.

As soon as he was halfway up, the thorns that had been distributed pulsed and exploded as well, covering the entire field in black and red smoke.

At the top, the figure who had thrown the rope reached down with a gloved hand.

Dorian took it, already exhausted from holding on, he just hung there.

The figure tightened their grip around Dorian's wrist. They pulled him onto the rooftop with ease, like lifting a feather, despite Rose's additional weight.

It a man, clad in black, with a face cap that barely showed his face, only his eyes that gleamed in the shadow of the cap.

They were blue, with some kind of strange, faded shape at the center, like a star.

It was almost like he was a hybrid as well, but Dorian knew better, but it was obvious he wasn't entirely human either.

"Come on," the man said, already turning around. "You don't want to be here when the moon gets covered."

Dorian's brow rose. He raised both hands to his hair and fisted it. "Why?" he asked, taking the hairbands Rose held out.

He took them with a smile and tied his hair into a rough ponytail, with some strands hanging out.

"My eyes are terrible in the dark. And I don't think you know how to drive, do you?"

Dorian didn't reply.

He watched the man's silhouette for a second when he turned and walked away, then followed.

Rose still hovered in the air, holding onto the thorns around her cautiously, afraid she would fall.

Below, the alarms blared louder, throwing the facility into further chaos.

Medical staff hurried around to help the children, while Breanna stared up at the roof with bloodshot eyes.

Dorian and the strange man sprinted across the roof until they stopped beside the ladder.

He dropped down and landed in a crouch beside the generator.

Dorian followed, sliding down without caring if he would bruise himself.

They headed toward a truck parked behind the generator, its engine on and humming softly. The back doors were already open.

But then, a figure stood between them and the truck.

A slender woman in a black, body-fitted suit with a white jacket over it. She turned around at the sound of their boots, her brows raised and a frown on her face.

Yvonne.

A clear hybrid, graduated as a successful experiment, and transferred to this facility.

She had sky-blue eyes, almost similar to Dorian's, and an odd vibrant glow in her dblue hair.

Dorian's gaze dropped to her hands resting at her sides. They weren't human, more like claws, but they looked like they were on fire.

He didn't bother to dwell on it for too long. He just looked back at her again and took a stance, ready to attack. But she didn't make any move.

She just stared blankly at him, with a mix of relief, sadness… and maybe regret in her eyes.

Without thinking, the strange man ran past her, knowing she was focused only on Dorian.

Dorian also moved, but as he passed her, he raised his hand as soon as he got close enough.

A small thorn slid from his fingers and slashed the collar around her neck.

The device snapped with a hiss and clattered to the ground, making her eyes widened.

Their eyes met again for a brief second.

She opened her mouth to thank him, but he had already rushed into the truck, hurling Rose behind him.

He placed Rose gently on the seat and turned to close the doors of the truck, but not without flashing Yvonne a smile.

After all, if she hadn't been thoughtful and empathetic enough to insist that the children be treated like actual humans and not lab rats, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to escape.

The man revved the engine the moment the doors slammed shut behind them.

The facility then finally came alive, lights on the various floors switched on, one by one.

He stepped on the gas and drove past Yvonne, out of the massive gates of the facility, , who still stood motionless.

Beyond the walls and gates of Dorian's prison stretched a distorted landscape.

There were trees, shrubs, but they were abnormally twisted.

The truck raced toward the tower Dorian had once been found near, just meters away from the rifts from before, but now the rift was smaller, floating midair like a piñata.

Mostly ike bulb being hung in the air with a fishing line, since it gave a little light to the darkness landscape.

The few beasts they drove by looked similar to the one Dorian had drained, but they didn't have the particles in their eyes.

They didn't even move to acknowledge the truck that drove directly through their territory, which only made Dorian more confused.

He sat in the back of the truck, slouched against the wall.

Blood had dried on his arms and face, his thorns had also retreated back into his body.

It gave him a little time to think clearly, because controlling all the thrones before they could run wild was a hassle.

His wounds had slowly covered up, except the ones around his wrists—the bruises he sustained from the cuffs.

Rose moved from her spot, she took a small toolbox from under the seat they sat in, placed it on her thighs, and took out a small screwdriver.

She reached for the collar around his neck with bloodstained fingers, probably from touching the thorns.

"Still locked," she muttered, working on it. "Almost… there. Hope it doesn't hurt?"

Dorian shook his head, and she nodded.

Across from them, the man's voice came through the front comms.

"How'd you pull it off?" he asked. "How'd you get the info to him? I thought you said he was trapped in cubicles."

Rose leaned back slightly, wiping sweat from her brow.

"I didn't use comms," she replied. "I slipped notes into his food." She laughed softly when Dorian scoffed. "It wasn't easy."

The man whistled. "And you gave him mana shards to drink. Isn't that a little extreme?"

Rose sighed. "I just figured it would help—probably trigger something or at least grant him a temporary ability."

"That's very risky."

"Tell it to the kid who kept asking for more."

Dorian gave a low chuckle. "It actually tasted good. I was just surprised you thought of it without me telling you."

The man also chuckled. "She's insane."

Rose glanced at Dorian, but her eyes softened. "At least I did it to help. For all we know, what he did was just… abnormal."

The group shared a short laugh as the truck passed by the valley where the tower stood.

Dorian turned, he raised his head to the top, with a feeling of nostalgia.

If it honestly wasn't for her, he would have died, or been made into another hybrid, or possibly died while fighting it.

The amount of pain he felt while resisting all they put in him made his skin crawl.

However, when he looked long enough, he saw a figure standing on the tower, staring straight at him.

'Win...nona,'

He thought, his voice breaking when she raised her hand.

Her red eyes glowed brilliantly in the dark, and her white hair flowed behind her, unlike before, when it just fell behind her forming a small ridge.

Dorian was partially surprised at the fact he could see her clearly, considering the distance between them and the tower.

He placed his hands on the broken shield, eager to step out of the truck and run toward the tower to thank her, probably talk to her for explanations.

He couldn't, at least not now.

Then she smiled and tilted her head, then blew him a kiss.

Winona shifted her gaze to the city ahead, like she was telling him something, and vanished, like dust.

Dorian didn't say a word. He simply smiled and closed his eyes, glad he the pact didn't actually fail.

Ahead, the dimmed lights of a massive city rose from the horizon. It looked like a tiny blotch of light, since they were far away, but at least they weren't being chased.

Rose heaved a relieved sigh. "Civilization and home," she muttered. "We finally get to breathe fresh air and eat home-cooked meals."

The truck kept rolling, moving into a brighter side of the world, leaving behind the darker, barren fields.

The truck fell into silence, save for the soft hum of the collar still around Dorian's neck.

He reached up to touch it, and for the first time since waking in that hellish laboratory, he whispered to himself.

"…I'm never stepping in a laboratory again."