Neytopia › Part 2: Noon › Chapter 26

Jailbreak

She waited patiently for the office door to open. She had waited for a long time, far too long. Her savior was just sitting there, reading, oblivious to what was about to happen. The door finally opened and she came into the office. The bureaucrat inside greeted her,

Look who’s enjoying prison. What’s the reason for this unexpected audience? Do you want to beg? Do you want us to try to kill you again?

The bureaucrat smiled as he rocked his chair back and forth with the fingers of both hands intertwined and resting on his chest.

I have brought someone who shouldn’t be in here. Maybe you could look into his—

What!?

The bureaucrat almost choked on his own laughter.

Everyone who’s in here says the same and you know it. Why have you—The bureaucrat stopped, examined her and continued, still rocking his chair—Are you even aware of where you are, or have you gone so mad that you can’t remember anymore?—Then the bureaucrat realized something, stopped rocking his chair and stood up—Wait, who the fuck is here with you? He can’t be from here. How did you…?

Please, just hear him out, he really shouldn’t be here.

No, I don’t like this. What the fuck are you trying to pull off here?—She stared at him in silence, emotionless—Tell him to come in, I’m going to get to the bottom of this.

She called him, interrupting his reading. Meanwhile the bureaucrat pressed a button to request backup at his location. Her savior put the book back in the shelf, entered the office and sat down next to the old woman. The bureaucrat asked him,

Who are you and why are you with her?

I don’t know, I fell into the abyss and—

The bureaucrat pressed a button and yelled,

We have a breach, need assistance at—

The alarm sound filled the air. He looked at the bureaucrat, then at her,

The fuck?

She looked at him and took his hand. A thousand coils of blinding light covered his skin, starting from the point where she touched him. His eyes became shining beacons. His skin cracked, letting through a bright light from inside. He grew brighter and louder until he exploded.

The walls in the office blew away. Most of the vast volumes in the nearby shelves were calcinated. On the floor outside the office laid the secretary’s charred corpse. The guards, riding black hovering circles, were almost there, coming from all corners of the infinite library. He looked at his new self: his translucent skin glowed faintly, every single hair had disappeared from his body, and his eyes shone. All his blood had become sand and he felt lighter, relieved of the weight he had carried on his shoulders for so long.

When the explosion settled down, he saw her. She was no longer an old woman but a beautiful young woman. She put her hands together and slowly separated them, creating a tether of light that shaped into a sword. He grabbed it with his right hand, and she took his left hand, saying,

Come, quickly!

She ran away and he followed. Guards swarmed from all directions while they ran away. When it seemed there was no way out, she stopped and shouted,

Jump!

They both fell through the library, rushing by many wooden bridges and stairs on their descent. When they had gathered enough speed, they tore open a portal and appeared somewhere else, hundreds of meters above the sea. They plummeted into the cold sea below, then swam for the coast as thousands of hovering guards poured out of the portal. They rushed to the woods, where she knew the guards couldn’t find them. They ran for hours without rest until she felt safe. Then she stopped to smell the flowers, the trees and the raindrops on the grass, sat on the ground and cried tears of joy. She eventually wiped them to say:

They imprisoned me unfairly. Forgive me for not telling you my escape plan, I will be honest with you from now on. Those people… They are the Tyrant’s friends. They will hunt us down and destroy us. We can’t let that happen.

He nodded and said,

Together we can defeat anyone. They will have to surrender.

She took his face in her hands and said,

No, no, no. They will never surrender. You know we can’t let them live. When you spare your enemy, he waits patiently for a moment of weakness to take his vengeance on you. Have you learned nothing from your mistakes?

We will cut. Their heads. Off. One by one. We will burn their cities and salt their land. Only then will the people be free. Only then will we give paradise to all who sees the light and is not burnt by it.

He looked at her with both horror and admiration.

You are really insane.

Yes.