Chapter 77: Change of plans.

Chapter 77 - Change of plans.The moment the blood moon rose, everyone in the fortress began to kowtow towards the Lunax's statue, just like they always did. Lee and Potato were patiently waiting in the barracks, and when the prayer began, they nodded to each other, and slipped out, each in their own direction.

If everything went according to the plan, they would meet again in few days in Ashland.

There was nothing overly complicated about the escape. The plan was for them to get over the fortress wall and run, each in their own direction, hoping they would both manage to get away.

Obviously Potato had a considerable physical advantage in addition to possessing the wind spark, thus he generously agreed to let Lee take the southern side.

In theory, after getting down the southern wall, one had to rush directly away from the fortress to arrive at the warehouse district with the entrance to the mines, but Lee still didn't fancy his chances. To think they were fifty percent was being overly optimistic, but at this point he had no other options but to gamble.

Like the rest of the people in the fortress, the guards on the walls were currently praying. In a couple of breaths after leaving the barracks, Lee was already rushing up the primitive wooden ladder the guards always used.

He rarely enjoyed the freedom of movement one had without wearing armor or weight shackles, but now he had no time to think about how pleasantly light he felt.

In the past three days he practiced this exercise, and now, like the previous times, no one noticed him moving getting up the fifty yard tall walls. He didn't have too much time, though, at most thirty more breaths.

On the first day of preparations Lee brought over a rope and lie on the side of the wall-walk.



He heaved a sigh of relief seeing it was still there, because normally ropes along with other tools were neatly stacked in a crate on the platforms at the corners of the fortress. The spots were something akin to guard towers, except without roofs and permanently present sentries.

The rope Lee left wasn't too eye catching, but it still being there was somewhat lucky. To maximize his chances, he didn't throw it in a pile, but neatly lied in length on the side so no one would step on it and notice, and fortunately, no one did.

'I can't believe I'm doing this!' Lee thought to himself, preparing to secure the rope, but froze after throwing a look at the other side of the wall.

Like on previous days, there was nothing except for a gray nothingness up to the horizon, but Lee couldn't understand how he hadn't noticed it before. It didn't matter if he had thirty, fifty or hundred breaths of time – if a guard threw a casual glance over the side of the wall, he would surely see Lee's escaping figure in the distance.

Realization why the guards were allowed to leave the wall during the prayer hit him like a sledgehammer and suddenly Lee felt cold sweat running down his back. No one could run away unnoticed no matter how fast they were or how much of a head start they had!

No wonder he hadn't heard about any attempts of escape or break-ins from the day he arrived!

'What the fuck is wrong with me?!' Lee wanted to punch himself and simultaneously kick in the nuts for overlooking the obvious, 'Have I lost my mind or become a complete retard?'

He felt like a drunkard who had fallen in an ice-cold water and sobered in an instant afterward. While it was refreshing, the realization of the situation he was currently in was terrifying.

There were no circumstances, no matter how dire the things were, when the plan he was about to go through could be accepted as an option. It was doomed to fail from the start and not only that – besides being stupid the whole thing was too rushed!

And why did he think they had no time? They still had over ten, maybe even fifteen days even after the formal competition was over ... right ... they. There was no such thing as they! He was alone! But somehow he had let Potato create plans for him, no – to manipulate him in making suicidal plans ... but why?

Lee glanced at the rope in his hands, and for a split moment a bad premonition overtook him.

Indeed, after a superficial check he was positive the rope was tampered with. It wasn't directly cut, but at few spots it felt thinner, or rather – emptier on the inside compared to the rest of it, and it was clear that the moment he went over the wall the rope would've snapped.

'Motherfucker!' He cursed to himself.

There was only one person who could've done it, although Lee wasn't sure when and why.

But there was no time to think.

While he was frozen on the wall, lost in thoughts, the prayer was over and the guards were on their way back. They were not in a rush, but if anyone looked up, on the top of the wall they would see a kid with a rope in his hands.

The problem was – even if Lee decided to abandon the plan now and went back, he would've been noticed. And there was no way to explain what and why he was doing, and it was basically guaranteed he would end up in the mines, with actual shackles around his ankles – that is if he was left alive.

It was clear he couldn't go down the fortress wall both on the inside and outside, thus Lee did what he always did after realizing he was in deep shit – he let the instincts take over. He quickly gathered the rope and dashed towards one of the corner platforms, keeping himself low in hopes no one would notice the dirty kid running above.

There was only one spot he could hide at, or rather – in.

The crate where he took the rope from was large enough, although Lee wasn't clear what he was supposed to do after getting in. And to say it was large enough was being generous – the thing was at most two feet high and wide, and four feet long.

There were few tools inside along with another coiled rope, but Lee knew it wasn't going to be a waterbed of a high-end hotel, and quickly got in. The first guards were already stepping on wall-walks and could notice him any moment.

'What an idiot!' Lee cursed himself, but there wasn't much he could do about the situation, 'At least I'm not going to suffocate ...'



At the ends of the crate there were grip holes, big enough for the fresh air to get in. And they were big enough for him to see what went on outside. Lee was fortunate and lied down with the head towards the inner part of the fortress and now, his heart still pounding, watched the guards, kids and their instructors returning to their daily routine.

To the left he could see the entrance to the barracks, in front of it was an empty area across which there was the local kitchen – the place with big pots where the meals where prepared. Next to it was a relatively small warehouse where the provisions were kept and further away, across the cooking area, was the main building where the instructors and the head instructor of the fortress resided.

Lee wasn't certain whether Potato made a trap for fun or set him up to escape easier himself. The first option seemed unlikely while the second – delusional, even though the guy probably had the speed Lee couldn't imagine. If he left, his squad members would surely notice his absence and pretty soon alarm would be raised. Then, after noticing him escaping in the distance, guards would chase after and even if he hid somewhere – they would track him down the most trivial way possible – by following the guy's footsteps.

That was the main problem with their plan – even if they ran away, they were hundred percent guaranteed to get caught afterwards.

It was too easy.

But they couldn't hide in the fortress to run away later either. Lee remembered how the thorough search was performed when Potato's squad member disappeared.

They didn't find the guy in the end, but every nook and cranny in the fortress was searched. And it meant he, now lying in the crate, would also going to be found – it was only a matter of time till the alarm was raised.

And there it was.

Lee was caught unprepared when the ruckus started – from what he understood it was way too soon to notice his absence.

He almost jumped out the crate when the guard on the wall not too far from him echoed the alarm, but fortunately the guy's attention was drawn by the sight below where crowd of trainees gathered in front of the barracks.