Rebecca moved through the poorly lit halls beneath the fort Dar’Grot. It was located within the capital city of the Archons lands, Kessarak. She slid between shadows with practiced ease. A patrol of soldiers walked by and she held her place shrouded in darkness. This far within the prison, but still away from the cell blocks, the guards were not paying much attention.

  I thought Nira would be here by now. I waited as long as I could. I hope she’s okay. She told herself. She would’ve enjoyed this part.

  She slid to the next hallway. She had stolen a map of the prison a few days ago on the tip of the resistance leadership. They had agreed to help her release the prisoners and stood ready to receive and hide them if she proved successful. She knew they likely saw it as an opportunity to get new recruits but it would still be preferable to them rotting in the dungeon and being subject to the Archons twisted experiments.

  Ahead was a guard post. Two men were posted there. They sat at a wooden table playing cards and smoking… something. She didn’t know what it was. It smelled earthy and unpleasant. People back on earth hadn’t really smoked anything other than pens of various chemical concoctions. Not enough space in the havens to grow plants that didn’t serve a function for food. She did know that it used to be relatively common with some plants and cultures.

  She pondered her next move. She could easily take them, but she wasn’t confident she could knock both of them out without them making noise. She refused to kill, so that wasn’t an option. Her dad had taught her that you get from the world what you put into it. If she put more death into this one then it would repay in kind. She could hear the guards conversation.

  “Hey man. I’m pretty thirsty, you got anything to drink?” The more rotund guard asked.

  “What?” The man who was actively smoking turned towards his companion. “Nah. I don’t have nothing.”

  A jug sat in front of the two guards completely unnoticed. Rebecca thought for a moment. These two really seemed to be under the influence of some sort of drug or maybe alcohol. Possibly both actually. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard. She strode into the light and up to the guards. They didn’t notice her approach until she was practically on top of them.

  “Uh… who goes there?” The large man asked. The other one continued smoking, staring at her.

  “I’m uh Rebecca. I am with the dungeon inspectors guild.” She said, feeling foolish.

  “Oh yeah? I didn’t know we had an inspection scheduled.” He said. His brow furrowed in confusion.

  “Yeah it’s uh, a new initiative. We want to make sure the prisoners can’t get out and that the prison is up to the Archons code.” She responded.

  “That makes sense.” The smaller one nodded sagely.

  “So I’ll just be going through here.” She said.

  “Go right ahead. Oh uh… please mention how helpful the guards were in your…. Report? Just be sure to mention Cleb.” The big one said grinning.

  “Sure thing.” She said as she walked through the door. Wow they were incompetent. No wonder they were posted so deep in the prison.

  According to the map there should only be one more guard post before the quarantine sector of the prison. She thought. She moved through the halls, slipping past another patrol. Her dad would be here, he had to be. Then they could figure out how to find mom and get home. He would know how.

  Finally the last guard post came into view. It was similar to the previous, only there was a single guard. The other must have left for some reason.

  She burned some essence and moved as fast as she could, which in her case was faster than the guard could react. She slammed into the guard, moving quickly to knock him out. There were some small grunts of surprise and pain but it wasn’t all that loud and definitely couldn’t be heard from the other guard post. She took the keys and entered the quarantined section of the dungeon.

  Inside the locked heavy door was a long and dimly lit hallway. The prison cells were made primarily of stone with a metal gate. She slowly walked through the halls peering into the cells. They were full of people, some of which she recognized. They all wore the modern clothing of her own world, though dirty and ragged. She took it all in for a moment. She didn’t see him. She looked again at a frantic pace but still her dad remained absent. Her heart sank. A lump formed in her throat before she approached one of the cells. Inside was her neighbor Wendy Roan. The woman didn’t even look up and just stared at the floor.

  “Wendy?” She said. She felt a spike of terror at seeing her look so dejected.

  The elderly woman looked up. Her white hair was loose around her shoulders and dark bags were under her eyes. “Rebecca? Is that you?” She asked in almost a whisper. Her voice was raspy, as if it had been some time since she had spoken last.

  “It’s me. I’m going to get you out of here.” She said.

  The woman’s brows furrowed for a moment, as if she didn’t understand.

  “Where will we go?” She asked.

  “I have friends outside of here. They’ll keep you safe.” Rebecca reassured. “Is my dad here?” She asked. “Or my mom?”

  “No… I… I don’t think so. I haven’t seen them since all this started.” The woman said. “I’m so glad you are safe Rebecca. Have you seen my George?”

  George was her son. He must’ve been in his forties now and had had his own apartment on one of the lower levels. He worked with her dad, but was a scientist and not an engineer. He had secured his mother a place in the consortium haven through his work.

  “No I'm sorry. You are the first people I’ve seen from earth.” Rebecca answered.

  “This isn’t earth? That's ridiculous, child.” She said back, her voice gaining a little strength.

  Maybe it is earth. Just an alternate? Rebecca actually didn’t know but it certainly wasn’t their dimension or time. She pulled out the keys and unlocked the door. As soon as she heard the click she also heard the distinct sound of a blade unsheathing. She spun to find a guard, much more composed than the ones she ran into before and much more awake than the one she left in the other room.

  “I see. You’re here to free the prisoners. Well not on my watch.” He said in the guttural language of the local people.

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  She stared at him for a moment in thought. She could easily overpower this guard. Why was he so confident? She burned essence and moved. She grabbed the man’s wrist to take the sword from it but he moved just as quick, breaking her attempt and knocking her into the wall. Shit, he was a virescent too. Of course they would have one guarding down here.

  The two of them squared off. She didn’t have a weapon on her, as she liked to use her hands and be nonlethal. She didn’t really even like fighting, preferring to work in the shadows. The man didn’t have such compunctions. He swung his sword with the full speed of his essence enhanced body. She deftly moved to the side. One skill she excelled at was not being hit. Really it was the only combat skill she excelled at.

  She swung a fist in his direction, which he blocked with his free arm eliciting a grunt and stabbed at her underhanded. She moved a hair too slow earning a shallow cut along her arm. Shit she thought, I don’t know if I can beat him. She felt panic begin to rise. She looked at every angle but he had reach and could match her strength and speed. Most importantly though, he clearly had much more combat training than she did. She deftly dodged two more strikes from the sword but didn’t realize the second was a feint to allow him to get a strike from his fist in. It connected with her face and she went flying into a wall.

  The world spun and blood dripped onto the ground in front of her. She was on her hands and knees. Her ears rang. She looked up with blurred vision at the man. He stood over her with his blade raised high. He looked her in the eyes. “You fought well. I am sorry to do this but orders are orders.”

  A metallic clang suddenly rang through the air. The man stumbled forward. It rang another time and this time she saw his head whip forward, realizing he must have been hit from behind. His virescent resilience kept him standing though and he whirled. This gave Rebecca the opportunity to quickly grapple him from behind.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and his sword arm, putting him in a hold the resistance had shown her for an armed opponent to knock them out. Her supernatural strength made it easier to hold him in this position, despite him also having increased strength. After a few moments he went limp. She lowered him to the ground slowly and took his sword. She looked up to find Wendy standing there with a metal plate that must have contained their food at one point. She panted heavily and looked at the man and Rebecca wide eyed.

  “Thank you.” Rebecca wheezed out.

  “You’re welcome dear. Are you okay?” Wendy responded, gaining her composure back. “You’re bleeding.”

  “Yeah I’ll be fine, let’s just get the rest out and him in a cell. Let’s get you all out of here.” Rebecca responded.

  A few minutes later Rebecca led a group of 30 or so people through the halls of the dungeon back towards the exit. They had ran into the guards she spoke to before but they made no attempt to stop her, just standing to the side and looking unnerved. When she glanced back she found they were following the group but not attacking. She would have to deal with them. She stopped and approached them.

  “What are you doing?” She asked them.

  “We are coming with you. If they see you’ve escaped and we are still alive then we will just be executed anyway.” The larger man said.

  “Yeah you are with the resistance right? We could uh… help them?” The thinner man said questioningly.

  “Why would I trust either of you?” She asked. She didn’t know what to think of the men. They clearly weren’t competent, but were also not overly loyal to the archon. Otherwise they wouldn’t be doing drugs on the job… probably.

  “Well we aren’t exactly living out our dreams under the Archon.” The large one said.

  “Yeah, who wants to guard all these poor people every day? In a damp and dark dungeon. From what I heard they ain’t even done nothing. Just walking around a random forest.” The small one added.

  “Proper lighting conditions should be a minimum to a safe work environment.” The large one added again with a nod. “Not to mention the risk of mold.”

  She stared at them for a moment before sighing. “Fine. Help me get these people out and you can join up.” She told them finally. She didn’t know what to think but they clearly weren’t virescent and she was confident she could handle them if needed. As they neared her entry point of the prison, a side door used only as a means of delivering provisions to the guards and prisoners every third day, she heard a noise from behind them.

  In the long dimly lit hallway she saw the space twist in on itself. It was like the fabric of reality was being torn, much like the rift or portal that brought them to this world or time. When it stopped a man was standing in the corridor. He stood tall and had a muscular build. He had short cropped blonde hair and a blonde beard. He wore loose fitting robes of pristine quality. His eyes looked black in the dim light of the torches.

  “Take them and run. I’ve already subdued the guards for this entrance. The resistance will be waiting outside one block to the east.” She told Wendy and the guardsman turned traitor.

  “That’s the archon.” One of the guardsman whispered, in awe. “If you fight him you’ll die.”

  “Just go.” She said, readying the sword she had taken from the other guard. She wouldn’t kill him but she didn’t have any compunction about hurting him. She would find out where her dad was. At a minimum she would buy the others time to escape. As she moved she saw the two guards had actually taken the lead in moving the group of people out of the prison.

  She walked towards the man, the Archon, who watched the others flee out of the prison with an unconcerned expression.

  “So you are the one who evaded us so long ago while I was consolidating my power.” He said to her.

  “And you are the one who has been rounding up my people like lambs for the slaughter.” She shot back, knuckles white around the sword. She felt a heat growing in her chest.

  “If I had wanted them dead they would be dead… they are simply an acceptable casualty in our salvation. I do not yet know the effect they may have on things.” The man replied with no emotion.

  “What do you mean our salvation? What gives you the right to hold them?” She asked him.

  “What gives me the right? I am this worlds savior. Magic, the use of the arcane, will bring only ruin. It doesn’t matter though, child. You will have your use as well.” He said to her. He stepped towards her, raising a hand.

  Beside her the metal sconces groaned and broke free from the wall. They flew towards her and she burned essence to deftly move out of the way.

  “Ah a virescent. How cute. That is how you made it so far in my prison. How you’ve evaded us.” He said to her. He took another few steps forward. “I’m surprised people from your world can harness essence. You and that man have been a thorn in my side since your arrival. I wonder if he possesses the same talent.” He raised his hand and the stone beneath her began to shift. It moved up behind her forming a wall, cutting off a retreat while also opening a pit below her. She managed to use a few of the remaining floating stones as a springboard to leap near the Archon. She knew she had him. She swung her sword at his leg with her greatly enhanced speed. And hit nothing but air. She turned in surprise, barely evading a fist swung in her direction.

  “How… how is that possible?” She muttered. He stood passively watching her, as if her presence near him posed no threat whatsoever. “What are you?”

  “What you understand of this world and essence could fill a thimble. It is a drop in an ocean. It is a tear in a maelstrom. I am everything and yet I am not enough.” He told her, taking another slow step. Who is the man who has evaded one of my best agents?”

  “I don’t know.” She said, though deep down she knew it was her dad. The message she read at the camp all but confirmed it.

  “Ah I see.” He said reading her face. “You know him, whoever he is.” He smirked. “You will tell me in time.” With a blur of movement he stood above her. He swung with one fist. She ducked it only to be caught by something on her other arm as she attempted to roll away. It didn’t budge. She looked down and found the metal of a nearby sconce had wrapped around her arm and floated in the air preventing her from moving it. Another wrapped around her other arm and slowly they moved around her back, as if handcuffing her.

  “You know, all the time I spent in your world wasn’t for nothing. Your people had thought of some remarkable things that even mine had not. Perhaps the use of electricity or petroleum can allow these people to grow without the use of the arcane.” He said, almost to himself. “Come now though. We need to have a chat.”