“Of all the components of tonight’s plan, I think I’m most anxious about this part,” I whispered to Aiden as we stood in the empty walkway outside Robert’s motel room door, listening for any sounds of life inside. Outside in the warm evening air, all I could hear were the shrill croaks of frogs and crickets.
“Why is that?” he asked softly.
“Because we’re about to steal my grandmother’s boyfriend’s sister’s car.”
“To be fair, we’re ‘borrowing’, not stealing,” he whispered, pressing one ear against the door.
“Remind me to tell you about the time I ‘borrowed’ someone’s bicycle to go visit Evelyn.”
Aiden chuckled. “Duly noted… I don’t hear anything at all, and I don’t see any light coming from beneath the door. Wait here while I go grab the key from his jacket pocket?” He carefully slipped a room card into the slot above the handle and pushed the door open gently, sliding deftly between the door and the frame.
I stopped the door with my foot before it closed fully, clandestinely peeking into the crack to watch Aiden tiptoe in the direction of Robert’s tweed jacket, which had been casually slung over the back of a chair. Robert was snoring from one of the two beds in the room – the one farthest from the door, thankfully. A moment later, Aiden had retrieved – and quickly muffled – the jangling set of keys and was making his way back to the door when Robert suddenly snorted and fell silent. Aiden froze, his face contorting into a tight grimace. After an interminable moment of silence, Robert finally rolled over and began snoring again. Moving with the quiet agility of a cat burglar, Aiden quickly slunk the rest of the way through the room and shimmied out the door, carefully shutting it behind him with the tiniest of clicks.
“Let’s get out of here,” I whispered. It was inevitable that Evelyn would kill me for what we were about to do, but I was hoping to at least stave off my dire fate until after we’d successfully gotten Sarah back.
“Agreed,” Aiden said, nervously running a hand through his hair as we made our way to the stairwell. “That was scarier than presenting my PhD dissertation.”
I gave him an incredulous look. “After everything that’s happened this week – including your near-death experience and me nearly burning our room to the ground less than an hour ago – that’s the example you use?”
“One of the dissertation committee members was not a fan of mine,” he replied, opening the door to the stairwell for me.
“Oh, well that explains it,” I answered, rolling my eyes as I walked past him. He chuckled as he fell into step behind me.
We made our way down a flight of stairs and then pushed open the door on the ground level, just outside the parking lot, where Carol’s truck was parked under a streetlight on the far side. I glanced at the clock on my phone – just after 8:00 p.m.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t go later tonight?” I asked Aiden as we passed a young couple stepping into a taxi. They looked like they were dressed for a night on the town, whatever that meant in Tulsa. I looked down at my own outfit – black leggings, a black long-sleeved shirt and a black jacket. Aiden must have had the same idea, because he was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and dark-washed jeans. “It is a Saturday night – lots of people out and about.”
“The facility is in the middle of nowhere, and, according to the dossier I pulled from my father’s file, the night shift, which is considerably less-staffed than the day shift, has already clocked in for the night.” He pulled out Robert’s keys and unlocked the passenger-side door, opening it for me.
“Yeah, but if they’re tipped off to the fact that we’re coming…” I started, hoisting myself into the high seat with the help of Aiden’s steady hand.
“That’s why we’re going in through a remote entrance, located in the middle of a cornfield a half-mile away from the Containment Center,” Aiden replied, once he had sat down in the driver’s seat. “I took a picture of the location and access details, but left the actual page tucked deep within my father’s file so they don’t know that I’ve seen it.”
“Smart,” I remarked, half to myself, as Aiden turned the key to the ignition. The truck sputtered to life.
As we pulled out of the parking lot and made our way for the highway, I felt antsy, impatient… and scared witless. Aiden also seemed on edge as his fingers drummed against the steering wheel. The air in the cabin felt thick with our own apprehension.
Are we really doing this again – breaking into Asterian property for the second time in a week? I wondered to myself.
As if reading my mind, Aiden remarked, “This feels a little like déjà vu, doesn’t it?”
I nodded grimly, then, sensing his guilt, I quickly added, “Except this time, we’re not doing it to satisfy idle curiosity. Your sister’s wellbeing is at stake. To be locked up in some sort of remote prison, without any access to her friends and family – and for what? …Do you have any idea why they put her in there?”
As the passing light from the highway’s orange streetlights illuminated Aiden’s face, I could see his jaw tighten. “According to my father’s file, she had become outspoken against certain practices within the Order.”
I gasped softly. “So, she’s been locked away, all these years, just because of her –”
“Opinions, yes.” Aiden took a deep breath. “It would seem she had become aware of some unethical Electromantic methods, used against dissenters and lawbreakers – Elemental and non-Elemental, alike – and when she continued to impart that knowledge to others in the organization, the Officers had no choice but to… contain her.”
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end as the words from my mother’s letter hung heavy in the air: We were carefully-indoctrinated, blinded, and ignorant to the true meaning of our own actions. I am ashamed of those actions I carried out before we deserted. If you ever learn of them, I pray you’ll forgive me for those transgressions.
“Not… my mother?” I asked softly.
Aiden glanced at me, his expression unreadable, but said nothing more.
We drove in silence for some time, each of us lost in our own distant thoughts. As we exited the highway, the soft glow of the city outskirts behind us, Aiden reached across the seat to take my hand in his, squeezing it gently.
“No matter what happens, we’re in this together, Aspen.”
“Together,” I agreed, smiling tightly.
We continued down a dark, two-lane road, heading farther and farther away from the city. At first, we passed the occasional cluster of houses or a corner gas station, usually with a streetlamp or two nearby, but after a while, we found ourselves in the middle of sprawling farmland, surrounded on all sides by corn and wheat fields. After we passed the last streetlamp, its yellow beam casting dimly on a round area of dirt road just outside a small general store on the edge of a tiny town, Aiden switched on the truck’s high-beam headlights. The unlit road became more rugged as we continued driving, and with every bump I felt myself grow more anxious. Aiden was gripping the steering wheel so tightly, I could see his white knuckles even in the dark. I cleared my throat, the sudden noise startling us both.
“Would you walk me through the plan once more? I’m still a little unclear on some of the details.”
Aiden started. “Oh, yes, of course… Well, as I mentioned, we’re not going directly to the Containment Center. We might not even see it as we pass, I don’t think, since it’s situated a couple miles away from the main road. Keep an eye out for a sign that says ‘Haynes Family Farms’. The mayor’s family owns it, several of whom are, conveniently, high-ranking members of the Asterian Order. Haynes was the one who made the deal with the company that operated the privately-owned penitentiary. He’s the one who oversees most aspects of the facility, from what I can tell.”
“The Asterians appear to be everywhere,” I mused.
“You have no idea,” he replied, sighing. “Anyway, we’ll go in through the fields – I took a picture of the map I found in the file – then we’ll enter the complex through an underground tunnel which was added after the PCC opened. But today it only seems to be maintained for emergencies or hypothetical evacuations, so I wouldn’t expect it to be guarded.”
“And the tunnel is a half-mile long?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “What an absurd amount of money to spend on an emergency exit.”
“Well, I imagine they used Terramancers, making it a fairly cheap deal. They probably offered them some sort of incentive in exchange for the labor.”
I thought of Eileen then, and felt a twinge of guilt. Was I right to call her and tell her everything? What if something goes wrong tonight and she doesn’t hear from me again? What if she starts digging for information in the wrong places, like I did?
Aiden started coughing, jerking me back to the present moment. He slowed down the truck until the fit passed, making a dismissive wave when I offered to drive.
“It’s okay, I’m fine,” he said, clearing his throat roughly. I frowned.
“Anyway,” he continued, “Robert and I did some extra reading and found out that the emergency exit was originally designed as a service tunnel so they could bring people and supplies in and out of the complex without being noticed. It’s the perfect cover, really, since the tunnel is underneath a privately-owned cornfield in the middle of nowhere.”
“That does make sense,” I conceded. “And I suppose that because it was already built, they just decided to keep it as a secondary escape route?”
Aiden nodded. “That’s my guess.”
“And once we enter the complex?” I asked. “Then what? We’ll be somewhere in the administrative area?”
“Yes, exactly. From down there in the basement, I should be able to find a roster and locate her cell, which will be controlled by electricity.”
My throat suddenly felt tight. “And the guards?”
“All Hydromancers. The good news is that they’re more concerned about people breaking out than people breaking in, so their naivete will be our advantage. Plus, the facility is designed only with Pyromancers in mind – completely fireproof, so there won’t be a source of flame or fire of any kind. But the entire complex is heated and powered by electricity. And it’s in the middle of Oklahoma, so I’m quite sure it will have some sort of air conditioning. Furthermore, Robert believes that all the ceilings will be equipped with sprinklers to assist them in the event of a fire – Elemental or otherwise.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “I can see why having a Pentamancer will be handy… Hey – there’s the sign for the Haynes Farm,” I pointed to a small, wooden sign marking a tiny dirt road that was almost completely hidden by dried corn stalks.
Aiden shut off the high beams, then pulled the truck just onto the narrow path, where he cut the engine. He turned to look at me, the left side of his face faintly illuminated by the lights on the dashboard.
“Aspen, if there were any other way – any other way to get my sister out of this place – believe me, I would not bring you into this. I’m – I’m…” He faltered, then sighed, running a hand through his hair anxiously. “I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for even allowing you to come with me tonight.” His head bowed slightly.
I stiffened as a wave of grief rippled through me – as though someone I loved were dying. My chest constricted with a tight, gnawing feeling of guilt… his guilt. I’m experiencing his pain, not mine, I marveled, momentarily stunned by the realization.
I reached for Aiden’s hand and gripped it in both of mine. “I’m not here because you allowed me to be here, Aiden.” He looked back up at me; even in the darkness I could see the glint in his eyes. “Just the other day, a very wise, very humble old man told me that you can’t allow yourself to take ownership of others’ choices.”
Aiden chuckled. “That Robert, always taking lines from fortune cookies.”
“Yes, but they were very insightful fortune cookies,” I answered seriously. He laughed again. I could feel the tension in the truck dissipating. “Frankly, you’d be an idiot to try to attempt this jailbreak without your friendly neighborhood Pentamancer.”
“Thank you,” Aiden whispered, leaning in to kiss me softly. “For everything.”
As his lips brushed mine, I trembled – with fear, with eagerness, with desire. His eyes met mine, and I knew he felt the same.
“C’mon,” I said, forcing myself to pull away. “We have a Pyromantic Containment Center to break into.”