They were probably bad guys anyway, I told myself, feeling like a traitor at the thought.In anusvsthemscenario, shouldn’t humans be my‘us’?
Tovis’ ears tilted back and he tugged at his cuffed hands, the movement jostling Jiith where they were still connected.“We need a remote to unlock these.”
We both looked at the bloodbath in the parking lot.There was no way I could get in, find a remote I’d never seen, and get out.
Jiith looked up, his tentacles flaring weakly.“I can’t unlock the cuffs, but I can disable the tether.”
I gaped at him.“You could have escaped this whole time?”I hissed.
He cringed.“Escaped to where?The Kwin would have me followed and I’m too weak to get far on my own.”
I flapped my hands at him.“Hurry up and do it, we need to gonow.”
He hesitated.“You might kill me, how can I trust you?”
“I fed you,” I said harshly.“I didn’t have to.Don’t make me regret it.”
Jiith blinked at me and turned to the stake, fiddling with tiny dials and buttons I could barely see.
I looked around, wishing there was a handy stack of weapons and supplies laying around.My eyes lit on the percer, standing stiffly at the edge of the arena.Its hide twitched with every gun shot, the bloody wounds on its side standing out even in the darkness.
“How do I open the gate?”I asked.
Jiith looked up and eyed the percer warily.“It’s not locked,” he said slowly.“All you have to do is press the white lever on the main post.”
“How long until you’re done?”I demanded.Something clicked and their cuffs flashed twice.
I didn’t wait for them to tell me to stop, I just darted to the gate and found the lever.For a second I questioned my sanity, the percer stood less than a yard away, its sides heaving as it lowered its head and stared at me.
But if we were staging a jail break, it seemed only fair to let out all the prisoners.I flipped the lever and bolted.
17 Tovis
The sounds of fightingdid nothing to cover the percer’s bellow as he charged the combined forces of humans and sytos.I grabbed Jessa around the waist and hefted her over my shoulder, latched onto Jiith’s wrist and ran.
My hooves hit the dirt hard enough to jolt my bones as I poured every ounce of my strength into fleeing.Jessa was right, the percer was a good distraction and we needed every minute of the head start she’d given us.
