“That is the point. As far as the Warden is concerned, once we’re at the camps, we’re garbage to be disposed of. We weren't afforded the right to a proper name, not even to terrify us.” Eddie’s shoulders drooped. “The angels are the ones running thecamps. They starved us, beat us, and forced us to work making war supplies for the Warden day in and day out. Many of us got sick from disease and died, while most others starved to death. Others were merely tortured until their bodies could endure no longer.”
“Elves are immortal and super strong. They aren’t easy to kill. The angels must’ve been extra brutal to kill them this way,” I said.
“Indeed. Their tactics went beyond the point of cruelty,” Eddie admitted heavily. “They regulated us to one slice of bread and a watery soup with one radish per day. Elves are immune to magical restraints such as noxite, so starvation was their way of keeping our magic contained, as we were too weak to summon it. I spent most of my time carrying stones from quarries I could barely lift, and making bricks, as the angels needed them to rebuild Celestial City.”
Eddie shrugged unhappily. “I thought, at times, of attempting to sneak out, or of creating a weapon with the bricks I was making, but I was so malnourished I knew I wouldn’t win if there was a fight, and I didn’t have enough energy to run fast enough to escape. When I wasn’t being made to labor, I was being tortured for information. It is how I lost my eye.”
“These monsters are sick,” Marcus growled. “It’s deplorable they can do this to people.”
“That is not how the angels see it,” Eddie stated. “In their eyes, these camps are a sort of purgatory, a method for cleansing sin. The angels who ran the camps allowed prisoners to leave, so long as they swore an oath to join a new religion and work as soldiers for the Warden and his cause.”
“The Mission,” Charlie said in disgust.
“Indeed,” Eddie replied. “The prisoners who converted were stuffed into military vans and never seen again. Some of my company agreed to be converted, but most of us stuck to ourfaith. Eventually, the Warden got tired of waiting for answers. If we couldn’t be converted, he wanted us to be exterminated. Myself and several other Elvish prisoners were taken out of the camp and into the woods. I realized that we were being moved out of the West Facility and to a new camp on the mainland. I knew that if we had any chance of escape, we needed to do it then, because once they took us to the larger camp there was no possibility of getting out alive.”
Eddie smirked. “I was very weak and didn’t have much magic left. But as we stopped for the night, I remembered my master, and all my friends, and I realized I didn’t want to die this way. So when the backs of the soldiers were turned, the other Elves and I got together to join our magic with simultension, just like Charlie had taught us. We were able to create a magical blast that killed the soldiers. But we were unable to control the magic, so it backfired and killed a couple of us as well.”
“Oh, Eddie.” I was breathless with the admission. It was awful.
“We knew some of us could die if we resisted, but we didn’t care. Death was acceptable, when compared to how we’d been living in those camps,” Eddie replied. “Our magic left a crater in the ground. There weren’t any remains of those who’d perished in the blast. We knew we had to leave there quickly. We scattered in all directions, so anyone following wouldn’t be sure where we went. For a day or so, I survived off roots and tubers I found underneath the ground. I didn’t mind— it was more than they were feeding us in the camps. I thought about returning to the Institute to find Charlie and help him escape, but before I could, the other Elves found us and brought us to Ilamanthe. I’ve spent the rest of that time recovering and searching for you.”
“We’re proud of you for staying so strong,” Charlie said. “I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through.”
“It wasn’t easy, and is still not. I have nightmares about the camps.” Eddie shivered. “But I am comforted in knowing the West Facility no longer exists. Once I got to Ilamanthe and told the Emperor where the camp was located, we were able to send agents in to destroy the West Facility and rescue those we could.”
Eddie smiled. “But I should pause the story, for now. You have others eager to join you.”
I was about to ask who he meant, until the door to the room burst open. Elated voices rose throughout the room, and I gave a scream of joy as I watched Chancey, Ivy, Ez, Opal, and Alistair stampede into the room. Kallie, Marcus, and Charlie jumped up from their seats, and the room was quickly enveloped in a mess of shouting, joy, and love.
“You’re alive!” I cried out. I instantly reached for my brother, who squeezed me tightly. His peryton Familiar, Tahoma, gave a gentle snort and nuzzled my cheek with his soft lips. I was so relieved that I let out a couple of sobs. The moment was overwhelming—all of themhad gotten out, and unhurt. It was nothing short of a miracle.
“Fuck yeah, we are! It’s gonna take more than a burning prison to get rid of us!” Ivy exclaimed as they embraced me. I let the tears fall, because it was a huge weight off my shoulders to know that, despite my choice to allow the Institute to burn, the people I cared about hadn’t suffered the consequences of my actions.
“This is crazy! How’d you guys escape?” Charlie asked.
“Nowthat’sa story,” Chancey said, slinging his arm around Charlie’s shoulders.
“See, as you know, shit was goingdownat the Institute that night,” Alistair said. “Ez, Opal and I were still in the woods when you guys were taken to Cellblock 9. The guards never found us, but we spent days trapped out there, trying to figure out how toget over the fence. Eventually, the guards came looking for us. I was able to trick them with my Mentalist powers, and puppet them away from our location long enough to remain hidden. But then the fire happened, and everything started going up in smoke.”
“You guys remember Ives and me got separated from the group when the guards started attacking students,” Chancey said. “The mob carried us away, where we met up with Alistair and the others outside. It was complete chaos, I tell ya.”
“The prison yard was in shambles,” Alistair said excitedly— sounding like he was retelling the events of some rager party, and not a life-or-death situation. “We figured if we wanted to live, we had to get the hell off the island. So, we thought… why not take a bus?”
A huge grin spread across my face. I recalled the memory of the Institute’s submarine bus smashing through the prison’s fence line and ambling clumsily toward freedom the night we’d escaped. “No way! That wasyou?”
“Oh, yeah. We overpowered the guards protecting it, Chancey hotwired the rig, and we took off outta the Institute’s cage,” Alistair said proudly. “One of the grandest moments of my life, if I do say so myself.”
“They came after us like hell, but everything was smooth sailing once we hit the water, cause they couldn’t come after us. I gotta say, though, I mighta run over a couple of vamps on our drive out,” Chancey added.
I nearly toppled out of my chair laughing. I pictured Chancey recklessly driving the massive submarine bus across Darke Island while being chased by guards, the rest of my friends clinging to the bus seats like cats in order to hold on.
“One of the angel guards smashed into the windshield and rolled off the top. It wasgreat,” Ivy cackled. “We popped open the back door and flung some battle orbs behind us before we hitthe ocean. We watched a couple guards blow up. It was quite therivetingexperience.”
“Maybe for you.” Ez scowled as he rubbed his head. “I still got the scar from when I hit my head on the ceiling. Chancey nearly rolled the damn thing.”
“I got us out!” Chancey said defensively. “You should quit complaining and be glad you got a ride. It was hard enough squeezing your big ass Familiar on the bus.”
Tahoma let out a sullen bray, and I asked, “Are the keys safe?”
