A New Era

Flashback - 9 months ago

"...15...16...17...18...19...20..." I huffed out before plopping my body down on the floor. Twenty sit ups done. It wasn't much, but it kept me occupied in this little cell of mine that I was stuck in ninety-five percent of the time. I took in a deep breath before I let it out slowly and sat up. The buzzer soon went off and I quickly got to my feet. My eyes flickered to see one of the guards walk over and open my door.

"Let's go." He motioned for me to step out and I did. I glanced up to see that only Ben was out.

"I got cards! Wanna play?" Ben piped up. I smiled and gave a nod. My body plopped down on the chair as Ben shuffled the cards.

"This is getting annoying. Why can't we all be out at the same time."

Ben shrugged his shoulders and glanced over to Krista's cell. My eyes shifted to Noah and Kyle. Noah laying in bed with a book in hand and Kyle was doing some push ups.

"It's definitely stupid. But hopefully one day they let us all out at the same time." He replied as he dealt the cards. A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I nodded in agreement. It definitely was stupid. I barely got a chance to see Noah or Kyle. I didn't mind spending time with Krista and Ben, but I felt that the guards were doing it on purpose. Ben barely got to see Krista. It felt like pure torture. But the two of us made the most of it. Ben was a great friend and I was glad to have him and Krista in my life.

My eyes flickered down to the cards in my hand, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. For the next hour the two of us just played random card games, some he made up and some he learned from reading in a book a while ago.

Whenever the two of us had our "outdoor" time, we always discussed strategy, planning, and ways to get out of here. But because of our schedule and limited time, it was pretty hard to try and bust ourselves out of here. It was damn near impossible.

The five of us though knew it was going to be difficult breaking out of here. So we all made a promise to one another. To not let prison take over. To not let it rot away our minds and our spirits. We knew that the others had a plan to rescue us, and we knew it was going to take time. So, for the time being, we just had to ride this through, get stronger together. And that's exactly what we did.

***

I felt my body shake and I jerked upright, waking up from a deep sleep. My eyes flickered to Noah who was next to me as he let out a chuckle.

"Hey sleepyhead, we're gonna be there soon, maybe in about twenty minutes."

I rubbed my face with my hands and sat up a bit. The sun was finally setting, so by the time we got there it'd be late, which was perfect for us anyways. I glanced over to where Kyle was, still fast asleep, while Ben and Krista were in deep conversation. Everything was quiet, except for the sounds of the halyards slapping the mast. There was a slight cool breeze that chilled the summer air.

Finally in the distance, the bright lights of the capital illuminated the sky. I slowly stood up from where I had been sitting and just stared out in the distance. Footsteps approached from behind and I turned to see Kyle, a smile on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" I asked curiously before turning my attention back to the capital, leaning against the railing.

"Just that this fight is almost coming to an end. I can't wait until it's all over." He said with a sigh. I nodded my head in agreement. The two of us didn't say anything else after, just kept our focus on the Capital.

The boat soon came to the dock where some people were waiting for us. Some of Viktor's men. As soon as we got off the boat, we began unloading everything off and into the trucks to head to the capital.

"Alright, listen up everyone!" Viktor spoke up as he stood in front of us. "I know you all had your struggles in taking down your government. But today, you have Allies. You have help. We will make sure to dismantle this entire system so you can all have your freedom. There will be no losses today. Except for our one and only President Martin."

He then turned to me and the others. "I need you kids to keep your helmets on at all times. I don't want anyone to see your faces, got it."

"Yeah. We got it." Noah said as we all gave a nod in agreement.

"Good. Now, here's the plan. President Martin doesn't think you're coming, but he does think that my men and I are bringing in more troops, and that's you all." He explained pointing to each one of us. "Keep the disguises on, and it will all go according to plan." He added.

Everyone gave a nod before piling into the trucks.

***

The White House came into view once again when we arrived. But this time it was easy getting in. The president didn't suspect a thing. Once we got there, some of the guards were waiting outside. Viktor stepped out first to greet them. My eyes were fixated on each man there, observing their body language, their movements. They all seemed tense and alert. Some were paying attention to Viktor, a few kept their gazes elsewhere, some on the truck and some out in the distance. I prayed that they didn't ask any other questions.

Viktor soon turned to us and motioned for us to step out. Noah placed the helmet over his head and stepped out first, followed by Ben, Kyle, Krista and myself.

"These are my men, they'll help with any security you all need." Viktor said to one of the guards. He just gave a nod before stepping to the side to let us inside the building. We're finally in, again. I thought to myself as the five of us followed Viktor inside. I glanced over my shoulder to see Joe, Dave and Alec step out, before I turned back around.

The last time we were here, was a year ago. Even though our plan failed then, we knew this time our new plan would work. We had an ally this time to help us.

"Alright, Ben, Kyle and I are gonna do a sweep around the building. Krista, Sam. You find the security room and take those guards down." Noah whispered.

"Be careful, okay?" I replied. He nodded his head as the three of them went off.

"Okay, let's get to the security room." I said to Krista and Viktor as the three of us went the opposite direction.

We headed down a long corridor before reaching a door. Krista and I hung back while Viktor peeked through the window for a second before turning to us.

"Two guards in there. Barely paying any attention to the monitors." He explained.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Krista whisper yelled.

"If we go in there guns blazing, We're gonna attract more problems." I added. Viktor let out a huff as he glanced back into the room once more.

"Okay, give me a minute." He whispered as he opened the door. Krista and I gave a nod as we leaned back against the wall, hoping the other two guards didn't see us.

"What are you doing in here?" One of the guards spoke.

"My men and I are here to relieve you. President Martin knows. You can take it up with him." Viktor explained. It was quiet for a moment before one of them spoke up.

"Alright, fine."

My eyes flickered towards Krista and she gave me a quick nod. My fingers tightened around my weapon as footsteps slowly approached the doorway. With one swift motion, the two of us rifle-butted them in the face, knocking them down to the ground.

"Quick, tie them up." I instructed her before joining Viktor by the screens.

"Okay. Now what?" Krista asked joining the two of us. I took in a deep breath as I stared at the screens.

"I don't know..."