Should I do a double.
I mean, I could.
Do I want to?
Hmmmm...

Hallez stood cautiously. She looked at the horse as it huffed, its head having to duck to peer into the room. It gave her a stare as if asking What are you waiting for?

    When she still didn't move, it snorted, and fire shot out of its nostrils, setting the wooden cabinets aflame. Hallez just stared at the dark smokeless flames eating away at the cabinets, seemingly absorbing light rather than emitting them, before concluding that it was probably a good idea to get out of there. She grabbed Mercury's arm again, propped him up, and, making sure he was still unconscious, dragged him across the dusty floor by the armpits. She was not strong enough to carry him, so if he turned furious at her when he woke up, then too bad.

    After a few seconds of struggling and arriving at the doorway, she dropped the supposed-god unceremoniously, waved away a few hundred strands of spiderwebs that were caught in her hair and clothes, and turned to the horse.

    In all honesty, she had no idea what she was even doing. At this point in time, she just went with the flow, and improvised as things progressed. She wasn't about to question the horse. That didn't mean she was completely immune to the fear of being burned alive as she stood with its muzzle a few inches away from her face. Her posture was stiff as it snorted again—no flames, just smoke—and sniffed her, then the shield, then the lump of a god beside her.

    Admittedly, the horse was beautiful, in a dark, gloomy, insane sort of way. It did smell of horse manure, though, which kind of ruined the whole image. It looked like it'd just crawled out of the Underworld after torturing someone's spirit, which was a fun thought, especially since it was apparently their only way of escaping this place alive. She couldn't remember any stories of horses like the one before her, and she had even less clue as to why it was inside the CEIRA compound—maybe it was trapped here as well? But given how it was standing in the corridor with its head inside the room, calmly, without any concern after carelessly busting down the door, it could've escaped a long time ago.

    Seemingly satisfied after sniffing them, it lowered its head, and knelt, its strong neck still partly through the doorway.

    Hallez blinked. Then, feeling a little self-conscious, she said, "Do you...want me to get on?"

    It tossed its mane, as if saying No duh. Or maybe something more sarcastic.

    "Do you mind if I put Mercury on your back?"

    Another toss of the mane, and the flames from its hooves extinguished themselves. She took it as a no.

    She placed the Ancile copy on the ground, and grabbed the god's shoulders, heaving Mercury up, draping him over the horse' neck. The horse lifted its head again, and the god slid unceremoniously down its neck onto its back. Mercury's body flailed and, somehow, bonked his head on the door frame.

    "Sorry about that," Hallez said, unapologetically. The horse dipped its head again. "You want me to get on?"

    It nodded.

    "I can just walk—"

    The horse seemed to scoff and nudged—more like shoved—her with its head. It snorted a puff of flame.

    "...Alright." Not really having a choice, she picked up the Ancile and also got on the horse's back before it raised its head again, making sure to avoid hitting her head.

    She'd ridden a horse once before, because apparently this one particular dig site was impossible to get to in a car, and a long way to go on foot. Therefore, they settled for horses, who all seemed to have something personal against Hal, and almost made her wish they'd taken a helicopter or something.

    This horse didn't buck or rear, however. Instead, it just backed its head out of the room, and started trotting casually along the corridors, which contained several unconscious guards with visible hoof-shaped indents on their chest plates or helmets. They...seemed alive.

    The peculiar creature didn't have fur, or skin. The exoskeleton was somehow flexible yet hard, and felt like it was made of wood, which was an odd sensation. The horse was tall, its ears brushing the ceiling of the corridor, and definitely bigger than your average, non-fire-breathing horse. Hallez was a little reminded of the ones that had ambushed Cade and her a few days ago.

    Hallez turned and grabbed Mercury by the back of his shirt to make sure he didn't slide off. He was draped across the black horse's back with his face planted in its exoskeleton, which was probably very disrespectful, but what was she supposed to do with an unconscious god?

    She wondered if she could grab her friends and run once they got out, and before Mercury could wake up. She did not, in fact, have a death wish, contrary to popular belief in her contubernium.

    But then she wondered where they would go. They had the Sword and Shield, but they didn't know where Medusa's Cave was. If only Minerva had told them where to go after they got the weapons.

    She then thought about what Minerva had said to her.

    Don't be surprised by what I'll find... She meant Mercury, didn't she? How did she know?

    Mark's note... Minerva also mentioned something about that. They'd thought it was referencing the Ancile, but since it was in Mercury's temple, perhaps it had been referencing Mercury instead. But why? Were Mania and CEIRA working together? That couldn't be right. CEIRA seemed like it was still in the midst of discovering information about the legion and the gods—the process of which would probably be speeding up now, due to her own stupidity—so how could Mania work together with them?

    Something didn't add up.

    Speaking of Minerva, if she knew Mercury was here, why the heck didn't she come rescue him herself? Or tell the other gods so they can rescue a fellow Olympian?

    Then again, the gods have never once interacted with me before this quest, and they have not once shown that they cared enough for this quest to succeed except Minerva, and she's the goddess of wisdom.

    On second thought, she didn't really care why the Olympians didn't lift a finger to help their own family.

    Didn't really paint a good picture of the gods, did it?

    There was also Apollo...

    Right. She'd forgotten about that prophecy. It wasn't at all specific, and didn't list any important details other than the fact that someone was going to die—very helpful and reassuring, thanks—and turned to stone. Now that she was thinking about it, however, she felt her nerves tingling. Just who was going to die? Travis? Lavi? Fiona?

    She couldn't let that happen. She cared about them too much now, that she couldn't let them die if she could help it.

    Or was it going to be her who died?

    Considering what she knew of prophecies and fate, she doubted it was going to be simple.

    But what if the prophecy was going to happen just as it was told? Simple and plain: Someone is going to die. If she thought too much, and ended up at a complicated conclusion, she might try to prepare for that conclusion while the real meaning was just exactly as the fancy poem said, word for word.

    Hallez shook her head. She was seriously overthinking this.

    She'd have to cross that bridge when she got there.

    The horse stopped at a door at the end of a corridor. This one was a double door, however, and tall enough to fit the horse easily as long as it ducked. It kicked the doors off their hinges, and stood to the side, then let out a loud neigh.

    What?

    Hallez frowned, and was just leaning forward to look at what was beyond the door, when the sound of what seemed like a hundred hooves pounded through the corridor, and the smell of horses amplified tenfold. A strong wind blew from the broken doors, and she caught the glimpse of a dozen or so blurry shapes in brown, black, white, red and yellow colors zip by before disappearing all together. The sound of hooves could be heard echoing in the distance, slowly fading away.

    Hallez froze. She turned to the black horse, who had turned one of its white eyes to look at her in something like amusement, the white star on its forehead seemed to shine against its otherwise dark exoskeleton.

    "What?" Hallez asked.

    It snorted with satisfaction, then turned around and started trotting off in another direction, before a familiar voice reached them.

    "Hallez!" Fiona called out, appearing from a diverged corridor. "There you are! Why are there Flash-horses everywhere? And why are you on a horse?"

    "I have no idea," Hal admitted. "Don't question it. It can also breathe fire."

    Travis squinted suspiciously at the black horse. "Well, literally every other mythical being has the ability to breathe fire, including fifty percent of all horse populations apparently, so it shouldn't be too surprising. This one looks kind of familiar though..."

    The horse snorted, seemingly happy that they were talking about it.

    Was it weird that Hallez could tell what it was feeling?

    "Are you sure Mercury should be riding like that?" Lavi asked uncertainty. "I don't think he would appreciate it."

    Hallez glanced back at him, draped uncomfortably on the horse's back, a noticeable bump on the back of his head, then back at her friends. "He's fine."

    "So how do we get out of here?" Travis addressed the real problem. "And why are there a bunch of Arion horses? We nearly got trampled a few times."

    "That was it's doing"—she pointed at the horse, who ignored her—"and I'm not sure why. I was told that the escape involved horses. Can you lead us out?"

    The question was directed at the horse, who threw her an offended look, as if saying What, you don't believe I can?

    "Well, can you?"

    As if to prove a point, it raised its head indignantly and started off down the corridor again, the others having to power walk to follow.

    Fiona stared at her funny. "Uh, Hallez? Are you talking to it?"

    "...Somewhat. It understands what we're saying, that's for sure. I don't know if we can trust it, but it hasn't killed me yet."

    Her definition of a trustworthy being now came in different categories, such as Friends, Gods, Murderous Creatures, and Seemingly Non-Murderous Creatures. The horse fell in the Seemingly Non-Murderous Creatures category.

    Lavi threw up her arms, nearly spearing Travis with her bow, who veered off his path and nearly crashed into the horse. "You know what? Why shouldn't we? I mean, we haven't done anything the normal way yet, so why start now?"

    Define normal, Hallez thought.

    "Good point, Lavi," Fiona agreed. "And what's an Arion horse?"

    "Descendents of the fastest horse in the world, Arion," Travis answered. "No one has seen them in years, and now suddenly, there's a whole group of them here. Explains where they all disappeared off to."

    Fiona looked around. "I wonder if I can convince one to let me ride them. I'm tired of walking through this place!"

    "Is that relevant right now?" Travis snapped.

    "Yes, it totally is, because we just ran up five levels after the elevator stopped on the wrong floor!"

    "I'm not the one who accidentally clicked the wrong button and didn't realize until the guards were shooting at us!"

    Fiona spluttered. "I WAS DISTRACTED!"

    The bickering continued with no signs of stopping until they got to a double door at the end of a corridor. This one was smaller than the one the horse kicked down before, but he could still fit through if it really wanted to.

    Surprisingly, all the guards along the way were unconscious (or dead) on the floor, seemingly slammed into the wall or trampled by the cascade of Flash in horse form. Apparently.

    Anyway, he kicked those doors down as well. From what Hal could see, it seemed to be another corridor, except wider, and it slanted upwards. A rush of freezing wind brushed past them from further up the hallway.

    Fiona finally broke up her and Travis' squabble, shivering. "Brr— Yep, that's the exit alright! It's kinda weird though. You'd think at least SOMEONE would've come here to stop us from escaping—"

    "HEY! YOU! STOP RIGHT THERE—"

    Fast as lightning, Lavi shot an arrow towards a group of incoming guards. It extended into a net, and pinned them to the ground.

    "And you just had to jinx it!" Travis exclaimed.

    "Shut up!"

    One of the guards somehow managed to aim his gun while pinned down by the net, and shot towards them. Travis pulled Lavi and Fiona behind him, holding up the Shield, as Hallez held up the Ancile copy in front of her and Mercury—not that it helped much with its strange shape. The loud pings of bullets hitting metal reverberated in the hall.

    The horse stood in front of Travis, Lavi and Fiona, acting as a living, surprisingly effective meat shield. Hallez took the opportunity to grab Mercury, and slide off his back. She ushered her contubernium behind the wall in the corridor leading to the outside, dumping the heavy god onto the ground.

    "We'll have to run for it," Hallez said, quite obviously. "Lavi, you get on the horse in a moment, and stay in front of us."

    "Hang on a second—!"

    She continued, ignoring Lavi's protest. "You have a bow and arrow, you can watch our backs, and even though you don't have a shield, they'll have a hard time shooting you."

    "Oh. Alright, fine. But what about you guys?"

    "Fiona, stay beside Lavi, and I'll be behind you with the shield. Travis, you go on the other side. As for Mercury...he goes on the horse as well, I guess. Got it?"

    "Yep! Let's hope no one gets shot!"

    "Fiona, quit trying to jinx us!"

    The horse trotted to their side, and whinnied anxiously, dipping his head and kneeling. Hal nodded at Lavi, who got on, and helped drape Mercury over his back once again, in front of Lavi.

    She nocked an arrow to her bow, sitting with her back to the horse's head. Hallez somehow managed to strap the copy onto her back, and Travis did the same. She could only hope it would be hard for the guards to get a straight shot while they ran.

    Lavi drew back the bowstring as they exchanged hasty, ready affirmation. "Alright, go!"

    The horse neighed, and galloped forward. It took some sprinting to catch up to him, but he seemed to acknowledge their speed, and slowed down a little. Bullets whizzed by their ears, and pinged against the shields. Lavi shot arrows towards the guards as they followed in pursuit.

    The corridor slanted up only by a few degrees, making Hallez wonder just how unnecessarily long it was. If they continued to ascend like this, they would be out of the mountain ranges before they even got above ground, if they didn't collapse from exhaustion first.

    At some point, a bullet nicked her ear, making her wince and nearly lose her balance as the sound of it whizzing by seemed to deafen her. After that, she saw Lavi hiss as she tried to pull her let closer toward her. Hallez saw a gash where the bullet grazed her.

    Either they were losing ground, or the guards were catching up to them. Either way, it wasn't good.

    But just then, the corridor seemed to end up ahead, successfully making their situation even worse.

    Fiona shouted with alarm, "It's a dead end!"

    Hallez looked past her. A wall in front of them stood solid and still, and panic rose in her chest.

    How could this be a dead end? Was she wrong to trust the horse? Now that she thought about it, it had been ridiculous to trust the horse in the beginning. But then what was the cold air rushing in from seemingly nowhere? There was no ventilation—she'd been keeping an eye out.

    She wanted to believe that the horse was right, but the wall a few meters in front of them served otherwise.

    Had she been wrong? Had she led her friends into a trap?

    Were they going to get captured for good this time?

    Fiona stumbled, out of the same panic, perhaps, and Hallez crashed into her, sending them both tumbling onto the ground. The horse also skidded to a stop, whining with worry.

    "Fiona!" Travis yelled, running towards the two girls on the ground, desperately trying to stand.

    Hallez looked at him as she pulled Fiona up, grabbing the shield off her back as it hindered her movements, trying to cover them with it.

    Then she realized two things.

    One, it was not a dead end. On both sides of the wall, branching off from the supposed dead end, leading up.

    Two, was Travis, rushing towards them. His shield was still on his back. His body was exposed.

    And that he was the perfect target for someone to shoot down.

    The bang! of a gun sounded before she could even open her mouth, and she watched, in slow motion as a bullet shot toward him.

    It's not his time to die, yet.

    In an instant, without thinking, she'd dropped everything on hand, and shifted. At a speed she didn't know she possessed, she flew over, before shifting back, and knocked Travis out of the way.

    This time, she only regretted one thing when pain exploded in her chest.