Thia paced up and down the girl's room. "We need to do something."

"Do what?" Maha asked. "We're locked in here with guards posted at the door."

"I'm hot," Ruby whined. It was getting stuffy in the room.

"Just open the window," Michelle said.

"That's it!" Thia exclaimed.

"That's what?" Michelle wondered.

"That's how we can get out!"

"By jumping out the window?" Maha asked.

"Yeah," Thia admitted.

"Well, if we're going to escape out the window, we need a plan," Michelle said.

"You're actually agreeing to this?" Thia asked surprised.

Maha rolled her eyes. "None of us like this any more than you do."

Thia smiled. "So, what's the plan?"

---

Ruby opened the door. "I need to use the bathroom."

The soldiers grunted. One of them said, "Someone has to take her. I don't want to."

The other said, "Fine, I'll do it." He looked down at Ruby. "Come on, girlie." He walked down the hall with Ruby on his heels, leaving the other soldier to stand guard on his own.

They waited for a few minutes before initiating the next part of the plan.

Thump.

The soldier rushed inside the room only to find a shattered mirror laying on top of Maha.

"Help, oh help!" Thia cried. She had gotten plenty of acting practice from her aunts Cress and Iko. "We were playing and then the mirror fell on her! She's bleeding!"

The soldier grumbled something under his breath before lifting the shattered mirror off of Maha's still body revealing numerous cuts from the broken glass.

"Please help my sister!" Michelle wailed. "She needs a doctor! Please, help her!"

The soldier grumbled something under his breath before picking up Maha's limp body and carrying her out the door.

Thia and Michelle smiled. Their plan had worked. Thia shut the door.

"Thia," Michelle whispered. "Ruby's here."

Thia walked over to the window and looked down. She found Ruby hiding in the trees. "How'd it go?" she asked.

"I ditched him," Ruby panted. "I snuck out of a side entrance. He thinks I'm still in the bathroom."

"The guards for the boys' room are taken care of too," Thia said.

"Great job," Michelle praised. "Now let's lower this thing out the window."

Before all the distractions, they had all worked on building a rope out of extra bed sheets they found in the closet. While the guards were in there, the stuffed it under the bed, but now they lowered it out of the open window. Thia tied one end onto one of the bed's legs and the other end dangled just before the ground outside.

"Michelle, you go first," Thia whispered.

Michelle nodded and climbed onto the window ledge. She hooked her arms and legs around the makeshift rope and slid to the bottom. Thia heard her grunt when her feet hit the dirt.

"It's all clear," she called quietly.

Thia swung her legs over the ledge and hooked them around the rope. Then she grabbed it with both hands and slid down slowly. After she had gotten to the bottom, she looked at her hands. "I think that gave me rugburns," she commented before wiping her hands on her pants. "Are the boys down yet?"

"No," Michelle said. "Ruby's giving them the signal now."

"Who caused the distraction?" Thia wondered.

"Ruby said she saw Rikan thrashing around in the arms of both soldiers," she answered with a chuckle.

"Sounds like my twin."

When they were all down, they attempted to sneak back to the Mechanic.

---

Thia peeked her head out of the storage closet. They were only a few feet away from their ship, and freedom. She waited until the guard walked the other way before motioning all clear. They tiptoed to the ship and flattened themselves against the side when the guard came marching around. They were lucky because the door was facing the wall. While entering, they would be out of sight of the guards.

After checking around again, Thia signaled that they could enter the ship. They crept through the doorway, which had been left open for some reason, and silently closed it when they were all in.

Thia let out a breath. "Michelle, let's go."

"I don't think that's going to happen." A menacing voice came from the cockpit where Michelle should have been.

"Michelle?"

She heard grunts as she got closer.

"Thia turn back!" But it was too late.

On the floor, Michelle was tied up in rope and her mouth was stuffed with a rag. Standing next to her was a boy, probably no older than Thia, with black hair, pale skin, and dark blue eyes. The rest of his face was covered by a black ninja-like mask. He was dressed in all black and none of his skin was visible. On Michelle's other side stood a burly man dressed the same way. He had brown hair, tan skin, and brown eyes. He seemed to be the muscle while the other guy was the brains.

Thia stood in a fighting stance. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The black-haired boy laughed and Thia felt herself relax. Just then, she heard Leo call, "Thia, what's happening?" She tried to warn him, but her mouth wouldn't move. As the rest of her friends ran into the cockpit, she saw them freeze. Too late she realized that he was using a glamour. This confused her though, because they all had the Garan device, a device that blocked the effect of glamour and prevented the use of bioelectric manipulation.

"Now," the boy said. "Let's go."

In a blink of an eye, they were transported to a dark, bare room with nothing in it but dust and cobwebs in the corner.

Thia found that the boy's hold on them was gone when she said, "What do you want with us?"

He turned back to face her and smiled thinly. "That's for me to know, and you to find out." And then he was gone.

Thia screamed in anger and annoyance. She hated it when people did that. But she couldn't get those words out of her head.

That's for me to know, and you to find out.

She stood up suddenly.

She would find out.

A/N:

Hello! Thanks for sticking with me this far! I hope you have enjoyed the story so far and know that there is more action to come!! *stares mysteriously*

I would like to give a shoutout to a close friend of mine, Caticorn_Meow. Thanks for being my first fan and unofficial editor!!

Enjoy the story!

~Bookworm 😜