“Are you alright?” Tynan crouched beside me and I nodded. “Good, we need to keep moving,” he said and hiseyes lingered on mine as if he was seeing me for the first time.
Finally my breathing slowed and my heart was beating in a steady rhythm. I was still shaking, and my fingers were wrapped around the hilt of the kitchen knife so hard that the blade had become a part of my body. Then we left the kitchen and I was surprised to find the prison had a dining area. We moved through the rows of tables in the cramped space, Tynan led the way as Sol scouted ahead. Frid followed me, half turning, her eyes searching every corner, every curve of the wall. Victor was behind her with his sword ready.
Only minutes had passed since we left the cell, but at the same time it felt like a whole lifetime. The undead were coming out of the shadows and poorly lit empty spaces. The ones who could not run reached out with bony arms trying to make us fall as we moved around them.
The hum and muffled roaring got even louder when we came upon a long corridor. An enforced metal door was clearly visible at the end of it.
“Frid, get to the door!” Tynan shouted.
Tynan and Sol stepped behind us, putting us at the head of the group. The screeching and sounds of many feet on the stone floor were getting closer. It seemed as if hundreds of monsters were after us.
My lungs were burning when I reached the door. I grabbed the handle, tugging and pulling. It was locked. Frid pushed me away, attacking the lock.
“Gods!” I cried, banging on the steel barrier with my fists.
“Open the door!” Tynan shouted.
I did not need to look back to see that the herd of monsters were pushing them back toward us.
“Damn it!” Frid kicked it.
“Frid! The door!” Victor shouted.
“It’s locked!” the girl yelled.
I examined the hinges on the door, and moved my hand along the frame.
“We need to lift it up!” I shouted, looking for something that could be wedged between the floor and the edge of the door.
“The ax! Quickly!” I turned to Solomon.
Sol stepped closer, focusing on the door frame. The next moment, he placed the lip of his ax in the opening at the bottom, close to the hinges. With effort, he managed to lift the door, and it tilted sideways with a dull, metallic whine.
“Hurry!” Frid pushed me through the opening and followed right behind me.
Solomon got out next. Victor followed and it took another moment for Tynan’s black jacket to appear on the other side.
Only then did I look around and realized that we were on the roof of the building. One side of it was flat, but we were at the highest point of the prison. There was nowhere to go after that.
“Turn!” Tynan shouted.
My eyes darted to Tynan. He was braced against thebroken door, attempting to hold back the dozens of monsters that were trying to push through from the other side. They stuck out their bloody arms and inched their bodies through the opening. Tynan’s feet slid on the surface of the roof. We were out of time.
Frid started to change, her clothes absorbed into her body and her tall frame grew wide when her sandy brown dragon spread its wings. Victor was already half done shapeshifting, he was smaller and metallic gray in color with black stripes on his back. Then my eyes landed on a massive dark brown dragon who was standing where Solomon was just a moment ago.
Stupefied, I watched Tynan run straight at me just as a herd of monsters burst through the door and spilled out onto the roof. Everything slowed at that moment, and I could not peel my eyes away from the terrifying picture.
“Get on my back!” Frid shouted, breaking the silence.
“I can fly,” I said watching her lowering her body to the ground.
“Not in your condition.”
Suddenly, a wall of flames appeared between us and the prison door. I watched hypnotized as Tynan sprayed a thick current of flames toward the undead.
“That’s impossible! It can’t be,” I whispered.
“Hurry!” Frid shouted and I climbed on Frid’s back. “Clear!” Frid shouted, soaring up.
