Captivity Part 7
Trowa crept behind the house and eyed the wall suspiciously. He'd stayed hidden in an old shed until night had fallen. Upon stepping out of the shed he'd found that there was almost no moon at all, the large glowing orb reduced to a small sliver in the sky when it wasn't covered by clouds. It wasn't the ideal time for finding people in the woods, or attempting to follow a trail, but it was the ideal light for escaping, if you didn't mind tripping a few times. Sighing to himself he leaned against the house and tried to figure out what to do.
His chances for finding Heero and Duo past the city were close to nil, and he almost had a better chance of attempting to get Quatre out of the cell and then trying to escape. He couldn't decide what to do.
As he weighed his choices he noticed a small amount of movement near the wall. Trowa froze where he was, slinking back into the dark shadows of the house with his eyes narrowed. He held his breath as he watched the thin hands appear on the top of the wall and the boy pull himself to the top. The boy paused for a mere second to glance around quickly then jumped down and melted into the shadows.
Trowa frowned and slowly inched away from the house. He'd heard of slaves escaping the city but never of trying to escape the forest. Unfortunately the figure had moved too fast so all Trowa could tell in the dim night light was that the figure's hair was quite dark. Staying close in the shadows he advanced toward the figure, being careful to watch the guards who patrolled the walls.
He drew closer and found the thin figure leaning against a tree, trying to catch his breath quietly. As Trowa moved closer the figure froze and turned wide, almost frightened blue eyes toward him.
Heero!
Trowa's own eyes widened in question and he glanced back at the wall, looking for any sign of his brother. After a moment he looked back to see Heero sadly shaking his head. Trowa glanced to the guards and motioned for Heero to follow to a place where they could talk.
Keeping to the shadows Heero followed Trowa back to the shed where he'd spent the rest of the day and they safely locked the door from the inside. Crawling to the very back among the many tools Heero immediately dropped to sit down, massaging his aching legs.
"Where's Duo?"
"Where's Quatre?"
Both paused as they asked their questions at the same time. If it weren't for the current situations it might have actually been funny, but at least it broke a small amount of tension, while building a little more. Each expected the other to be with their sibling, and now both were worried about what had gone wrong.
Heero swallowed and opted to answer first. "He got caught," he whispered in a soft voice filled with guilt. "They were chasing us and he pushed me in the river to make sure I got away, when I finally got back to the last place where I'd seen him he was gone."
Trowa leaned back against a bare spot on the wall and hung his head. "That probably explains a lot then. You didn't find a body?"
Heero shook his head, quite surprised on how well Trowa was taking this. There was a large chance that Duo was dead, or worse. But then, Heero reflected, Trowa had lost most of his family already so maybe, as gruesome as it sounded, he was used to it. Heero didn't like that thought. "No trace, I figured they brought him back to the city."
Trowa frowned deeply.
"Where's Quatre and my father?" Heero asked quietly after a moment. He wasn't eager to hear the answer but he couldn't think of a reason why Trowa would have left his safe house.
Trowa stood up and turned away, leaning his forehead against the wall and punching it, but lightly enough that the objects on the wall only shifted and didn't make any noise. He shut his eyes and looked angry or frustrated for a moment. "Probably in the same cell as Duo," he spat out.
Heero's eyes widened. "How?" he demanded quickly.
"I don't know. Quatre left the house for a while and then people started gathering at the front and back doors. Your father told me to hide and stay out of sight then he went with them without a fight."
Heero stood up and walked to the walls, his eyes moving over the various gardening materials hanging before him. Quietly he picked up a shovel and headed toward a locked area of the shed in the back. Like all good slave owners these ones kept the sharp tools in the very back of the shed in a separate locked compartment, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. He paused at the door and lock and glanced back at Trowa in silent question.
"What are you planning?" Trowa asked, looking at him.
"Getting them out. Duo risked his life to save me; I owe him the same. Besides," he said, swinging the shovel over his shoulder and getting ready to strike. "I can't live out there on my own, and if I'm going to die I'm going to die saving him, not of starvation."
With those words Heero struck, the shovel making a loud clang noise as it connected with the metal lock. Trowa raced to his side and grabbed another shovel, joining in to hit the lock. He knew that eventually the sounds would carry to the main house and if they didn't want to get caught they had to get the door open and get out of there.
The lock broke after a few more hits and Heero tossed the shovel to the side, throwing open the doors. Selecting from the various tools Heero grabbed a hatchet while Trowa opted for a long wooden replacement handle, resembling a staff. Turning around quickly the two raced out of the shed, successfully ducking behind the next house before anyone saw them. From there Trowa took the lead, heading toward the center of town.
The town square was very silent compared to its busy self in daylight. No one walked the streets that night, probably because of the darkness and the thick clouds over head which threatened rain within the hour. Lucky for the two boys they found no one. Sneaking into the Town Square, hugging the edges of buildings and ducking below windows, they made their way toward the main slave holding building.
A wind picked up, blowing harshly and whipping at their skin, smelling distinctly of the rain soon to come. Neither took it as a good sign, least not for escaping the city. Rain would create mud, which would slow their getaway and their process of climbing over the wall, but in the long run it would be beneficial because it would keep the hunters off their tracks when they got over the city wall... if they got over the city wall.
Trowa and Heero came to a pause hidden behind the shadows by the gallows platform, peeking around the corner toward the holding building. Trowa noticed there were two guards, quite awake, who stood at attention. They were heavily armed with their long pole-like spears, their eyes alert despite the almost complete lack of light. Behind them he heard a small gasp from Heero as another sound reached their ears, a soft creaking. Trowa glanced back at Heero to find him crouching stiffly with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in mute fear. He followed Heero's gaze and froze.
Just above them, practically over head where they crouched, was a hanging body, swaying lightly in the strong wind. But it wasn't just the fact of the body itself; it was who the body had been.
Milliardo.
Trowa shuddered, tightening his hand on his weapon to keep himself calm. Quickly his eyes moved to the other two nooses hanging beside Milliardo's body, but to his relief he didn't find anyone hanging from them. That meant Quatre and Duo were probably still alive. Slowly, as not to startle the other boy, Trowa placed his hand on Heero's shoulder.
Heero shook off the touch as soon as he noticed it and shook his head madly, tearing his eyes away from the horrible vision. Small tears glinted down his face in the dim light but he ignored them, shutting his eyes tightly and shivering. Then he was done. A second later Heero took a deep silent breath and composed himself, growing deadly calm.
"You get them, I'll create a distraction." He spoke just above a whisper, directly into Trowa's ear. Trowa had to strain to listen because the wind was picking up and practically swallowed Heero's words, but he got the gist of the message. He didn't have time to argue or ask Heero what he had in mind, so instead he just nodded and glanced back at the guards.
Heero watched Trowa sprint to another shadow, this time closer to the building then nodded to himself. Waiting silently he pondered how he was going to distract them. He hated doing this to his father's body, but he couldn't think of any other way to draw their attention. So instead he held the hatchet tightly in his hands and glanced up at the noose, which held Milliardo suspended.
The body was held up in the air by a thick woven rope which looped around the main support beam. The rope was only as thick around as a few fingers, but strong enough to hold the body up for a good time. Keeping that in mind Heero darted across the square, hiding in a shadow where he could easily see the rope but was out of sight of the guards. Standing up completely he raised the hatchet and concentrated on the rope. Pursing his lips he threw the hatchet, praying it would hit its mark.
There was a loud thunk and both guards turned toward the gallows platform, watching it suspiciously. Heero held his breath and froze, his eyes locked on the blade. It had landed almost perfectly, but the rope hadn't snapped. Heero watched quietly as one of the guards stepped toward the gallows to check out the sound, meanwhile there was the soft sound of the rope straining. It had cut the rope! Just not close enough to make the body fall.
The guard climbed up onto the platform and moved around a bit, appearing to look around for what had made the sound. Heero couldn't clearly see since the night had grown darker, a cloud settling above them in the sky. Almost complete darkness. While the guard's back was turned there was the sound of a SNAP! The guard whirled around but neither he nor Heero could see what was going on.
Heero watched the guard jump down from the platform and race for his post, then there was another loud SNAP! Followed by complete silence. Heero stayed crouched in his hiding spot, his eyes on what he could see of the holding building. He had a suspicion that the sounds had come from Trowa, but there was no way to be sure. So instead he stayed still, waiting just in case something went wrong.
~*~
Trowa snapped his long stick against the back of the second guard's neck and watched the man crumble to the ground, unconscious on top of his fallen partner. Dropping down quickly Trowa checked their belts and came up with the keys. Holding them tightly in his hands so they didn't make a sound he snuck into the building.
To his surprise he found no other guards inside. He resisted the urge to give a small laugh, were they really that stupid as to not leave a guard on the inside? Trowa stayed frozen for a moment, his eyes searching the darkness. He could smell the unwashed bodies of the people in the cells, small coughs and movements punctuating the silence. From outside the wind was still moving and lightning flashed across the sky. The light shown for a second through the windows and Trowa caught a glimpse of a small amount of blond hair, or at least he thought he did. Rushing over to the bars he whispered as soft as he could.
"Quatre?"
Movement followed his word, movement from all around him. He could make out the faint silhouette of someone moving and turning toward him. Then suddenly two forms rushed up to the bars and he recognized them as Duo and Quatre.
Quatre opened his mouth to say something but Duo immediately clamped his hand over Quatre's mouth, keeping the boy silent. Duo's shining eyes met with his brothers' and then he rose up and led Trowa to the lock for the main cell door.
There was a slight jingle of keys as Trowa tried a few in the lock, then finally a click and the door swung open. Now there was movement all around them, many dark haired figures rising to their feet and moving cautiously toward the door.
"It's about to rain," Trowa murmured to all of them, his eyes fixed on the main door. "If we want to escape we run now. Two unconscious guards outside. I don't know if there are others."
No one answered but their silence seemed to be answer enough. Trowa quickly used the keys to unlock the chains around Duo and Quatre's wrists then they in turn turned and helped the others. While Duo helped everyone out of their chains Quatre wrapped his arms tightly around Trowa, sobbing silently into his chest.
Trowa pulled the boy off to the side with a soft smile and then knelt down, grabbing some mud from the floor. He showed the mud to Quatre in a silent gesture then rubbed it into the boy's hair, turning it to a muddy brown so it was harder to see at night. Quatre still hugged him tightly, afraid to let go.
A moment later Duo joined them and nodded toward the door, indicating everyone was ready to go. With nods from the entire group Trowa stepped outside the door, his eyes covering the area around them. Small drops of rain started to fall from the sky as lightning flashed, illuminating the area around them. No one. No guards had noticed what was going on yet. Nodding back to the others he took Quatre and Duo's hands and they bolted out the door, heading straight for the walls surrounding the city.
Heero spotted them running and quickly jumped to his feet, catching up with them and racing with them as the rain came down harshly from the sky.
The moments after that were blurred into movements, shouts, angry yells, cries and flying weapons. It was everyone for themselves, a huge race for the edge of the city. No one stopped to help the ones that fell, recognizing that it would be death to them as well. A few clasped hands and kept each other running like the four boys, but most were only worried about their own safety. Trowa had abandoned the long wooden pole at the door to the holding building and was now just running full tilt as he held Quatre's hand. Duo had clasped hands with Heero and they followed only a step behind.
The four boys were the first to reach the wall and found no wagon this time. But with the help of each other and a few other freed slaves they all made it over the wall, only losing a few faces they didn't even recognize. Then they were running full tilt through the woods, the sounds still following them. The slaves that did escape fanned out, scattering among the trees and disappearing into the muddy darkness.
They ran the entire night, never looking back, never stopping to take a break. At one point Duo gave a small cry because of the cut on his knee, but still kept running, only clutching Heero's hand tighter. He could deal with the pain, escaping was more important.
They didn't stop until the sun peeked over the horizon, signaling the end of the rain and the beginning of a new day. Only then did the boys slow their pace to a quick walk. Trowa took his own shirt off and ripped off a long strip to wrap around Duo's reopened wound and then they were moving again.
Time passed quickly with little rest. None made a sound as Trowa led them in one direction, their backs to the city. They all recognized that they could still be hunted down, and no one suggested they stop. Trowa had taken the lead, he was the oldest and had the most knowledge, so it was his responsibility to make sure the others made it as well. Occasionally they'd run across the tracks of another who had escaped, but they never pursued them. It was safer to travel alone and not follow each other.
It seemed like years until they finally reached a place, which Trowa deemed safe enough to stop. No one knew how long it had been since they'd escaped, but they knew the sun had set and was now threatening to rise again. The land around them sloped up into a steep hill and Trowa led the stumbling group to an opening in the hill obscured by bushes.
Without any words they all stumbled into the small cave and fell to the ground, welcoming the chance for a rest. Smiling the boys curled up against each other for warmth and two quickly drifted off to sleep, Quatre wrapped in Trowa's arms while Heero snuggled into Duo's.
The two brothers locked eyes and Duo flashed a small smile of gratitude to his older sibling.
They had made it. They'd escaped and they were all still together. They had no idea what the future would bring, how long they'd end up running or how much longer they would live. But they'd escaped this time, and that was all that mattered.
At least for the time being, they were free.
OWARI
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