Contributor: Spacebrown


“You're definitely 'in' John.” Vincentio crooned. “You don't expect to just teleport out of here do you?”

“Liar!” John snarled. “You've come to taunt me – waving a bone before a half-starved dog!”

“Get out of here, and you'll get a hero's welcome John. The family believes you can do it. Escape.” John lunged at the form but before he could reach it the glowing tiepin flashed with a blinding white light. John got up off the floor – the other man was gone.

“Escape.” John whispered to himself. That was all he wanted. Freedom. He had to get down these stairs, into the bunker, disable the technician, cut the power to the next automatics, and then all that was left was the third wall. The third wall.

They actually used a human guard on the third wall. John had passed the first, and was in the corridors of the second tower. He could hear more prisoners behind him by now. He had to get up the stairs before one of the other idiot prisoners tripped the trap. He could do this. He had studied the placement of every single immobilizer. He knew he could get out in time. He took off up the stairs.

After three minutes, John was within sight of the bunker. As he approached the lights clicked back on. It was now of never. John leaped at the door and crashed in on it. The new technician whirled around in surprise and jumped from his chair.

“Fatal mistake.” John whispered. As the technician whipped out his ray gun he felt a warm trickle down his chest. John's makeshift knife was lodged in the man's neck. “Sleep.” He crooned as the guards eyes rolled into the back of his head.

John sat at the controls. He could see the other prisoners on the stairs. They could be useful. He turned off the immobilizers. He threw the main power breaker for the next room. Knife in hand, he pushed open the door. He had another 37 seconds before the droids he had just deactivated would wake up.