~Chapter 4- Escape! ~

The Lands of Ranuulo fell into near-pitch darkness as night fell. Jirro, Valr, and Iggy hunkered down on the hill for the night, waiting for day to come and for the sky to turn to a muddied red and purple.

Jirro watched the Khalm closely. Guards ferried the dead bodies of beetles onto the facility and dropped them through the same hatch that Aero and Gweneva fell through. Two guards manned a control panel in front of the hatch.

It was a two-tiered hatch, opened and closed so that they were never open at the same time. If they wanted to set their friends free, they'd need to be opened simultaneously.

The area around the hatch wasn't especially well defended; most of the guards were manned around the perimeter of the Khalm.

Jirro turned to the others, "I think our best chance in breaking them free is to target the hatch controls themselves. Two of us will need to open the hatch together before the rest of the Khalm guards show up. Valr, do you think you could fly us overhead near the hatch?"

Valr nodded, "I can do that."

Iggy rapped his tail on the ground, "You know if we open up those hatches, we won't be just setting our friends free. We'll give everyone in there a chance to escape."

"We'll just have to hope Aero and Gweneva get out quickly," Jirro said, "Are you two ready?"

Iggy and Valr stood tall, "Let's do this!"

Valr grabbed each of their wrists and flew into the air over the desolate landscape until they were above the Khalm. He dived down towards one of the access hatches. As they drew close, the guards pointed and panicked at what was coming.

Valr slowed his descent, and the three landed on the Khalm. Guards surrounded them. Jirro and Valr knocked them aside with ease, and Iggy used his extendable arms to grab them and toss them away.

Jirro picked keys off two unconscious guards and hurried to the hatch controls. There were two key slots - both needed to be used to open the hatches.

"Valr, come here," Jirro tossed one of the keys to him, "Help me with this."

They each inserted their keys and twisted, and mechanical whirring stirred within the panel.

"You guys better hurry up!" Iggy shouted as more guards made their way towards them.

Jirro fidgeted with the various buttons on the control panel until both hatches opened. He gripped one of the keys within its slot and torqued on it, snapping it in half; they shouldn't be able to stop it from opening now.

"We need to buy time for Aero and Gweneva to get out!" Jirro shouted as he turned to the approaching guards.

Droves of Ranuulans wearing black armor charged at them, weapons raised. As soon as Jirro saw their weapons, he knew they were no threat; only those of weak constitution needed such tools. He was able to knock them unconscious with single blows. But the sheer number of them was troublesome.

From the access hatched emerged several figures. Regenek with pale scaly skin, as if they hadn't seen natural light in years. They lashed out at both Jirro's friends, and the Khalm's guards.

More inmates of the Khalm burst out of the entrance, with some being kicked down the hole they emerged from. An Arachna prisoner with sharpened bones in its hands lunged at Iggy, but he used his extendable arms to grab them at a distance and toss them back into the prison.

Valr used a Focus Burst to knock back several guards and asked, "What's taking Aero and Gweneva so long?"

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Aero, Gweneva, and Nega stepped out of the overturned building they slept in and looked up. Light streamed in through one of the access hatches into the Khalm. Aero smiled.

Jirro must be behind this.

The prisoners of the Khalm all clambered to escape. Regenek and Ranuulans jumped as high as they could, but few could reach the hatch. Arachna inmates climbed the ceiling to their freedom.

The three ran along the ground in the direction of the opened hatch. Many of the Khalm's prisoners jumped into the air to escape the hatch, but only the strongest could manage the 10-meter distance. But some that managed to escape were kicked back down.

Khalm prisoners climbed on top of each other, forming a great pile directly beneath the hatch as they fought to escape.

"I don't know how we're going to get past all the other prisoners," Gweneva shouted, "They're not going to be able to keep that open forever either!"

"I'll get us out." Nega said.

Nega levitated into the air and grabbed both Aero and Gweneva by their wrists. Without warning, he flew into the air towards the exit. Many tried to grab onto them as they flew, but Nega skillfully evaded them. They flew from the darkness of the Khalm back to the outside world.

All around the opened access hatch were a mass of guards, with prisoners scrambling to escape. Aero spotted three individuals who seemed to be guarding the control panel to the hatch. Two Ralosian boys with blonde and brown hair and a familiar-looking Regenek. Jirro, Valr, and Iggy.

Aero dropped down near them, kicking away a guard who was coming up behind Jirro. Their eyes met. "Cuz!"

"I knew you'd get us out!" Aero exclaimed. Gweneva and Nega came up behind him.

Jirro looked to the impish-looking Ranuulan levitating in the air, "Who's your friend?"

"Nega. He's coming with us," Aero smiled.

Iggy whipped a few guards with his elongated tail, "No reason for us to stick around. Let's get out of here!"

Nega gripped Gweneva and Aero's wrists, and Valr grabbed Jirro and Iggy. The six of them took to the air and promptly flew from the Khalm. Aero looked back and saw the access hatch closing as they flew away. He wasn't in there long, but he already had enough of that place.