"Once I get you in this room, we'll get some bandages on that arm and then-" The guard was knocked unconscious quickly as Ty brought his hand down on the side of his neck in a fist. He had learned from combat class that a closed fist strike to the side of the neck would essentially short circuit the human body. Stunning the person by knocking them unconscious quickly without causing too much damage. He then pulled the guard's arm up to the door using his digital ID to unlock the medical room dragging his body inside. He closed the door behind them, then proceeded to take off the guard's boots, using the laces from the boots to secure his hands and legs to each other, effectively hog-tying him.
'Alright step one complete, now I just got to go out there and risk it all, by walking around the literal Ministry compound to find Cyrus. I don't know where I came up with this crazy idea but I better not get caught.' After thinking that to himself calmly he straightened out his uniform and exited the medical room.
He started carefully coming up to each corner and listening before cautiously peeking around it to see if there was anybody else walking in the hallways. Luckily with it being mid-morning many of the people, he suspected, had gone for their lunch hour. It meant the halls were sparsely populated. Only a few times Ty had to duck into another room to hide from passersbys. Lucky for him only important rooms had pass-required entry in the Ministry compound. Most of the rooms were just regular doors, assuming that everyone who had entered this building had been scanned and vetted by the guards at the entrance. Either way to be safe he had taken the guards digital ID to use it if needed without leaving any traces of own ID.
Rounding one of the corners Ty finally found a fire safety map on the wall. He located a section of the building where the rooms were labeled as holding cells. Listing their numbers chronologically, it seemed they were over 20 of them. Just as he mentally mapped the route to get to the cells in the building the intercom chimed overhead.
"Unauthorized personnel have been detected in the facility. Unauthorized personnel have been detected in the facility, please locate and detain any unauthorized personnel immediately."
"Oh crap here we go. I'm pretty sure I know who they're talking about with that announcement" Ty Said to himself out loud.
He immediately quickened his place now, running down the hallway and then turning to the left towards the cells, where he had seen them on the building layout. He rounded the corner and unfortunately, he ran straight into two of the guards who were at the entrance before. They were now roaming the halls looking for him and the other missing guard.
"Just what are you doing running around back here?" the guard he had collided with said while reaching for him.
"You're being detained under the authority of the Ministry. I understand you were probably just scared but it is against regulations for you to be unattended in the Ministry compound." the other guard said moving up to him on the opposite side from the first guard.
"Remember young pup, the Wisps will bend to your will." The familiar voice of the Wolf chimed in his head.
This time it was more like a memory and less like him being directly spoken to. Ty suddenly, in what only took a fraction of a second, sensed all the previous injuries that the two guards had ever had before. It flooded into his mind acting more like part of his instinctual subconscious, no different than reaching to catch a ball he could reach into the guards past and select an injury. One guard had fallen when he was in Military University breaking his knee in a basketball game. The other had been volunteering, helping build housing at the edge of the city and stepped on a nail through a board piercing straight through his foot. Ty thought to himself they need to feel these injuries once again.
The Wisps quickly wrapped around the two guards in the exact spots where they had the injuries after having left Ty's hands. This time he could see them backing up in fear reaching for the wisps as they wrapped around their bodies. After their failed attempts to brush off the Wisps, they were left with the injuries they had previously had many years ago. The pain sent them both to the ground, hollering. Capitalizing on that opportunity, he rushed past them, Ty entered the hallway that had the cells.
Each cell had a small window interlaced with thin wires to reinforce it. Quickly looking into each one, he paused when he finally found the face he was looking for. Cyrus was lying on a bed with his arms behind his head staring at the ceiling.
"Hey Cy, fancy meeting you here" Ty said
"Is that you Ty? Why are you in the Ministry–wait. Did you break into the Ministry compound?" Obvious confusion was written on Cyrus's face.
"Excellent deduction! It's time to get you out of here" Ty said as he used the guards digital ID that he had in his pocket to scan the lock opening the door. Cyrus jumped to his feet and joined him in the hallway.
"Okay, what's the next step in your brilliant plan in this great escape?"
"Sorry man but there's no next steps, or brilliant escape plan here. Just sheer grit and determination to get you out of here so I can finally have you answer the questions that have been plaguing me." Ty answered with a smirk.
"If you did all this just to ask some questions then they better be pretty important to risk the Ministry. Do you have any idea what they'll do to you if they catch you?" Cyrus shook his head and continued, "you know what?...never mind if you're crazy enough to come in here, then you're crazy enough to get whatever you want out of me. Let's get the fuck out of here before were both captured"
**
Following the plan that the group had made, they decided first to figure out what these other students that knew Cyrus were doing about the situation. When they had sought them out they came to a startling realization.
"What do you mean he's just marching up to the Ministry compound, is your friend nuts? Best case scenario is he gets himself killed. Worst case scenario, all of us are dragged along to the dirt with him." Chibaya Said to Mark and Tara. They both had their jaws left wide open in shock. Clearly they had underestimated the severity of the situation the second that Ty left for the Ministry compound.
After recovering for a moment Mark countered saying, "look Ty is a pretty resourceful guy I'm sure he can pull this off."
"Yeah we have faith in him. We trust our friend." Tara thoughtfully added.
"Do you guys hear yourselves: faith, trust. That's like standing in front of a bullet and saying I just know their guns are going to jam. You guys got to wake up to reality. We need to do something about this. If they are going to make it out of there we have to be ready and waiting for them outside the Ministry compound." Isamu shouted at them while placing his face in his palm.
"We will probably have to leave the entire city at this point." Fiona sighed.
"Well, get your things packed. I hope you have a go-bag ready? Looks like graduation day is coming early for all of you, you're coming with us." Chibaya said resolutely.
"Whoa don't you think it's an overreaction to say we're going to leave the entire city?" Mark argued.
"Yeah I mean it's not like the government does anything that bad to people right? He just wanted to talk to Cyrus. How bad could that be?" Tara said softly with a concerned expression.
"It's like you guys have been living under a rock. Do you not understand who the enemy really is? That they keep telling us all about. Are they seriously so good at pulling the wool over your eyes that you haven't read between the lines at all?" Fiona said with an air of amazement in her voice.
"Look, it's like this. Try and keep up cuz we don't have a lot of time for explanation, cuz we got to get going. The enemies that they keep telling us about are really just the people that keep this big city running. They're the hands that do the work to feed us and we're the ones that reap the rewards of their toil. Who do you think does all the farming, manufacturing, mining and building? You don't see anybody graduating from Military University and going into jobs like that but you have to have known in the back of your mind someone's still doing all that work." Isamu explained.
Realization began to creep across Mark and Tara's expressions. Both thinking back to how much Ty was willing to risk to get the answers they were receiving right now. There was something to what he had been telling them. He wasn't being paranoid or overthinking things. Here, one of the senior Military University students who was already going out on exercises, was telling them that there was something wrong. There was something off about their society. Their government, through the use of force by the Ministry, was keeping things from the population.
With tears welling in her eyes Tara said, "Let me get this straight. You're telling us that the people we've been taught to fear aren't enemies. They're people, communities, citizens which are being forced to produce for our government. All while anyone in the cities is being lied to. Taught to view them…as…" She trailed off as she began to cry. Mark put his hand on her back to console her. "They're not our enemies. Hell we're the fucking enemies." Tara said as she choked on her tears.
"Well sorry to catch you up so quickly. I didn't mean it to come off that harsh, but I guess how do you make oppression not seem harsh right? Anyways if those two managed to escape the Ministry, you better believe that they'll be sending the Shadow Squads after them."
"Don't tell me that they are actually real." Mark knew the answer immediately just from the serious expression on his face. "Fucking hell, that's like finding out the boogeyman's real. Tara, let's grab our go-bags we're definitely leaving now." Tara looked up with swollen eyes from the tears and nodded. They all left their separate ways with plans to regroup immediately and head to the ministry compound.