Page 58 of Celtic Dragon
“Yeah.”
“Get in quick, your guys out there can only keep them occupied for so long.” The trapdoor opens some more and one by one all four of us climb inside.
“You friends with Liam?” I ask.
“Yeah. I’m Denis,” he says, extending his hand to me.
Shaking his hand, I ask, “So what now?”
“We get the O’Byrnes out,” Denis says as he holds up a key.
“Lead the way.”
Denis proceeds into the darkness of the tunnel. The only light we have comes from the flashlight he holds in his hand. We walk for several minutes, getting deeper and deeper into the prison.
Nobody speaks; we just follow Denis one by one until we come to a gate. Denis pulls out a ring of keys and opens the gate. We walk through the tunnel, turning right, then left, left, and then right again until we approach another gate. With the same ring of keys, he selects another key and opens this gate as well. We take a few steps and come to a security door that’s armed with an alarm. The tunnel proceeds to the left. Denis stops at the door.
“How are we getting through?” Rebel asks. “That door looks armed.”
“The alarm has been disengaged. See?” he says as he opens the door. He ushers us through and now we’re standing in one of the hallways of the prison. On the wall in front of us reads a sign:Cell Block C – Closed.
“This way,” he says, turning right down the hallway. As we follow down the hallway, a guard up ahead turns the corner and quickly approaches us. I notice he’s carrying a semi-automatic pistol in his right hand.Oh, fuck!
“You need to move fast,” he says to Denis.Thank God.They must be friends.
“Why?” Denis asks.
“There’s an uprising in B Block. Prisoners are waging war.”
“What the fuck?” Denis says.
“It’s chaos. You don’t have much time and I can’t guarantee they’ll get out. Move fast.”
Denis nods and says to us, “You heard the man. Let’s go.”
We pick up the pace, walking quickly down the long hallway. At the end of the hall is another door. Opening the door, Denis says, “Head left.” We do as he says, walking past several empty cells as Denis follows behind us.
I get to the end of the hall first. Peering at the cell to my right, I spot a man. Sitting next to him is a woman who looks remarkably like Ace. Rebel comes up behind me and the woman whispers, “Balefire?”
“Ma! Da! We’re getting you out! Hang tight,” Rebel exclaims. Denis walks up with the key and opens the cell. My aunt and uncle just stand there staring at me.What the fuck?
“Come on!” Rebel yells. “We don’t have much time!”
They look to us in confusion, and Aillise’s eyes fixate on me more closely. “Caden?” she asks. I nod.
“Ma, come! You can have your reunion once we get out of this bloody hellhole. Go!” She shakes her head as if disoriented, and Rebel seems to realize that he’s yelling at her. She rushes out of the cell and my uncle follows. We proceed down the hall back the way we came.
When we get to the last door, Denis says, “This is where I have to leave you. Can you get back to the tunnel?” I nod. Liam had told us that Denis wasn’t going to be able to escort us out, so I’d made sure to take a mental note of our steps when we came in. “Instead of going back through the tunnel the way you came, go right and follow that tunnel. At every turn, go right. It will lead you to the trapdoor that you’ll be able to leave from. Godspeed.” He hands me his flashlight and turns back toward the cell block.
“We’re on our own now,” I say grimly. “Guns ready.” Rebel, Ryder, Doc, and I remove the safety on our AKs. We’re armed and ready. Doc, Ryder, and I lead while Rebel follows behind Aillise and Connor. They don’t say a word, they just follow. They’re putting their lives in our hands. I know we’re here to get them, but I never realized until now the importance of what we’re doing. We’re saving the lives of two people. I’m not sure I can say they’re innocent, but they’re my family. Rebel’s family.
Once we get back into the tunnels, I lead as Denis instructed, going right at every intersection we encounter. As we move quickly through the tunnels, I begin to hear footsteps quickly approaching us. We start moving more swiftly, and temporary relief hits when we turn every corner—but it’s always snuffed out by the approaching footsteps.
We continue to move quickly, guns still at the ready. I can sense that we are getting to the end and again relief washes over me. Turning the last corner, the footsteps continue to get louder. Suddenly, shots begin to ring out.What the fuck!
They’re right on our heels as we approach the hatch.
I turn back to see what’s coming and spot four figures, all armed and running directly toward us. I quickly turn back to the hatch and work hard to get it open. Once it opens, I force my aunt and uncle to go through first. Doc and Ryder follow, then Rebel. Just as I’m about to climb through, I feel the wind of gunshots flying past me.This can’t be happening now! We are so close!I turn back instantly and fire my entire clip into the four men charging at us. All of them hit the ground. I’ve always been a good shot.
