Chapter 14 - Escape

Erika clung tightly to her captors shoulders. Usually in this situation she would have let herself fall away, but he was running much faster than she would have expected; across roof tops that were very far from the ground. To let go meant sure death. She knew who had taken her from the tower; shed met him many months ago when this plan had first been devised. During that time hed refused to help because hed seen no personal gain from it. However due to the most recent circumstances, which she had created, it was clear that hed excepted her offer, and that shed already poisoned him. The run would take a day or so to reach their destination and itd only been a few hours. Erika was already growing board.

So, about how much longer do you think this is going to take? She asked impatiently.

He grunted in response to her. He really didnt want to talk, so she tried another question. So am I heavy, I mean youve been carrying, me for quite sometime now.

He grunted again.

Is that all youre going to say to me? There was no response.  You know I have two legs; you could put me down if Im heavy. I know how to walk.

If I put you down youll try to run. He laughed clearly not fooled by her.

If I try to run I wont make it to far, so itd be pointless. Im very sure youre way faster than me.

Once again he laughed through his teeth at her sad attempt, Im not going to put you down, end of story.

Erika rolled her eyes in disagreement. She knew how pathetic her attempt to escape was. She was just testing his mind. Her very poor attempts didnt even get him thinking about her not being as smart as hed been informed. Escaping from Red X would be much more difficult than shed expected. She knew he was fast and would be hard to fool, but apparently her poisoning had a much greater effect on him than it had on any other one of her cronies. Erikad been one of them previously but something at the tower had brought her back to her normal state of mind.

What are there no more completely ridiculous, and simple minded plans? He asked sarcastically.

If only he knew what was going on in her mind. She had no more need to act dumb; shed tested him enough. She didnt need her powers to be clever, but they did give her an advantage. She knew exactly where he was taking her. That allowed her to develop an amazing plan. It would require them making it to their destination before she made her escape. The longer she listened to what he was thinking the more precise her plan became. He would be clue less.

She no longer needed to cling closely to him. Shed grown use to the speed. Naturally loosening her grip on him. She was still incredibly board, but she waited patiently.

* * *

Robin had no idea where Erika could have gone. He was sure that hed left her perfectly safe in the room just a couple of hours ago. There was something terribly wrong. Why would she suddenly disappear? He thought Erika liked it here why would she just take off? Then again he could be completely over thinking the situation. She could have just left to go on a walk or something. Then again that wasnt Erika; that actually happening was highly unlikely.

Robin ran to the garage where he stored the R-cycle. He quickly slid the snugly fitting helmet over his head. Without thinking he started it up and sped off. He would find her. However he had no clue to where she could have gone.

* * *

Erika and Red X had reached the mountain, her hideout; very soon it would be time to act. After several more minutes they reached the place Erika had seen. This was where she planed to make her escape. There was a large dusty red boulder in front of them. This was the entrance to her hideout. Once inside the entrance there would be a very small path. It wasnt large enough to walk strait forward on it so hed have to shift to the side. That meant he could no longer carry her on his back. The tunnel was very dark and since he was new to the group itd be very difficult for him to navigate. However that was not the case for her. Shed spent three years learning the path. That had been a big part of her training. Shed taught her how to use her powers to navigate in the dark. She had planned to get rid of all of Erikas weaknesses however shed never imagined that Erika would end up as the enemy.

Red X stared at the entrance. He quickly got as close to it without going in and swung her off his back. He made sure she was inside the cave before he sat her feet on the ground. Then he swiftly followed her in. They both shifted their stands to the side and began to walk down the long path. Red X didnt look very comfortable in the path. His body was slightly shaking, no doubt hoping not to get them lost. His eyes were very wide and alert sometimes watching the path, but mostly watching her. Not that he could actually see her. Every once and a while hed stick his hand out to touch he cape, making sure she was still there. Erika on the other hand was very comfortable. She walked confidently completely sure of what she was looking for. It was so dark in the tunnel that sight was no longer a sense had at your disposal, however that made no difference to her. She kept her eyes shut tightly. Through the careful training she had received she was able to use her powers like her eyes. Inside her mind she could see her surroundings clear as day.

A few moments past and Erika found what she was looking for. She felt the cool wind on her face and in her mind she saw the passage. It was an opening in the top of the cave that would be where she would escape. She had discovered the small passage when she had first lived here. It was a short cut that led to the top of the rock theyd entered in. From there she would hopefully be able to escape back to the tower. There was only one problem with escaping, Red X was following closely behind her and she would need to be extremely quick for him not to notice her absence. However if he did notice her, she was trapped she hadnt allowed for a plan B in case of failure.

Erika felt Red X reach out and touch her cloak, perfect. He wouldnt do that again for several minutes Erika was sure to make it. She felt the wind on top of her and saw the passage. Quickly she jumped making no sound. She found the ledge and placed her self on it. Then she looked back down the tunnel. Hed continued past her, he hadnt noticed her escape. Erika turned her face up. Although her eyes still werent open she saw the winding tunnel with carefully placed ledges. They werent large enough to sit on like this one, however she would use them as hand and foot holds so she could make her way up the tunnel.

The climb would take several minutes if not and hour because she had to be very careful. Soon Red x would notice she was gone and hed be listening for her. So she carefully began the climb. It was pretty much a strait, vertical climb so it was very difficult. Erika let her mind wander slightly as she climbed for two purposes. One, to keep watch for Red X, hed already noticed she gone and was looking for her, and two, to think. She hadnt had much time lately. Her mind had become quite fogged. At first it was she was under mind poisoning, however once that cleared she became under another type of poisoning.

She looked up the shaft with her eyes open it was still dark, the opening wasnt for a couple of miles yet. She shut her eyes again not wanting to lose track of where she was in the dark. Erika had lost track of Red X hed grown too far away from her to continue tracking him. If she had continued it would have been a waste of energy that she needed for climbing.

The minutes continued to slowly pass. The view she had of the tunnel hadnt changed yet. She still couldnt see the light of the opening. Erika was beginning to wonder if shed gotten lost. However there were no side tunnels off this one, besides the one at the bottom that is, so there was no way she could have gotten lost. As she continued up the tunnel she began to see the small opening and felt the cool wind coming in from the outside. She didnt focus on the light or the cool wind. She had to keep her mind focused on climbing. It had been nearly an hour so naturally she was growing tiered. Now that she could see the outside she no longer used her powers to see. It took up too much energy. She could see a little but it was still very dark.

Erika grew ever closer to the light. It was no longer a dim pinhole, but a hole about the size of a sewer opening. The ledges that shed used as foot and hand holds now grew smaller and thinner, but they still supported her weight. She reached up and touched the top of the rock through the opening. She pulled all of her weight from her feet to her hands until she was out. She breathlessly collapsed on to the rock. Sweat rolled in buckets off her face. The climb had been more of a strain on her body than she would have expected. Her training at the tower hadnt been nearly as intense as it wouldve been here, she was growing out of shape. She fought to ketch her breath, but it just wouldnt return to normal. Then she heard a soft rustle coming from behind her. The sound of foot steps.

She rolled from her back to her stomach. Her eyes rose from ground level to meet the faces of two figures. One dressed all in black he wore gloves and a cape. He also had a mask with a large x on it. No doubt this was Red X. The other figure had a much slimmer build than he did, but she was still quite muscular. She wore tight black leather pants. A spaghetti strapped shirt that was made out of a material that also clung tightly to her figure. She had on leather boots that had about four inch heels yet she still walked gracefully. Her strait chocolate hair hung down to her thighs and her bangs swept across her face while still hanging in her eyes. Compared to Erika she was very pale but still beautiful. She wore a black mask that tightly covered her mouth and nose. That however wasnt the most unique part about her. She had one eye that matched the color of her hair and burred into Erikas face. The other one was an emerald green. It loosely wandered around never really focusing on anything. She knew exactly what that eye was used for; in fact shed experienced what it could do. She was by far the most terrifying person shed even met.

Noticing the pure fear in Erikas eyes a light smirk played across her face. In a high pitched, but still very seductive voice she spoke, Well child, it seems youve finally stumbled back home. How Ive missed you.

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