Free Thera by Jonathan G. Meyer

“Planning always sounds easy, Timothy. It is the implementation that is hard.”

Chapter Eight
     
    The party from Avalon spent the day snacking, talking, and taking turns resting. Time seemed to stretch and slow down to make for an incredibly long day. Dusty and Timothy went to work so they would not draw suspicion from their absence. They returned after dark and brought with them the two recruits from the village.
    Hours after the town fell asleep and became silent, Al uttered the phrase that put his cybernetic body into enhanced mode, and they slipped out to accomplish their mission. Falkor and Dusty were disappointed they could not go, but the risks were too high. They reluctantly remained behind.
    Eight intruders against an estimated fifty, but they were ready and confident. Splitting up as planned, they melted into the shadows, each one intent on their part of the operation.
    The fast acting darts did their job, and the two by the main door went down before they realized what was happening. Al heard a double thump as two more around the corner fell to the effects of the sleep drug. Soon they were gathered by the door as Edward activated the mechanism that opened the door. Things were starting well.
    Past the exterior hatch, a corridor curved in both directions, with the chamber of the sacred box directly before them behind metal doors.
    There were no lights visible from the outside, as a secret facility should be, but the inside was well lit, removing all chance of concealment. Al surprised even his friends when he winked at his wife, and in a blur of motion he disappeared; headed to perform his part in the plan and secure the prisoners before they could become hostages.
    “He is fast.” said a startled Kira.
    Twenty feet down the gently curving corridor to their left was a uniformed guard in the process of pulling his weapon. A fast moving body slammed into him, and with a grunt, the surprised guard was thrown against the wall. He bounced and lay unmoving—knocked cold by a man he never saw coming.
    “Yes—very fast,” said Elizabeth proudly. “Come, we must hurry.”
     
****
     
    Al was in the zone. His senses were supercharged as he made his way to the room where the rebels were being detained. His skin, loaded with tiny sensors, felt the wind rushing by as his feet tapped the floor, and so wrapped up in the sensation that before he could stop he bowled over a second guard. The unwitting man had entered the corridor at just the wrong time and after colliding with Al seemed to be unconscious. He shot him with a dart to be sure.
    He made it to the room where the prisoners were and stopped. For a moment, he listened and heard only silence. They were either asleep or moved somewhere else.
    He checked the hallway in both directions one more time and then tapped lightly on the door, “Darius, are you in there?”
    A muffled reply asked, “Master Clark, is that you?”
    The voice did not sound familiar.
    “Is Darius Forman inside there?”
    “No…my friend, he did not rejoin us after his audience with the king.”
    “He’s not here?”
    “Darius was called to the throne room yesterday. He did not return.”
    “Are you friends of Darius?” asked Al.
    “Yes. We were to join him in the rebellion. Can you get us out?” begged the voice.
    “Stand back from the door, and get ready to move. We have to find Darius.”
    They had equipped the door with a hasp and a crude lock; the original mechanism disabled decades ago. It was no match for Al. He planted his foot on the wall beside the handle and pulled, and the latch separated from the frame with little complaint.
    Inside were two haggard men happy to be free. They were in their mid-thirties and now wide awake. The man that spoke through the door asked, “Are you The Traveler from another world that Darius told us about?”
    “Simply put, yes I am. Do you know where Darius might be? We’re kind of on a schedule.”
    “It is happening now? The revolt to