That night, when thick cloud obscured the moon, Mervyn and Loren made their move. They crept along the side of the main hut in total darkness. The only light came from searchlights sweeping rhythmically across the compound. When they reached the corner of the building they paused. Between the last hut and the outer fence there was no cover. Infrared cameras watching them through the darkness were the main danger. During a scout around earlier in the day neither had spotted any cameras, but they could still be there. They turned their collars up to look like guards and carried sticks that they hoped could be mistaken for blasters. They stepped out from their cover and made for a small postern gate set in to the fence which guards used during the day. There was no going back now.
‘Stand tall and look confident,’ Mervyn whispered. They sauntered slowly across the open compound trying to move like Velcats. Mervyn hoped he looked more confident than he felt; inside his stomach churned and he could feel himself trembling. If the guards caught them now they would be shot -- probably where they stood. The beam from the nearest searchlight swept over them and carried on.
They reached the gate without incident. Mervyn passed the key to Loren, ‘You’ll have to do it, my hand’s shaking too much.’ Loren pushed the card into the slot. Nothing happened.
‘Why isn’t the thing working?’ Mervyn asked.
‘I don’t know. I’ll try it the other way,’ Loren said fumbling with the card.
Mervyn could see the search beam travelling back towards them, ‘Hurry up!’
‘You could have done it.’ Suddenly, the key slipped out of Loren’s grasp. She muttered a profanity and dived to the floor. She scrabbled around in the dirt to find it. Mervyn watched like a frightened animal as the light beam swung towards them. He wanted to shout at Loren to hurry up, but he knew it would only slow her down, so he bit his tongue. He leant against the gate to steady himself. They were going to be discovered. Loren found the key, knelt up, and banged it into the lock, ‘Got it.’
They crowded through the gate together. ‘Walk,’ Mervyn commanded, as much to slow his own pace as hers. Every step took an age. His heart pounded in his ears, and the beam swung neared. Every nerve in his body screamed for him to run, but he forced himself to put one foot slowly in front of the other. He could feel the tension in Loren like a coiled spring, and knew she felt the same urge to flee.
The beam swung harmlessly over their heads and Mervyn released the tension with a sigh. He wanted to laugh with relief, but they still had to tackle the outer gate. The key worked first time and soon the shuffling of the Uregs covered their flight. As soon as they broke free of the tangled roots they ran and followed the ridge until they reached the glade they had cleared that morning. New Uregs already shuffled in from the edges to take advantage of the improved light left by their more unfortunate kin. Below they could see the lights of the big house and they scrambled down the ridge towards it.
‘Psst!’ Mervyn hissed. ‘Anyone awake?’ From the other side of the grilled window came the sound of movement. ‘Aurora, are you in there?’
‘Is that you Mervyn?’ Aurora said sleepily. ‘I guessed you sent that girl. What is happening?’ Her pale face appeared behind the bars.
‘We’re going to escape from Pershwin, but I need to talk to my dad to arrange it.’
‘Are we on Pershwin? He is on the other side of the building. You cannot get to him, but I can pass him a message.’ Mervyn explained about the Puncheon, how Starlight was the Naga’s Helium3 payment, and his fears for Ethrigia. Then he outlined the escape plan and passed the key through the grid so Aurora could test it on the doors. He waited anxiously for her to return.
‘It works on my door, Tarun’s door, and the door into the courtyard. There is a guard in the yard so I could not try it on the courtyard door itself. The guard changes sometime, but I don’t know when.’
‘Keep a note for when we come back,’ Mervyn instructed. ‘We’ll just have to chance the courtyard door when we arrive.’
‘This is another of your plans without an ending, is it not?’
‘They’re the best.’
‘No they are not, Mervyn. The best plan is to wait for my uncle to pay the ransom. Then, when Tarun and I return safely to Ethrigia, we tell him about the Naga’s deal.’
‘Aurora, you just don’t get it yet, do you,’ Loren hissed. ‘There is no ransom.’
‘But he said I had value-- ‘
‘Not that sort,’ Mervyn said. ‘You’re his safety net in case everything goes wrong, but if his plan works and the Centaph overrun Ethrigia you’re useless.’
Loren tugged at Mervyn’s sleeve. ‘We gotta get going, Merv, it’s nearly dawn. Aurora can stay if she wants.
Mervyn shook his head, ‘I’m not leaving her, Loren, I’m not leaving anyone. Aurora, will you pass the message to my dad?’ Aurora nodded. ‘Good, then we’ll be back for you as soon as we can.’
‘Mervyn,’ Aurora said, ‘how are you going to get back in to the slave compound?’
‘Ah, well that’s another plan without an ending,’ he said with a grimace, ‘see you soon.’ Reluctantly the friends parted.
Breaking in to the slave compound was every bit as nerve racking as breaking out. Dawn silhouetted the surrounding hills and they had to fight against a tide of Uregs making for the early sun on the ridge, but darkness still claimed the slave compound. A search light almost caught them running the wire corridor between the gates. They threw themselves on the ground and prayed, but although the ground around lit up like daylight no alarm was raised -- maybe the shift end made the guards sleepy or maybe they believed no one would be crazy enough to break in to a slave compound. Whatever the reason Mervyn only relaxed once they made the safety of their own hut. He threw himself into bed, exhausted, and tried to get an hour’s sleep.