Release

 PART TWENTY THREE
"I've got the keys!"
Angele wondered if she was still dreaming. She'd had dreams like this before. She turned over on the hard mattress. The door of the cell was open.
"Wake up!" Someone whispered in her ear. She looked up to find Sonia was standing over the bed.
"Sonia. What happened to you?"
"Come on!"
Angele woke Ralf.
"Ralf, Sonia's here."
"Hurry up! We're escaping!"
"What?" Said Ralf.
"Come with me! And keep your voices down."
Ralf and Angele followed Sonia uncertainly, Ralf holding Angele's hand. They almost tripped over the bodies of unconscious guards in the dark outside the cell. After what seemed like forever, they heard footsteps behind them.
"Run!" Sonia yanked Angele forward,
"But Ralf-" she'd lost his hand. Sonia was dragging her away from him. She tried to call him, to find his hand in the dark, but he was gone. Ralf had always helped her, encouraged her, and loved her. Now he was somewhere down the hall as a guard grew ever closer. She heard a shout. A gunshot. A scream burst out of her as air bursts from a balloon. Had they just killed him?
"Come on!" Sonia pulled Angele away. Up some stairs, along a corridor and into the carpeted public waiting area, a large, dimly lit grey and blue room full of sleeping people. Sonia noticed Chantel on the floor and woke her.
"We're escaping, do you want to come with us?"
Chantel looked at her with wide, scared eyes. She must have only been sleeping lightly.
"From the city?"
"Yes."
"Okay. But my friends come too."
"Where are they?"

Etina turned to Evan, who was looking around curiously at the lights, people and buildings. He had never been out of the palace before.
"When do you think they'll come?" She said.
"I don't know."
He pointed at an awning covered in fairy lights.

"Isn't that beautiful, Etina?" He turned in a circle to take in the whole street.
"It's almost a pity to leave everything behind."
Etina leaned on his shoulder.
"There are more beautiful things outside."
"Hmm."
Maybe it was selfish to want to escape, they would probably have a better life where they were. It was a prisoner's life, but at least it was probably easier than life outside would be. Evan was a guard, what would he do in the outside world? And she had the security bracelet. But being outside again would be so... it was so hard to choose! Before Etina could decide which was better, Sonia joined them. Etina counted five people behind her.
"Hurry!" Sonia ran up to them.
"Do you know the way out?" Said Etina.
"I got us a map." Sonia held it out. "I think we go all the way down this street and then left."