Ayda pulled the trigger. A bullet fired from the handgun. She saw it clearly as it flew at incredible speed. The metal slug pulsed purple with her energy. Her eyes widened. She certainly hadn't been trying to channel into the bullet, and didn't realize it would maintain her energy after leaving the gun. She turned her back to the window and curled up into a little ball with only milliseconds to spare.

The blast created when the bullet shattered the window was louder and more powerful than anything Ayda had seen before. Tiny glass fragments sprayed in every little direction. A shockwave traveled through the concrete, cracking it. The fissures snaked their way all around the testing chamber walls until they reached the observation deck. This other window also shattered, but most of its glass poured outward. The kids and soldiers ducked to avoid any shrapnel which may have come their way.

It was over in a few seconds. Ayda stood to inspect the damage. Her ears were ringing from the sound. She could barely hear anything. From what she could see, the bullet expended all it's power when it hit the glass. A such, the room behind was mostly in tact, save for cracks in the walls from energy transferred through the tightly packed concrete. Dr. Vahlen, however, was long gone. Ayda didn't really expect him to be there. He probably hightailed it the moment he told the guards to restrain her.

While she would have loved a moment to catch her breath after all that unexpected destruction, there would be no rest. From the observation deck, one of the soldiers began firing at her. He stood close to the edge on her right hand side. Ayda reacted to the sound and spun her staff around at the last possible second to block his incoming bullets. She rolled over her left shoulder in an attempt to avoid his metallic rain. He stopped firing to shift his aim. It was only a second's pause, but more than long enough for Ayda to capitalize on.

Coming out of her roll, she kicked the ground to create a powerful blast. She used its force to propel herself upward, not unlike the bullet she'd just fired. She rocketed toward the observation deck. The soldier tried to blow her out of the sky, but most of his shots missed. Those which did find their target were promptly deflected. He stopped firing when she was mere feet away from the deck, out of both ammo and time.

Ayda landed right on the edge, where the glass would've been just moments before. The soldier looked at her with shock and horror. He went for his sidearm, but Ayda was much too fast. She jumped over to him and spun around, kicking him in the head with a blast. He flew through the windowless gap in the wall and hit the testing chamber floor below with a sickening crack.

Two more men opened fire from behind her. Ayda spun around and began to deflect their bullets, simultaneously charging at them. They hadn't the slightest chance against her. She reached the one to her left in no time. She hit him on the left with a blast. He flew off right, skimming the floor, and slammed into the other soldier. Together they smashed against the wall. The troopers fell upon one another in a battered, unconscious heap.

Ayda turned to the final remaining man. By the way he held his forehead, he was still recovering from the bullet blast which rocked his brain. Slight incoherence couldn't stop him from raising his pistol, though. He fired clumsy shots at Ayda, over the heads of the still huddled together children. Ayda took great care to protect them while she blocked the enemy's bullets. Each one met an upward strike from her staff, sending it into the ceiling. The dazed soldier fired again and again, seven times until all he got was a click.

It was Ayda's turn to attack. She sprinted over to her assailant, not wanting to give him time to reload. The soldier took a step back as she approached. He knew the fight was over; he had no chance of winning. That in mind, he took the only remaining option. The man dropped his gun and fell to his knees, hands submissively above his head.

"I give up!" He shouted. "I give up. Just, please don't hurt me."

Ayda looked in his eyes, and the flame within her subsided. His hands trembled. He was white as a ghost and sweating profusely. Ayda pitied him. She remembered that fear. It was the same she felt back when men like him kidnapped her six years ago. Ayda wanted nothing more than to kill all the men inside this facility for the things they did to her—the things they let Dr. Vahlen do—but maybe this one could go free. Someone had to tell her story, right? She gave him a crescent kick to the temple accentuated by a small burst. He was knocked out, but alive.

"Alright, everybody up!" With the guards dealt with, Ayda turned her attentions immediately to the children still huddled together for safety. They looked upon her with sideways glances. She took a few steps closer and they moved away, running clumsily into each other in a panic. A few in the back broke away from the group and pinned themselves up against the wall, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.

Ayda stopped in her tracks. They were afraid. She was trying to save them, and they were afraid of her, just like how a fox in a trap bites at his saviors. Ayda dropped her staff and put her hands up.

"It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm here to help," she said the most gentle tone possible.

"Help? But you killed all those men!" One of the children spoke up. Ayda couldn't pinpoint who actually had said it.

"Only because they would've killed me," countered Ayda. "Look, I don't have time to explain. I attacked the guards but I'm talking to you. That means I'm on your side. I'm getting us all out of here, but I need you to trust me, okay?" None of the children answered her. Their silence was nerve wracking. Was this how Dr. Vahlen felt whenever he asked a group question? Then, one person from the mob stood up.

"I trust you, Twelve." He said. This boy was one of her cellmates, the people Ayda was closest to in the entire facility. She didn't even notice he was there. Herd logic kicked in for the rest of the kids. They looked at her and stood. Some nodded. Ayda's spirit's soared. This was the first step in achieving her goal.

"Okay," she began. "You all need to get yourselves to safety. Anyone from Groups A through D step forward." At her behest, four kids—including her cellmate—stepped forward. Along with him, there was one from Group A and two from B. They were the oldest among them, along with Ayda herself.

"You four, split the younger kids into groups and go hide somewhere," Ayda ordered.

"Where should we go?" One of the folks from Group B asked.

"Anywhere, I don't care, just. Don't. Stay. Here. It's the first place the guards will look." All eyes remained on her for a moment. "Get to it!"

Quickly, the kids organized themselves. Ayda helped her appointed lieutenants break the younger children into groups. The teams were uneven in terms of both numbers and represented ages, but that didn't matter. The important part was they split up in the first place. When they were all separated, Ayda moved on with her plan.

"Okay, now I need everyone over to that side real quick." She pointed to her left.

"Why?" One of the lieutenants asked. Ayda motioned toward the entrance.

"Because these doors are the only way out of this room, and the soldiers know it. They're probably waiting for us on the other side." After explaining, Ayda picked up her staff. That was all it took for the kids to obey her order. They bunched up against the far left wall, making themselves as small a target as possible.

Ayda walked up to within striking distance of the doors. She held her staff diagonally in front of her. It pulsed purple. Eyes closed, she began to concentrate. Her breaths were deep and heavy. Every ounce of strength within her went directly into the staff. Its brilliance shone brighter and brighter until the metal was completely obscured by purple light. The air began to bend around her. Miniature gusts kicked up at her feet. The power within her was set to bursting. When she could take it no longer, Ayda opened her eyes.

She stepped forward and spun, swinging her staff like a home run hitter. A monumental blast ripped directly into the doors, all its force focused onto that small square area. It was as if a bomb went off. The metal and concrete were absolutely obliterated. Debris and shrapnel fired into the hallway.

Just like with the bullet, the shockwave traveled through the walls, cracking them as it went, but it did not stop there. The wall at the end of the corridor also burst. The only thing which stopped the shockwave was the far wall in the next room, and even it took severe damage.

Again, Ayda was concussed. She couldn't hear anything, but this time was different. The bullet carried much of it's own energy. That attack, however, had been all her doing. Her knees buckled. She fell forward, propping herself up with the staff. It was the only thing keeping her upright.

"Twelve, are you okay?" One of the children asked.

"Secure the hall," Ayda puffed through ragged breaths. "A through D only."

The older kids ran into the corridor, while the younger held back. Ayda remained rooted in place, breathing heavily. She ebbed energy into her staff, just to make sure she could still do it. The purple grow was faint, yet pulsed stronger with every inhale. Her energy returned in just a matter of seconds, much quicker than it ever had with the implant.

She rushed out into the hall, but stopped just after the hole she'd made. Hand above her head, Ayda created a much smaller blast. The force from it pushed down on the dust in the room, forcing it to settle. The devastation she caused was now perfectly clear.

Rubble cluttered the floor. It would be impossible to walk without stepping on broken pieces of concrete. Her lieutenants stumbled through it, occasionally lifting pieces to check underneath. Chunks randomly fell from the walls at her side, breaking on impact with the ground. There were holes in the floor. The ceiling was cracked and collapsing, probably about to cave in at any moment. And, among the wreckage, splotches of red blood broke up the gray scenery. Broken bodies stuck out among the wreckage. Ayda was right. The soldiers were waiting for them, but they all lay dead and buried, now. The path was open.

It was only then she realized debilitating herself directly in front of the enemy trap may not have been the best idea. She had to be smarter.

The ringing in Ayda's head stopped. She rushed back into the remains of the observation deck. The children were huddled together holding their ears again, but if her hearing returned then so had theirs.

"The coast is clear, you need to get moving," she ordered, gesturing for them to come near her. The kids sprang to life. The younger ones fell in behind their leaders, who ushered them away from the gap in the wall.

"What about you?" One of the lieutenants asked from behind.

"I'm going for the cell block, and then after the doctor," Ayda explained briefly.

"You're not coming with us?" One of the kids shouted.

"You'll be fine. I need to make sure everyone else is safe, or else this all meant nothing. Now, go!"

People rushed past her, flooding into the broken hallway. She watched as they went, making sure they were all well on their way. When the last few were exiting the deck one of the youngest children present, a little girl, reached up and grabbed Ayda's hand.

"Stay safe, Twelve," she said in her sweet little voice. Ayda hesitated, unsure of exactly what to say. She smiled, and roughed up the little tike's already messy hair.

"Don't worry about me, just get yourself to safety." She patted the innocent little child on the back. The girl exited the observation deck along with the last group to leave.

Ayda remained there for a moment, observing as all the children scattered through the ruins. Some turned left, others went right, while one group traversed through the new opening at the end of the hall. It wasn't until they were all gone that she herself went on her way. She ran down the hall and hung the corner left, destined for her comrades still imprisoned.

Surprisingly little resistance barred her way. As such, Ayda made it to the cell blocks in record time. Strange. Doubtless, almost every person in the facility heard the massive explosions. Those who didn't must have felt the shockwave. Although, the soldiers were probably trying to regroup and find all the children. That was good. Having the opposition so spread out made her job easier.

The cell block lay around a corner at the end of a long hallway. As always, two men guarded the area at either side of the dead end room. Ayda blazed around the corner, almost kicking up dirt from the rapidity of her footfalls. The first soldier saw her the moment she entered. He tried to raise his weapon, but was not nearly fast enough. Ayda cracked him upside the head with a blast. He spun around a half turn and face-planted into the wall behind him. The second drew his sidearm and opened fire, but at this point Ayda was so used to blocking bullets she didn't even have to try. Within a few swift steps she reached him. A leftward cut forced the gun from his hand; a rightward swipe put him on the ground with a broken back.

With the immediate threat pacified, Ayda straightaway moved on to the captives. She started with her own cell, simply because it was the closest.

"Stand back," she commanded. The kids inside obeyed promptly. They weren't stupid. The only person capable of making the explosions they heard in the distance was Ayda. Best just do whatever she said.

Ayda's attack was small. She tapped the lock with a blast just strong enough to break the metal. It bent and swung open slightly, but did not actually break. She forced it the rest of the way open with a hefty push. The door was much heavier than she expected.

The kids rushed out. At the same time she moved on to the next door across the way. The process was the same, except she didn't have to tell the occupants to stay clear. Again, the door bent without breaking and she pushed it open. Both groups flooded the hall. While Ayda moved on to the next cell up on the right, one of the newly liberated children spoke.

"Twelve, what's going on?" Asked the little girl.

"Prison break. I'm getting you out of here." Ayda busted open the third cell and moved on to the fourth. As she did, one of the older boys came out of the third cell and went to work at the other end of the hall, breaking open doors on the right side with blasts from his palm. He allowed Ayda to focus on the left.

"But, how?" A different child asked. Ayda opened the fourth cell.

"I don't know yet," she answered honestly before moving on up the left side. "I don't have time to explain right now, I just need you to go hide. When I figure something out, I'll come for you." She opened up the second to last cell. "Oh, and avoid the testing chamber. I've already been there."

"But, what about the soldiers?" Another kid voiced a valid concern.

"Try to avoid them if you can, but don't be afraid to fight." Ayda cracked the last cell. "You all have implants. You're stronger than them, I know it."

"What about you?" The first little girl asked.

"I have some other things to do, don't worry about me. Now, stop asking questions and go!"

Leading by example, Ayda was the first to follow her own orders. She took off back the way she came, wading through the sea of children. The youngsters were not far behind. As soon as they all reached the adjacent corridor, the kids scattered, diving down hallways and through doors in an attempt to find a good hiding spot. Ayda, however, kept moving forward. She had a singular goal in mind.

Although, the possession of a goal, and the knowledge to complete it, were two completely different things. Ayda came to realize this very quickly as she randomly scrambled her way through passage after passage, continually coming up with zero in terms of usable results. Her target was Dr. Vahlen, but she hadn't the faintest idea where he was, and this was a large building. Finding him could take hours. He could have already hopped in a truck and driven off into the sunset. No, mustn't think like that. A man like Vahlen was too stubborn to give up so easily. He was still somewhere in the facility, thinking of a way to salvage his work. Without that belief, there was nothing to keep Ayda running.

Again she met little resistance along the way. The facility was eerily quiet. Only a few scattered gunshots and blasts rang out in the distance. Either there weren't nearly as many soldiers as Ayda originally presumed, or they were hopelessly disorganized. Both were good for her. Less fighting meant more of her people made it out alive.

While randomly sprinting around the base, Ayda passed an open door. It wouldn't have been unusual—open doors were all over the place—except for the size and contents of it. The space was little more than a closet, but inside was a giant console filled with buttons, knobs, and digital displays. Smack dab in the middle was a microphone. Finally, there was a rickety wooden chair. She had passed this room before. The communications center.

Excitedly, she entered the area. This was it, her ticket to getting out. If she could just get a message through to the right people, then everyone could get away alive. Now, how did this thing work? Ayda sat down in the uncomfortable chair. There was a closed door to her left she hadn't noticed, but it didn't concern her.

She turned a knob, which moved a needle in a display above it, but what exactly that meant remained a mystery. Ayda messed around with a few more buttons and sliders, but was getting nowhere fast. Of course, she hadn't the slightest idea how to operate the thing. No matter, one of the soldiers probably did. When this was all over, she would just capture one and bring him there. Not a bad plan at all.

Mind made up, Ayda began to rise from the chair. It was then that an unexpected noise stopped her cold. A sneeze from the door inside the room. She scowled at the gray bifold and ripped it open. Inside was a man, squished into the little supply closet, sporting the uniform of a low rank officer. He locked eyes with her and cowered. Although his dress associated him with the military, this man had clearly never seen combat in his life.

"Out," Ayda commanded. She didn't give him time to comply before tossing him by his shirt with one hand. He tumbled to the floor behind her and immediately tried to crawl away. Ayda quickly closed in. She placed a foot on his back. He sprawled out submissively.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"Di'lan," the man said. "I'm Di'lan."

"What do you do? Are you the comms officer?"

"What?"

"Are you the comms officer?" Ayda repeated, grinding her foot into his back.

"Yes!" Di'lan shouted, voice cracking in fear. "Yes, I'm the comms officer."

That was all Ayda needed to hear. She hauled him up by his shoulders and placed him in the chair. It creaked under his weight, threatening to break. It all happened before Di'lan realized what was going on. He looked back at her with an astonished expression. Ayda forcibly turned his head back toward the console.

"How far out can this radio make a call?" She asked.

"Why do you wanna know?" Di'lan naively thought he was in a position to ask questions. Ayda squeezed the back of his head, digging her fingernails into his scalp.

"Just answer me," she said through gritted teeth.

"We broadcast via satellite. I could talk to someone in Germany if I wanted to." Di'lan spoke in a tense rasp.

"Perfect. I want you to contact the American military base in Pasni."

"What? How do you even know about that?"

"I've heard the soldiers talk about dodging it's drones," explained Ayda quickly. "You're going to tell them Dr. Cyrus Vahlen is here."

"Why would I do that?" Di'lan challenged. Ayda slammed his head against the console and held it there.

"Because I said so."

"And what makes you think they'll come?" For the first time, Di'lan made a valid point.

"We both know Vahlen is a wanted man. I've been inside his mess of an office a few times. I've seen his paperwork. I know he's angered some powerful men. So, if you tell the U.S military where he is, they'll jump at the opportunity to bring him in." That was the theory, anyway. Ayda had no way of knowing that would actually work. But, it was the best idea she had.

"But I can't." Di'lan continued to protest. "If I betray Dr. Vahlen, he'll kill me!"

"Kill you? Motherfucker, I'll kill you!" Ayda threatened. "You can't be the only person here who knows how to use this thing, and I'll gladly go find someone else, someone a little more cooperative." She applied pressure to his head, channeling energy into her hand for emphasis.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it!" Di'lan shouted. Ayda let him up. He glanced back at her, but a strong push on his shoulder put him back facing forward. He messed with a few controls on the console and leaned in closer to the microphone. "This is communications officer Di'lan broadcasting on emergency channels to the United States Air Force base in Pasni, Afghanistan..."

Ayda remained the whole time to make sure Di'lan broadcast a satisfactory message. As per their agreement, she allowed him to live, but did shove him back in the closet. He was spineless. Ayda knew she would find him still in there when the military finally arrived, however long that took. With hope of rescue secured, Ayda moved on with her mission. The children were free, but her job was far from over. There was still someone she had to see, someone responsible for everything she'd been through, someone who had to answer for his crimes.