In a day like any other, me, Mei, the idiot speedster, 2 girls and another dude were in one of the optional classes. It taught how to use a long staff (Poles, cane, etc) effectively

Like you can probably see, the number of people in the class showed it wasn't a popular one. No surprise there, since most people went to martial arts classes, and even those that learned weapons, they chose stuff like kendo, fencing, throwing knives, archery, etc

I still did boxing 3 times a week, but after trying different weapons, I liked using long staffs the most. There were multiple reasons like it was cheap(10 points for 3 wood staffs) so when I lost or my weapon broke, it wasn't a pain to replace. It also helped me a lot since by being a girl, I had a shorter reach than some of my adversaries, so a weapon with long reach gives me an advantage. Finally, I liked that I could use it as a staff, a spear, a mallet, a sword, a cane, a shield(last resort), or a throwing weapon

Since most of the 8 years old had enough points and experience to make most fights a pain, having a weapon helped a lot. If I wanted to keep winning, I had to choose one and after trying a few (and watching some clips) I went for the staff

Mei also chose the staff since keeping her enemies at a distance made her less nervous in a fight. Besides, she could slow down an enemy with her telekinetic powers, making it easier to fight from a distance since a long staff had a long reach(obviously)

As for the speedster, he was just following me, probably. He never talked, just glared at me most of the time or ignore me, but after kicking his a-s who knows how many times, he started following me around

He went from idiot to stalker

I must admit that his stalking made it harder to deal when he issued a revenge match, but for some reason, he still couldn't beat me. Part of the reason was that I also watched what he did, and after fighting against him so many times, I knew most of his habits and tricks. The other part was probably a psychological lock, he got so use to losing that he couldn't see himself winning or something like that

Still, that didn't stop him from stalking the sh-t out of me

In a way, I want to praise his determination to never give up. If I was in his shoes, I am sure I would have given up a long time ago. Besides, I would never spend sooooooo many points in something that look hopeless. I guess he is the type of guy that goes to a casino with a million dollars and lose it all in the blackjack because he was sure his lucky break would come soon

So what did I do? I ignored him

No much choice in the matter. I couldn't stop him, and he would ignore me or avoid me if I confront him. Since I couldn't sign for a restraining order(I looked for it at the points catalog and it wasn't an option) I had no choice but to give up

The good side of it? it became easier to get 5 people for a class. Thanks to that, I didn't have to ask Meg to come to the unpopular classes like this one to fill the numbers. Unlike Mei that could use martial arts and weapons, Meg relied mostly on her claws, animal instincts, senses, and automatic programming when they send the f-cking signal

Since Meg had a sudden mission from the facility and we had enough numbers for the class, we decided to go to the class like usual while she went to her special mission

It wasn't anything strange. Everyone had, at least, one of those over time. They were usually test or experiments they did from time to time, for specific individuals, and they always gave points afterwards. They could be pretty sh-tty, but if you didn't do it they could either deduct points or even drag you there and they didn't give you a reward afterwards

So, me and Mei went to the long staff class without worrying too much about it and started the class without a problem

it was 20 minutes after the class had started that something happened

All the regular lights went out, and moments later they were replaced by a red light follow by a message in various languages

"Emergency-power-activated-please-remain-where-you-are-until-further-notice"(speaker) suddenly said

"What do we do?"(Mei) Said while showing a panicked expression and trembling a little

The others in the room weren't much different, looking around and trying to figure out what to do next

Like the rest, I started looking around the room and decided to try the door first. It was locked as expected

"It's locked"(Me)said after trying the handle at the door a few times

"Let me see that" Said the other male in the room beside the speedster

Of course, the result was the same

"Sh-t"(guy)

"Nnnow wwaht?"(Mei) said while shivering in fear while looking at me

The other 2 girls were also shivering a little and looking around while showing a panic expression but weren't doing much else. As for he speedster, he was just looking around unconcernws

So, what did I think I should do at the time? Well, first I looked around the room to see if there was another way out. The place wasn't particularly big, I would say it was around 5x5 meters with nothing else but some cushions on the floor, a big tv screen and some wooden staff you could borrow but got penalty points if you took them outside the class. Besides that, we had the closed door we came in, and a ventilation vent since the place didn't have windows

Can you guess what went to my mind after seeing all that?

Try the ventilation vent of course, except it had some problems. It wasn't particularly big, it was near the ceiling so I couldn't reach normally, and it had screws in the 4 corners. Since we couldn't reach, we didn't have a screwdriver or any tools for the matter, and it was really small, it would normally look impossible under normal circumstances

The thing is, we were small, so we could fit, if we step or climbed onto each other, we could reach, and even though Mei's telekinesis wasn't strong enough to rip it apart, it could turn the screws until they fall over the floor in theory

Problem solved, right?

Not!!

If it was that easy, why did no one try it before? Because people tried before and it ended miserably

You think those bastards wouldn't realise it was a security concern? Of course they did

The vents were full of sensors and traps that would either knock you out or hurt you really really bad. Basically, it was a dead wish

So why was I considering using the vents? Because of the power failure the automated response just mention. If what it said was true, it could mean that the normal defenses were out of order and this was an opportunity I couldn't miss

I knew it could be a trap, like half the events those bastards did, but if it was, so what? It's not like they would kill me or something, just take a few points and a few days in the infirmary. But if it was true, It meant a way out, so why wouldn't I take it?

Besides, with all the crazy sh-t they were doing there, it wasn't unthinkable that something could go horribly wrong, allowing us a chance to escape

"Hey Mei, can you unscrew the screws in the ventilation vent?"(Me)

"Why?"(Mei) said with a frightened face, probably realising where I was going

"Can you do it?"(Me) decided to just ask again to avoid the obvious complaints

"I think I might"(Mei)

"Try it then"(Me)

"It would be easier if I could touch them, but I can't reach them"(Mei) Said a little hesitant

And it made sense. Delicate work like slowly turning something wasn't the same as just hammering something with force to stop its movement, and it's not like Mei had a lot of reasons to practice delicate procedures

Sadly, I had to reluctantly sacrifice my body, literally

"Fine, get over my shoulders, you should be able to reach it that way"(Me) said reluctantly while getting on my knees

Thanks to my reinforced muscles, even though I didn't have superman level of strength, I was strong enough to carry someone of my age, even if Mei was a "little" fatter than me

So Mei timidly sat over my shoulders and I "easily" carried her to the vent so she could use her telekinetic powers. Two minutes later, the vent was open

I put her down since her "light" weight was hurting my shoulders and I moved my arms a little to relax my hurt shoulders

"Now what?"(Mei) said while looking at me with a little hesitation

"We go into the vent and try to get out of here"(Me) As it was obvious, and it kind of was

"And the security mesures! you know what happened to the kids that tried going through there, right!?"(Mei) said almost shouting

"Relax, they just anounced that the power was down, so they shouldn't be activated. That means we may be able to get out of here if we act fast enought"(Me) said with absolute security, even if I wasn't really as sure as I sounded

"What if it is a trap? It wouldn't be the first time"(Mei)

"So what? worst case, we go to the infirmary. Do you really want to waste a chance of freedom just because you may get a little hurt? We get hurt every week, so what is a little more pain?"(Me) Tried to deal a sound argument

"Can't we just stay? I am afraid something may happen"(Mei)

"Mei, I am going with or without you. This may be our only chance of getting out of here and I am not wasting it. Do want to come or stay? I won't force you"(Me) Said while showing my determination

There was no way in hell I would waste a chance to get away from there. I knew that no good future await me staying in the facility, so I might as well take the oportunity to get out

As for Mei, she was looking at the floor while hesitating. I could see she would prefer to stay there than to risk it, maybe afraid of the uncertainty, or because she felt a little comfortable there. I was about to give up on her and just proceed ahead alone when she suddenly looked directly at my eyes

"Ok, let's go. But you go first"(Mei) said with a straight face

I am surprised I didn't twitch my eyes a little in annoynce, considering she was practically saying "Go first and get hit first if something goes wrong" but I guess I can't really blame her since I was kind of forcing her to come along with my plan

"You guys are coming too?"(Me) asked just in case

I didn't really care, but some extra numbers wouldn't hurt

"No, I am staying"(Boy)

"I will wait here"(girl 1)

"Mee too"(girl 2)

And as for the speedster, he just remained quiet, watching me with an unconcerned look

So, without making a fuss or wasting another second, I jumped to the now open vent and got inside it. It was big enought that allowed me to turn around, so I managed to help Mei get up there and the two proceeded over the vent

A few seconds later, I heard a small grunt, follow by the sound of metal bending from our backs

Stalker level went up from "I may need a restraining order" to "I am afraid he would follow me even if I put a bullet in his head........."

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Note: In case you saw the last chapter but didn't see the end, the hiatus was an April fools joke, and like I promise as an apology, here is the first of the 3 daily chapters release. It is even the 2 longest chapter I had written so far (first is Meg side story)

Thanks Neiden for the grammar help :)