That night all the day's exhausting tasks were taken care of and all of the children were marched back to their barracks.
Abel was also dragged back to his corner where the cold floor awaited him... not a welcoming feeling to be looking forward to for sure.
Abel cracked his stiff neck and muttered. "Wow, after working us to the bone we finally get the luxury of sleeping on the ground like the dogs they see us for, how fitting."
Though it was annoying that was not the real thing Abel was worried about not at all.
He was more worried about the plan he and the others had set up, the hardest part was that they all agreed that the perfect time to strike was at midnight tonight.
Just the very thought of it made his heart race and he could not tell if it was out of fear or pure excitement.
He clutched his chest with a crooked smile. 'Why won't my heart stop beating so much? Is it because I'm afraid or just that excited? Even so, I won't let it hold me back from fighting back. After all, this might be the only chance we will all get. '
One thing was perfectly clear; Failure was not an option.
Quietly he made his way to his usual sleeping spot but as he did he suddenly spotted a thin but faintly familiar face huddled near where he usually slept. Blinking, he stopped to get a better look and he realized whom it was.
"Hold on, I know you."
Slowly, the girl weakly looked up to meet Abel's gaze.
Abel snorted. "You're that little brat, who kept sticking her noise into my business for the last few years, aren't you?"
The girl didn't answer Abel right away, she just nodded her head.
Abel grinned faintly. "Yup, it's you alright, still as quiet as a mouse. A little taller, but not by much… not to mention frail as hell."
She was a slender girl with a small but sturdy body, brushing her short messy silver-gray hair with black streaked roots aligning with her piercing blue crystal eyes.
He bent his knees and studied her closer. "You look thin… You haven't been eating well, have you?"
Shyly she looked down but nodded her head; Abel wasn't the only person who thought the food they were always given tasted like crap. In a way, it made him glad.
"Wow… I'm actually glad to see I'm not the only one with a sense of good taste. Well good for you, the meals they serve us here really do taste like shit."
To his surprise, she was in agreement and even let out a tiny chuckle in the end.
Soon Abel sat at his sleeping spot a few feet away from her, and sighed.
"To be frankly honest with you, this is the first time we've actually talked to one another like this… though…" he paused. "It might also be our last depending on how things turn out."
She blinked, "What do you mean…"
That was a shock to Abel, "Oh, so you can talk, and here I thought you didn't know how to. Anyway, forget that last part, it's not that important."
The thing was, part of Abel wanted to help people like her leave this place just like him and the others but…
Another part of him knew with little time and a high-risk plan there was no way to guarantee her safety, and the last thing he wanted was to drag someone he just met for the first time in years into an early grave.
That said, there was no harm in asking, right?
"Hey, so what's your name? My name is Abel Frei, but you can just call me Abel. So what's yours?"
The girl's eyes suddenly widened and she just sat there frozen as if he had asked her a forbidden question.
Abel tilted his head with a smirk. "What… you don't have one orrr~"
"N-no, I do have a name. It's…"
She hesitated. "My name is Mira. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Abel." She said with a gentle smile.
For the first time in years, Abel felt the same way.
"Mira, huh? That's actually a pretty name and yeah, it's a pleasure to meet you too."
In that quiet moment the weight of the world left both of their shoulders, something neither of them had felt in a long time, though deep down them knew that peaceful moment would not last long.
***
Midnight was upon them.
In an instant, Abel's eyes snapped open. He carefully got up and quickly noticed all of the other kids beside him were still fast asleep.
"Alright, time to see what this new skill of mine can do." He muttered, realizing it was finally time to test out the System's gift.
He focused his mind and command his new skill into action.
[Skill: Silent Step (Activated).]
That moment an odd pressure settled around his feet, making his steps feel impossibly light.
He inched forward and the chains were still locked around his ankles.
Where the metal should have clanked and scraped loudly against the cold floor, there was only a muffled, dull thud with each step — like a heavy stone landing on deep moss.
The Silent Step skill was working its charm pretty well. Even at D-Rank, the 60% sound reduction was actually a miracle worker.
He gradually, by some quiet miracle managed to reach the exit and leave the barracks without waking anyone up…
Or so he thought…
Mira noticed he had left and wondered where he could have gone at this strange hour.
Meanwhile outside the barracks, Abel snaked through the few guards patrolling and as he made his way to the hideout, he noticed that there were not as many guards as there usually were.
"I guess Salo was right, all of the guards are thin and sloppy at this moment. So midnight might actually be the best moment to leave this place. Better hurry up and meet up with the others."
Abel muttered, quickly jogging through the darkness. 'And besides, if this goes sideways I always use those 52 points I have available. I will use them to level up all my stats in an instant, or dump it all into Strength to turn the escape into a brawl. Either way, I'll save it for the crisis.'
Soon enough, after a long jog Abel managed to reach the hideout where all the others were already awaiting his arrival.
Luna was the first one to notice him. "Hey guys, Abel is here!"
Everyone instantly looked at Abel who was a little late for the party.
Kane made sure to scold him because of it. "Hey, you damn runt, you're late."
Abel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well sorry for trying not to attract any unwanted attention. I'll make sure to bring a whole crowd with me next time."
Lena pouted. "Yeah, well… if things go right there won't be a next time so…"
Iris then cut in. "She's right, tonight's the night we all finally leave this place so there's no need to stick around anymore."
Abel was already more than pumped with the way things seemed earlier. He was certain that they had a chance to finally make it out alive.
He then suddenly felt someone grab his legs, and when he looked down, he saw Kane. "Hey! What the hell are you doing, let go of me."
Kane grumbled, he seemed to be focused on tinkering with Abel's chains. "Hold still, do you want these taken off you or not?" Abel blinked. "Oh thanks – I didn't know you knew how to pick locks."
Kane clicked his tongue. "There's a lot you don't know about me, dumbass."
After a few seconds, the lock gave in and snapped open.
"Ha, I got it." He got up and moved to Abel's wrist next and after fiddling he managed to undo that as well.
Abel was finally able to rub his raw wrists that were at the mercy of the chains. His breath quivered as he sighed in relief. "Damn, sure feels nice to finally get rid of those damn things. Good riddance."
Just then as he flexed his wrist. "Hey catch!" He looked up, and saw a black cloak flying up his way. He grabbed it and saw everyone else was already wearing it.
'This must be the set Bruno found. They'll definitely come in handy in the dark.'
Soon the whole group was masked and ready to move.
Iris raised her voice. "Alright, guess it's time we got things started."
They all straightened up and in unison shouted,
"RIGHT!"
Abel was just as determined as ever.
'Now it's time we left this hellhole once and for all.'