A few days passed without incident. Caspian had grown tolerant of me, although he clearly disliked me watching him eat, and I had grown to like him. He had quite a personality for a boy who had been through so much in such a short span of time. Part of me thought it was due to having to grow up quickly.

Jr. Dir. Thompson and I were walking towards the infirmary to discuss possible surgery options to remove the chip from Ice’s neck when the alarm went off and the lights went red.

Breach. A facility-wide breach.

Before either of us could react properly, I was being dragged to the nearest bunker, which was, fortunately, rather close.

Medics and guards followed us inside, most of them moving farther into the bunker. EW-1 ‒ Michael ‒ and Tadora ran in, looking panicked and clearly having just come from the infirmary. Max soon joined us, along with a few guards.

Once everyone was in, the heavy metal door was closed, and we were sealed inside the bunker.

My heart was racing. My lungs burned. My hands trembled.

I collapsed on a bench, trying desperately to control my breathing. The alarm was still going, and the automated message spoke of a facility-wide breach. All the doors were unlocked. The elevators were programmed to stop completely, but the stairs were open for use.

“Caspian’s out there!” Max was yelling.

“You can’t go out, Grant,” Thompson firmly and loudly replied. “Teams will be dispatched, you know the procedure. Besides, Caspian’s room is isolated, I doubt anyone will find him.”

My vision was starting to go blurry. I clutched my aching chest.

“Calvin?” Tadora was leaning in front of me, dark eyes worried. She felt my pockets for my inhaler, pulling it out and putting it to my lips. She sat beside me, forcing it into my mouth.

I took a few deep inhales, then pulled away. I was less dizzy and only slightly breathless now. I leaned on my knees, head in my hands. “Thanks, Tadora.”

She only nodded in response, patting my back.

I looked up, surveying what was visible of the bunker. I recognized a few of my coworkers and a couple medics. Max was standing in the corner, arms crossed as though trying to stop themself from shaking. Fear grew in my chest, clogging my throat.

Caspian was alone out there.

Ice and who knows how many others were loose.

There was nothing to do but wait.

I hated waiting. I could do it fairly easily under normal circumstances, but this wasn’t exactly normal circumstances. Facility-wide breaches didn’t happen, at least not as often as one would think. Usual breaches were just one or two floors, with the rest of the levels sealed off, and technology had advanced to the point where even those breaches were rare. But for a facility-wide breach to occur…. For all the doors to unlock remotely at the same time…. It was nearly impossible.

Roll was taken. Clementine was accounted for in the white level with EW-2 and EW-53. EW-1 was here with us. EW-30 was with The Queen off-site. All the other sentient EWs that were in the facility were out, Ice and Caspian among them. Teams were soon dispatched into the facility in order to recontain escaped creatures.

Max took to nervously pacing, no doubt thinking of the worst that could happen. Tadora and Michael sat with me, Michael’s huge wings protectively around us. It was difficult to comprehend that he was an actual archangel. He stood almost two meters, with defined features, brown skin, piercing golden eyes, long white hair, and two sets of large white wings.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t too difficult to comprehend.

Some people chuckled at how Tadora was braiding a few strands of his long white hair, how I sat curled up on the bench with his wings around me. He sat calmly, although clearly nervous. If Tadora didn’t wear her usual pink hijab, he probably would’ve been playing with her hair. If I listened hard enough, I could just barely hear the rock music that played through the earbuds that she and him shared. How a soft Palestinian woman who liked pastels could listen to heavy rock music, I had no idea.

It was at least another hour before one of the teams returned, requesting to open the bunker door. I sat up as the heavy metal door slid open. The few guards that were in the bunker readied their weapons just in case.

Max let out a breath, “Caspian, thank the gods.” They pulled him close, hugging him tightly. Caspian was in his pajamas, a small blue and white blanket around his shoulders and his plush bumblebee in his arms.

“What do we do with this one? Found them together under 39’s bed.”

“We have containment cells here,” Thompson replied.

I sat up as Ice was dragged into the bunker. He wore cuffs around his wrists, a shock collar, and a basket muzzle around his face. Caspian nervously watched as Ice was forced into one of the small containment cells indenting into the wall. Ice stared in surprise and sadness at Michael, and Michael stared back, sadness in his golden eyes; they had had one observational test while I was away, and it only confirmed their friendship, even if Michael didn’t remember it.

“Caspian, are you alright?” Max frantically asked, looking him up and down.

“I’m fine,” Caspian nodded. “W-we just talked, he didn’t hurt me.”

Max was clearly doubtful. They forced him to sit on a bench so they could check him over. Caspian’s blue eyes landed on Michael, and he softly gasped. Michael kindly smiled before looking back to Ice, who was sitting in his small containment cell, curled into a ball with his back to the thick reinforced glass door.

“What did you talk about?” Thompson asked Caspian.

“P-pardon?”

“You said you two just talked,” Thompson knelt before Caspain. “About what?”

Caspian bit his lip, “N-not much. H-he…,” he glanced at the containment cell. “He said that something bad would happen, ‘cause I ain’t got my heart.”

“When he said it, did it sound threatening?” Thompson firmly asked.

Caspian shook his head, “No. He sounded scared, almost.”

I looked at Ice, who was still curled up tight, but clearly listening in.

Finally, Michael removed the earbud and got up from the bench, feathers tickling my face. Michael sat by Ice, gently knocking on the transparent door. Ice turned to face him, hands on the glass. He leaned against the door, ears pinned back and eyes pained. Michael mirrored his movements. If the glass door wasn’t there, they would be touching foreheads and interlocking hands.

It was another two hours before the lockdown was lifted. Michael didn’t move from his spot whatsoever.