As it turned out, prison breaks were loud.

Ren coughed through the dust cloud as rubble from the exploded wall settled around him. His golem stood motionless in the hole it had just punched through solid stone, its glowing eyes scanning the cell like it had done something very responsible.

"Well," Ren said, dusting off his coat. "That’s one way to do it."

His companion, Mira, still sitting on the cell bench, slowly turned to glare at him. "Do you even control these things?"

Ren opened his mouth. Then closed it.

"...Define ‘control.’"

Mira groaned. "I swear to every god listening, if we survive this, I’m going to—"

"PRISONERS ARE ESCAPING!" a guard shouted.

"Oh good," Ren muttered. "They noticed."

Footsteps thundered down the hallway. Mira jumped to her feet. "We need to move."

Ren gave her a flat look. "What, you don’t want to stay and discuss my poor life choices?"

Mira grabbed him by the arm and pulled him through the hole in the wall just as crossbow bolts whizzed past their heads. The golem pivoted sharply, stepping between them and the incoming guards.

"Hold them back!" Ren called.

The construct nodded once—and then hurled a chunk of stone at the guards.

Screams. Lots of them.

Ren winced. "I said hold them back, not flatten them."

Mira dragged him down the corridor. "We need to find a way out before they bring reinforcements."

They sprinted through the underground passage, twisting through narrow halls, past cells of shouting prisoners. Ren hated dungeons. They smelled like sweat, bad decisions, and impending death.

"Up ahead!" Mira pointed. A stairwell. The way out.

Ren grinned. "See? Everything's fine."

The moment they reached the stairs, a squad of heavily armored knights appeared at the top.

Ren skidded to a halt. "I take it back. Everything is not fine."

—

Two Minutes Later – Back in the Cell

Ren sat cross-legged on the floor, hands bound, staring at the opposite wall. Mira sat beside him, absolutely fuming.

"So," Ren said casually, "I think that went well."

Mira made a sound that was either a sigh or a growl. "How. Are. You. Like. This?"

"Listen, let’s focus on the positives," Ren said. "We made it all the way to the stairwell before getting caught."

Mira buried her face in her hands. "I cannot believe I’m going to die in a cell with you."

Ren nudged her with his elbow. "Hey, silver lining—at least we’ll die together!"

Mira just stared at him.

Then the wall exploded. Again.

Ren blinked through the dust, looking up at a second golem standing in a new hole.

"Okay," he said, coughing. "Now this is just getting excessive."