Chapter 9

Lessa slowly crept up to the break in the trees.

It was dark. No lights in the buildings, nothing lighting up the exteriors, or the landing pad, the fence ... nothing. Lessa motioned for the others to come up next to her, frowning. Was it even still active? Was THIS the abandoned camp, and the one they blew up... ? She stopped that thought. No ... hands going to her neck, Lessa brought the night vision goggles up to her eyes. She hated actually wearing the fuckers, but they had their uses. Ah, NOW she could see the lights. Still not many, and mostly placed to make them hard to see from the air, but there were some. Satisfied, she looked over at Kine.

Kine had his own goggles on, marking the sentries. There were four short towers on the corners of the perimeter, with one guard in each. None seemed to be paying much attention, and he couldn't say he blamed them. Only a fool would travel through the forest, and any attack from the air would either be detected by radar or ... well, not detected. The point was the poor guards wouldn't be any good in that situation anyway. He looked at the others.

"Well?"

"I don't see any ground trip alarms," Irene commented. "This could be easy."

"I say we take out the guard nearest us," Sean said, attaching a scope to his rifle. "The one in the opposite corner already seems to be napping, so one more doing so might not be noticed. If we try all four, there's more chance one will cry out or thud to the ground." Lessa nodded, and checked her watch.

"The others should be in position soon. We don't want to leave them just sitting there any longer then we have to." She looked at Sean. "Do it."

Sean crept forward a bit, finding a comfortable spot. Raising the rifle, he started taking long breaths. In, out ... in, out ... on the exhale the sight steadied on the adult's head. He fired. The slight muffled sound next to his ear was followed a moment later by the figure on the tower crumpling out of sight. He quickly swung the scope at the other towers, finger on the trigger. Nothing. Sean unwrapped his arm from the sling, removed the scope, and stowed the rifle on his back.

Eyes on the other towers, Lessa waited until she was sure their attention was elsewhere and motioned them forward.

The four broke from the tree line and ran across the open field. The night was as dark as any on this world got, with only two of the moons visible and each at less than a quarter illumination. They still cast shadows as they ran, but within moments were hidden in the shadow of the closest building and out of sight of the still manned towers.

The camp was composed of a series of long, one story buildings. It had been designed to not exactly be hidden from aerial detection, but to not call attention to itself. The largest structure, probably holding whatever command functions they needed, ran along the northern edge of the camp. The other buildings ran east-west in three rows, the southern boundary marked by a small, empty, landing pad. Kine glanced around from their new position on the southwest corner of the camp, goggles still on, and gave a slight curse.

"There's a road into the forest by the northwest tower." Lessa swung her view over, and biting her lip nodded.

"So, the pad isn't their only line of communication ... doesn't matter." She noticed a series of trucks parked at that end, marking the number in her head, then turned to Sean. "Which building do we try first?"

Sean led them around the structure, hugging the wall, until they were in sight of the inner line of buildings. Kine kept an eye on the southeast tower, but could literally see the guard sleeping. Sean motioned, and dropping to their knees they peered around the corner.

In the very center of the camp was a long building with no windows. No ... it had windows, Lessa saw. They were long, thin horizontal slits running near the top of the walls. Just the thing for prisoners. Lessa motioned with her hands and the four made the dash across the wide road. They quickly made their way around to the eastern side of the building and found the door. Lessa stepped back, waving Irene in.

Irene pulled out a small box with wires hanging from it. Lessa noticed that the wires, rather than being different colors, had shapes molded into the plastic casings so they could be identified in the dark. Irene examined the door handle and lock, giving the keypad a dismissive glance, then moved two wire leads towards the handle. A thin bolt of electricity shot out from them, all four teens feeling the static charge in the air. There was a puff of smoke, and a click from the door latch. Irene quickly put the box back on her belt and drew her sidearm. With Kine and Sean keeping their eyes on the rest of the camp, Lessa threw the door open and jumped in with Irene.

The first room was dark and empty. It was obviously the guard area, with a desk, a few chairs, a locked gun cabinet, and a terminal. Behind it was a marked door leading to bathrooms. To the right ran a long hallway, with a half dozen doors per side. It looked like the right place.

"In", Lessa whispered. Sean and Kine quickly entered, closing the outer door. She moved over to the restroom door, glanced inside, and signaled all clear. Kine and Sean eased over in front of the first hallway door. It had a window, and in the dim moonlight they could see three small naked forms sleeping on a thin mattress. Crossing to the other side they saw two older nude teen boys sleeping, arms around each other. Kine turned to Sean and nodded. Irene came up to them, having found the keys hanging from a hook. Getting the final nod from Lessa, she unlocked the door.

The two boys were awake instantly. The sound of locks had probably ruled their lives for the past year, instilling fear them. Lessa entered the cell, holding a faint light illuminating her face. She knelt a meter from the two cowering teens.

"Shhh ... it's OK. We're here to save you." They looked at her uncomprehending, and taking in the sight of them Lessa's anger grew. They were maybe fifteen, but their bodies were thin and obviously undernourished. There were various bruises on their bodies, and the look in their eyes was ... she had seen that look, many, many times. Lessa opened her canteen and offered it. The largest, black haired, slowly leaned forward, hand tentatively taking it., He took a long sip, eyes never leaving hers. His companion clung to him, shaking, and with one hand rubbing his back in comfort the older boy whispered encouragement. Holding the canteen up to his friend's lips, he convinced him to drank the cool water as well. He then handed the flask back to Lessa.

"Thank ... thank you."

Lessa nodded.

"We're here to rescue everyone we can, but we need your help. How many are in this building?"

The boy disengaged his arm from his companion, sitting up straight, legs folded on the mat. She noticed his genitals, though soft, were rather large. His mind coming awake, he licked his lips and thought.

"There's ... maybe twenty eight of us?" His voice was unsure. Sean let out a soft "fuck!", quickly exiting the cell. Lessa could sense him moving over to the main door and opening it a crack, making sure all was well.

"How many adults are there here? How many guards?" Lessa didn't want to rush the boy, but time was going by fast. He looked at the ground and thought.

"Well ... it will depend on if the soldiers stayed or left last night."

"Soldiers?!" Kine was suddenly in the cell, on one knee next to Lessa. The boy looked up, becoming, if anything, less frightened.

"Yes. They ... brought in the new batch of kids now that we're used up. They ... I think the next time the cameras roll on us will be the last..."

Lessa closed her eyes. They had acquired quite a collection of the violent videos as they had gathered information. The things done to these kids, by both men and women, the violating of helpless boys and girls ... what had shocked her the most was the "Life Of" series. Literally, a record of everything done to a particular kid, from when they were first brought in, healthy and frightened, to ... when, beaten and lifeless, they were killed ... human beings BOUGHT these monstrosities!

Kine, however, focused on the important words he'd spoken.

"There's another slave barracks?"

The boy pointed towards the northwest. Irene raced into the guard room bathroom and climbed up on the toilet to get a look out the high window slit. She was back in a moment.

"Long building by the guard tower, the one with trucks parked by it. There's a loading dock on this end."

Kine looked like he was getting a very bad feeling about this. Lessa knew she was. He looked up at Irene, her expression mirroring his.

"How many kids there? How many guards?"

"Probably... 20-30 new kids? It's one big cell in there, not like here." The boy was now awake and excited. He was ready to help in any way possible. "There are ... maybe 25 adults here normally? I think ten or so soldiers came in the trucks with the kids."

Lessa stood, followed by Kine. The two naked boys also got to their feet, the smaller one still clinging to the other. Lessa thought. Time was running out...

"OK. Here's the plan." Sean came over. "Sean, you stay here. Let all the kids out, explain the best you can. In ten minutes, or earlier if you have reason, turn on your beacon. Once the attack starts call in a shuttle to land and get all you can onto it. Keep the most healthy with you and try to get back to the forest with them." He nodded. "The rest of us will go to the other barracks. Got it?" They all nodded, and she held out her hand. His larger brown hand shook her firm tan one, and they looked in each other's eyes. Then he was out in the hallway with the keys, Lessa quickly leading the other two out of the building.

Holand watched as the dark skinned teen went down the row of cells, unlocking them. Free ... he was going to be free. He wasn't even sure what the word meant. Paul was practically clinging to his side, shaking. He put an arm around the kid. For days, weeks, he had been telling him everything was going to be OK, that there was a light at the end of this. He no longer felt like a liar.

"Is your plan going to work?"

The stranger didn't ignore Holand's pointless question, as he expected. Neither did he turn to reassure him. Instead, the man just opened another door.

"Does it really matter to you at this point?"

No. No it didn't. Nodding, Holand entered the nearest cell and woke the sleeping slaves. They would be free, one way or another.

The first thing they noticed was the stench.

The first cell block had been full of clean, if not healthy, prisoners who had to be kept ready for the cameras. This building was full of frightened, mostly naked, freshly captured creatures kept alive by their captors and not much more. They hadn't yet had a hose turned on them for cleaning, and water was scarce enough for drinking the kids never even considered wasting any on such a luxury themselves. Many had been forced to piss and shit on the cell floor.

Lessa took all this in, as well as the fact that once again there were no guards. Lucky ... although by now she really wanted an excuse to gut and kill someone- in that order. Many of the kids were not asleep, the horror of the place keeping them from that peace. The entrance of the three teens startled them, most rising to their feet as the trio burst in. Kine closed the door behind them, keeping it open a crack as he keep an eye on the main building. Lessa quickly went up to the bars dividing the building in half while Irene searched for the keys. A little filthy blond girl ran up to the iron door, eyes alight.

"Did my Daddy send you?!? Is Daddy with you!?!" A teen girl grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back, watching Lessa with wary, tired eyes. She shushed the excited girl, then spoke.

"Who are you?"

"Rescuers who are really pressed for time. Questions later." Irene came back with the key, the kids stepping away from the bars in subconscious fear as she opened the cage door. The nude teen was going to speak again when suddenly they heard the sound of gunfire outside.

"Fuck!" Lessa ran over to Kine at the door, and as the sound of a general alarm started to sound she began cursing as well. The northeastern guard tower was firing into the woods, round about where half of their friends should be located. Lessa's hand darted into her pouch. Pulling out a metal puck, she flipped a switch on it, then tossed it into the middle of the room.

"OK, change of plans! Everyone, gather around me! Kine, watch the door!" She quickly moved to the middle of the room. The prisoners stayed on the other side of the bars. She mentally cursed, turning to them "In a few minutes, gods willing, you'll hear lots of explosions outside. Don't panic! That's our friends giving us covering fire!"

"Tower guard has been taken out!" Kine hissed from the doorway.

"After giving them a couple minutes to blow lots of evil slavers up," Lessa continued, "we're going to blow a hole in..." She looked around, and pointed. " ... that wall. We'll lead you out, and you're to run to the woods as fast as you can! We'll have some friends there to meet you. Don't stop until you get to the woods! Understand?"

"I want mommy!"

The cry was pitiful, and a couple others started to cry. Lessa did not have TIME for this ... she looked at the one teen girl from before. She seemed older.

"You're leader. Get them organized!" She moved away from the crowd, only half noticing the girl quickly getting other older kids to help. Irene slid over to Lessa, having examined the wall in question.

"It won't take much. In fact, the problem will be not blowing up the entire building." Lessa pulled out a pack of explosives and handed it to Irene. With a nod, she got to work.

The sound of explosions startled everybody. They seemed to come from all around, rattling the poorly constructed prison. Kine quickly shut the door, as rocks and dirt pelted the building at high speed. They could hear screams, and shouted orders. Kine spoke, eyes still out the door.