Áine 'Anna' Clark's Story

A yell awoke Áine from her slumber.
Her first instinct was to panic, as being woken up by a scream in a laboratory certainly wasn't the first indication that nothing was wrong. She jumped up, banging her head from the top of the cage, making her sit back down again, her head only buzzing slightly. She turned her head around, looking for wherever the sound had come from.

Instead of finding the source of the scream, she found a few bewildered faces, looking at her as if she had gone mental. She crossed her legs and sighed, realizing that she was probably overreacting. It wasn't like a scream was uncommon in the lab, anyway. It was just that it was usually her screaming.

She glanced around and saw a few other subjects, like her, except with different abilities. She was about to call out, maybe say hello, when she noticed a scientist walking over from the corner of her eye. She turned around, nervously biting her lip, to face him.

"Wrist," the scientist said in a monotone voice. Without hesitation Áine stuck out her shaking wrist, turning her head to stop herself from seeing the injection. There was a slight pinch, and then the sound of footsteps fading away.

She turned back to the subjects, again about to say something, when suddenly a scientist came over to each of the cages and opened them, thinking nothing of it. As soon as her door was unlocked, she rushed out before it was closed again, but then stood there, not sure what to do. Where was she supposed to go? The lab was her life, and even if she did escape without being caught - which was highly unlikely - she wouldn't know where to go.

Then the little girl punched the scientist in the face.
"Let's go," she said, in the voice of a small child but with the effect of a grown man, as immediately Áine followed the child, not even knowing her name.

Áine followed the rest of the mutants, unnoticed and unwanted. She had never seen herself to be one to disappear into the background, but she presumed that she was just being quiet as she was unused to this environment - freedom. She could almost taste it on her tongue.

She had a plan. None of the other mutants seemed to want her around, and she couldn't blame them. She was the chattering, annoying girl who's mutation didn't benefit anyone but herself. She wouldn't like her, either. They seemed to be ignoring her, or maybe they really just hadn't noticed her. Either way, it would work in her favor. She would follow them out, going unnoticed, and maybe even go with them to wherever they were planning to go after they got out. If they didn't want her then, she would be out of the lab, and would find her own way.

Well, that was hoping that they didn't try to ditch her before they found the exit. Then she would have to find it herself, which would be pretty impossible. If that did happen, she would be the only mutant left behind, which would be bad in itself, with no one for company, but she would also be the only mutant able to test on, so she wasn't going to last very long.

Yup, just stick to the crowd, blend in...
"Does anyone else have some sort of abilities involving perception? Something that could help find the exit faster?" It was the boy with white hair. He sounded strangely calm, for someone who could be shot down in a few seconds.

If anything, the question just confirmed something for Áine - she was completely worthless in the eyes of the mutants. Even her power was selfish. How was she supposed to use 'unable to die very easily' to others advantage? It was pretty much impossible.

Simon took note that the kitty Aileen was was holding his arm. He had read about this in books but he didn't have much time to think about when Aileen had warned him about incoming guards. He yawned once as he looked back to the others.

"It seems shot is about to hit the fan" he said. He looked at Angel "pardon my language. Does anyone have an defensive or offensive power? Something that can help protect yourself or others? If so come to front."

Simon took Aileen's hand tell when they are just around the corner. Simon long stride moved to a fork in the hallway. He motioned for those capable of fighting to come to the front with and wait for the guards.

Angel was a little startled as Tara ran her out of the cage room past the guards. She smiled to her, but was also really worried. There was a lot of the guards now. Plus, someone's thoughts lingered at the back of her mind. She turned to find another teen, a girl, standing a bit far back. There was nothing obviously mutated about her, but her thoughts proved otherwise. In fact her mutation was quite spectacular. Not being able to die...that was incredible. Angel scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion, she thought her power was worthless? Angel looked at her, Áine, was her name. "You aren't worthless. Your power is amazing. Your like bulletproof and stuff. Plus your pretty," she said, eyes locked on her, a smile played across her face, much like an innocent little girl. But now was not the time for chatter, she turned back to the crowd of on coming guards nervously.

Then an idea occurred to her. The mind messages. Lately, they have been able to control minds. Maybe it was because of the surgery. Something must have changed the discreetness of her thoughts in other people's heads. She could handle the crowd. Right? She stepped out to the side, so her view of the crowd wasn't obscured by Simon. She had never tried sending a message to more than one mind before. Hesitantly, she attempted. Stop! She thought to the crowd. It worked, but it made her very dizzy. Lights flashed behind her eyes, and for a brief moment, she thought her eyes turned gold. Most of the guards stopped, frozen for a second, not very sure of what to do. A couple, about one or two, continued to charge ahead. Several others just looked puzzled, shook their heads, then slowly continued on.

I said stop. They are children. They should not be hurt. Turn around and walk away. She thought more forcefully. She then leaned to the ground in both exhaustion and starvation, her eyes flashing gold again. The ones that were charging full speed stopped and looked puzzled. Others turned around. Some even started walking away. It was working! She was lit up with a new hope. Now she wasn't a useless, creepy little girl. She could do anything, be anything. She turned back to the crowd. One more time.

Turn around! Feel how we felt! Go into a cage and lock yourself in. Do it now! go! She practically screamed to the group. Finally, they all complied, turning around and heading towards the cages. She smiled with amusement as they closed the cages behind them. She could leap for joy right now, but she was to exhausted. Sure enough, she passed out, right there, with a splitting headache, lack of food, dizziness and a bunch of other things.

(OOC I'm going to assume you took care of the guards coming from a different hall. Well done Angel!!)

Aileen's hand squeezed Simon's shoulder to let him know they were almost there. He probably would have tried to relax his body, but it was already completely relaxed. He had gotten used to the fact that his body never needed preparation for most surprise situations. . Aileen tapped his shoulder letting him known how many there were. She was right. There were a lot of them. He used his right hand to display the number. 19 guards were coming.

Within a few moments Simon could hear them too he guided Aileen back a bit so she wouldn't get hurt, as well as giving himself room for his first move. He watched as the first several guards had spotted a few of the other mutants on the opposite wall. They ran towards them only to spot Simon by the closer wall, but their momentum wouldn't allow them to stop or turn in time.

Simon let the first guards pass so he could enter the middle of the group by surprise. He hoped the others could handle themselves. He didn't know what the other's abilities were, but as far as he knew he was the most capable of taking multiple opponents out at once. He knew he would still have more than half the guards to compete with, but if any of their powers were slightly useful, he would probably recieve help when he needed it.

He did a quick step forward dropping the closest guard with a kick to the knee cap. He continued in stride as he grabbed the next guard by the wrist and with a quick motion he swung his elbow breaking the other man's elbow causing him to drop the tazer. Simon took in the information quickly as he moved towards the next guard hoping all the guards either had tazers or batons. He disarmed the man as well as hid behind him as he saw that these men had no guns. He was grateful that their existence was so important that they wouldn't just kill them. The guard acted as a perfect shield as he shuddered under the electric currrent flowign through him due to another guards tazer. Simon kicked that guard to the left side makign it harder for those guards to pass him. He applied 'sticky hands' (Wing Chun/Kung Fu technique) to keep close to the guards as he used them as shields and obstacles. One guard stepped up and swung his baton aiming for Simon's skull.

'Things are getting troublesome.' he thought tiredly. Simon hoped the other would come take care of those guards soon and help him. He wasn't really happy with about his odds with highly skilled fighters. With that thought in his mind he stepped back grabbing both men by the neck and then leaped in the air thrusting his knees into their faces(Muay Thai). The left one flew back but Simon kept hold of the right one to keep himself covered. The man was unconscious and was quite heavy to keep up, but Simon inched slowly towards the remaining guards.

The world was tumbling around Angel in a flurry of motions. She slipped in and out of consciousness. She felt like she might throw up any second, yet she really wanted food in her, right now. Groaning, she tried to stand up, only to collapse in a heap on the ground again. Even worse, it wasn't all the guards. Simon was fighting more. This was not going to work. But it would, because they had her. She straightened herself up, and pulled herself into a sitting position. She looked over to one of the guards that was trapped inside a cage, by her doing. Where can I get some food? She whispered in his mind. She really needed food. In like, the next five minutes. Through that door is the cafeteria. The one at the end of the hall. The door leads to another hallway in which the cafeteria is at the end of. the guard involuntarily thought.

Angel pulled herself up. She just needed food. Once she got food she would be ok. She half walked half crawled to the door that led away from the fighting, nausea overtaking her every step. She gently pushed open the door and continued down the hallway, finally making it to the cafeteria. The scarce scattering of chefs seemed preoccupied with all the certain meals and things that each mutant needed to eat each day, so they didn't notice her. She grabbed the apples from off the counter and practically inhaled them. She felt better, but it wasn't enough. She discreetly swiped a block of cheese and devoured it in seconds, feeling her strength return. Soon she had stolen and eaten a whole sleeve of crackers, three bottles of water, a giant bowl of some pasty mush, a pepperoni roll, a loaf of bread, and some bits of granola. It tasted so good. Whenever a cook would look to see her there, she would mind message them to get back to work. Now she wasn't that hungry but still a little dizzy with a bit of a headache.

Trying to think of the rest of the mutants, she scurried around for a bag to carry more food in. She was stopped by the doors swinging open and guards pouring in. She really couldn't afford to do another huge group mind controlling. She would likely pass out again and it would be all over. Instead, she thought fast, dashing forward and sliding under the guards. It would have been a fantastic plan...but never the less, she was grabbed up off the ground by her tattered doctor's dress robe. She was surrounded. It was useless.

Aileen watched as around 19 guards came storming towards her and Simon. She glanced back to the few other mutants that was standing behind them and signaled them to come closer and help fight. But when she turned her attention back to the upcoming guards, most of them had already passed her and Simon. Hoping that the teens behind her were capable of fighting for themselves, she focused on the one's that hadn't passed her yet.

A giant man that looked like he was on steroids came rushing towards her and she prepared her body for an attack. When he was about a meter from knocking her over, she jumped towards him while hissing like a stray cat. It surprised him and he got out of focus for a second, allowing her to jump up on his back and wrap her tail around his neck. Aileen took a deep breath and then bit his ear as hard as he could. The big man screamed like a little girl and tried to rip the teen off his back, but it was already too late. His ear was lying on the floor and now blood was oozing from where it used to be. Aileen jumped off and the man fell unconscious to the floor.

Aileen felt sick by the taste of the man's blood in her mouth and was about to throw up, but when she realized that three other guards was heading her direction she forgot everything about it. The first one seemed to be going after her legs, so she jumped to the side, rolled a couple of times and then jumped back up on her feet. She hadn't moved like this for a long time due to the small cages, but it felt amazing. The man didn't realize it in time and ran directly into the hard concrete wall. But when Aileen attempted to run towards Simon, two giant hands grabbed her from behind and locked her arms on her back while another pair of hands punched her in the stomach. It was the two other guards; somehow they'd managed to get behind her. The hits to her stomach blew all air out of her and her legs collapsed under her. The smallest of the guards kept holding her up by her arms and they hurt like crazy due to the unnatural position they were in. The other and much bigger one was punching her in her face and stomach. Somehow Aileen still managed to notice the little Angel sneak away and over towards a door in a different direction. "No! Angel, we need to - " Aileen was cut off by another hit to her face. Blood was streaming down from her nose and mouth, but all she could think of was the little girl being on her own. "Simon! Angel is go - " Another hit directly on her mouth; then the cold floor under her. The guard must have realized that she wasn't struggling back anymore. "Simon!" she tried to yell, but the blood made it difficult; it kept coming down her throat and she felt like she was drowning. "Tara! Angel is..." A kick directly at her spine. No, it was stupid to yell. She was stupid.

((sorry for crappy post))

The next few minutes were a blur.
About twenty guards stormed around the corner, looking as aggressive as ever. By the time that Áine had even noticed, Simon and Aileen had attacked he majority of the guards. Without a second thought, Áine leaped at the nearest guard, knocking him to the ground. He grunted at the impact, his head smacking against the tiled floor, giving Áine the chance to shift her weight over so that she could pin him down.

"No! Angel, we need to-" Áine was temporarily distracted a Aileen yelled something out, before being interrupted by a punch to the face. Áine as about to look over to where Aileen was looking, before suddenly being pushed off the guard and sent tumbling across the floor. Áine was small and slim, and was by no means muscular. In the few seconds she had been distracted, the guard had managed to push her off and stand up, looking about ready to kill someone.

Áine lept up, feeling mildly dizzy but shrugging it off. She turned around just as a fist connected with her face, sending her stumbling back against the wall, though she didn't actually feel the impact. Another punch hit her jaw, and she flinched slightly, before bringing her knee up to the man's more, uhh, private area. He let out a groan and stumbled back, and Áine quickly used those few seconds to her advantage. Using the wall as a trampoline of sorts, she kicked off it and sent her leg right into the guards stomach. He fell onto his back, coughing. Áine smiled weakly.

He started to stand up, but Áine kicked him in the head. His eyes fluttered shut, but just to be sure, she punched him twice, once in the gut and the second time on his nose. She finally accepted he was out cold and stood back to take a breather.

Suddenly, two firm hands were pinning her arms behind her back, and she was slammed head first against the wall, once, twice, three times. She blindly kicked out her legs, one foot managing to meet the guard's knee, and his grip loosened for a couple of seconds, which Áine used to twist out of his grip. Or, at least try to - the guard quickly tightened his grip and pushed her against the wall, keeping his knee against her lower back to stop her from moving away.

"Hel-" she said weakly, before being interrupted by a punch in the jaw. She coughed a bit, and almost panicked when she saw herself cough out blood. She really hoped the rest of them were doing better than her, or they were screwed.

(OOC: Sorry if the post is a bit long and possibly pointless.. I just couldn't stop writing hehe..)

(looks good to me. Glad to see you posting)

Simon continued to move around as he re positioned himself and the guards that were close enough for him to use. He looked back as he heard a sickening 'thwack' to find Aileen being punched in the face. Simon's calm face showed a bit of anger as he punched the guard he was using as a wall in the throat. He dashed back zigging and zagging as he came from behind and leaped at the man grabbing the guards punching arm and letting gravity pull them both down as he wrapped his left leg around the man's neck and held the mans arm down until there was a crack. The man would have screamed in agony had it not been for the lack of oxygen and blood getting to his head.

Simon was back on his feet as he grabbed the mans thumb, broke it and then quickly pulled him away from Aileen as he watched her drop to the ground. He then used Wing Chun rapid punches as he pounded the man into the chest until his body was shaking due to the shock.

Simon managed to put his guard up just in time to take a baton to the left arm. He felt a snap but he twisted his torso as he swung a right cross into the man's jaw breaking it. He picked up Aileen, her fur was very soft, thought Simon, and he tried to guide her back. He backed out of the range of the tazer's and moved towards the man punching another girl. Simon suddenly lifted Aileen in his arms and dashed towards the unaware man, knowing that the other guards were now running behind him.

Simon's knee connected with the man's temple and he went down and didn't move. He put Aileen down next to the other girl and looked around. The mutants were still fighting the first guards. He stepped forward acting as wall between the two girls. As he bent down and picked up two batons he changed his stance (Eskrima) and watched as the guards halted where they were. He spun the batons a few times to intimidate them. He might be able to take a few out, but right now he was just stalling for time.

Áine felt another punch to her jaw, and this time it actually hurt her, badly - meaning she needed some food. Well, that, or her body just wasn't so used to so many violent impacts in a row. That was probably why she was coughing up blood, too, her body was cleansing itself.

Suddenly, the grip disappeared on her arms, and she quickly spun around to see the guard on the floor, unconscious. "Th..thanks," she breathed out to Simon, smiling weakly at him, before sitting down, back facing the wall. She could feel the cuts healing already, but it didn't mean it hurt less.

She looked around at the mess around them. A few guards lay on the floor, but there were still around ten up and moving. And it seemed that Simon was the only one able to fend them off at the moment.

---

"First, you have to be real friendly with her," Bartamus drawled, smoking his cigar. Jacob rolled his eyes as he glanced at the monitors, doing his favourite hobby - listening to others conversations. Bartamus was trying to give Frederick extremely amateur advice on how to get a girl, and Frederick was soaking it all in, listening like he had just been given the winning numbers to the lottery.

"Then, you have to-" the men were interrupted by the sound of the alarm piercing their ears. Jake shot a quick glance at the monitor, noticing that all the scientists were climbing into the cages, and the mutants were no where to be found. He cursed under his breath, before grabbing his stun gun and following the rest of them out.

He must have been a tad late, as by the time he got there, half of the guards were already tackling some mutant. He walked forward, and saw a mutant holding two batons, spinning them around. He didn't even bother with him, the other guards would take him out. There were two weak girls behind him, probably just after fighting off a guard, that he would get to and put back into the cages once the baton boy was distracted.

There was a sudden smack, and Jacob turned to see a mutant walking towards him. What was she doing? He was a guard, but it wasn't like he was exactly a threat yet.
"How can you just stand there?" the mutant asked. He should probably know which mutant it was, but she was pretty roughed up. As soon as he noticed the furry skin, however, he knew it was Aileen.

She walked closer to him, and he felt something swell up in his chest. He took a step back, trying to remain calm.
"Why are you here? Huh? Why do this?" the girl hissed at him, almost like a threat. "Come on then! Attack me!"

Not sure what to do, as for as long as he had been there, there had been no escapes, he grabbed the stun gun from his belt. It was just then that he noticed the girl walking up behind the mutant.

Without a second of hesitation, he shot the stun gun.

---

Áine glanced around the room, before spotting Aileen taunting a guard. What was she doing? Áine wobbled to her feet, slowly walking up behind the girl. She noticed the guard, a young one at that, place a hand on his gun, before taking it out and aiming it at Aileen.

Without a second thought, Áine leaped in front of Aileen, pushing the girl out of the way at the same time. For anyone else, this would have knocked them out instantly, the effect of the stun gun putting them under. Áine just felt an extremely sharp pinch, and then she was suddenly extremely dizzy.

The whole world started tilting around her, until she eventually had to sit down, her back resting against the wall. She closed her eyes and breated out heavily, trying to get rid of the horrible headache.

Angel wasn't sure what to do. Everything was mass chaos and she felt like a useless little girl. If she tried mind controlling people, she would likely pass out, and be taken away. If she just stood here, she would be stunned and the same fate would happen. Instead, a guard on the other side of the room caught her attention. Alieen seemed to be taunting him, which was worrisome, as he did have a stun gun. Yet it was odd how he was so young. Sure enough, he pulled out the stunner and shot it, just as Áine jumped in front of it. Angel smiled and started heading that way, carefully avoiding the guards that surrounded the place, occasionally making the guards forget she was there. She ran to Áine to see if she was ok. She was clearly dizzy, but Angel was a little bit too. She narrowed her eyes at the young guard. Drop the stun gun She thought to him forcefully. She watched as he reluctantly lowered it.

Then something suddenly hit her, more like charged into her. Almost like getting run over by a car. She yelped feebly and skidded across the floor. She looked up at her attacker, a man in his thirties, holding a gun. An actual gun. Not a stunner. He must have knocked her over. He pointed the gun right toward her head with a menacing look on her eyes.

But that isn't the worst part.

She couldn't read his thoughts, let alone control them.

******

Zachary pressed the button on the chair next to him. A little beep called out and he gathered his thoughts. "Send backup, I'm on my way," he said before releasing the button and going to pick up his gun. Normally the guards just carried stunners, but he thought that was foolish. So he carried a gun. Besides, his shooting was sharp enough that he would never kill one. Just take out an arm or leg. It was great for calling threats though. Because hey, why not shoot? Just make another mutant! He grinned and shifted the gun in his hands, before leaving the control room and running off down the hall. Clearly his guards couldn't handle a couple of kids.

When he entered the train wreck that was the mutant's holding cells, he noticed a couple things. The fact that his dumb-ass guards couldn't take care of some pesky kids. That Jacob, one of the younger guards, was taking on two girls, and seemed to not be doing that bad. And lastly, an eight year old was staring Jacob down. What surprised him the most was whenever Jacob dropped his stun gun. Zachary's jaw dropped open for a second, but he quickly closed it and barreled toward the group, knocking over the littlest one. Perfect. He held the gun up, so it pointed to her head. "EVERYONE FREEZE OR I SHOOT! FREEZE OR I SHOOT THE EIGHT-YEAR-OLD!!!" he screamed as loud as he could. Most, if not all the guards stopped, and some of the mutants did. Time to get this situation under control.

Simon was just about to crack a skull when he heard someone scream. His leg was still moving until he heard about Angel. The guard fell to his feet regarless and Simon looked over to see Aileen standing before a guard and the other girl was down. He considered walking over to see if she was alright and maybe break the guards neck, but Angel probably wouldn't have liked that idea.

Simon yawned and bent his knees so that he was sitting on his heels.
'So we didn't escape, huh?' he thought to himself. He looked at the guards that he had fought and scared from attacking. They didn't look happy and all, but as much as they wanted to take him on personally and upclose they knew it probably wouldn't end well for them. That thought seemed to piss them off, that and it Simon didn't even look like it was all too hard for him.

Drop the stun gun.
Jacob was surprised for thinking this, but then noticed the little girl in front of him. Had she just.. hypnotised him?
He knew he shouldn't, but it now felt horrible, like it was wrong to continue to hold the stun gun. He dropped it onto the floor, before skidding it away from him with his foot. He hoped that one of the other guards would pick it up, maybe sort this thing out.

Out of nowhere, Zachary, a guard Jacob recognised, ran over the little eight year old that had been prodding at his brain. It made him creeped out to be around her. He knew that dropping the stun gun hadn't been of his own will, or he would have knocked the girl out. And if she could get inside it, could she see memories too? Of his mum, his siblings, Jessica..

He quickly blocked the thoughts out, focusing on what was happening.
"EVERYONE FREEZE OR I SHOOT! FREEZE OR I SHOOT THE EIGHT-YEAR-OLD!!!
Jacob froze in his spot, knowing that Zachary hadn't meant him, but feeling obliged to stay still the same. Even if she was a mutation, she was still only an eight year old girl, and he certainly didn't want her dead. Maybe it was just because she reminded him of Lucy, but that was besides the point.

He thought about trying to calm Zachary down, but decided against it, knowing he would probably just end up doing more damage.

---

Angel rushed over to her, asking if she was okay, to which Áine nodded. She was surprised at what happened next - though it was probably an illusion set up by her dizzy mind, as it appeared that Angel had stared at the young guard and made him then drop his stun gun. He kicked it to the side, just as a larger and more scary looking male ran over and knocked Angel down.

"EVERYONE FREEZE OR I SHOOT! FREEZE OR I SHOOT THE EIGHT-YEAR-OLD!!!
Áine literally froze in her place, stopped breathing altogether. There was no way that she would let Angel get shot. She felt like jumping on top of Angel, knowing very well that the gun would hurt like hell, but wouldn't be fatal. But the chances of her pushing Angel out of the way before the man shot were too slim to risk - if he did shoot before Angel had moved.. Áine couldn't even think about it.

"The hell-?" Zach mused, feeling a sharp pain on the back of his neck. it made him dizzy and hurt like crap. He collapsed to the ground with an oomf! A few seconds later someone kicked at his head and he winced as his nose cracked and it filled with blood. He groaned and blacked out, pain overtaking him.
*****
Angel frowned, freezing at the man's yells. Why couldn't she read his thoughts? She was practically useless! She bit her lip nervously, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't be shot. She couldn't! But she felt so useless right now, like a little girl. You have to be strong, though. She sniffled and blinked away the tears that filled her eyes. She wasn't a little girl anymore. Suddenly, the man fell over, collapsed to the ground. She scrambled back so he wouldn't fall on her. Then she stood up, watching as Maxx smashes his head down. She smiled to her. Maxx was nice. "Y'all look like a bunch of loonies, let's get the hell out of here."

Angel scrambled up, looking around for the bag of food she had collected from the kitchen and swung it over her back. Following the rest of the group towards the exit.
*****
"Damn..." Zach mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck and finding two sizable welts. He groaned inwardly and went to pick up his gun, which of course wasn't there. Snarling, he jumps up, dusting himself off ad dabbing at his bloody nose. He turns to Jacob. "Looks like we've got some mutants to catch." he says, before heading towards the weapons room.

Simon, was one of the first to move as he dashed towards the guard near Aileen and the other girl, he threw a baton towards his face aiming for the eyes and as he dodged the first Simon was already much closer and threw the second. He went for a a back kick to the gut as he quickly snatched up the unconcious girl (Áine) and grabbed Aileen helping her stay on her feet. He pushed past the guard and made a run to the door letting the purple eyed girl cover him with those eye beam thingies.

As he passed he placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks for the backup," he said as he took the girls through the doors. He knew exactly how long he had been running, since his mind was able to multitask quite well.

312...313...314 he counted in his head. He finally reached a door marked exit and when he jump kicked it as best he could, still supporting Aileen and holding Áine. It opened far easier than he expected.

If he didn't have a problem with tiredness he probably would have had an open mouth and eyes wide open as he looked at the sight before him. There were endless possibilities of where they had been kept but, the sight still surprised Simon as he let out a big yawn.