Chapter 35: Rescue Mission

                                    

                                          
Sand and rubble erupted, enveloping the warper. Fine grains poured over the windshield like rain. Tiny rocks pinged the warper like chimes over the deep bass from the Revival throbbing nearby. Then the warper smacked solid ground, and the screech of metal blocked out all other sound.
The world jerked violently, and my head thumped the ceiling; in my haste I had forgotten to buckle the strap. My bones shuddered with the grind of metal through packed sand, and fear gripped me. I would probably bury myself down here to slowly suffocate—or worse, I would plow right through the people I was attempting to rescue.
The warper struck metal—dented it—and punched through, bursting into open air. 
Colors washed across the front windshield as the warper spun. With a bone-rattling thump, the warper nailed the opposite metal wall. It ricocheted back toward the first wall and finally swiveled to a halt.
I blinked in an attempt to clear both my head and the now cracked and dirty windshield. The two guards approaching looked like three or four, bodies splintered so the legs and arms swung at gravity-defying angles. My breathing constricted, and I suddenly felt very small, like I could crawl into the back of the warper and hide like I had as a child. 
But then I realized that the hole the warper had carved through the wall still gaped open, a hint of dying sunlight still visible at the end. This was good. The densely packed dirt and sand had left the Guardians with an open escape...if I could defeat the guards and unlock their doors.
I shoved open the door and wrenched out the Demon-slayer mace tucked into the warper's frame. Ignoring my screaming ankle, I assumed a battle stance.
The two Demon guards before me looked more baffled than intimidating. One's mustache twisted down with the curve of his lips, and the other scratched his bald head. They were saying something, but the ringing in my ears drowned out all sound. Before they could recover, I stalked forward and lobbed my mace at the closer one. 
Baldy collapsed with a surprised gasp. Mustache thumped the floor seconds later.
My ankle sang out a louder protest, but I limped forward and stooped to search the nearer guard. A ring of keys draped from his belt loop. Keys in hand, I located the nearest door. Through the one-way window, Kardki sprawled across the floor, eyes shut, cuffed wrists holding her arms at an awkward angle above her head. 
I tried several keys before one clicked into place. When the door swung open, I jogged forward and crouched at her side. Without opening her eyes, she flinched a little and moaned. Guilt stabbed my chest for allowing this to happen to her.
"Kardki?" I whispered. "It's me, Remgar."
To my relief, her eyes flicked open, and she sat up fast enough to rattle her chains. "Remgar? What are you doing here?"
"Listen, I need your help." As I spoke, I tried the keys in her cuffs. "The warper made a hole in the ground. You need to free the other Guardians and lead them out of here." A key clicked into place, and the cuffs fell open. "Can you do that?"
She rubbed her freed wrists, staring at me with wide brown eyes. "Yes, I...I think so. But what...how did you get a warper?"
More footsteps echoed down the corridor, along with a few shouts: Intruder...fight...reinforcements...
"I'll explain later," I told Kardki. I grasped her arm and guided her to her feet. "Get the Guardians out of here—and the human prisoner, Zuzette, just past the Guardian cells."
"What about you? Won't you come with us?"
"I'll hold off the guards. I'll meet up with you later, if I can. Now go, Kardki!"