not, I didn’t know. “I’ll make sure the word gets out and call in backup.”
“Thank you.”
I grabbed Raphael’s shirt and pulled him to follow me toward a guard gate in and out of the yard. Testing the halls was going to be safer than the war zone outside, something I agreed with Korey about. Prisoners were going to be thinking about escaping, not storming the fucking castle.
The gate was unlocked with none of its normal security to slow me down. I tugged Raphael through the door and checked my weaponry while we had a moment.
“Get to the car and get out. Those are our new objectives. If we run across any escapees, we’ll provide assistance and take them out. Clear?” I looked up at his black eyes, seeing he was still channeling his non-human abilities. His face was nearly black from the concentration of the veins radiating from his eyes. I was over getting freaked out by his magic, or whatever it was, but it was still disconcerting to see. At that moment, it didn’t faze me at all.
“What’s Code Black?” he asked, keeping his cool better than I would have guessed. I was glad he understood the severity, not that it was hard to miss. More importantly, he was willing to do what was necessary, something he had already proved by the blood covering his arms and chest.
“Lock down the city and surrounding area.” I started checking myself for injuries once I was satisfied that all of my things were on me, not lost in the rubble of the northern cell block. I wasn’t moving until I knew what my limitations were, and we were somewhat safe for the moment. I explained while I worked.
“Phoenix will be the first place escapees hit because they can’t travel through the desert and live to tell of it. There’s a scale, based on the danger of the escaped prisoner and how much we consider them a public threat. Code Black is the order to shut everything down, lock your doors, and hide. We’ve never had to call it because we’ve never had anyone from the northern cell block escape.” I was finally satisfied and looked up at him.
“Let’s get moving. The sooner we get out of the prison’s territory, the sooner I can call back to Phoenix and let everyone know what’s happened.” I started walking for the other end of the small hall, normally where guards would prep for their time in the yard.
“Let me lead,” he said sharply, grabbing me before I could move out of the small guard hallway. When I turned to hiss at him, he slammed a hand over my mouth. “I heal through it all, remember? I’m less likely to die. Just tell me where to turn and how to get out of this fucking place.” He removed the hand once I nodded.
“Don’t ever do that again,” I snapped.
He chuckled darkly and opened the door at the end of the hall, checking the next hall before going out. I followed him, leaving only a foot between us, constantly checking over my shoulder. There was no such thing as being too cautious.
“Jog,” I ordered softly, and he picked up the speed. “We’re close to the northern cell block. Head for administration signs, those offices are closest to the exit.”
“Roger,” he said, pointing down the hall to a sign, leading us into a sharp left, then a quick right. The prison could be a little bit of a maze of rooms and offices—administration, interrogation rooms, medical wing, and even living quarters for most of the guards, though the living quarters were on the second and third floors. I didn’t think we’d have to go up there, but with everything happening, who knew.
“Left here,” I sharply ordered, causing Raphael to veer down another hall. I ran into the back of him when he stopped. “What the—”
I looked around him, and something threatened to eject from my stomach at the blood covering the hallway. I recognized Eliphas from behind, his scraggly long blonde hair, his signature black trench coat with symbols around the bottom. I’d seen that ugly trench coat enough to know no one wore it like him.
“Eliphas,” I exclaimed, jogging past Raphael. I couldn’t blame Raphael for not coming closer. He didn’t know who the warden was by a simple glance. “Hey, Eliphas—”
The witch turned around, and for a moment, his wavy blond hair blocked my view of his face.