Chapter 30 - Hero of the Day

They were a good 10 meters away from the other cell. Ash felt outcaste and she began to cough harder again. She slowly felt her lungs giving out on her again and her knees buckled and she slumped to the ground. She went up to the bars and clung to them. Kiro sensed her pain and went over the bars on his side.
“Please Ash, don’t stop breathing again while I’m watching,” he said.
“I won’t,” she wheezed. She felt Kiro giving her strength and her coughing slowed al little, but it was still harsh.
Echo had moved over to Xiang’s cot and was sitting on the side of it. They seemed to be in their own little world. As could sense that there was some pressure between the two. Echo had a tear falling down her face, but she was still giggling. It was so sweet. Ash was so glad that she had found Xiang.
She didn’t want Zuri to feel alone so she gave Kiro one last smile and crawled back against the wall next to Zuri. She had her knees tucked into her chest and it sounded like she was crying.
“Zuri…what’s wrong?” Ash coughed.
Zuri looked up to her.
“This isn’t exactly how I thought this would end up,” she said. “I was supposed to become a Jedi like Echo promised. Not become prisoner to a guy I’ve never met before!”
Ash wanted to help Zuri, but how could she make her feel strong if Ash didn’t feel strong herself? She decided she needed to tell her something that her masters and friends had always told her.
“Have faith and…don’t loose hope. Once you’ve lost it…you’ll never get it back. You have…to hold on for a long…as you possibly can,” Ash said.
Zuri looked up at her and smiled. Zuri hugged her as tight as she could.
“Can’t breath…too tight!” Ash squealed, and Zuri let go.
“Sorry,” she said and giggled.
“It’s okay,” Ash said. She looked over to the other cell. Kiro was standing up against the wall and looking at the ceiling. Ash wished she was over there with him.
Suddenly Echo jumped up off Xiang’s cot and went over to the bars. Kiro and Xiang were staring at her. Xiang tried to get up but couldn’t.
“Hey fodder-for-brains!” Echo yelled at the guards.
The guards didn’t even look at her.
“Shut up!” they yelled back.
Echo smiled. Ash felt her sister reach out with the Force and slam 2 of the guards into the walls. The other guards were up and had their blasters pointed at Echo. Down the hall Ash heard the clacking of feet running down the hall.
“Hey!! I have you on video and I will open fire! The more you misbehave the quicker you’re friends will die!” Belk said as he ran into the room.
Echo just smiled.
Oh no, Ash thought. She’s gone insane.
Echo reached out with the Force and picked Belk up. Ash wondered how Echo still had strength to do that after the fireworks display she had shown earlier, but when she looked closer at her sister she realized that Echo was sweating.
Now Zuri was up against the bars yelling.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she yelled at Echo.
“Saving your life!” Echo replied, deep in concentration.
Suddenly Belk dropped. There was a thud and Ash could sense his anger rise. Ash found it entertaining.
Belk stood up and steadied himself. He brushed off his fur and pointed an angry finger at Echo.
“That’s enough!” he yelled. “I’m going to make you suffer! Your precious little boyfriend Xiang now gets to decide if you or Ash dies or you will both die!”
Kiro didn’t like that either. He stood up next to Echo.
“You’re way out of line buddy,” he said in his most serious tone.
Belk just smiled.
That wasn’t exactly the reaction that Ash thought Echo was trying to get him to say. Four guards rushed into their cell and tried to grab Echo and Kiro.
Big mistake.
Echo was already mad, and four guards weren’t going to stop her, especially not with Kiro with her. She punched one in the face and kicked another to the ground. Kiro ran up and slammed his foot into a guards face and spun around to meet his foot to the other guard’s teeth. Kiro and Echo stood next to each other.
“My dear Belk, you’ll have to do better than that,” Echo said with a slight grin.
Belk’s fur rippled and his pushed a button on his belt. Ash looked down the hall and 10 more guards, this time with stun guns, come running towards Echo and Kiro. The first one dived at her and Echo jumped over him, punching another one in the nose at the same time. Kiro slammed his foot down on the one that had slid under Echo and then he jumped up dodge stun bolt headed toward him. Ash was surprised her sister still had this much strength, but Ash could sense her weakening. Kiro was still working at his peak efficiency.
Echo landed and a guard slid down and grabbed her leg. Echo tried to kick away but another guard came up behind her and grabbed both her arms with one hand. Echo tried to kick away but it was no use. She was too weak. She left Kiro to take care of the rest of the guards.
The open fired on him, stun bolts flying everywhere. He slipped under most of them, but there were too many to dodge in such a tightly packed area. One hit him straight in the chest, knocking back up against the wall. Ash tried to scream but found that she couldn’t find the breath.
Then the guard holding Echo’s arms behind her took out a stun gun and put it up to her back. Echo froze in her tracks, but before she knew it the guard had already fired the blaster. Echo squealed and her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped to nothing in the guards arms. Ash and Xiang tried to scream, but they both couldn’t. Zuri was though. She screamed at the guards, saying multiple words that weren’t that nice. Xiang was too weak and could barely move and Ash was running out of breath, and now that Kiro was out she found it harder to breath and started coughing again.
The guards left Kiro up against the wall. His hair was sizzling from the bolt. Ash lip quivered. She didn’t know what was going to happen next.
The guards pulled Echo limp body into Ash’s cell and threw her in. Zuri got up to her feet and ran at the guards. Ash tried to stop her but she was too fast, but not any match for the guards. She didn’t even land a hit on them. Her first punch thrown was caught by a guard. He grabbed her hand and twisted it behind her back. Zuri grunted as the guards took her over to Kiro and Xiang’s cell and threw her in.
Ash slowly crawled over to Echo and checked her pulse. It was very slow, but she was still alive. Ash put a hand on her shoulder.
“Why...do you...always…get yourself...into these…situations?” Ash said with a slight smile. She looked over to the other cell.
“Check…Kiro,” Ash tried to speak up. Zuri barely heard her but walked over to Kiro and a hand up to his neck.
“He’s still breathing,” Zuri said back.
“Good,” Ash said to herself.
Now she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to waste her energy because she barely had any, and there was no one in her cell now to entertain her. Just an unconscious Echo.
Ash sat back up against a wall and let out a sigh of relief.
Echo and Kiro were unconscious, Xiang and herself could barely move, and Zuri was a kid. Ash didn’t know how they were going to make it out alive. It seemed like they had been relying on miracles for years…but now, it seemed like they had finally run out of them.

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