The Librarian

There was a boat and before that there was a beach and before that there was a boardwalk. Our road to freedom was long, but at least it now existed.

"Run!" Leo said in a whispered shout.

We complied without a word to be said, racing across the wood with the only sounds chasing us the pants of our shortening breaths and the drum of our sneakers against planks, then sand, then the splash of water.

No one chased us.

It took me a moment to realise, but there were no sounds of pursuit following after us. Leo had shut and locked the door behind us so they must have thought that we were still inside the house. They must have been so assured by the thought that they had not even thought to look outside.

The lapping waves were up to my knees and soaking my dress when I realised the immediate issue I was facing. My feet were tangled in the long skirt. I couldn't wade any further without it tripping me and probably drowning me.

Leo was up to his chest before he looked back to see me stock still. Nico's gaze followed his and his eyebrows pinched in confusion. "What's wrong?" He hissed.

"Can you spare me some scissors?" I asked.

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My legs were free and the water dripped heavily from the shawn-off fabric as I pulled myself from the water and onto the white deck after Nico and Leo. Calypso hastily wrapped towels around each of our shoulders in turn but Leo shrugged his off and went to the Archimedes Sphere where the wheel should've been, steering us as an illegally high speed away from the island.

"Are you okay?" Cally asked. "Did they hurt you?"

I held out my wrists, staring blankly into the ocean as she tended my wounds. I was free, so why didn't I feel happy?

Notes