28. Kren

The hammer thudded into the pit floor one inch to one side of my head.

THUMP!

It was pitch dark but I still held the general outline of the thrall standing over me in the front of my mind. I lashed out with my foot at a sixty-degree angle. If I judged the angle right, it should land between his legs.

The figure grunted. He would fall to his knees and then crumple to the ground.

Right where I lay.

I rolled out of the way as he slumped to the floor.

"Standby," Computer said. "Emergency lighting activating."

A low white light lit the ceilings in long strips. The inmates were quick to take advantage. They rushed the guards, who opened fire with their shock rifles. Blue-white bolts of lightning scorched the hallways.

The power was out and that meant it was a free for all. Some would return to their rooms and barricade themselves inside. Others would beat and fight and maim other prisoners to grab what few possessions they owned. Others would engage in turf wars to take more territory or kill their opponents and weaken their numbers.

The really dumb ones would be running for the exits and looking for a way out. Even if they managed to escape, what did they expect to happen? They would have no shelter, no food, nowhere to hide, and no one to help them in one of the harshest landscapes in the galaxy.

I glanced at the observation window. Ivy stood at the controls. She had been the one to shut the power off. How she'd managed it, I had no idea. But she had, and it was to save me. And now the Supervisor rushed forward, grabbing her by the shoulders and shoving her to the floor.

Red hot blood pulsed through my veins and I felt my insides turn to rock. The thrall could have smashed me over the head and I wouldn't have felt it.

Nobody laid hands on Ivy. Nobody.

The first thing I needed to do was get the hell out of the pit.

The thrall lay prone on the ground, still clutching his goolies. He wasn't about to give me a hand in getting out of there.

I scooped up his hammer and checked the length in my hands. I leaned it against a pit wall with the business end on the bottom and the handle facing up. I stepped on the butt and balanced with the ball of one foot.

It was enough. The extra height allowed me to be within touching distance of the fence that ran around the pit's edge.

I had to jump to reach it. I bent my knee and hopped. My right hand found a strut. I pulled myself up with one arm and seized a second with my second hand.

I pulled myself up one arm at a time, inch by inch. Once I reached the top, I swung my arms and leveraged myself up to bring my foot over the side and then hop on the gangway.