Hotel Selten

Another Bars to Pass

“She isn’t floating back to the surface!” 

Due to panic, Thilda suddenly dives into the water and tries to save Ophelia. “Thilda!” She ignored the cries of the rest in the side of the river as she tries to find Ophelia. It was a bit blurry for her but she can see Ophelia slowly sinking at the bottom. She swim to her quickly as she tries and manages to at least stay in the water for some more time. She pulled Ophelia as they rise to the surface. 

Thilda coughs as her head was above water. She puts Ophelia’s arm around her as they swam back to land. Melvin helped them to rise out of the water and carried the unconscious girl and place her gently on the ground. “How did she drowned that she controls water!?” Blaise exclaimed as they pumped her chest to let the water out of her. 

“Just shut up and help us!” Thilda keeps pumping her chest as Ophelia rises and coughs the water out. Ophelia takes a deep breath as she continues to cough the water out. She looks around as she saw her friends and smiles a bit. She pants as she coughs one last time. “Are you okay, darling?” Alice asked her as they helped her to stand. 

“I-I am fine…” She gestures her hand as all of the water on her went out gracefully from her and throws it back into the river. “I didn’t know you can’t breathe underwater,” Blaise said as Ophelia glares at her as she takes off the water on Thilda too. “Apparently I bumped my head on something and forgot that I can control this stuff. I am sorry, okay?” She rolls her eyes as she throws the water back to where it came from.

“Hey, chill.” Thilda rolls her eyes, “Stop being a jerk.” Blaise sighs as he looks around, “So, what now? The doctor ran away.” She sighs and lowers her head, “France is a big place, we can’t just stroll around and already find him…” 

They were stopped with their conversation as some uniformed men came to them. “Voici les fauteurs de troubles. Quel âge avez-vous tous?” A policeman asked them as they all look at him confused. The man snickers, “I said, how old are you all?” They were hesitant to say the truth but Ophelia walked forward, “We are all at a legal age.” 

“Please come with us.” Ophelia looked at them as they all sigh. They cooperated with the police and went to the police station. They went in as the police in the desk was surprised with the bunch of teenagers. “Quel est leur cas? ” The police went to the desk, “ Excès de vitesse, conduite imprudente et ils ont détruit certaines propriétés. De plus, la voiture qu'ils utilisaient a été volée. ” 

The teenagers are clueless about what they are saying. “ Zut. C'est beaucoup de dégâts.  ” The man looks at them, “ Vivez-vous ici en France? ” Thilda raised her eyebrow, “I am sorry, what?” The police man froze a bit, “I guess they can’t understand French.” He cleared his throat, “Do you live here in France?” They all shook their heads. 

“Where did you guys came from?” Ophelia looks at them, “We came from Germany.” The man nods as he writes on his paper. “You did a lot of illegal things, since you guys are at a legal age, you need to be imprisoned.” All of them were shocked and worried, “But sir—” Bennet was cut by the officer. “There are no buts here, you are now adults, this isn’t school detention. You will be detained for a year, or unless someone would pay you off here. Also, we need the owner of the car you stole to cooperate with us if he or she will file a case on you about theft.” 

The police gesture his index finger to his left as the other policemen hold them and went to the prison cells. They entered and didn’t resist. Blaise and Adam were planning something based on their faces, but Ophelia glares at them. They aborted it as they sigh. The police officer locked the door of the cell. “Oh well, back to prison,” Melvin said that made others giggle. Thilda sighs, “How about Miss Eve and others? We can’t just leave them like that. And they don’t know we are here.” She puts her palm on her face in frustration. “What we will do now?” 

Hugo looks around as he saw the policemen were doing their work and some are leaving to continue patrolling. He looks at them, “You still have me.” All of the eyes in the prison went to him. Darkness covers the skies as it reaches the nighttime. They planned their escape from prison.

They decided to call it a day. Ophelia was still half-awake as she heard something.  "P-Pourquoi Monsieur?” A voice from one of the police officers said, questioning someone. “Fais ce que je dis. Do it.” A deep male voice responded to him, emphasizing that the policeman just do what he ordered to him. She can’t understand anything what they are saying, but she listens more. “Mais c'est controversé, monsieur! Si les citoyens savaient qu'ils sont sortis d'ici, ils se fâcheront contre nous. Rompez-vous déjà la promesse du devoir?” 

“ Juste ... Demain... Tomorrow, Je—I don’t want to see them here.” The police officer sighs, “Comme vous le souhaitez, sir Tre—” The deep voice cuts him, “ Soyez silenci—be quiet about this,  d'accord?” The conversation ended. Ophelia was scared, the only thing she understood is when the man spoke English. She thought they will be killed, so she stayed up all night until it’s the time of their plan. 

Hugo wakes up as he stands and looks around. There was an incoming officer. “Hey, sir.” He called the policeman, he approached him. “Why are you still awake?” “If you may, can I get some water?” He acted like his throat was already dry, “I have something in my throat.” The man shrugged as he fetches some water. 

Hugo sets up some needles on the metal bar. Once the police arrived, he reached it to him to the place Hugo just wants. The needle wounded the policeman’s hand. “Oh let me help you, sir.” He wipes the blood on the back of his palm with a tissue. 

“Thanks,   où ai-je été blessé? ” He pulls his hand out and went on. Hugo whispers to the tissue and suddenly the policeman froze. “Get me some hair from your comrades.” The man nods as he approached the other people in the police station and pulled some of their hair. It appeared like it’s a joke, “Hé, Armand, qu'est-ce que tu fais?” The others laugh as he laughs too, but unwillingly. “Au moins, cela m'a rendu un peu plus éveillé.”

He came back to the cell of teenagers. He gave the hair to Hugo, he smirked. He whispers to it too as the rest of the police’s minds is in his hands. He ordered the man in front of them to open the door, he did as Hugo wake the others. “Come on, the coast is clear.”

They went out of the cell and quietly go out of the prison site, not waking other prisoners. The policeman locks the door of the prison cell as they passed by the desk. They were ignored by the police officers as they were just frozen in place. They quietly went out of the police station and all of them except Hugo hides in the alleyway. “You will all become normal and forget everything as I step out of this place. Don’t ever check our prison cell.” He ran away as all of the policemen snapped out. 

“Qu'est-il arrivé?” One of them asked. The leader of their night shift dismissed the weird feeling. “YTu rêvassais juste, ou night dreaming, car il était déjà tard dans la nuit.” The others laugh as they went on to their jobs. Hugo arrived at the area where the rest at. “That was great.” Arabella commented as she rubs her arms, “Though, it’s so cold.” 

“Let’s go, we were already gone for already 2 days,” Thilda said as they look around. They try to find the truck and look around. Ophelia noticed the cathedral. “We are just near.” They followed her and they found the truck. They opened the door gently and saw everyone was sleeping. They gently went inside, waking others up, but telling them to sleep again. Blaise and Thilda took their places in the driver’s area and slept.

The other residents woke up with joy as they saw their heroes fine. “I am glad you guys are okay.” Miss Eve said while smiling. “I thought I would lose you. I am already planning to venture the outsides and find you guys. Tell me, what happened?” They all looked at each other, “Well, we found the doctor.” Ophelia initiates. “Well, it’s funny because it was just a search for these two, and we were captured then Hugo and Blaise became our rescuers because they searched for us.” 

“Well, not really, it was Hibi’s effort. Without here too, we would be there all in the prison cells of Asante.” Hibi blushed a bit for Hugo’s compliment. “Well, I am sorry for lying to you guys. I can’t really say that he was doing this to me because every move and everything I say can be heard by him.”

“What do you mean?” Miss Eve became confused, “You were still his prisoner?” Hibi shooks her head, “I tricked him to fall in love with me, so he can treat me differently than other of his prisoners. While I’m at it, he challenges me to a mission to test my love and loyalty to him. It was to lure you to his lair so he could fight you in his territory where you all will be defenseless.”

All the rest who didn’t know the truth was shocked, if Hibi were just loyal to the doctor, they would’ve fallen to a trap they didn’t detect. “I really want you guys to take him down. Since I already knew his laboratory and even has access to its inner workings, I could make a drastic game change to help you. I am sorry again for lying to you.” 

Miss Eve sighs, “Thank you for helping my residents back there.” Hibi nods, “No worries madam, I am happy to help.” The lady smiles, “And about the doctor…” She said as the fighters look at each other. “Well, he escaped, miss…” The lady flashes a confused face right before them. “We tried to at least stop him, Ophelia was even in his roof and in the end was thrown on the river. In that chase, we were chased by the police too and we got arrested.”

“Arrested!?” Miss Eve exclaimed. Blaise comforts her, “We escaped the prison miss, don’t worry.” She looks at him, “But then you would be searched and another year will be added for your imprisonment for felony escape.” 

“Well, miss…” All of the eyes in the truck went to her, “I think they were planning to take us out anyways.” The lady was confused, “What do you mean?” “I overheard a conversation last night. It was a mix of French and English stuff. But I got one clear message, someone doesn’t want us to be seen there. I don’t know what it meant by that, by I assumed that they will kill us somehow.” The lady puts her hand on her chin, thinking.

“Is this where those teenagers were imprisoned?” A tall and big figure man appeared on a police station’s desk. They kept denying the fact that there were teenagers by here just yesterday. They all salute as he left. He was frustrated and pissed. He drew his phone and called a number. He went in his car as the other line answered his call. “Is this your fault again? Are you sabotaging my plans?” The person on the other side laughs, “It’s really funny when you are pissed off.” 

“Just answer my f*****g question.” He said in anger as he almost squeezes his phone in rage. “Chill, big man.” “You really want to play hero, huh?” He said as he looks outside while talking to the person, it laughed. “No. In a matter of fact, I was always the villain when we are still children. Maybe call me, the villain of your mischief.” Suddenly, the call ended. 

“ Bon Dieu, Aluin.”