It took a while for Caspian to break out of his cell. Some of the bolts holding the bars were in place more tightly than the others, so they took longer to pry up, and at one point, part of the screw head he’d been using snapped off under the pressure. Fortunately, it was still just big enough to be useable, so he managed to keep going a bit more carefully than before. He only used the screw to loosen the fastenings enough for him to twist them out with his hand, then moved on to the next. All the while, he tuned his ears to the basement door, ready to hurry away from the edge of his cage at the first hint of a noise upstairs. He was so close to freedom; he couldn’t lose his chance by getting caught now.

A couple times, he shuffled back to his spot by the wall when he thought he heard someone coming, but luckily, the rebels didn’t seem to think he needed a guard today—tonight? He was starting to lose track of time again. Whatever part of the day it was, he knew he still had at least some time left, because no one had arrived to collect him to be killed. So, he worked diligently until he pried the cell bar up from the ground. The sight of the gap got him excited, and he gently propped the metal pole against the wall to keep it from clattering on the floor. Once it was safely out of the way, he stepped back over to the opening as quietly as he could and tried to squeeze through. However, to his disappointment, it wasn’t quite big enough for him to fit.

[color=#b97703][i]I would’ve thought I’d lost at least some weight after going a few days without anything to eat other than two slices of bread,[/i][/color] he thought, whispering swears as his shoulders and hips caught on the closest bars. Even if he let out all his breath, he wasn’t quite skinny enough to slip through. He wasn’t overweight by any means, but he’d inherited a broad frame from his father and had some meat on him from his workout routine that he kept up with when his life wasn’t constantly changing. The effort he’d put in to stay fit was turning around to bite him in the ass now though. If he wanted to get out of the Nox-Fleurets’ basement, he was going to have to pull up another bar.

Accepting defeat, Cas retreated back into his cell and picked up the screw from the floor to resume loosening bolts on another pole. By this point, he’d gotten more efficient at the process, so he finished removing the barrier in what he guessed was around fifteen minutes. He pulled it out of place and set it next to the other one. This time, he had more than enough room to get out of his cage. Adrenaline pumping, he furtively stepped through the gap and turned toward the boarded-up window. This was the most progress he’d made so far, and he could feel the pressure setting in. If he messed up, he wasn’t going to get a second chance. He had to move fast before the rebels got curious and came downstairs to check on him.

With a silent clock ticking in the back of his head, he approached the wall and reached up to pull the strip of wood out of place. The light that poured into the basement made his eyes water, but he didn’t have time to stop and adjust to the change. Wasting no time, he doubled back to the chair that Iris had sat in during her last visit, picking it up and setting it beneath the window to stand on. He leaned up to the opening and traced his fingers over the pane, searching for a latch to open it. There was one on the bottom edge, and he grinned to himself as he pushed it open.

On the other side of the glass, he could see a few dilapidated buildings—the rebels must have hidden him on one of the old streets that hadn’t been reconstructed yet—but he didn’t think much of it. Hs first priority was getting away from Regis, Ethan, and Iris. After that, he could figure out how he was going to find his way back to the capital. [color=#b97703][i]One step at a time,[/i][/color] he assured himself, placing his hands on the sill and tensing to pull himself up. While his toned muscles hadn’t helped him get out of his cell, they definitely helped him lift his weight off the chair, so he could climb out of the basement.

He was just about to poke his head through the passage when he realized too late that he hadn’t been paying attention to the door anymore. His eyes widened, and he hurried to scramble out as he heard the sound of someone else coming into the room behind him.