Sorry this has taken a while but not only have I been back at school (nooooooooooooooooooo) but I hit a wall and had no ideas. No. That's not entirely true. I had ideas but they wouldn't work and I didn't know how I was going to write them. But here it is, the promised update. Read it and see what you think.

Dr Farrell stalked down the corridor towards his office. His face was fixed in a scowl and his hands were clenched at his sides. A young trainee hurried towards him from the opposite end of the corridor with a tentative smile on her face.

'Away!' Dr Farrell barked as she opened her mouth. The trainee clamped her jaw shut and scurried past Dr Farrell.

Arriving in his office, Dr Farrell slumped in his chair and put his hands on his desk in front of him. He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a nervous looking woman was in front of him. If Dr Farrell was surprised, he didn't show it.

'What the hell do you want?' he snapped.

'I'm afraid I have some bad news, sir.' The woman wrung her hands together and shifted her wait from one foot to the next. Her pale blue eyes flickered from side to side as though wishing she was anywhere but in her boss's office.

'What?' Dr Farrell groaned inwardly and stared at the woman.

'One of the subjects has escaped, sir.'

'One of the subjects has escaped...?' Dr Farrell's voice was surprisingly calm. The woman began to relax. 'One of the subjects...' So fast she barely saw him move, Dr Farrell leapt up and leaned over his desk so he was just inches from the woman's face. His calm voice was gone. 'HOW DID A SUBJECT ESCAPE AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING STANDING AROUND- GO AND FIND IT!'

'I'm sorry, sir,' the woman quavered as she backed out of them room.

'ANSWER MY QUESTION, YOU INSOLENT LITTLE WORM!' Dr Farrell was shouting at the top of his voice. A vein in his head, pulsed, looking like it was going to pop at any second.

'What question, sir?' The woman had her back to the wall and was shaking in fear.

'HOW ON EARTH DID THE SUBJECT ESCAPE?'

'We don't know, sir. The door was open.' She added, as an afterthought, 'It was the boy you injected a few hours ago, sir.'

'FIND HIM AND BRING HIM TO ME ALONG WITH THE IMBECILE WHO LET HIM ESCAPE!' He sat back down at his desk as the woman hurried from the room. His head hurt and he put a finger to each temple before taking to two Aspirin from his desk and swallowing them. How did he manage to escape? Dr Farrell frowned as he remembered that the cells could only be opened from the outside. So he must have had help. But from who? The doctor frowned as he thought back to the conversation between him and one of the scientists.

'We've got another older one out in the storage room, sir. A girl.'

'Really? Any relation to this one?'

'Not even a slight chance. She's black and has an American accent. They seemed to know each other though.'

With a feeling of dread, Dr Farrell picked up his phone and rang through to security. 'Get to the holding room!' he ordered. 'There's been a breakout.'

'We have to go.' Alex's soft voice broke through Amber's thoughts.

'Are you ready?' Amber directed her question at Hex.

He nodded. 'Feel better already.' He pushed himself up and staggered a little as the world spun. Alex and Amber steadied him and the three of them made their way across to the van.

Inside, the children had woken up, finding the van an uncomfortable sleeping place, even with the blankets.

'Ready to go?' Paulo called from the front seat.

'Yep!' Amber helped Hex sit down before staring around the van's interior. Her eyes came to rest on Hamish and she frowned. Hex tugging on the hem of her shirt made her forget.

'Sit down,' he said, pointing to the floor. 'Paulo's starting up.'

Amber sat down, folding her legs so she wouldn't take up too much room. She bit her lip and cringed as Paulo started the van up. Beside her, Hex held his breath and closed his eyes. Huddling up to make herself as small as possible, Amber waited for the thud of bullets to hit the van's side or the shouts of alarm to start up. Nothing. As Paulo started to drive off, amber couldn't help grinning. They were going to make it!

Suddenly a pair of headlights bounced towards them.

'Turn around, Paulo!' Li screamed. Paulo had already spun the wheel and was coaxing the van to spin around. It moved slowly until Paulo completed the turn, before shooting up the track. The pair of headlights followed them, getting closer.

'A van probably wasn't the best choice,' Paulo admitted as he wrestled the vehicle over the bumping track.

'Probably not,' Alex agreed from his spot beside Paulo. He turned his head to look behind him. 'How you guys doing back there?'

He didn't really need to ask. Freya and Keira were huddled together, holding each other tightly, looks of complete horror on their faces. The three boys were trying to act tough, but their eyes were huge and their faces pale. Li was gripping Mia tightly, keeping a close eye on Phoebe and Sophia who had squashed themselves into a corner. Amber was on the verge of hyperventilating. Hex grabbed her hand and turned her head around so he could see her face.

'Amber. It'll be ok.' His voice was calm and steady, despite the absolute terror he was feeling. Amber nodded and tried to get her breathing back under control.

Suddenly, the van lurched. 'Give yourselves up and we won't shoot you!' The voice came from behind them and it took a moment for Alex to work out the person was using a megaphone. Despite their situation, he couldn't help grinning. What a choice. Give myself up and get injected with hideous, untested drugs or keep going and get shot. Hmmm. That's a toughie. The van lurched again and slowed.

'What happened?' Amber's voice was high with panic.

'I don't know.' Paulo set his jaw and tried to speed the van up. It screamed and refused.

An ear-splitting bang made all the kids scream and throw themselves on the floor.

'They're shooting at us!' Li cried. Another bullet ripped through the night and thudded into the van's side. Gripping Mia tightly, Li closed her eyes and silently urged Paulo on, knowing he was their only hope.

CLIFFHANGER! Don't you love 'em? Next update possibly soonish, depending on the idea flow and school work.

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