Isabel scanned darkness around her. All was silent- all the guards had disappeared the moment the lights went out. They had taken her to some big room with several 'mini rooms,' which she was, currently in. she was still strapped down and couldn't use her powers to free herself. The lights had turned off just in time. They had already brought out all the vile medical tools so that they could begin their torture procedure. She was terrified. She couldn't ever feeling as scared as she was now. Her brave, independent façade had disappeared the moment she was strapped down and saw her last glimpse of Alex.
********************************************************
Alex had all ready tried every trick in the book and none seemed to help when it came to getting out of this damn room! It was definitely Alex-proof. He felt totally alone and being in the dark definitely didn't help. This place was so ancient it didn't even have a backup generator. He heard heavy footsteps approaching. He strained to see where it came from but didn't see a thing. Afterwards he saw the beam from several flashlights light the hallway. He looked out the window wondering what they were up to.
One guard stopped in front of his cell while the others continued down the corridor. He opened the door to his cell.
"I don't want to hear a peep out of you. Just do as I say and you won't get hurt." The guard said gruffly. The guard tried to hide his fear by sounding intimidating but Alex could see right through him. He had to admit though- having a gun aimed at you did help slightly with the intimidation factor. Alex studied the guard a minute before moving. He looked to be in his early 20's, his uniform was muddy and he was out of breath- like he had just finished running a marathon or something. He also noticed one major thing causing Alex to cock his head in surprise. The guard still had his safety on- the sucker was basically aiming a toy gun at him. This is too good to be through.
Alex raised his hands above his head to show the guard he was listening and that he wasn't going to try any stunts. The guard motioned for him to get up, which Alex did obediently. "Now slowly move outside- no funny stuff I'm warning you."
The guard nervously glanced around and turned to Alex. "How many of your friends are out there?"
Confused, Alex stared at him uncertain, "What do you mean?"
The guard shifted his weight slightly, "You know what I'm talking about. Aliens."
Just then the walkie-talkie on his belt came alive. At first static was all you could make out but then the distinct sound of someone's voice became clear.
"{Crackle, crackle} anyone listening? Something has breeched security, I repeat {crackle} security...invisible attacker. It's taken out...men... explosions {sputter} screams {hiss} lockdown underway...get to safety...bring prisoners...it's...{Static} " The voice stopped and all that filled the air was the sound of static. The guard stared at Alex bewildered before pushing Alex to the side and running off.
"Hey at least leave me the flashlight!" yelled Alex to the fleeing guard. To his surprise the guard tossed it behind his back and continued running. Wonder was that was all about? Well at least he was free and armed with a flashlight.
********************************************************
Max open his eyes and saw that he was in another room. He struggled to sit up but found himself held down. Where am I? He glanced around the room and right away felt nauseous. He was in a lab room. He was strapped down to a medical bed and there were a whole lot of instruments laying way too close to him. He was hooked up to a heart monitor and another machine, which he guessed was used for measuring brain waves. Luckily for him, he had woken up just in the nick of time for them to begin he thought grimly.
There was no one around though- where were they? What was going on? Nonetheless, he wasn't complaining. Two straps on his arms stilled restrain him to the bed. He mustered up all his strength and tugged at it- yearning to be free. The straps fell free from his arms and he grinned thankfully. He unhooked himself from the machines and sat up. Big mistake, it seemed as if the world was spinning at a 100,000 miles per hour and his stomach felt queasy. He lied back quickly and the spinning stopped. "What the heck?" He looked at himself again and found the culprit- he was hooked up to an IV, which most likely had that "sleepy" medicine doctors used on patients before they operated. Comforting thought. He shuddered at the word operate. He took two deep breaths and slowly got up. The spinning stopped quickly. He unfastened the straps holding down his legs. He jumped off the table and grabbed a nearby desk in time to break his fall. "This is going to be a bit more difficult than I thought," he admitted as he slowly walked toward the double doors. This better wear off soon.
********************************************************
Tess and Michael heard voices close by and prepared to do another round of scares. As they drew nearer, they saw Alex pass by them walking the opposite way. Relief washed over their faces.
"Wrong way compadre!" said Michael. Alex shined the flashlight at them revealing their hiding spots.
"Hey, watch where you aim," said Tess as she blocked her eyes.
Alex immediately lowered the light. "Man am I ever glad to see you two!" he said as he ran towards them and hugged them both. He grinned, "Are you two responsible for the: {Crackle} invisible attacker...taken out...men... explosions {sputter} escape if you can..." he asked as he made a perfect imitation of the radio call.
Tess laughed while Michael chuckled. "I didn't think they'd last long enough to send that message. We had to think of some way to clear out of the facility so we could get in and be able to look around freely..."
"...So we used our alien advantage and played ghost for a little while. A few sparks here, a few ghoulish howls there, and a little alien power too!" finished Michael. The three laughed and began to search for the others who were still somewhere in the compound.
********************************************************
Liz lay half asleep on the cold, cement floor. She had cried herself to sleep and had woken up to darkness. Being all by herself was killing her. Her mind kept going back to what the guard had told her. Alex and Maria were maybe dead- Max was gone. She didn't know where Isabel was. She couldn't stop thinking about it-it was eating her alive. She was never going to get out of here. She didn't deserve to, she thought to herself. Tears began to form again and she let them slide down her cheek. She didn't care anymore. The most important people in her life were gone now. She had seen the guards go into Max's cell. Two minutes later they dragged him out. The image had haunted Liz ever since. They were probably killing him wit their experiments at this very moment. Now nothing mattered to her. The thought of Maria and Alex- it was too much. And what had become of Isabel? She broke down and sobbed uncontrollably as she hugged herself into a ball.
********************************************************
C'mon Max, concentrate! The medicine had long since worn off but he still felt a little uneasy. Uneasy because no one was around, uneasy because he didn't know where his friends were and uneasy because he was still alive at this point. If the FBI had its way then he would be dead right now or at least be locked up...yet here he was. Walking around with no one following him and free to do whatever.
Max had been pulling the curtains away from each mini lab room hoping that he didn't find anyone inside, so far so good. He heard a low whimpering coming from nearby. He walked in the direction of the sound, which led him to yet another curtain. His heart pounded in his chest heavily. He was afraid of what was behind the curtain. With all his courage, he yanked the curtain away and saw Isabel lying there held down to the bed.
"Izzy!" he yelled as he ran to her side. She struggled to say something to him, but the gag muffled any sound. He quickly took it off. And hugged her. "Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?" he asked as he quickly undid her straps.
"No, no I'm okay. What about you, Max?" she asked as she jumped off the bed and threw her arms around him.
"I'm fine. Looks like you and I were both going to go under the knife though!" She punched his arm. "Ow," he said. She grabbed his arm and saw the mark where the IV had been. "Looks like you were going to be first," she replied.
"We have to find Liz, Alex and Maria."
"Alex was right across the hall from me."
"I know where Liz is."
"Is she okay? When you were knocked out, she was-"
"Don't worry about it. We're all going to be fine."
The two walked through thick, metal doors. The lights were all off in here to, but he and Isabel realized that they were in the area where he had been locked up earlier. Tiny rooms lined the walls. There must have been hundreds. It was going to take them hours to search each one and Max wasn't even sure if his friends were still here.
********************************************************
Michael, Tess and Alex had found Maria bound and gagged in another cell, which was near the medical labs. After freeing her, they explored the labs, which looked and smelled like one of those hospitals you'd find in those old shows like M*A*S*H. There where lots of dividers on the sides of the walls and in the center were several computers with Government issued stickers. There were also several long and wide cabinets that contained all sorts of medical supplies. They split up and began exploring the area. It had been eerily quiet and to make matters worse the place smelled clinical- just like a hospital or the dentist's. Yuck. Maria was pulling curtains away and kept finding empty med beds, which is precisely what she wanted. If these monsters brought Isabel, Max or Liz here and did those awful things to them...no! I'm not going to start thinking like that. It's your job to find them and you will! She heard Tess cry out and saw the look of horror on her face. "No!" said Maria as she ran to her.
Maria picked up Max's leather jacket and shirt and turned to Michael unable to say a word. He took her into his arms and tried calming her down. "You don't think that..." Alex said.
Tess looked at the bed and noticed the heart monitor still spewing out information. She picked it up and showed it to Alex. "Max is okay. Look at these readings. Here at the beginning he has a strong heartbeat, and then look here where it lowers slightly. That's when he must have dozed off," she explained as she pointed to the oxygen mask lying on the floor, "then here it peaks up- that's when he must have woken up. He disconnected himself and went off in search of us. He didn't leave too long ago according to this though."
Michael nodded, "So then we should get to him pretty soon huh?"
*************************************************************
Liz opened her eyes and heard several footsteps approaching. Terrified, she pressed her back against the wall hoping that the guards wouldn't see her even though it was pitch dark. Too late, they came closer and closer. One stopped at her cell while the other continued on. Against her better judgment, she slowly tiptoed to the side opposite the door. She froze not wanting to make a sound. She heard a click and the door swung open. Her heart was racing a hundred miles per hour and was so loud she thought the guards would hear it. He entered the room barely making a sound. She could hear him get closer- goose bumps formed on her arms and she shivered. Trying to make as little noise as possible she hugged the wall and began crawling towards the door. Just a few more feet and you'll be there. She felt him grab her shoulder. She screamed and rolled onto her side.
"Leave me alone please," she begged as she tried pulling away. He grabbed her arm and held on. No matter how hard she tried yanking her hand, he still gripped it firm.
"It's me Max."
She stopped struggling and was motionless. "Max?" she asked unsure.
He knelt down and placed his hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes as new tears formed. He brushed them away with his thumb. "Max," she whispered. She crawled to him and held him in her arms. She buried her face in his shoulders not letting go. "I saw them take you away...they were dragging you. I thought they had..."
"Shh, I'm okay." He felt horrible- he hated seeing her like this. She pulled away still holding his hand, "We should find the others."
********************************************************
Alex had all ready tried every trick in the book and none seemed to help when it came to getting out of this damn room! It was definitely Alex-proof. He felt totally alone and being in the dark definitely didn't help. This place was so ancient it didn't even have a backup generator. He heard heavy footsteps approaching. He strained to see where it came from but didn't see a thing. Afterwards he saw the beam from several flashlights light the hallway. He looked out the window wondering what they were up to.
One guard stopped in front of his cell while the others continued down the corridor. He opened the door to his cell.
"I don't want to hear a peep out of you. Just do as I say and you won't get hurt." The guard said gruffly. The guard tried to hide his fear by sounding intimidating but Alex could see right through him. He had to admit though- having a gun aimed at you did help slightly with the intimidation factor. Alex studied the guard a minute before moving. He looked to be in his early 20's, his uniform was muddy and he was out of breath- like he had just finished running a marathon or something. He also noticed one major thing causing Alex to cock his head in surprise. The guard still had his safety on- the sucker was basically aiming a toy gun at him. This is too good to be through.
Alex raised his hands above his head to show the guard he was listening and that he wasn't going to try any stunts. The guard motioned for him to get up, which Alex did obediently. "Now slowly move outside- no funny stuff I'm warning you."
The guard nervously glanced around and turned to Alex. "How many of your friends are out there?"
Confused, Alex stared at him uncertain, "What do you mean?"
The guard shifted his weight slightly, "You know what I'm talking about. Aliens."
Just then the walkie-talkie on his belt came alive. At first static was all you could make out but then the distinct sound of someone's voice became clear.
"{Crackle, crackle} anyone listening? Something has breeched security, I repeat {crackle} security...invisible attacker. It's taken out...men... explosions {sputter} screams {hiss} lockdown underway...get to safety...bring prisoners...it's...{Static} " The voice stopped and all that filled the air was the sound of static. The guard stared at Alex bewildered before pushing Alex to the side and running off.
"Hey at least leave me the flashlight!" yelled Alex to the fleeing guard. To his surprise the guard tossed it behind his back and continued running. Wonder was that was all about? Well at least he was free and armed with a flashlight.
********************************************************
Max open his eyes and saw that he was in another room. He struggled to sit up but found himself held down. Where am I? He glanced around the room and right away felt nauseous. He was in a lab room. He was strapped down to a medical bed and there were a whole lot of instruments laying way too close to him. He was hooked up to a heart monitor and another machine, which he guessed was used for measuring brain waves. Luckily for him, he had woken up just in the nick of time for them to begin he thought grimly.
There was no one around though- where were they? What was going on? Nonetheless, he wasn't complaining. Two straps on his arms stilled restrain him to the bed. He mustered up all his strength and tugged at it- yearning to be free. The straps fell free from his arms and he grinned thankfully. He unhooked himself from the machines and sat up. Big mistake, it seemed as if the world was spinning at a 100,000 miles per hour and his stomach felt queasy. He lied back quickly and the spinning stopped. "What the heck?" He looked at himself again and found the culprit- he was hooked up to an IV, which most likely had that "sleepy" medicine doctors used on patients before they operated. Comforting thought. He shuddered at the word operate. He took two deep breaths and slowly got up. The spinning stopped quickly. He unfastened the straps holding down his legs. He jumped off the table and grabbed a nearby desk in time to break his fall. "This is going to be a bit more difficult than I thought," he admitted as he slowly walked toward the double doors. This better wear off soon.
********************************************************
Tess and Michael heard voices close by and prepared to do another round of scares. As they drew nearer, they saw Alex pass by them walking the opposite way. Relief washed over their faces.
"Wrong way compadre!" said Michael. Alex shined the flashlight at them revealing their hiding spots.
"Hey, watch where you aim," said Tess as she blocked her eyes.
Alex immediately lowered the light. "Man am I ever glad to see you two!" he said as he ran towards them and hugged them both. He grinned, "Are you two responsible for the: {Crackle} invisible attacker...taken out...men... explosions {sputter} escape if you can..." he asked as he made a perfect imitation of the radio call.
Tess laughed while Michael chuckled. "I didn't think they'd last long enough to send that message. We had to think of some way to clear out of the facility so we could get in and be able to look around freely..."
"...So we used our alien advantage and played ghost for a little while. A few sparks here, a few ghoulish howls there, and a little alien power too!" finished Michael. The three laughed and began to search for the others who were still somewhere in the compound.
********************************************************
Liz lay half asleep on the cold, cement floor. She had cried herself to sleep and had woken up to darkness. Being all by herself was killing her. Her mind kept going back to what the guard had told her. Alex and Maria were maybe dead- Max was gone. She didn't know where Isabel was. She couldn't stop thinking about it-it was eating her alive. She was never going to get out of here. She didn't deserve to, she thought to herself. Tears began to form again and she let them slide down her cheek. She didn't care anymore. The most important people in her life were gone now. She had seen the guards go into Max's cell. Two minutes later they dragged him out. The image had haunted Liz ever since. They were probably killing him wit their experiments at this very moment. Now nothing mattered to her. The thought of Maria and Alex- it was too much. And what had become of Isabel? She broke down and sobbed uncontrollably as she hugged herself into a ball.
********************************************************
C'mon Max, concentrate! The medicine had long since worn off but he still felt a little uneasy. Uneasy because no one was around, uneasy because he didn't know where his friends were and uneasy because he was still alive at this point. If the FBI had its way then he would be dead right now or at least be locked up...yet here he was. Walking around with no one following him and free to do whatever.
Max had been pulling the curtains away from each mini lab room hoping that he didn't find anyone inside, so far so good. He heard a low whimpering coming from nearby. He walked in the direction of the sound, which led him to yet another curtain. His heart pounded in his chest heavily. He was afraid of what was behind the curtain. With all his courage, he yanked the curtain away and saw Isabel lying there held down to the bed.
"Izzy!" he yelled as he ran to her side. She struggled to say something to him, but the gag muffled any sound. He quickly took it off. And hugged her. "Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?" he asked as he quickly undid her straps.
"No, no I'm okay. What about you, Max?" she asked as she jumped off the bed and threw her arms around him.
"I'm fine. Looks like you and I were both going to go under the knife though!" She punched his arm. "Ow," he said. She grabbed his arm and saw the mark where the IV had been. "Looks like you were going to be first," she replied.
"We have to find Liz, Alex and Maria."
"Alex was right across the hall from me."
"I know where Liz is."
"Is she okay? When you were knocked out, she was-"
"Don't worry about it. We're all going to be fine."
The two walked through thick, metal doors. The lights were all off in here to, but he and Isabel realized that they were in the area where he had been locked up earlier. Tiny rooms lined the walls. There must have been hundreds. It was going to take them hours to search each one and Max wasn't even sure if his friends were still here.
********************************************************
Michael, Tess and Alex had found Maria bound and gagged in another cell, which was near the medical labs. After freeing her, they explored the labs, which looked and smelled like one of those hospitals you'd find in those old shows like M*A*S*H. There where lots of dividers on the sides of the walls and in the center were several computers with Government issued stickers. There were also several long and wide cabinets that contained all sorts of medical supplies. They split up and began exploring the area. It had been eerily quiet and to make matters worse the place smelled clinical- just like a hospital or the dentist's. Yuck. Maria was pulling curtains away and kept finding empty med beds, which is precisely what she wanted. If these monsters brought Isabel, Max or Liz here and did those awful things to them...no! I'm not going to start thinking like that. It's your job to find them and you will! She heard Tess cry out and saw the look of horror on her face. "No!" said Maria as she ran to her.
Maria picked up Max's leather jacket and shirt and turned to Michael unable to say a word. He took her into his arms and tried calming her down. "You don't think that..." Alex said.
Tess looked at the bed and noticed the heart monitor still spewing out information. She picked it up and showed it to Alex. "Max is okay. Look at these readings. Here at the beginning he has a strong heartbeat, and then look here where it lowers slightly. That's when he must have dozed off," she explained as she pointed to the oxygen mask lying on the floor, "then here it peaks up- that's when he must have woken up. He disconnected himself and went off in search of us. He didn't leave too long ago according to this though."
Michael nodded, "So then we should get to him pretty soon huh?"
*************************************************************
Liz opened her eyes and heard several footsteps approaching. Terrified, she pressed her back against the wall hoping that the guards wouldn't see her even though it was pitch dark. Too late, they came closer and closer. One stopped at her cell while the other continued on. Against her better judgment, she slowly tiptoed to the side opposite the door. She froze not wanting to make a sound. She heard a click and the door swung open. Her heart was racing a hundred miles per hour and was so loud she thought the guards would hear it. He entered the room barely making a sound. She could hear him get closer- goose bumps formed on her arms and she shivered. Trying to make as little noise as possible she hugged the wall and began crawling towards the door. Just a few more feet and you'll be there. She felt him grab her shoulder. She screamed and rolled onto her side.
"Leave me alone please," she begged as she tried pulling away. He grabbed her arm and held on. No matter how hard she tried yanking her hand, he still gripped it firm.
"It's me Max."
She stopped struggling and was motionless. "Max?" she asked unsure.
He knelt down and placed his hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes as new tears formed. He brushed them away with his thumb. "Max," she whispered. She crawled to him and held him in her arms. She buried her face in his shoulders not letting go. "I saw them take you away...they were dragging you. I thought they had..."
"Shh, I'm okay." He felt horrible- he hated seeing her like this. She pulled away still holding his hand, "We should find the others."