Chapter Six

The girl ran in a panic down corridor after corridor, her shoes squeaking on the white and shining floor. She cursed repeatedly under her breath and tried to ignore the outraged stares she received from those she passed. She dodged teachers and students alike, her bright hair obstructing her view. Desperately, she looked for any sign of the boy from lunch. Another corridor flew by, and another...she took a flight of stairs in three bounds...stumbled as the corridor ahead turned steeply to the left. Eventually, breathing heavily, she stopped. Dejected now, she gazed at the empty turning ahead of her, wishing for the boy to appear.

And, miraculously, he did. He looked as calm as ever, and this comfirmed her fears that he was oblivious to the authorities who had come for him.

"Get out of here!" She yelled, breathlessly, and he spun in surprise. His eyes narrowed when he saw who had shouted, but the girl did not notice as she flung herself at him. He found himself being dragged by the arm, and the girl whispering desperately in his ear.

"You're not safe! Haven't you realised that? They've come to take you away! You have to get out!"

What was she doing? He thought. Acting innocently...acting like she'd done nothing wrong! She'd betrayed him, and here she was trying to help him!

Still, he needed to escape somehow. As he let the girl steer him down the corridor, he realised that she was heading for the only emergency exit on their floor. It could have been a trap, yet it seemed to be his only chance. With one final and renewed burst of speed, he sprinted, overtaking the girl, to the safety-barred door and reeled into it. It opened as he pushed against it and he stumbled out into the sharp evening air. The girl followed.

He gazed at her furiously, and she gazed back, breathing heavily. He slowly turned, in time to the thumping of his heart, and ran. Down the light-weight metal stairs and across the black stone courtyard. The girl followed, relentlessly. He reached the cyberschool's boundaries, wrenched open the gate and sped out into freedom. Still the girl kept pace with him. Fuming angrily, he spun around and caught hold of her shoulders. She stopped with a gasp.

"Well, when's it going to happen?" he screamed at her. "When's the trap going to be sprung?"
The girl gazed back in astonished silence. She was at a loss as to what to say.

"Come on!" He felt himself shaking her. "Where are they hiding? Do you get your reward now, for leading them to me? Or after I'm dead?"

With a cry, she broke free from his grasp. Before he could stop her, the girl darted back towards the way they had come. He instantly realised his mistake. Cursing, he gathered the little strength he had left and set off after her.

He caught up with her as she entered a forest of air funnels. A small cluster of trees in a public garden once stood there , but many had been felled to clear space for air factories and filters. Trees were no longer an integral part of the planet's eco-system. Many had simply died, due to the excessive amounts of chemicals in the atmosphere.

She fell against a tarnished, quietly humming funnel. Warm, artificial air leaked through its sides.
He approached the girl with his arms spread, silently apologising. She ignored him, and he faltered.

"I'm-" he began. She cut him off with a sudden, violent outburst.

"You're what? Grateful? That I saved your life? You could have fooled me, mate!" She took a shuddering breath. "No...don't thank me! Just run, now I've given you the away and live in danger! I'll just go back in there, shall I? Before the air domes lock for the night. I'll go back to that place, because I'm like all the others, aren't I? I'm no better than any of them...shallow, self-centered, ignorant!"

He took it, his mouth still open. Then, "I was- I was trying to say I'm sorry."

The girl lapsed into silence. Seconds sloped by as she crouched, frozen, trying to contain her hurt. Behind the boy, the shimmering air domes hissed as they closed around the cyberschool and blew large quantities of artificial air in through cannisters. The air funnels around them juddered and became silent.

"Well. That's it then." She sighed, "The filters are off for the night; we can't get back in there; the air's running out. Now we both get to die."

He stared, aghast. The thought had not occured to him until now.
"Unless you got any smart ideas?" she asked dubiously, eyebrow raised.

He thought. Usually, he had a lot of time for thinking. Yet, when it came to urgent decisions - well, his mind didn't work that way. But then...why did a sudden incredible thought flash through his otherwise blank mind?

"I do!!" He blurted excitedly. "We need to leave this- this area, we have to find a place where they don't have air domes...don't need them- "

The girl snorted. "Yeah, ok then. A place where they don't need air domes. Isn't that like...nowhere!"

"There is somewhere!" he replied indignantly. "Underground!"