I am absolutely sure that the ceiling is going to crush us; so sure, in fact, that I let out the most feminine scream I can possibly muster. When the debris freezes just inches from squashing us to pieces, I let out a little prayer of thanksgiving. I glance over to see Kasper with both arms outstretched above her. I remember what she told me earlier about her powers. She can change the gravity around objects, and apparently that's the only thing keeping us from being crushed at the moment.
"Are your pants still dry over there?" Dante asks, a smile playing over his lips despite almost becoming a bloody pancake. His eyes betray his moment's fear however; he was just as scared as I was.
"Ha ha," I spit back at him, matching his smile. I'm just happy to be alive.
"Are you two done over there? Or would you still rather become one with the gym floor, because I can't hold this forever," Kasper says, her face red with strain.
Dante looks around. "Can you get us to the door?"
"Oh sure, not a problem babe," Kasper says. She makes a swirling motion with her her right arm, clearing a broken beam from the gym door. "Hurry!"
We all run as fast as we can for the exit. Once we are all standing in the hallway, Kasper lets the gym ceiling drop. A cloud of dirt and dust spews from the open doorway, enveloping us. I close my eyes to avoid getting detritus in them. I feel something, a splinter or shard of glass, scratch me cheek as it flies past.
"Let's move," Dante says. He grabs mine and Kasper's arms and drags us down the hallway. The fluorescent lights flicker overhead, some completely falling from the ceiling. It's a miracle the hallway is still intact. Suddenly, a loud bang blows through the hallway, and the lights go out altogether. Kasper lets out a little yelp.
"Well, now what?" I ask, Dante's hands still on my arm. "Hey, I'm feeling a little sluggish..." My words slur and my head is foggy. I can feel a dull ache throughout my entire body, and it is definitely getting hard to think straight.
"S-sorry! I can't control it sometimes. The draining. It just happens," Dante says, dropping our arms.
"Can't you make the glowy thing happen?" Kasper asks.
"The glowy thing?" I say, scoffing.
"Yeah, the glowy thing. He shoots bright lights after taking energy from people, remember?"
"Oh that glowy thing." I comprehend.
I can practically hear Dante shaking his head 'no'. "It's way too bright, and it doesn't last long enough for us to be able to see. Not to mention that I can't really control where the blast goes all that well."
"Does anyone have a cell phone on them?" I ask, checking for mine.
"Cell phones don't work so far underground. I only use mine when I'm above ground," Kasper says.
"I don't even know what happened to mine," I admit in despair.
We stand in silence, thinking for any way to get out of this mess.
"I think you just need to do it Dante," Kasper finally says. "Maybe you can start fire or something. Anything so we can just get out of here."
"I can't, Kas. I can't. If I—if I hurt you, or worse, how could I love with myself?" Dante's voice cracks with emotion. "I've hurt too many people, Kasper. I'm not going to hurt you too." I think I hear them hug or kiss, or something, so I awkwardly cough into my fist to get their attention.
"Let's just walk as far as we can down this hallway. If we don't see any light ahead, then we can plan our next course of action. Sound good?" I ask, looking around despite the fact that I can't see anything at all.
"Lead the way," Kasper replies after a few seconds. I assume they were still making out.
I walk slowly forward, keeping my arms out in front of me. Broken glass cracks under my weight, but so far we haven't run into anything too bad. After who knows how long of inching onwards into the darkness, we hear it.
Gunshots.
Up ahead I see a faint glow, coming from some open door or hallway. Not one of us speaks though; the light is in the same direction as the gunfire we just heard.
"You guys ready?" Dante whispers. Kasper murmurs something in reassurance.
I'm the first one to approach the light, so I turn around to see how close Kasper and Dante are. The poor guy bears several shallow gashes all over his shirtless torso. I feel a wave of pity, but I'm sure he'll be alright. Kasper too looks fine, save for the tangled mess of her poofy reddish hair.
It turns out the light is streaming faintly through a doorway. I turn my head around into the doorframe, revealing that this particular corridor leads to a flight of stairs; the flight of stairs I almost fell to my death down only last night. The gunshot jolts me out of my thoughts. Thankfully, it seems to be coming from several flights of stairs above us.
I put a finger to my lips and turn to face Dante and Kasper. They get the message and follow behind me as I make my way as silently as possible to the stairs. The one advantage I have over Dante at this point is that my lighter weight allows me to sneak easier and more silently, whereas the muscular boy clumsily kicks debris in his attempt at stealth.
As we climb the stairs, we hear can hear the sounds of battle getting closer and closer: glass breaking, bullets flying, and screams of pain and frustration. The door a flight of stairs above us is kicked open. A slew of curse words follow. Suddenly, loud gunfire erupts and the hallway echoes with deafening bangs. We crouch low to avoid being hit by a ricochet bullet, slowly advancing up the staircase.
"Filth," someone says above us in a thick East European accent.
"Comrade?" Kasper whispers, tilting her head up.
"Kasper? Is that you?" Serik-Zauresh calls in a quiet voice. We hear her run down the stairs, footsteps echoing in the cavernous space.
"We're down here Comrade!" Dante calls.
The foreign girl shines a flashlight down at us to get a better look at us in the faint light. I see that she holds a pistol in her other hand, although she isn't aiming at any of us.
"What the hell is happening up there?" Dante demands, running a hand through his dyed hair. "Who's attacking us?"
"Can not tell. They wear tactical masks over faces. Do you think they might be–"
"Let's not talk about that now Comrade. Do you have anything for us to defend ourselves, or should we just guard you as human meat shields? Actually, if this weren't a life or death situation, that could be kind of fun–ow!" Kasper smacks Dante's arm. "What? Too soon?"
"I have gun in backpack. I suggest person with baby skills uses that," Serik-Zauresh says, pointing at me.
"I have never fired a gun in my life!" I exclaim. I've fired a bow plenty of times, but never a gun.
"Here. Press trigger to shoot. Do not aim at comrades. Safety is off. If you shoot comrade, I shoot you," The scarred girl says.
I nod a little "Got it."
Serik-Zauresh gives me a final cold stare, then turns and heads back up the stairs. I follow behind, the others on my tail.
Serik-Zauresh stops at the door, stepping over the body of a man in tactical armor. She glances down the hallway to make sure that no hostiles are in the way, then she waves her hand for us to follow. The lights in this hallway flicker, making it difficult to see just where we are going. A few bodies litter the carpeted floor; mostly more men in the same tactical armor as the one Comrade stepped over and presumably killed.
"You took down all of these guys?" Kasper asks, astonished.
Serik-Zauresh nods, but lets out a little "shhh."
At the end of the hallway, a once-sealed door with one of those hand-scanners is blasted open. Beyond the door, the lights are all blown out.
"What's up there?" I whisper, feeling a chill up my spine.
"Do not know. Stay close," Comrade commands.
Before any of us can take another step, a spray of gunfire flashes from the exploded door. Everyone drops to the ground except for Serik-Zauresh, who dives behind an overturned table. She motions for us to join her, then fires a few shots herself. In the doorway, someone screams in anger before returning Comrade's fire. The girl lets out a string of curse words in another language. She is rewarded with a shout of agony from her enemy, who stops firing altogether. Serik-Zauresh jumps over her cover and sprints to her enemy, making sure he's dead. When she is satisfied, she waves is over, but motions for us to be quiet.
We enter a pitch-black computer lab. With the aid of Comrade's flashlight, I can see overturned desks and sparking wires galore.
The faint light from the hallway doesn't illuminate all of the debris, so I trip more than once, as do Kasper and Dante.
Serik-Zauresh creeks open the door at the far end of the room to check for more intruders. She precedes cautiously, gun out in front of her. I try to replicate her pose, making sure I don't aim at any of my friends.
We turn another corner, and Comrade lets out a grunt. She slumps down against a wall, holding her side.
"Guys, help," I say as loudly as I dare.
"What's up?" Dante asks, kneeling beside us.
"She's hurt."
"Fine. Just need to rest for second," Comrade mutters through gritted teeth.
Dante and I exchange concerned looks. "Are there first aid kits in any of the rooms?" I ask under my breath.
Dante shakes his head. "Not nearby. Our best chance is to make it down to the Hub. We have some medical supplies there so people don't have to leave the room in the middle of missions. Maybe the others will be there too. I mean, that is where we were supposed to meet before the attack."
Kasper seems to like her boyfriend's idea as she nods vigorously. Her eyes are filled with concern for her injured Comrade.
"Let's go then. I'll take one of her arms and you can take the other," I tell Dante. We hoist Serik-Zauresh up onto our shoulders, draping her arms around our necks. She grumbles in protest, but it looks like she's lost too much blood to put up a fight.
As we keep walking through the darkness, the orange flickering light of flames shine from some of the rooms and hallways ahead. If there's a fire, then we must be close to a blast site.
"There's a staircase up ahead. No one really uses it, and it's kinda hidden and abandoned, but I found it when I first came here. It lets out pretty close to the Hub. It's a straight shot after that," Dante says. His voice is rapid, but the steadiness in his eyes is reassuring. We will make it out of this.
I sigh. "It looks like that's the best shot we have. We better hurry."
The heat from the flames intensifies. Staggering down the hall forces us to move at a slower pace, but no one is willing to leave Comrade behind.
"Ok, behind that door on the left." Dante nods his head towards an older steel door with a metal knob. Kasper opens it, and all hell breaks loose.
A bullet whizzes past my ear, and I duck, bringing Serik with me. The girl groans, but says nothing. Dante, on the other hand, hisses in pain. He shouts an expletive at our attackers before rolling into an open doorway. I drag Serik-Zauresh behind an overturned filing cabinet, and pull the pistol she entrusted to me out of the waistline of my shorts. I peek above the cabinets into the darkness, but at the first sight of movement our oppressors fire.
"Stop shooting you morons!" Someone shouts from the doorway.
"Liam? Is that you?" Kasper calls. She's still hiding behind the open door of the staircase.
"Yeah. These guys thought you were more of those dudes with the masks. Idiots," Liam snarls. It's hard to see, but it looks like he's glaring at the gunman next to him.
"Well can you help us out here? Comrade's been shot. Oh and me too. Well, grazed. I'll be fine," Dante says standing up. He clutches his arm, which is bleeding, but not too badly. Kasper runs to him from her hiding place and makes sure he's ok.
Liam stalks over debris and bodies that I hadn't noticed before in the gloom. He stoops down beside me and helps me hoist Comrade back onto her feet. We half-drag her to the door, then down a flight of rusted steps that look more than slightly insecure.
"What were you doing in that doorway anyways?" Kasper asks Liam. She and Dante follow us down the stairs, close behind.
"Mr. A sent us in case we saw you or any of the other kids. He sent those two imbecile agents too. I told him I could have handled it myself..."
We walk the rest of the way in a tense silence.
The hallway off of the staircase is loaded with agents and brightly lit by harsh emergency lamps and red flares. The power must have been blasted out in this area too, which just makes the entire place look eerie
and unnatural, like some zombie-apocalypse survival shelter.
"Hey, we need a medic over here! She's bleeding bad," Dante calls, nodding to a now unconscious Serik-Zauresh.
Two agents in tactical armor take the wounded girl from us.
"Hey, thank you for that. Helping with Comrade, I mean," I say, giving Liam a small smile.
He stares me down with his pinkish eyes. "Don't ask me for any favors," he grumbles before skulking off towards the Hub.
Well he's a pleasant guy.
I decide to regroup with Kasper and Dante, who are talking with one of the senior agents. They finish speaking by the time I join them, and we all agree to check in at the Hub. A makeshift shelter and infirmary take up most of the room. Desks and computers have been shoved against the walls for cots and medical equipment. Nearest to the big hanging monitor stand a cluster of armored soldiers. They appear to be listening to some young man barking out orders at his men. Comrade has already been placed on one of the nearest cots. Her shirt has been removed so that the doctors can work on her bullet wound.
When one of the medics catches sight of us, all cut and dirty as we are, he orders us to sit on one of the free cots so he can check up on us. Kasper and I only have shallow cuts and scrapes from the initial explosion, but Dante's arm is bad enough for stitches; not to mention the lacerations across his muscular back, abdomen, and chest. Kaishi joins us as soon as he sees us. He is obviously concerned for Dante and Kasper, questioning them thoroughly on their health.
"I'll be fine, Kai! No need to fret, once they get the stitches in me, I'll be good as knew," Dante reaffirms for what must be the twelfth time.
"Alright, alright. I don't like seeing any of you in pain," Kaishi admits, almost uncharacteristically.
I find it really sweet that he cares so much about his friends like this. And it makes sense, when you live in a place like this for so long without parents. Your friends become your family.
"I see you didn't even get a scratch, you lucky bastard. Didn't see any of the fighting?" Dante asks, grunting a little bit as the nurse pulls her needle through the flesh of his arm.
"I was in the Hub when the explosion hit. The bomb apparently blew the ceiling of the gym in and destroyed most of the intelligence center, almost all the way up to the ceiling," Kaishi explains.
Dante lets out a little chortle. "We know about the gym, now don't we guys?" Kasper and I share an uneasy smile, remembering our first near-death experience of many.
Outside the Hub, shouts echo through the hallway. The doors fly open and shut frantically as a soldier runs in.
"Hostiles on the move! Everyone take cover!" She screams before a bullet flies through the door and takes her in the through. She clutches her bleeding wound, dead before she hits the ground. One of the female medics shrieks, and the room is thrown into chaos. More of the soldiers move desks to form a small barricade in front of the door.
"Come on!" Dante shouts over the chaos. We run to the back of the room behind one of the computer tables, and wait for whatever is coming.
An explosion from the door way makes such a loud noise that I'm blasted deaf. When I start to regain my hearing, a heated gun fight is taking place at the barrier, and we aren't winning. The agents try their best to hold off the attackers, but they are overwhelmed in a matter of seconds.
A few of the doctors have wheeled their patients out of the room through a back door by now, but those who remain run screaming about the room trying to find cover. When the last of the defending agents is eliminated, there is an eerie silence, only broken by the moans and calls of the dead and dying. Kasper covers her ears in her hands, and Dante wraps his arms around her. We all watch the doorway with wide, terrified eyes.
This is it, I think to myself. I'm going to die here.
Then a strange thing happens. Someone steps over the twisted metal doors into the Hub. A young woman. A young, beautiful woman. What she says next sends a chill down my spine and unfurls an icy tension in my very core.
"Where are the children?"
XxXxXxXxX
I just love my cliffhangers, now don't I? Haha I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will have a lot of explanation for what just happened, and I think you guys are going to like it! If you guys liked the chapter or if you think it needed work, please review. Also submissions are officially closed! Yay! Here's the cast list:
-Serik-Zauresh
-Kaishi
-Dante
-Kasper
-Liam
-Kyle
Thanks for reading!