Chapter 18

The door shot up. The guards stood with their launchers at the ready. Newt, Alex, and Gwen hid by the door. When the first one stepped through, Newt slamed his elbow into the closest guard's face. He dropped his launcher. Alex scooped it up and smashed it on his head. He crumpled to the ground.

A launcher grenade shot past Newt followed by a yell of pain. Alex had smashed her launcher into the other guard's face. He too fell to the floor. Newt grabbed the guard's security badge. He thought they were in the clear when he turned to see Gwen on the floor. A grenade had hit her arm and she was laying on the floor convulsing and twitching. "Shuck it!" Newt yelled.He turned so see Alex wide eyed and wild, looking for more targets. Her gaze settled in Newt. She didn't even seem to recognize him. She screamed and charged at him with the gun raised, ready to bash him in the head. He grabbed her arms before she could bring it down on his skull. She flailed wildly, trying to escape his grasp. "Alex! Alex, you need to bloody calm down! It's me! It's Newt!" She finally seemed to focus on Newt. Her eyes widened and she pushed away from him. She threw the launcher on the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she said, choking back tears. She backed up against the wall and slid down hugging her knees to her chest. Tears were still gliding down her face. She rocked back and forth on the floor. Her eyes were squeezed shut as if she we're trying to block out everything.He decided to let her. He turned to Gwen. She had stopped convulsing and was lying on the floor unconscious. Newt knew that by the time she woke up it would be too late. He had to wake her up right now if they were going to escape alive. "Gwen," he said shaking her shoulders. "Gwen you need to get up right this bloody instant." He knew it was harsh but what choice did he have? Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned. "Don't...want...to...hurts...uhh." her eyes closed again. "No no bloody no. Gwen I know it hurts but you need to get up." Without waiting for an answer he grabbed her arm and hoisted her up. She wasn't heavy at all. With Newt helping support her she stood up only half awake. "Alex, we need to go now." She still clutched her knees. "Alex! Grab the launcher and let's go!" His loud word jarred her from whatever reality she was trying to escape to. She grabbed the launcher and stood up, almost robotically. She went on the other side of Gwen to help Newt hold her up. "No it's fine I've got her. You stay in front and shoot anyone who come into view." She nodded and moved out the door.

Almost immediately they came across another pair of guards. Before they could even speak, Alex shot twice, each one hitting its mark. They fell and Alex moved on. Newt picked up one of the launchers. Alex's ammunition wouldn't last forever. They came to a cross section. "Go right!" he yelled to her. She made a sharp right and fired another shot. Newt turned to the corridor behind then. Luckily there were no guards. They continued this way for another five minutes. Newt yelled directions, Alex followed them mechanically and without thinking. She shot down guard after guard. She changed guns twice. Somewhere along the way, Gwen was able to run on her own.

Finally they arrived at a dead end. Newt knew they were at the right place because the wall was black instead of all white. He grabbed the badge out of his back pocket and waved it in front of him. There was a beeping sound and the door shot up.

--The room was darker that the rest of the place. It was full of computers and blinking lights and people in white coats. Alex and Newt opened fire. He blindly shot hoping that he would hit most of them. When he and Alex finally ran out of ammunition, there were only eight of them left standing. "Everybody out!" Newt yelled. None of them moved.

From behind him, Newt heard a man's voice. "The prisoners have escaped containment. Send back-up imediat-..." his words were cut off by Newt's blow to his head. He crumpled like a rag doll.

"I said everybody get the shuck out!" he yelled. This time they all obeyed. There was a mad scramble to get out the door. "Woah wait. I recognise you." he said to one woman. She was the one who had escorted them everywhere. "You stay here," he commanded. He held up his gun ready to swing if she tried to run.

Once everybody was gone, the door closed ant they were alone. He turned to the woman. "What's your name?"

"They call me Jude."

"I know that you triggered the silent alarm. I also know that you can lock that door. If you don't do it right now, it's not going to end well for you." he threatened.

Surprisingly, she obeyed him automatically. The door locks clicked. They were safe, for now. "How did you know where to go?" Gwen asked.

"Not here," Newt said, gesturing to Jude. "I'll explain later."

There was a sudden pounding on the door as the guards tried to get in. Jude smile evilly. "You're trapped. There's nowhere for you to go."

"Shut it!" he snapped. He began typing at the computer.

"What are you doing? Get away from there!" she stepped toward Newt. Alex got in her way.

"Take one more step," she snarled "I dare you." Jude wisely backed away. That tone would have made Minho back down. He kept typing. Jude grew more and more anxious.

"Subject A5 you are not permitted to-" the gun connected with her head and she collapsed to the floor.

"We're not subjects," Alex said to no one in particular.

"Now will you tell us what you're doing?" Gwen asked.

"Activating the self destruct mechanism."

"I'm sorry. What?"

"By the time this place blows up we'll be long gone." he assured her.

"How exactly when there are people ready to kill us blocking the only exit?"

"Like this," he went to another computer and started typing. He hit enter and a flat wall of translucent grey grew on one wall.

"Is that...?"

"A flat-trans," he confirmed. And our ticket out of here."

A/NI'm sorry I keep taking so long to update. There will be at least one more chapter after this. Maybe two idk. Thanks for reading.

Stay Magnificent! -StM