about to happen. Sebastian tries the door handle, it turns just a fraction, and then an alarm sounds. It’s piercing. It’s shrill. Worse than that, if Sebastian was correct before, it means that the whole place is about to go into lockdown.
Lionel takes one look at Sebastian, shakes his head, and bellows back at the rest of the Faders. “Run! Everybody run! Now, unless you want to be stuck here!”
He sprints for the next junction of corridors, and the Faders jerk into action, taking off after him. Grayson pulls my mother and father into motion, while Jack grabs Bailey, forcing him to keep up. I run with them, confident thanks to the part of me that isn’t human that I can easily move quickly enough, yet unwilling to leave them behind. Even if they can’t remember me, I can remember them.
The Fortress is starting to wake up, its inhabitants roused by the alarms and stumbling out bleary eyed into corridors. Jack shoots a guard who comes out of the wrong door, while Lionel takes down another with a blow from the butt of his rifle.
The alarm starts to be accompanied by an automated voice as we run. “Base lockdown initiated,” it says. “All personnel, please remain in your designated safe areas.”
We don’t have much time left, from the sound of it. A scientist moves out in front of us, slowing us down for less than a second before Jack smashes him aside. More guards rush out, but Jack and Lionel shoot them on the run. Lionel isn’t as fast as Jack, but he doesn’t move like an old man by any means.
Lights start to come on above doors around us, and I hear the loud snap of locks engaging, but that doesn’t affect us. We’re just trying to get out of the building. We run back through to the loading area at the front of the place, where the great steel doors that opened to let us in are. There are a couple more guards there, but they don’t last any longer than the others we have run into in the course of our rush to escape. Though the sound of shouting somewhere behind us suggests that they will be along in greater numbers soon. We have to be out of the building by then.
That should be easy, except that the doors in front of us are starting to swing shut. By the time we’re out onto the main floor level of the loading bay, they’re more than halfway closed.
“Quick,” Lionel says, “everybody through.”
As if to underline the urgency, he sprints through the gap. Sebastian does the same, along with the first few Faders. Jack looks back at me, and I look back at my family.
“I’ll get them out,” Jack says.
“But Jack…”
I don’t get the chance to argue. He shoves me bodily through the closing gap in the doors. I stumble and fall outside, hitting the dirt hard and rolling so that I’m looking back at that ever closing gap. Faders come through it, hurrying even more now as their opportunity for escape literally starts to disappear before their eyes.
Grayson appears, pulling Bailey through. I mouth a silent thank you to him as my mother and father follow, pushed through by Jack. The doors are closing tighter now, so that there’s barely room for someone to squeeze through.
“Jack,” I call back, “hurry up.”
Jack leaps through the gap, making it through easily, and a final couple of Faders try to follow him. The first makes it, barely. The second, an older Fader who I’m sure must be one of the instructors from Location Two… the second isn’t so lucky. The great steel doors slam shut on his leg as he tries to throw himself through, clamping shut like the limb between them is nothing and slicing it above the knee. The man screams. I’d never thought that someone could scream like that. I start to move to help him, but he passes out. I reach down to try and pull him clear of the doors, but Jack pulls me away from him.
“There’s nothing we can do for him,” he says. “If you move him, he’ll bleed out in seconds. I know it’s hard, but we need to keep moving.”
I force
Lionel takes one look at Sebastian, shakes his head, and bellows back at the rest of the Faders. “Run! Everybody run! Now, unless you want to be stuck here!”
He sprints for the next junction of corridors, and the Faders jerk into action, taking off after him. Grayson pulls my mother and father into motion, while Jack grabs Bailey, forcing him to keep up. I run with them, confident thanks to the part of me that isn’t human that I can easily move quickly enough, yet unwilling to leave them behind. Even if they can’t remember me, I can remember them.
The Fortress is starting to wake up, its inhabitants roused by the alarms and stumbling out bleary eyed into corridors. Jack shoots a guard who comes out of the wrong door, while Lionel takes down another with a blow from the butt of his rifle.
The alarm starts to be accompanied by an automated voice as we run. “Base lockdown initiated,” it says. “All personnel, please remain in your designated safe areas.”
We don’t have much time left, from the sound of it. A scientist moves out in front of us, slowing us down for less than a second before Jack smashes him aside. More guards rush out, but Jack and Lionel shoot them on the run. Lionel isn’t as fast as Jack, but he doesn’t move like an old man by any means.
Lights start to come on above doors around us, and I hear the loud snap of locks engaging, but that doesn’t affect us. We’re just trying to get out of the building. We run back through to the loading area at the front of the place, where the great steel doors that opened to let us in are. There are a couple more guards there, but they don’t last any longer than the others we have run into in the course of our rush to escape. Though the sound of shouting somewhere behind us suggests that they will be along in greater numbers soon. We have to be out of the building by then.
That should be easy, except that the doors in front of us are starting to swing shut. By the time we’re out onto the main floor level of the loading bay, they’re more than halfway closed.
“Quick,” Lionel says, “everybody through.”
As if to underline the urgency, he sprints through the gap. Sebastian does the same, along with the first few Faders. Jack looks back at me, and I look back at my family.
“I’ll get them out,” Jack says.
“But Jack…”
I don’t get the chance to argue. He shoves me bodily through the closing gap in the doors. I stumble and fall outside, hitting the dirt hard and rolling so that I’m looking back at that ever closing gap. Faders come through it, hurrying even more now as their opportunity for escape literally starts to disappear before their eyes.
Grayson appears, pulling Bailey through. I mouth a silent thank you to him as my mother and father follow, pushed through by Jack. The doors are closing tighter now, so that there’s barely room for someone to squeeze through.
“Jack,” I call back, “hurry up.”
Jack leaps through the gap, making it through easily, and a final couple of Faders try to follow him. The first makes it, barely. The second, an older Fader who I’m sure must be one of the instructors from Location Two… the second isn’t so lucky. The great steel doors slam shut on his leg as he tries to throw himself through, clamping shut like the limb between them is nothing and slicing it above the knee. The man screams. I’d never thought that someone could scream like that. I start to move to help him, but he passes out. I reach down to try and pull him clear of the doors, but Jack pulls me away from him.
“There’s nothing we can do for him,” he says. “If you move him, he’ll bleed out in seconds. I know it’s hard, but we need to keep moving.”
I force
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