Runaways

005

The room fell silent as Sam's quiet suggestion hung in the air. "Let's run away," he had said.

Everyone stared at him, processing the audacity of his plan.

"Do you think this is a movie, you idiot?" Bae said, rolling her eyes.

"I agree. It's not a movie, Sam," Asher added.

Elora, sensing the tension, stepped in. "Let's all go to the checkup first."

The group reluctantly agreed and filed out of the room for the health checkup. Thankfully, nothing seemed amiss to the staff. They returned to their room, visibly relieved.

"Phew, they didn't suspect anything," Sam said, exhaling deeply.

"What do we do now?" Lily asked, her voice quivering slightly.

"I said it earlier, and I'll say it again: die," Bae replied, a smirk playing on her lips.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Elora—but she wasn't alone.

"Director Zion! What are you doing here?" Hayden asked, forcing a smile despite his internal panic, remembering his and Haven's late-night escapade.

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, everyone nervously sweating.

"I'm here for the room check, which happens on Saturdays, remember, my child? It was mentioned in the rule list," Director Zion said, smiling. Everyone relaxed, if only a little.

After Zion left, Elora quickly shut the door. "Guys, talk a little more quietly. I could hear everything and had to pretend and sneeze loudly to distract that old man."

"Also, I heard they're going to call out the first group they've regrouped and start their 'experiment,'" she continued.

"We have one night. What should we do now?" Haven asked, panicking.

"Let's use Sam's idea. It's a bit risky, but what's life without risks?" Hayden suggested.

"Nope, we're gonna die sooner if we do this. We don't even have a plan. How can we jump into something so abruptly? No. I'm out," Bae opposed firmly.

"C'mon, Bae. We're seven people; we can succeed," Miseo encouraged.

"I don't know. Do whatever you want," Bae said, walking towards her bed and lying down.

The room fell into a thoughtful silence. As 11 p.m. approached, Elora reminded them that the experiment would start early in the morning. It was their only night to escape alive.

"I am done! I'm getting out of here," Asher declared, breaking the silence.

"Let's do it, Sam. What's the plan?" Asher asked, and everyone turned to Sam.

"P-Plan? I never thought of one. I just said whatever came to mind first," he stammered.

"I thought you were 'smart,'" Bae chuckled.

"Let's jump out the windows and then scale the back wall," Elora suggested.

"We're on the first floor. How do we do that?" Asher asked, skeptical.

"This house doesn't have high ceilings. We're tall enough; it won't be that bad," Elora reassured.

"Okay," Asher said, nodding.

Hayden started stacking the thick mattresses on Lily's bed, which was under the window. Haven threw their bags to the group. "Here, pack the most important things we need and leave the unnecessary stuff so we have room for more."

Everyone followed her instructions, disguising the blankets on their beds to look like they were still sleeping.

"Ready?" Lily asked. "It's ride or die," she continued, a determined glint in her eyes.

Asher jumped first and landed safely. One by one, everyone followed, until only Sam and Bae were left.

Haven gestured for Bae to jump. "You know what? I still don't think this is a—" She was cut off as Sam grabbed her by the waist, pulling her down with him. They landed on their butts with a thud.

"Oww, Parker, what was that for?" she yelled, causing someone to stir inside.

They all ran quickly but quietly to the back wall, where two guards were sleeping.

The wall wasn't too high, so they scaled it easily.

The guard suddenly woke up, and they sprinted as fast as they could into the woods. The Sandberg camp was located near a forest, and although they didn't know where it would lead, they had no other choice.

"Phew, I don't think he saw us," Bae sighed in relief.

"It's your fault," Sam said, glaring at her.

"I—" Bae started, but Sam cut her off again. "And how do you know my last name? Don't tell me you stalked me at school!"

"No, eww. It's my and Haven's job to know about all the guys in the school," she scoffed.

"Now what? It's like 2 a.m., and we're in the middle of the woods. Parker, tell us what to do now," Bae added, almost yelling.

Sam just stood there, unsure.

"Don't worry. Let's just walk for now," Hayden suggested, and they started moving further into the forest.

"What if there are wild animals here?" Lily said, causing Asher to scoot closer to the person next to him, not knowing it was Elora.

"Ahhh!" Elora screamed, catching everyone's attention.

"What happened?" Lily asked.

"Someone clung to me!" Elora exclaimed.

"Sorry, it was me. Lily scared me. What can I do? That was my first instinct," Asher admitted, releasing her arm.

Everyone rolled their eyes and continued walking until they were too tired to go any further.

"I can't walk anymore. I'm exhausted," Haven complained.

"Me too," Asher added.

They found a small cave-like structure but couldn't see it properly in the dark to assess if it was safe.

"Here," Asher handed Hayden a lighter from his backpack.

"Why do you have that?" Hayden asked, puzzled.

"I thought I could have some fun here, you know," Asher replied with a shrug.

"Whatever," Hayden said, rolling his eyes.

Sam found a piece of wood, tied a cloth around the tip, and lit it on fire to use as a makeshift torch. Bae checked inside the cave and found nothing but some spider webs.

They decided to rest there for a while.

Back at the Camp

"WHERE ARE THEY? HOW DID YOU ALLOW THIS?" Zion yelled in anger at the two guards.

"W-we tried our best—"

"IF YOU FUCKING TRIED YOUR BEST, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE ESCAPED!"

"I KNEW IT. I SHOULD HAVE INSTALLED CAMERAS IN THE ROOMS," he fumed, throwing chairs around. "FIND THEM. DO WHATEVER IT TAKES. I WANT ALL OF THEM ALIVE!"