One Day Too Late

10

Thomas, Lacey and Newt kept their heads low as they walked through the medical wing.

They ducked in a room awaiting the guards to pass.

Thomas and Lacey were behind Newt. Thomas tapped Lacey's arm as he noticed Ava Paige standing there. Thomas aimed his gun at her.

Newt and Lacey saw Janson walk up and aim his gun at their friend. "Thomas! No!" Newt and Lacey cried, moving him out of the way.

"Minho?" Thomas called. "Minho!"

Newt tased a couple guards who appeared. Thomas called out for Minho repeatedly.

Minho came out of the sedative, and as the doctor was readying to give him another, Minho opened his eyes and stabbed the doctor's thigh. He proceeded to knock out the other guys. He was angry and clearly wanted to leave.

Thomas, Lacey and Newt, meanwhile, were getting shot at from all sides.

"Newt, Lacey, get down!" Thomas cried as they ducked in a corridor. They sat down and Thomas said, "Shit. I'm almost out." He stood and resumed shooting.

"Get back," Newt said before throwing a taser bomb.

"Nice," Thomas complimented. "All right. Lacey, come on. Let's go! Go!"

"You three, freeze!" a guard said, cornering them. "Get down on the ground. Now!" The kids remained standing. "I said get your..." Before the guard could finish, Minho came running in and pushed the guard against the wall while yelling. He tossed the guard through the glass and paused.

"Minho," Thomas called.

The three of them ran to each other to share a hug.

"Is this real?" Minho asked.

Before Lacey could answer, another guard appeared and yelled, "I got them! I got them! Over here."

They started running and Thomas yelled, "Go! This way!" They rounded a corner. "Come on!"

"You four! Stop!"

"Come on." Thomas said again. He noticed a door and said, "In here, in here. Newt, Lacey, come on." They barricaded the door with a steel rack.

Thomas locked the door behind them. Lacey immediately noticed the big glass windows on the opposite end of the room.

"Oh, shit," Thomas muttered.

They heard whirring on the other side of the door and knew it was only a matter of time before Janson and his men broke in.

"Any ideas?" Minho asked.

Lacey pointed to the window as Thomas looked at it. He gave her a nod and said, "Maybe."

The boys rammed an oxygen tank into the window and the glass shattered. The tank fell into the pool.

"Okay, it's doable," Thomas noted. "Just need a little running start."

Lacey glanced down at her arm to see that the veins were still crawling along.
She glanced at Newt to see the black veins crawling up his neck. She could feel herself slowly starting to become something else, and that terrified her.

"You sure about this?" Minho asked.

"Not really," Thomas admitted.

"Nice pep talk."

"Yeah, we're all bloody inspired," Newt said.

Lacey sighed. "Don't die, and best of luck."

"Not much better," Minho stated, flicking his eyes to the girl.

The door opened and a guard yelled, "Move it! Move it!"

"Shit," Thomas mumbled, pushing the boys back while Minho pushed Lacey behind them all. "Go! Go!"

"Thomas!" Lacey and Minho cried.

"Oh, shit!"

They hit the water and swam up. Janson was relieved he still had his targets. He pointed his gun at them from the room they had just jumped from. "You four, don't move."

Thomas and Lacey both flipped Janson off before swimming to the edge.

Newt and Lacey were helped out of the pool.

Thomas asked, "Minho, you okay?"

"Yeah," Minho replied.

"Lacey?"

She nodded. "For now."

They figured they were safe, but they
heard taser guns behind them loading.

"You three don't move," one of the guards said.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Thomas muttered.

The guards stepped closer. "Take it easy."

Thomas slowly reached for his weapon and the guard said, "Uh-uh-uh. Don't even think about it." Lacey started doing the same and the guard pointed the gun at her. "Not a good idea, little girl. Get on your knees with your hands in the air."

The guard suddenly turned and shot at the three guards near him.

"You son of a bitch," one of the guards muttered.

"Gally?" Minho asked in disbelief.

"Minho," Gally acknowledged. "You guys are nuts."

Thomas patted Minho's shoulder. "I'll explain later." He ran up to Gally. "That'll be the last time you point a gun at Lacey."

Gally nodded. "Noted. I had to sell it. You know I'd never hurt any of you. You like her, don't you."

"Maybe I do."