The Annihilation Code

Chapter Twenty ✰ Chase Huxley ✰

Marjorie pressed a large button on top of her desk, which caused bright lights to flicker and a loud siren to sound. "Security! There's been a break-in and something incredibly valuable was stolen! Scour the premises and find the thief at all costs!" She shouted her orders into a microphone hidden in the succulent on her desk.

I grabbed Atlas's arm and tugged him towards the open window. "Come on! We have to go while Marjorie is distracted!" I said through our cerebral link.

"I'll go get Marisa. You guys run," Katrina said. She dashed out of the room before Marjorie could stop her.

Atlas didn't move, he stood there frozen with a haunted expression on his face.

Tugged on his arm again, this time with much more force, but he still didn't budge. "Come on, pal. We need to leave! Now!"

"I'm sorry I let him get away with the map," Atlas replied through the link. He sounded so broken.

"I don't care about that; I care about you."

He met my gaze for the first time.

"Listen, security will be here any minute. We're in big trouble if they catch us. Do you want to get arrested?

He shook his head.

"Then we have to go."

He gave a firm nod, then followed me out the window.

Thank God! I was worried I was going to have to throw him over my shoulder and carry him out.

"Come back here, or I'll make your lives hell!" Aunt Marjorie shouted.

We didn't stop running.

"She's already made my life hell," Atlas said through our cerebral link.

"Then I guess it can't get any worse," I replied.

"Unfortunately, there's always more to lose."

We scaled the fence once more. This time, the climb wasn't nearly so perilous. I was running on pure adrenaline. I escorted Atlas to a darkened alleyway near Sydney Harbor. "I sent a message to Katrina, the girls will meet us here soon," I said.

Atlas didn't respond; he just stared out at the sea with a solemn expression.

I tried to lighten the mood. "Do you wanna hear a joke?"

"Absolutely not."

Okay, then.

We stood in awkward silence for several minutes. Eventually, Atlas signed. "I'm so sorry about the map. I should've fought back harder."

I rolled my eyes. "I already told you, I don't care about that."

"I did! Now I've ruined any chance of finding the Annihilation Code."

"That was never your burden to bear. You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."

"You sound just like Patch."

I didn't know what to say, so I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

He pulled away from me. "They're going to kill him, and it's my fault."

"It's not all your fault. It's not your fault Patch was kidnapped and held hostage. They forced you to make an impossible choice."

"It was all for nothing, we lost the map and Patch is going to die!" Atlas kicked over a trash can in anger, disturbing a family of cockatoos feasting on the refuse.