Jacksy

Ⲧᥕ𝖾།۷𝖾

"Don't move!" yelled Doctor Perry, and immediately, Noah's limbs grew stiff. He couldn't move.

The mayor was looking at Noah with a thin smile and narrowed eyes. "Walk to me."

"What are you doing?"

Noah looked at Bear. He had returned by the orders of Skully.

Noah realized he was standing right in front of the mayor. He wanted to move away from him and Doctor Perry, but he couldn't. Why couldn't he move? He looked down at his feet.

"Fight that boy," said the mayor, nodding at Bear.

Doctor Perry scowled, but Noah had already turned and faced Bear, who was taller than Noah and much stronger, with bulging muscles.

"Noah," said Bear, looking very worried.

Noah swung, but Bear dodged it and took a few steps back. "Noah!" he shouted. Noah came closer. All he could feel was rage. He swung again, but Bear dodged. Noah swung a third time, and knowing which way Bear would dodge, he caught Bear in his jaw. Bear stumbled in shock, then clenched his fist. "Don't make me fight you!" he shouted over the alarm.

A girl suddenly ran past them, but Noah didn't focus on her. He ran at Bear and tackled him to the floor. He swung his fists at Bear's head, but Bear held up his arms to protect himself. Noah heard screams-male and female-but he did not stop.

Bear suddenly kicked out, and Noah fell off of him, pain spiking in his gut. He scrambled to his feet, but Bear was already standing. "Stop!" he shouted.

Noah froze. His heart was racing. He saw fear and confusion reflected in Bear's eyes, and pangs of guilt fled through him. Why did he feel guilty?

Noah swiveled around, remembering the screams he had heard. Both the mayor and Doctor Perry were on the ground, having been attacked by a crazed girl with long hair and very sharp nails and teeth. She wore the clothes of a patient. She was tearing into an unconscious Doctor Perry, the syringe still full on the ground. The mayor was also unconscious, but his chest rose and fell.

Skully came toward them, slipping on his own blood which leaked from his leg. A couple of feet behind him was a young boy with large eyes, fidgeting with his fingers. He also wore white clothes. Skully looked at the girl tearing into Doctor Perry, and grew even more pale. He then looked at Noah. "Are you alright?"

Doctor Fellman hurried toward them, then stopped abruptly when he saw the girl. He shivered. "Who let her out?"

Skully shot daggers at him. "What did you do to her?"

Doctor Fellman shook his head, then moved to the glass room, where Ashton stood helplessly. Doctor Fellman unlocked the door and removed the seal. Ashton held his breath, and Fellman entered the room. There was a hissing noise above the alarm that struck Noah as odd, but Ashton and Doctor Fellman didn't seem to mind. Doctor Fellman secured the mask over Ashton's face, and Ashton's chest heaved.

"What are you doing?" Skully shouted.

Ashton hurried past Doctor Fellman and wrapped his arms around Skully, who took a few anchoring steps back. They embraced, and Noah's heart melted. This was the moment they had been waiting for. Watching Skully have to suffer all those miserable days at the convenience store, now to be reconciled with his brother... Noah was joyful.

Shouting rose over the alarm. Noah followed Doctor Fellman's gaze behind them, where a thin kid with long legs had emerged, followed by a crowd of men and women in black holding guns.

"Come on, Skippy!" Skully shouted, grabbing the unconscious mayor.

Zippy ran back the way he came so quickly that none of the guards could stop him. Some of them followed after, but most stayed, slowly advancing. "Let the mayor go!" they shouted.

"One!" hissed Doctor Fellman, staring at the girl with the long nails. The girl peered up at him, though Noah could not see her face because her hair covered it. "Bad men!" Fellman pointed to the guards in black.

The girl jumped like an animal and half-crawled, half-ran for the guards. Unaware of whether they were allowed to kill her or not, they froze, until she pounced on someone and tore at their eyes.

In that moment, Noah disliked Doctor Fellman very much.

"Noah, come on!" shouted Skully, who was dragging along the mayor. They hurried around the corner and down the long hall, blinking red due to the alarm. The noise scattered Noah's thoughts. He needed to ponder what was going on, but he knew he must run. They followed the doctor, who turned right and brought them to a heavy door at the end of the hall. With the press of a finger, the door unlocked, and bright sunlight blinded their eyes.

Ashton was giving a murderous stare toward the doctor.

Skully collapsed to his good knee and cried out in pain. But he dismissed any help. "Go to the sewers!" he shouted, struggling to his feet.

Bear, who had been very quiet, grabbed the mayor from Skully and followed Ashton, who was already crouched above a sewage covering. Noah found himself standing with them, and he frowned. His lungs burned from all of the running he had done, and his legs shook. He looked back at Skully, who was limping heavily, shooing the doctor away. Doctor Fellman followed them, but Noah wasn't watching him. He was watching the door they had just come from. Zippy had to be near. He had to be close.

"I will get him," said Bear quietly to Noah, taking long strides toward the door.

Zippy suddenly appeared, his left pant torn at the ankle and bloody.

"Thank God!" Bear cried.

Zippy ran for them, and then from the door came a mob of guards.

Ashton had pulled back the sewage covering, but he refused to go down first, shaking his head. Doctor Fellman went down, then brought the still-unconscious mayor down.

"Stop!" shouted a man in black who was nearest them.

Noah froze. All he could do was stare at their impending doom.

The guards stopped, and the man who had shouted raised his gun, but Noah thought he saw hesitancy in his eyes. This was a different kind of hesitancy; one Noah had never seen before. The guard looked at Noah, then said, "Go."

It was so faint that no one heard it. Noah couldn't hear the man speak it, but he knew what the man had said. Noah felt his body relax. He could move again. He remembered the little boy Skully had found. Panic fluttered within Noah, but he spotted the boy hiding behind Ashton. Noah then looked back to the guard. Shock spread throughout his body.

Just then, Doctor Larkins appeared, frantically waving his arms. "Don't shoot! We need them alive! They have the mayor!" He stopped abruptly, his face purple. "Fellman, you traitor!"

"I never belonged here!" called Doctor Fellman from the tunnel. "And you won't hurt us because you need these kids alive. You cannot act without the mayor's permission, and he is unconscious."

"We'll find you!" snarled Doctor Larkins. "Come back, Patient Four!"

Noah found himself walking toward them. His heart was racing. Someone grabbed his wrist. It was Skully. "Noah, come with us."

Skully gestured toward the tunnel beneath them, and Noah climbed down the ladder.

Without any protesting or resistance, Ashton, the little boy, Skully, Bear, and Zippy climbed down. The sewage covering slid over the hole, and darkness surrounded them.