Spy School: Time Off

Chapter 18: Resentment

The Atlantic Ocean

SPYDER's Underground Lair

Tuesday

1300 Hours

Ben's POV

I ran faster than I ever have before. I heard people shooting from behind me, trying to catch up. The bullets whistling through the air.  I turned the corner and saw people surrounding Erica. Then something came over me, something powerful. I sped up faster and jumped off the wall, kicking the first one in the jaw sending him flying. The other guard tried to throw a right hook at me, but I swept his legs out from under him, throwing his gun up in the air. I jumped up and threw it to Erica, dodging a hopeless leg grab. The other guard got up ready to fight, but I grabbed his gun up off the ground and pistol whipped him, knocking him out. I grabbed Erica and got out of there. "Ben, how did you do that?!" Erica asked alarmed and confused. "I..hu..I don't know" I said out of breath. Erica smiled and pulled in closer to me. I turned red and lost all my breath. It took me a minute to realize that I have stopped breathing and I was turning purple. "Ben. Ben! I think we lost them."

"uh...what?" I said being zoned out. "I said I think we lost them" Erica said annoyed. "Oh, sorry. Let's stop here." I said putting here down. We stopped in a room with green screens and cameras everywhere. There were also TVs but they all broadcasted one thing, Mr. S's Health Co. It was the most annoying commercial ever, it even had laugh tracks built into it! Something felt important about this room, but I just wanted to leave and get this annoying commercial out of here. "Actually, can we go to a different room please" Erica said. "Good idea." I carried her over to the next room which was another one of the stereotypical labs and we talked to calm our nerves. "So, what happened to Zoe and Mike?" "I..uh...don't know" Erica said confused. "I was panicking when I looked and they were almost out a door. "Hm." we sat there in award silence for a little bit until Erica broke the ice. "Thank you for saving me. It means a lot." "Oh, it's nothing. That's my job isn't it" I said confidently. Erica giggled, "Oh is it now." "Did the great Erica Hale just giggle!" I gasped. "Oh, shut up Ben. We should probably get going now anyway." "As you wish" I said playfully while picking her up. "I think we should find Zoe and Mike next." "Let's do that" Erica said with glee. Before we came back to reality with the swarm of armed guards behind us.

"Really, again!" I said in distain. "I thought we lost them. Do you have a plan" I said while looking at Erica. "Of course I do, I'm a Hale. There are vents everywhere in this place, including on the floor. So when you turn a corner, try to find a vent and go down it." "Okay, lets hope this works" I said while turning the corner. Sure enough, there was a vent big enough to go through on the floor. I opened it up and jumped through with Erica just before the hoard came into the hall. We waited for them to pass when we started crawling down the vents. "That was close, thanks." "No problem" Erica said cockily. "It is my job after all, isn't it." We continued down the vent until we got to a dead end. I didn't know vents could end but they did. I made sure the coast was clear and lifted Erica out of the vent. We were in a big hallway with only one, big door. It looked like someone took it strait out of a video game. It was big with glowing red wires hanging everywhere from it, with one big glowing circle in the middle. "What do you thinks in there?" I asked Erica, memorized by the door. "I don't know, but it's probably important. Let's go." I was about to approach the door when Ashley jumped out of a vent above us. She startled me so much that I dropped Erica. "Ouch!" "Sorry" I said sheepishly. I looked closer at Ashly now. She had blood all over her face and she was seething. "Hello Ben. How nice it is to see you after you left me alone with Cyrus!" she said, looking genuinely mad at me. "You were going to shoot me!" I said trying to defend myself. Ashley seemed to ignore me though and move on to Erica. "Oh, and here's the great Erica Hale. Come on fight me! Oh wait, you can't move!" Ashley said while laughing. "Our gas must have really messed you up!" Something then clicked in me.

 I was filled with rage, I now was seeing red. I lunged at her while she was laughing, and she looked at me in terror. She tried to doge but she wasn't fast enough, she got tackled to the ground. I was going in for a punch, when she grabbed my hand and flung me away. I got back up immediately and went for a leg sweep. She jumped over it and was about to go in for a barrel roll when I jumped up and high kicked her. She came back down while I tried to land a hook, she dodged it and ran across the wall. I tried to duck, but she kicked me in my chest, sending me into the wall. All of a sudden, a huge stampede of guards came from the other side of the hall. "They are persistent" I groaned as Ashly punched me in the stomach. Erica was using her gun to shoot back the guards to keep them at bay. She was doing good but I knew I didn't haver long to finish the fight. I bent down on the floor, trying to grab her leg but she cartwheeled out of the way, giving me enough time to pop up and get back on my feet. She tried to roundhouse kick me, but I ducked and grabbed her leg, pulling her down. She tried to roll away, but I jumped down on her and started punching her face relentlessly, letting all my anger out. In between punches she was saying how "You could have saved Erica" or "It's all your fault." I kept on punching until her entire face was bleeding, pouring down into a huge puddle. I kept punching her, tears streaming from my face. Erica had to pull me off of her so I would stop. "Ben! Ben!" She was screaming. "We have to go!" I looked around and saw the guards gaining on us. "Fine" I huffed with dried tears. I barged in through the big door only to see Joshua Hallal grimacing in a rolling chair.

I was about to lunge at him when he turned the big TV screen in the middle of the room from video editing software to live footage of Zoe and Mike with a gun to their head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you" Joshua said, smiling the whole time. The gauds piled in the room, all pointing their guns at us. Erica and I both sighed. "You can be such an asshat sometimes you know" I said as I realized their plan.

Thank you guys, everyone who is reading, for 900 views!!!! I know I say this every time but I never thought I would get this far, so thank yall. Thank you guys for over 20 votes to!!! It really means a lot to me that you guys like my story and I am grateful for that. I am going to try to get the next chapter out by christmas, but no promises. One more thing before I go, I want to specially thank justcrazy782 for being one of the first to comment and for voting. Thank you all and have a merry Christmas eve eve (or Hanukkah). 😊