Caught

Chapter Twenty-Two

I could hear the footsteps inching closer, the sound of their footfalls becoming louder with each passing second. The ladder hovered above us, waiting for us to get on.

The first thing on my mind: was this a trap? Tyson could always be with the Institute all along, just pretending to be my friend. Or, he could be the real deal, trying to help us escape.

"Spencer, you first," I ordered. "Tyson, follow."

Spencer shook his head. "Lauren, you first. Those guys are after you more than us."

"You're freezing." His ears and cheeks were red. His teeth chattered in the cold. He clearly wasn't handling the cold well, and it's not like I'm gonna get him sick in the middle of a mission. "You first, Tyson follow, Aidan next, I'll go on last."

My tone was strict and the boys didn't argue or question. When it was an arms reach away, I held onto it, making sure it wasn't gonna blow away as we climbed up. Spencer grabbed onto the rope ladder, pulling himself up.

Once he was up, Tyson grabbed on, climbing up. The wind started blowing harder, the snow falling faster. It should've been able to slow down the guards after us, but their footsteps were going the same pace as before, the crunch of the snow with each step rang in my ears.

They have guns, I thought. They always had guns, no matter the circumstances. If Aidan and I don't reach the top in time, they're probably gonna shoot us down.

What ever happened to 'they'd never hurt the evolutians'?

"Go," I told Aidan once Tyson was up. "We don't have much time."

"You first," He stated.

I looked at him with wide eyes. "I said I was going last. You first."

"Is this really the time to argue, Lauren?" He questioned.

"You started it," I countered. "Now, move."

Too late. Passed the trees, you could here voices. A loud, very familiar voice was leading the group - Mr. Mustache's. It wasn't long until we were surrounded.

"Now look what happened, we're both gonna get caught," I complained. "If you just got on that ladder instead of arguing."

"You know, Lauren, your great with all this using-your-powers stuff but not much on math," Aidan stated. "I knew the guards would get here before both of us made it up. I wanted you to get up there."

Did he really just say that? I thought to myself. Or was it the howling wind playing tricks on me?

"Freeze!" Mr. Mustache yelled. He held his revolver up as did the other ten of them. All were pointed at us.

What's going on? Spencer's voice popped into my mind. Why isn't one of you up yet?

I didn't respond. I just stood there in fear, not knowing what to do.

"Lauren," Aidan said my name. "Lauren, get on the ladder."

"They're gonna shoot us."

"They might, but they can't risk shooting and killing you," He stated. "Now, go."

I didn't talk back at that. Instead, grabbing onto the ladder, I pulled myself up towards what hopefully would be safety. Halfway up, I looked down. I wasn't generally scared of heights but looking down through the bear trees and seeing the guns pointing at me made me gulp.

The question was: why weren't any of them shooting?

I looked back up, my eyes being attacked by snowflakes. There were only a few more steps until the helicopter. I could make it alive, possibly.