Their Lies

Chapter 10

🛑 PLEASE READ 🛑Just a little warning, the end of this chapter is a little violent so if you do not like to read about suicide please do not read the last paragraph :)

Clinton, New York

“There. That should be big enough,” Devin said. Devin, Mils and Hannah had been digging a hole for the past twenty minutes. It wasn’t a very good hole, but it could at least fit a body.
   Last night they wandered around for hours looking for somewhere to stay. They couldn’t find anything in the woods, so they found their way into town. They ended up breaking into an old supermarket that had been half burned down a few years back. Luckily, it was around 2:00 am when they got there, so nobody saw six teenagers, four carrying a dead body and two walking beside them (Chris had woken up by the time they made it to the store), and one with a deranged hand.
   Now,  Jax was holding Colby behind the remains of the supermarket. Jax carefully set Colby in his new grave. Without a word, Hannah and Devin buried Colby. Mils sat and watched. She looked like she was contemplating something. Or she was about to throw up.
   Alexis and Chris walked out of the store, or what would now be their new home. Chris was looking at his hand that was now wrapped in bloody gauze.
   “Chris was being a little wimp in there,” Alexis said. “He almost cried. I was just cleaning his little boo boo.”
   “You were putting a cotton ball inside it! Then you put water in it and it stung a whole bunch!” Chris defended himself.
“It wasn’t water, it was hydrogen peroxide.”
“Hydrogen per-wha?”
“It makes it so it doesn’t get infected. Do you want it to get infected and we’ll have to cut off your hand?” Alexis asked. Chris glared at Alexis and opened his mouth to say more but Devin smacked him in the back of the head and pointed at Jax, who was impatiently waiting to speak.
“Okay, now that the children are done fighting, can we talk about getting Axel back?” Jax asked.
“He’s dead,” Mils mumbled.
“What?”
“I-I just know, okay? It must be some kind of twin connection or something because I just have a really bad feeling that he’s gone. I just know it, he’s gone!” She cried. She ran into their new home sobbing.
“Um, we’ll deal with that after we get Axel. Anyways-”
“What if she’s right, Jax?” Alexis asked. “What if we get ourselves killed trying to save a dead man?”
“There is still a chance he is alive and we are going to take it. We are not leaving him behind,” Jax demanded. “What did you see behind the fence the night Colby got shot?”
“We saw a janitor guy go in without a key or anything. He was just wearing a grey jumpsuit with the lab logo on it,” Devin said.
“I think we could find some of those at a store. Maybe a thrift store, or Walmart or something. Did they have anything else?” Jax asked.
“Yeah, they had on dark green boots, a grey hat and a black toolbelt. I guess they might not have been janitors, but they still got in easily,” Alexis clarified.
“Okay, we need a few things. The first thing is five of those outfits. I doubt Mils will even want to come by the way she’s acting, and if she does she can stand guard. Only two of us will get tools and a patch with the lab logo. They will stay in front. We will also need something to cut the fence with because we aren’t gonna climb over barbed wire. I think some heavy duty cutting pliers could do the trick. We should get some fake IDs,” Jax stopped to think for a second. “Oh, and we’ll need subtle weapons like a hammer to take some guys down and get their key cards, assuming we’ll need them inside,” He finally finished.
“I think I can help with some of that,” Hannah smirked.

Within two days they had found everything they needed. They found one of the jumpsuits at the first place they went, the thrift store. They also found a cheap tool belt and three iron-on patches that had the lab logo on them. They bought them all even though they only needed two.  
They went to Walmart next where they found four more jumpsuits that looked almost exactly like the one from the thrift store. They figured they needed to look a bit older, so they got some makeup and some taller boots for Alexis and Chris. They also got all the boots, hats, and tool belts there. They then traveled to Lowes to get the pliers and weapons, but they didn’t pay for those.
“Ugh, these jumpsuits are extremely uncomfortable,” Devin complained.
“Suck it up, you don’t have to wear these stupid heel things that don’t even look like heels,” Alexis scoffed. Jax was super gluing the patches onto his and Hannah’s outfits while Alexis, Chris, and Devin got dressed. Once they dried, Hannah and Jax got dressed, too.
“Were their boots tucked in, Alexis?” Jax asked.
“I’m pretty sure,” Alexis guessed.
“Tuck your hair in your hat, Jax. You look too young,” Hannah scolded. “Okay, let me do your makeup, Chris. You’re the only one left.” Chris reluctantly agreed. Hannah was the best at makeup in the room, but that didn’t mean she was good at it. All she did was put some eyeshadow lightly under their eyes and draw wrinkles with a light brow pencil and blend it in. It was convincing enough.
“Okay, let’s do this!” Chris exclaimed. He started stretching and running around the store.
“Mils, are you sure you don’t want to come?” Jax asked. Mils was staring off into space. “Mils? You listening?” She didn’t move. “Mils?” He repeated.
“Oh, uh, yeah, I’m sure. I don’t want to come. I’ll watch Loki, and besides, I have other things to do,” she said, offering Jax a huge fake smile. Jax smiled back and then they left. Each of them had at least one tool on their belts that was a weapon. Jax and Hannah had their weapons, Jax with pliers, and extra tools just for the janitor (or technician) aesthetic.
“Okay, don’t forget, you three always stay behind us,” Jax told Alexis, Devin, and Chris as they approached the lab. It was around midnight. There would still be guards, but at least they had the cover of darkness. They walked up to the fence. Jax pulled Chris aside and put his hands on Chris’ shoulders.
“Chris, listen to me. If you goof off, you will die. If you break apart from us, you will get taken. Then you will die when we get you back. This is a rescue mission, not a game.” Chris looked directly into Jax’s eyes. He was trying not to laugh, but he could not resist.
Jax slapped him across the face. “Do you understand?” He hissed. Now Chris realized he was serious. Chris nodded his head, yes, trying to keep a straight face. As soon as Jax turned away he silently snickered.
Jax looked around for guards. He got out the pliers and began to cut the fence. A huge spotlight swept towards them. Jax pushed everyone behind a tree, then jumped behind it himself.  Without a word, he went back to the fence and began to cut again. Once it was open, they all quickly filed through.
“Everybody in position,” Jax demanded quietly. Jax and Hannah stood next to each other, Chris, Alexis, and Devin stood next to each other behind them. They had practiced this before they came to the lab. They quickly got onto the pathway and approached the door. Jax looked at the door, took a deep breath, and turned the handle. It was locked. He started walking the other way, the others followed him. They made a loop around in a circle when another technician/janitor passed by. They quickly turned to follow the guy. He was going to the door, too.
He had his keycard in his hand as he opened the door. No wonder Devin and Alexis thought they didn’t need a keycard, it was practically invisible. Jax grabbed the door just before it closed and they all walked it. Hannah grabbed her wrench and hit the guy in the back of the head. She put the dude’s arm around her shoulders and carried him into a closet and met back with the group.
“I found a key card,” She smiled while she put it on her belt. They looked around for a bit, trying to act as natural as possible. Nobody had passed them. Yet.
As of now, they were looking for a map. They finally found one, but it was small and torn up. Jax leaned close to the wall to try and read the map, he could barely read it.
“Where are you going?” A woman asked from behind them. She was wearing a black suit. She looked important. Jax suddenly could not think of what to say, he was more nervous than ever.
“Welp, you see ma’am,” Chris started, “There’s a tech problem down in sector K, but, as you may know, that’s off limits for most of the workers here, so we were looking at this map to find our way there,” he lied with a big smile.
“Oh, I’m so sorry for being rude!” the woman exclaimed. “I thought you were intruders, I was about to call security,” she laughed. “Anyways, go down to sublevel 4, make a left and you’re there, just watch out for the criminals, some of them are pretty rough.” She walked away, straight out the door they came in through.
“You have no idea how incredibly lucky you are, Chris,” Jax whispered as they hopped on the elevator.  Jax clicked the button and looked up at the camera in the corner of the elevator. Chris started to goof around, but Alexis kicked him before he got too carried away. The elevator opened up to three long halls that went left, right, and straight. Jax left the elevator and turned left, the rest following his lead. After a few seconds of walking, they came to a door. Hannah got out her keycard and the door opened. Hannah smiled at Jax as they walked in.
To the left there we cells. They were not normal cells, though, they had glass doors and front walls. The other three walls were made of an off-white concrete. There was a space for a keycard on each door.
To the right were large iron doors with no windows. They were extremely heavy duty, yet they could still hear the very strange noises coming from behind the doors.
“Look,” Jax said, pointing to the ceiling. There were small signs above each cell. The first cell was empty, but there was a name card and number next to the door which read, “#57502 ; C. Renschler”. Above the cell, the sign said, “Holding.” The sign above the next cell said, “Experimental; Fatal” and the next one simply said, “Holding; Death”.
“This is messed up dude,” Chris shuddered. The people in the cells looked dead inside as if they’d been there for years. The woman in one of the “Experimental; Fatal” cells was bruised and cut up. When she turned around they saw that her mouth, eyes, and nose had been sewn shut. She had a trache so she could breathe.
Alexis tapped Devin’s shoulder and smiled. This proved that another one of their theories were correct. Her smile quickly faded when she looked back at the poor woman. There were some empty cells, but they all had names and numbers on them, just like the ones with people in them.
They were getting close to the end of the long hall. “Come on, where is he? He has to be here!” Hannah whispered. There was a guy at the end of the hall, they’d try to avoid him when they got there. They passed a cell with a man who was nothing but a torso and a head. His sign only said “Experimental”.
“So they experiment safely, they do deadly experiments, they just murder, and they simply hold people?” Hannah whispered.
“It messed up,” Chris replied.
They came up to eight empty cells in a row. The first name was J. Torres.
“That’s...a weird coincidence,” Jax mumbled. The next name was C. Watson. The next was H. Lopez, then D. Hampson, A. Williams, C. Dabroston, and Am. Simmons. Every single one of them said, “Experimental; Fatal” above them.
“Th-those are our last names!” Chris hissed. “They are gonna take us… and kill us...” The eighth cell was the one the guy was at. He was taking off a nameplate.
“Excuse me, sir, we’re doing work on Axel Simmon’s cell. The plumbing is all messed up, do you happen to know where that is?” Jax asked. The man looked up at him and showed him the nameplate he was taking down.
“Well, it this used to be Mr. Simmon’s cell. Now it’s,” He stopped to look at the card, “N. Farley’s cell. Same cell, though.”
“Did Simmons get relocated?” Hannah asked.
“Nope, he couldn’t handle the work we were doing on him. He had it coming though, he was doing the fatal ones. We just have to keep trying until they live! It could be life-changing, am I right?” the man asked.
“Oh yeah,” Jax said, trying his best to smile. The man started to walk away.
“Good luck on that plumbing, sir. We’re making this world a better place here!” He finally left and turned around the corner.
“Oh my gosh. We-he is dead. They killed him. And they’re gonna kill us too. All of us. We need to get out, now, before they kill us,” Jax hissed.
They sped walked to the elevator a rapidly pressed the buttons. Trying not to cry and blow their cover, they left the elevator and went for the door.
“Yes, I was watching the cameras and one of the technicians attacked another! She was with four other techs but they didn’t see her attack so I don’t think they were together in this plan. Oh my stars, that’s her!” A woman whispered to a security guard. Hannah turned around and saw the guard running towards her.
“Nobody move!” He yelled, pointing his gun at Hannah.  He pulled his walkie talkie out of his belt. “There’s been a breach in sector B, request-” He looked closer at them. He squinted at them, realizing who they were. “It’s subject 57534, 57535, 57536, 57537, and 57538.”
“Is 57539 with them?” The radio asked.
“No, ma’am; requesting backup.” He put the radio down. “Don’t move!” He said looking at Chris who was yawning, not looking impressed at all.
“Ooga booga! I’m a monster! I’m going to kill you all!” Chris bellowed while doing a little dance with his hands in the air. The guard shot Chris in his good hand. “Oh come on!”
“I wasn’t kidding! I will shoot!” The guard shouted. While the guard was distracted by Chris, Hannah threw a hammer at the guard, knocking him out immediately.
“Run,” Jax said, “Wait, no, speed walk, tip your hats down.” They stayed in formation, all of them looking down, Chris with his hand in his pocket. They quickly walked towards the spot where they cut the fence, gullible guards running past them and into the door they had just left.
“Quick, let’s go,” Hannah said, holding the flap of the fence open for the others to crawl through.
“Over there!” A woman screamed. Then the bullets came, just as Chris was crawling through the fence. Hannah tried to get through the fence, but she was shot in the arm and leg. Jax held her hand and pulled her, but then an officer came up and grabbed her leg. With just one pull the woman had Hannah. All of those guards and officers were stronger than Jax, and Jax was pretty strong. There was no hope.
“Jax, listen to me! Run! Run and don’t come back! They’ll kill you too, just RUN!” She cried.
“Let’s go!” Chris shouted at Jax while pulling his arm.
They ran as quickly as they could. They hid out under a dead tree for an hour so nobody would find their base, then made their way “home.”
“Mils, we have something to tell you! About Axel...and Hannah,” Jax yelled across the store. “Mils, wake up,” Jax said as he walked towards her sleeping bag. She wasn’t there. “Mils, where are you?” Jax yelled. “Alexis, is Mils out there?” Jax asked, poking his head out of the broken doors.
“Nope, I haven’t seen her,” Alexis sniffled. Even in the dark, Jax could see the tears in her eyes.
“Miiiiiillllssss!” Chris sang. “Where arrrrre yooooooou?”
“Mils, come on we aren’t playing hide and seek!” Devin yelled.
“Mils!” Jax hollered. He peeked his head into the abandoned bathroom stalls. “Amelia?” Jax looked through all the isles. “Amelia Simmons?”
“Is she still missing?” Alexis asked while coming back inside.
“We looked EVERYWHERE!” Devin sighed. “Well, the office was locked, but I banged on the door and called her name, no answer.”
“Well let’s break the door down!” Jax ran over to the office and kicked down the door with ease. In the office laid Mils’ body, a puddle of blood under her head. Jax’s gun in her cold, dead hands.
“Oh my...”
“Is she…”
“Did she….”
“She killed herself,” Jax finished. He picked up the note she left behind. His hands shook as he read it.
“Dear Jax, Hannah, Devin, Alexis, and Chris,
       I couldn’t do it. I NEED Axel in my life. I know he’s gone, I just know. You probably won’t even find me because they’ll kill you, too. I’m going to go see Axel and Colby now, maybe I’ll see you guys, too. Goodbye.
                       -Amelia Simmons”