Wake (The Runners, Part Four)

by Logan Rutherford

  Wake

  Part Four of The Runners

  By Logan Rutherford

  Copyright 2010 Logan Rutherford

  Smashwords Edition

  The right of Logan Rutherford to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return the book and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at http://existentialbacon.wordpress.com or @jaloru95

  The Following Begins Moments After the End of RESCUED.

  Chapter One

  Adam and Eve sat hunched in the darkness behind one of the counters that filled the massive underground lair. Eve wrapped her arm around Adam’s, squeezing tight out of fear. Adam’s cheeks flushed red, but the fear that was in his brain quickly pushed those thoughts aside. There are men with guns that are going to kill us. He reminded himself, although, something like that was hard to forget.

  “I heard the scream come from down here!” One of the men shouted. The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs echoed across the basement.

  Adam cursed. They heard Eve scream.

  Flashes of light appeared above Adams head as the soldiers spread out, and searched for them.

  Adam wiggled his arm from Eves grip; she was reluctant to let go. He slowly crouched up to peer above the counter. His hands touched the cold metal countertop, as he slowly inched up until he could barely see above the counter.

  There were eleven separate beams of light, which meant that there were at least eleven men. He could not tell if there were more hiding behind the others. He hoped there weren’t.

  Eve’s head appeared next to him. “What are we going to do?” She said in a barely audible whisper.

  Adam shook his head, trying to make as little noise as possible. He had many plans forming in his mind, but he does not want to elaborate on it until he has them all figured out.

  “Keep your eyes on them,” he whispered to Eve.

  She nodded.

  Adam slid back down behind the counter, giving himself the illusion of safety, so he would be able to think. He began exploring his options. He could scream, it would alert them to his position, but maybe Felix and the others would hear him as well. No, he thought. They could be dead, or captured by now.

  He began to think that they could sneak out quietly, but there were too many men. They would be spotted.

  He could knock one of them out – he had mysteriously become a kung-Fu master all of the sudden, thanks to what he assumed was Kappa and their memory…whatever. He dismissed that plan, since it was too dark, and his karate skills would be useless if he could not see.

  No other idea was coming to mind. All they could do was sit there, and wait for them to find them. And judging by the noise they were making as they searched through the cabinets, and knocked things off the counter tops, they were getting close.

  Then, he remembered something. The two dead Kappa soldiers that were at the entrance. How were they killed? Eve answered his question for him.

  “London,” she whipered.

  Adam took his place next to Eve and saw that now, instead of ten beams of light there were only nine.

  “She must still be down here,” Eve said.

  Adam began to go through everything he knew about London – which wasn’t a lot. He knew that she never came out of the basement; which he did not blame her for. This place was so large – it had everything you needed down here. He is sure that there’s a bedroom down here somewhere.

  She knows just about everything possible that there is to know about Kappa, too, which would make her a target. He’s sure that she is one of the reason that these soldiers are here.

  She also is obviously skilled in combat. It would take someone very skilled to quietly take out one of the armed soldiers.

  We just need to sit here, and wait. Adam thought.

  He looked over at Eve, and she is looking hopeful, but at the same time, nervous. But he can’t blame her. He was nervous, himself.

  She took her eyes off the soldiers, and looked down at herself. “Come on,” she said to herself. “Where are you?”

  “Where’s who?” Adam asked in a barely audible whisper.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said, looking back up at the soldiers. “Just keep your eyes on them. We need to figure out a way to help London.”

  As she said that, another beam of light disappeared, along with a barely audible thud.

  “They’re getting too close. London will not be able to take them out before they get here.” Adam said, a little panicked, but trying not to show.

  “We just need to wait a little bit longer,” Eve whispered confidently.

  The footsteps were growing closer and the lights brighter. The men were only five rows away, which equals to fifty feet.

  “Eve, we need to go,” Adam said in a very loud whisper.

  Eve cursed. “Fine. Let’s go.”

  They crouched down to the ground, and began crawling. The tile floor was cold to the touch, and Adam felt dirt, and other substances poking into his arms. The two of them crawled pass another row, then another, then another. Finally, after they crawled past ten rows, they took shelter behind one of the counters.

  “Why are there so many stations, and counters underneath here?” Adam thought aloud.

  “Be-…I mean, I don’t know.” Eve quickly sat up to look over the counter.

  Adam is not for sure what Eve was about to say, but he would question her about it later. Right now he had other things to worry about.

  He sat up to look over the counter. Now, there were only eight beams of light. They were starting to notice.

  “Captain!” One of the soldiers shouted. Adam and Eve watched as the beam of light that was on the far right bobbled over to the beam in the middle. They had a conversation, but Adam could not hear what he was saying, because he was being very quiet.

  “Men!” The one who Adam assumed was the Captain. “Watch your backs! They’re taking us out one by one. Don’t worry, we’ll find them! If you guys do a good job, maybe we can have a little fun with them before we take them back to Headquarters. I’m sure a bullet hole or two won’t make that much of a difference!”

  A few of the men chuckled, as they returned to searching for the hidden Runners.

  “They aren’t going to kill us, but we cannot let them take us,” Eve said, looking into Adams eyes.

  “I don’t know….They say they’re taking us to Headquarters, and that’s where our families are. Maybe we can fool them, get our families, and escape.” Adam said hopefully.

  “No. You do not know these people. That won’t work with them.” Eve said.

  “Oh, and you do?” Adam said sarcastically.

  “Better than most,” she returned her gaze to the men, ending the conversation.

  And so they sat watching the men slowly make their way towards them. Adam and Eve even crawled back a row or two a few times. Eve was constantly checking her jeans for something. What, she woul
d not say.

  One of the times they crawled back a row, she sat down harshly and let out a gasp of pain. She reached underneath her. Adam’s eyes grew big at what he saw. In Eve’s hand, was a 9MM pistol, with a silencer attached to the end.

  “Thank you, Brutus!” She exclaimed. “It’s about time!”

  “Where did you get that?” Adam asked, shocked.

  Eve stammered. “There’s one for you,” she reached into the back of her jeans, and produced another pistol. “Here.”

  Adam took it in his hands. It was warm – almost hot to the touch. It was front-heavy thanks to the silencer attached to the front of it, but it felt nice and comfortable in Adam’s hand.

  All of the sudden, he felt a chill go down him, but at the same time, he felt warm. It was like when he fought those Kappa soldiers in the Applebees parking lot. He felt as if a barrier that was blocking him from accessing part of his brain dissolved.

  He looked down at the pistol he was cradling in his hand, and he knew exactly how to operate it. He knew exactly how to disassemble, and reassemble it. He knew where to shoot his target depending if he wanted to kill, or injure him.

  He looked at Eve who was watching him with a smile on her face. “Wha-” he could not even finish his sentence.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll explain it to you later. Right now though, we need to kick some Kappa butt.”

  Chapter Two

  Adam sat hunched at the edge of one of the counters. He glanced over to his right, where Eve was mirroring his pose two rows over. It was hard to see her in the darkness, but the red hair that was obscuring most of her face gave away her position.

  Adam waited for her to give the signal. He was hoping that London did not have any plans of her own, so she would not get in their way. Earlier, Adam and Eve concluded that she was either hiding, or left, since there were no more lights going out.

  He scooted over to the edge of the counter, and glanced pass the side. The Leader of this group was about thirty feet ahead of him. Eve said they should take out their Leader first, because without direction, hopefully, the rest would scatter. It was a long shot, but it was all that they could think of.

  Adam checked his pockets to make sure the extra clips were in there; they were. He still could not figure out how Eve got a hold of the pistols, but he would worry about that later.

  Adam looked back at Eve as she brushed some of the hair covering her face behind her ear. That was the signal.

  Adam pointed his gun at the flashlight that the Leader was holding. He extended his arm all the way, and using his left hand, steadied the gun. He let out all of the air in his lungs. He was completely still.

  He squeezed his right hand, pulling the trigger. In the matter of a second, there was a flash of light; the click of the silenced gun; the sound of the bullet hitting the flashlight, and exiting the back; the sound of the bullet entering the Leader; and the thud of him hitting the ground.

  A second later, Adam heard the same thing coming from his right. Eve had hit her target, too.

  “Captain!” Yelled one of the men. Adam could hear the sound of the soldiers footsteps running towards his fallen leader, along with a few others.

  As soon as the first soldier made it to the Leader, Adam shot him. Although this time, he didn’t aim for the flashlight. The soldier fell dead to the ground.

  Another soldier fell as Eve shot him.

  There is only five left.

  One of the soldiers saw Adam before he could hide behind the counter. The soldier began to fire his machine gun in his direction. Adam scrambled away as the bullets ripped through the counter, barely missing him.

  He made it to the edge of the counter. He ducked down and ran to the next one. The bullets followed him, but he heard the click, click, of an empty gun. He took a chance. He looked out from cover, and quickly shot the man twice in the chest as he was reloading.

  The other three men were making their way towards Adam. He scrambled to the counter next to him, then to the one behind him before the men could see.

  Adam could barely hear the click of Eve’s gun being fired, but he heard the man yell. “I’ve been hit in the arm!” He screamed in pain. In the darkness, and in the confusion of the men running around, she must have missed. “My arm! It hurt-” Thud. Eve didn’t miss that time.

  “Where are they?!” One of them shouted.

  “I don’t know, but we have to find them!” The other said.

  One pair of footsteps got quieter, while the other got louder.

  The man was coming directly towards Adam.

  The footsteps got closer, and closer. Adam couldn’t risk looking around cover, or he would risk being seen. Instead, he waited.

  An foot appeared from around the counter, and Adam kicked it right above the ankle. There was a snap, as the man’s leg broke. He came falling to the ground, yelling and reaching for the bottom of his leg. Once he hit the ground, Alex shot him in the head, putting him out of his misery.

  There was another click and thud.

  There was only one more soldier that needed to be slain. Adam peaked from around cover, and searched for the lone man. He could not see him at all. Adam heard a click, then a gasp from behind him. He turned around as fast as he could, and saw that the man that he was looking for was standing right behind him.

  Eve had seen him, and shot him in the head.

  “That’s all of ‘em!” Adam heard Eve shout.

  Adam let out a sigh of relief as he stood. Once he stood, a sudden light blinded him. He ducked down, and shielded his eyes. Once they were adjusted, he slowly stood. Standing by the exit about a hundred yards away, was a girl. Adam could barely make out her features, but he could tell she had blonde hair, was wearing a white t-shirt that had splotches of red on it, and had on a skirt.

  “Well done!” He heard her shout, as her voice echoed throughout the basement. She had a heavy British accent. “Took long enough, though! And it was a little sloppy. You could have used a bit more…style. Like me!”

  It clicked it his mind exactly who she was.

  London.

  Chapter Three

  Adam began to make his way over to London – side stepping the bodies on his way. He saw that Eve was making her way towards London, too. He weaved through the countertops, and started jogging alongside her.

  As they grew closer, Adam was able to see her features easily. She had wavy blonde hair that had light brown streaked throughout; she had deep, dark blue eyes; high cheekbones, and perfectly red lips. She also had blood splattered on her face.

  Once they reached her, she smiled, revealing large white teeth. She extended her right hand, which Adam shook. “Name’s London. You must be Adam?” She had a thick British accent that made it a little hard to understand.

  Adam nodded, smiling.

  “You’re British, and you name’s London?” Eve asked mockingly. “Wow. That’s so dumb!” She said sarcastically, as she flipped her hair, laughing.

  London’s smile disappeared. She gave Eve a piercing glare. “Your name is Eve, and you’re full of yourself. How ironic.”

  Eve huffed, and looked away.

  London turned to Adam, and her smile returned. “I’ve heard all about you from Felix. You were quite the hero yesterday, saving Nick and all. I’m sorry you couldn’t save Twi, but hey, you can’t win them all!”

  Adam cringed a little at her lack of sympathy towards Twi. But yet, just the day before, he was arguing that they shouldn’t rescue her. “Is that yours?” He asked, pointing at the blood on her shirt, changing the subject.

  “Nope. This blood is from those Kappa bastards,” she seemed to smile even bigger, her face glowing. “Being shut up in this basement all the time does give me a slight blood-lust. For Kappa, of course. Not for any of you,” she said, directing her gaze at Eve.

  “What is this place, anyways?” Adam asked. Not only was he curious, he did not want any catfights breaking out.

  “This is my laboratory!”
Her face began glowing again.

  “All of this is yours? This place is huge! Bigger than huge! It’s massive!” Adam exclaimed.

  “Well,” London said, hesitating. “It serves its purpose.” She didn’t elaborate further.

  They all stood there in awkward silence for a moment. Adam was the first to speak. “We better go check on the others.”

  Adam started to walk towards the stairs. London grabbed his arm, stopping him. “Don’t bother. They’re not up there.”

  “Kappa got them?” Eve asked.

  “Not exactly,” London kept her gaze on Adam.

  “What do you mean, ‘not exactly’? Did they, or did they not?” Adam asked, beginning to grow tired of London dancing around his questions.

  London let go of his arm and looked at the ground; her smile fading.

  “Did they, or did they not?!” Adam was beginning to get angry.

  “Adam,” Eve walked to his side. She placed her hand on his arm just like London did. “Just listen to her. They’re not here.”

  Adam shook his arm loose from her grasp. “What are you guys playing at? Why the sudden change of heart, Eve? One second, you’re making fun of London; the next, you’re all buddy-buddy with her!”

  Neither London nor Eve responded.

  “Eve,” London finally said. “I need to speak with you.”

  Eve looked at Adam, before nodding. The two girls walked a couple of feet away, and began arguing in hushed whispers.

  Adam could only hear snippets of their conversation. “We need to do it” “I’m not going to do it,”

  Finally, London began to scream. “Don’t let your feelings get in the way! You have a duty! For Christ’s sake, this is protocol!” She pulled out a gun from the back of her jeans; it was silver and turquoise.

  London pointed it at Eve. She pulled the trigger.

  Eve disintegrated with a quite zap.

  London turned to Adam, pointing the gun at him. He stood there, not moving. He was in total shock.