The Purity Project

Chapter 23

Tyler threw himself out the door, collapsing onto the pavement. The air was hazy, and he could see smoke in the distance. He stood up slowly, scanning the area.

"Where is she?" he asked. 

They had checked out the explosion site, and found the lab completely destroyed. But there were no signs of Jada. They searched as much of the building as they could, but they had to leave before more government officers showed up.

"I don't get it. She made it out, right?" Lorenzo asked, his face exhausted, and his body leaning on Halona for support.

"What if she was captured?" Halona whispered.

"This is all your fault!" Malcolm shouted, slamming Tyler to the ground.

"Get off me!" Tyler shouted, using his hands to block his face from Malcolm's punches. 

"Stop it!" Braden shouted, pulling Malcolm off Tyler.

Tyler stood up, brushing his clothes and glaring at Malcolm. "What the heck dude?"

"It's your fault! You let Jada come here. You let her go off on her own. You let her get captured! I told you to take care of her!" Malcolm stopped struggling and collapsed to his knees. "She's gone. Just like him."

Those last words felt like a knife stabbing Tyler's heart. It was obvious that Malcolm meant his father. He turned away, taking deep breaths. He couldn't stop imagining Jada being tortured in a dark room. Malcolm was right. It was his fault.

"I'm sorry Malcolm," Tyler whispered.

The silence was broken by the sound of a car engine. Tyler turned to see a van speeding toward them. It stopped and dozens of armed officers hopped out of the car. Tyler grabbed his gun, but someone slammed into him, sending the weapon flying.

"Run!" Tyler shouted at his friends, but it wasn't long before guards had grabbed them too.

"Bag them," one of the officers said.

Tyler watched as an officer approached Halona, placing a bag over her head. She struggled and tried to kick them, but they pinned her down. One by one, the officers bagged Tyler's friends. Something shined in Tyler's eye, and he turned to look at Malcolm. He squinted and started to panic when he saw the knife hidden in Malcolm's sleeve. They made eye contact, and Tyler shook his head, praying the Malcolm didn't do anything stupid. An officer approached Malcolm, a bag in her hand. 

"This is for Jada," Malcolm whispered, and he whipped out the knife and stabbed the officer in her side. She screamed, and the officers holding Malcolm stumbled back in surprise. He managed to cut one of their throats, and he stabbed the other in the thigh.

Then the gun fired.

Malcolm's hand flew up to his neck, where blood had begun to gush out. His expression became blank and his lifeless body collapsed to the floor.

"Malcolm!" Tyler screamed and tried to fight off the guards. He took one look at his friend's body, and he collapsed in defeat. His vision was blocked off by a bag, and he could feel himself being carried into the cold van. 

Tyler felt numb, and his brain kept replaying Malcolm's death. He was Tyler's best friend. A brother. And he was gone. How was Tyler going to explain this to Jada? How could he ever look his little brother Ron in the eye again? He had failed. Light shined through the bag, and strong arms pulled Tyler out of the van. He was thrown onto the ground, and his eyes burned when the bag covering his face was pulled off. He looked to his side and saw Lorenzo, Halona, and Braden, who all had a sympathetic look on their faces. Tyler looked down at himself, and saw that his hands were shaking. 

"Alright, listen up. You four need to stay put. We've taken your weapons, so there's no fighting your way out of this one. Try to run and-" the officer was cut off by a loud explosion in the distance. His hands curled into fists as another building in the city came crashing down.

"You were saying?" Lorenzo tried to look confident, but his shoulders sagged and he tightened his grip on Halona's hand.

"If you try to escape, you will be shot down. You won't see it coming. We'll be watching you from every direction." The officer turned to walk away.

"So, you're just going to leave us here all alone?" Halona shouted.

The officer laughed and pointed behind the group.

Tyler turned his head and was surprised when he saw they were at the president's office. 

"You won't be alone for long. Now sit tight," the officer replied.

"She did it, didn't she? She destroyed your plan," Tyler said, looking the officer in the eye.

The officer's smile faded, and his expression became murderous. "Don't act so happy about it. The Purity Project was the final solution, and now our country has gone to chaos." The officer hopped into the van, which sped away.

"What do you think he meant?" Braden asked.

"It's kind of obvious. Look at what's happening to the capitol. The attack is probably being broadcast all over the country, and other rebel gangs must have joined in." Tyler rested his chin on his knees, staring at the ground.

"So it's another revolution," Lorenzo murmured.

"And we started it," Halona added.

Tyler didn't know what came over him, but he started laughing. He clutched his stomach, and his eyes started to well up. "It's ironic, isn't it? Marolo is always trying to take power away from the citizens, and all it took was four kids to start the downfall of the country. We had the power the entire time."

"We were just too scared to use it." Lorenzo lay down on the ground, crossing his legs.

"You guys are insane," Halona said, shaking her head.

"That's why you love us," Lorenzo replied, and they all laughed.

Tyler frowned, and he looked up at the sky. "This doesn't feel right. Not without Malcolm."

Halona moved closer to Tyler, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Ty. I didn't really know him, but I'm betting Malcolm would want you to move on. To keep living your life. To be there for your brother, and to take care of Jada." Her voice cracked at the name.

"We're going to find her. I promise," Tyler replied.

"She'd totally kick our butts if we joined the revolution without her," Lorenzo added.

"Are we joining the revolution?" Braden asked.

"I-" Tyler was cut off by a loud squeaky sound. He turned to see the door opening and stood up as a small figure walked out.