Star-Crossed

Part 13

I approach the entrance to the big, black building and take a deep breath. In and out.

Hundreds of stories loom above my head. My heart is racing. There are guards at every corner - and they do not look friendly.

I approach the door and accidentally step on one of the guard's toes. I freeze in terror and look up at him. He sneers and spits on me but then goes back to pretending I'm not there.

I wipe my face with the back of my hand and then hold up my ID badge to the scanner. I'm immediately cleared and enter the factory with no problem. No one suspects a thing.

These disguises are pretty amazing!

I check my watch. It reads 4:50. Time is ticking.

I now have exactly ten minutes to find out where they're storing Element X, collect and sneak out a few samples of it and then escape the building without being seen.

Every single time my heart beats, it signals one less second of time that I have on my side.

At exactly 5:00 sharp, Zayn is going to come back and pick me up, so that we can leave Mimba before the terrorists come to move their samples of Element X and destroy any remnants of the factory itself.

Plus, we need to arrive at the ship before the swarms and swarms of Mimbian beetles begin to ascend, as they do every evening, as the sun begins to set. Otherwise, we will be stranded wherever we are until daylight...that is, if the beetles don't eat us to death, first.

"Karina," Xeno says in my ear. "I think that they store the substance somewhere in the attic of the building. In cylinders of some sort. You need to get yourself to the top-most floor. Once you are there, I'll be able to guide you a bit better."

"Got it," I whisper.

I sneak into the bathroom and slide into a stall. I pull up a holographic map of the building and see that there is an elevator relatively near me.

I whisper, "Launch invisible shield," and in a few seconds, I can no longer see my hands or feet. I open the stall door and walk to the mirror above the sink. I can't see myself.

Great - it's working.

"You have eight minutes left Karina," Xeno reminds me.

I walk toward the elevator and nod awkwardly at the guard standing there. He ignores me. I move to push the call button, and then catch myself just in time. I'm invisible. The guard doesn't know I'm here. If I call the elevator, he'll know something's up. I wait until the elevator comes down. The doors open, and a guy walks out.

I slide in quickly and position myself in front of the keypad. No one has pushed the button for the top floor. Obviously. It's off-limits to most of the workers. I'll need to wait until the last person exits and before the doors close, push the top button, before the elevator goes back down.

Again, I accidentally step on someone's foot. Get it together, Karina, I think to myself.

The man standing next to me jumps and winces in pain, looking around angrily. When no one fesses up to the crime, he gives a big sigh and mutters some profanities underneath his breath.

Thankfully, he exits the elevator at the next stop.

Finally, the last stop arrives. The elevator doors open, and the factory worker - a stout, elderly woman - slowly exits. When I am confident that she isn't able to see inside the elevator anymore, I quickly push the button for the top floor. But it doesn't light up! I keep pushing it a few times but nothing happens. I panic.