Xyleth, Zairon, and Gorgon: Battle of the Titans

Chapter 10: Race to Escape

Running through the halls, Dr. Leyla, Arthur, and Bethany try to get out of the facility before it's too late. "Where do we go?", Bethany asked. "Anywhere but here.", Leyla replied. "Oh God, I'm so tired!", Arthur complained. "Just hold it a bit longer Arthur, we're almost there!", Leyla replied.
Suddenly, an announcement broke out, "All personnel, please report to the Operations Center immediately!", "We must help them!", Arthur said. "Tim knows what he's doing.", Leyla replied, "Besides, he always comes up with a plan...always.", she continued as Bethany and Arthur nodded. Suddenly, Leyla stopped. "Which way do we go, Ley?", Bethany asked. Leyla hesitated for a bit. "Hmm...", Leyla thought deeply. "We should go right.", Bethany suggested. "No, wait!", Leyla remembered, "Left...we need to go left.", Leyla said, "It's the fastest route to the exit, come on!", she continued. Suddenly, two armed guards appeared. The trio exclaimed as the guards aimed their weapons at them. "Back this way, come on!", Leyla urged. "B-but the shortcut!", Bethany groaned. "There's another way, however, we need to use the stairs...LOTS OF STAIRS!", Leyla replied as Bethany and Arthur groaned, "Really Ley?", Arthur retorted. "Not now Arthur!", Bethany said. Then as they run past a kiosk, a guard just happens to pass by one of the hallways and points his gun at them. They screamed, then Bethany stopped and took out a blue hairdryer. She aimed it at the guard and pressed a button, then the hairdryer emitted a sparkling electric blue laser which hits the guard in front of them and reduced his body to a pile of smoldering ashes. Leyla and Arthur stopped in their tracks, then they turned around. "BETHANY!!!", they both scolded. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry.", Bethany apologized, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUR HAIRDRYER?!", Leyla asked. "Oh um, I thought it was on stun mode, turns out, I accidentally cranked it up to maximum level and the laser accidentally vaporized a man...in...front of us.", Bethany explained as her friends stared at her in exasperation. "What, he was gonna kill us.", Bethany replied. Leyla sighed, "Bethany, just...stop using your hairdryer, okay?", Leyla ordered. "This way, come on!", she urged as the duo followed her. "There! We can use the elevator.", Leyla pointed out. The elevator was just in front of them. However, they heard guards closing in on them, "Quick, he went this way, come on!", one of the guards shouted. Bethany exclaimed, "I never should've agreed to this!", she sobbed, "I knew something bad was gonna happen! I should've stayed at home, finishing the decorations on my new client's dress!", Bethany whined. "Can we please stop complaining while I'm trying to save our lives?!", Leyla grudgingly replied. Unexpectedly, the two guards appeared at the end of the hall where the trio came from, "Hey, You can't go in there.", one of the men yelled as he aimed a taser at them. "Oh no...", Arthur said. "Leyla pressed the elevator's down button, however, the elevator's response was delayed and it was descending from the top floor slowly. "Oh come on!", Leyla groaned, then as they turned around, the two guards inched closer and closer. The three of them exclaimed, then Leyla came up with an idea. "Bethany, set your hairdryer to stun mode.", Leyla ordered. "But I thought you-", Bethany said. However, Leyla cuts her off, "Forget what I said, set your hairdryer to stun mode...NOW!", Leyla repeated. Bethany immediately did what Leyla told her to. Then Leyla turned to Arthur, "Arthur, on my count, throw your backpack as hard as you can.", she ordered. Arthur nodded. "Nobody move 'til I give the signal.", Leyla commanded. "On my count...", Leyla raised her left hand as the guards advanced towards them. "3...2...1...NOW!", Leyla urged. Bethany aimed her hairdryer at one of the soldiers and fired another electric blue laser towards him. The man gasped and tried to take cover, however, the high-speed laser manages to hit his nape. The man convulsed uncontrollably and eventually collapsed. Then, the other guard yelped and checked in on his partner who was immediately knocked out due to shock. Then, Arthur flung his backpack at the other guard. The bag landed on the guard's head, knocking him unconscious. Then the three rejoiced, they gave each other high-fives and laughed. "I can't believe we just knocked out a couple of men.", Bethany sighed in relief. "Yeah, right after you killed the other guy.", Arthur teased. "Oh shut up, Arthur!", Bethany retorted. Eventually, the elevator arrived at the floor they're in. "Finally!", Bethany sighed. Then, as they entered, an alarm broke out! The noise woke up the guard who was knocked unconscious by Arthur's bag. He took his gun and aimed it at the elevator, whose doors just closed. Then, the guard shot the control panel, which made the elevator's door open again. Luckily, Bethany, Leyla, and Arthur managed to get two floors down. "Hm, that's strange.", Leyla remarked. "I pressed the ground floor button, why did we stop here?", she asked as the three of them got out of the elevator. "Probably some kind of glitch?", Bethany suggested. "Yeah, that mercenary must've busted some of the controls when we were going down.", Arthur said.
"Then we better hurry.", Leyla said, "With Dr. Whitney sending her goons all over the facility, this place is no longer safe for us.", she continued. Suddenly, the trio stopped after they heard the sound of footsteps nearby. Bethany charged up her hairdryer while Leyla took out a pepper spray bottle from her pocket. The sound felt closer than ever. They stuck together, with their weapons stretched out, ready to hit anyone who gets in their way. As the target drew nearer, they leaped forward and screamed. Then a familiar voice yelled at them. "OH MY GOD! Bethany, Leyla, Arthur?! What are you three doing here?!", Chef exclaimed. "I thought you guys were in the Genetics Lab.", Martha asked. "Martha, what are you doing here?!", Leyla asked. "Oh um, I went with Chef to the cafeteria. I still haven't finished eating.", Martha replied. "Come on, we need to get out of here!", Leyla urged, "The elevator is jammed!", Bethany said. "This way!.", Martha pointed as the others followed her. "We'll go down the spiral staircase, it leads directly towards the cafeteria which is just a few rooms away from the lobby.", she explained. "What are you waiting for, let's go!", Leyla ordered. The five of them made their way down the stairs, then, they heard loud squeaking footsteps heading for them. "Everybody quiet.", Chef ordered. However, Arthur sneezed. 

The person heading towards the stairs gasped, then he looked down. "Martha?", the voice called out. "JIM, IS THAT YOU?!", Martha asked. Jim nodded as he went down the staircase. "Where's Nick and Dr. Maxwell?", Martha asked, "They're trapped in the Operations Center.", Jim explained. "How did you get out?", Chef asked. "I snuck away while the other operatives were tackling Dr. Maxwell. Dr. Whitney said that Dr. Maxwell made Project: Youth to fight against the kaiju. They were gonna use young people's brain waves to control the monsters and make them follow commands.", he explained. Leyla sighed, exasperated. "We need to get out of here...NOW!", Leyla commanded as the six of them went down to the cafeteria. "THREE MINUTES BEFORE LOCKDOWN!!!", an automated voice said. "Quick!", Leyla urged, "The doors are closing!", Bethany yelled. "Chef do you have your paintbrush?", Leyla asked. "Oh, it's in the supply cabinet beside the cashier.", Chef said. "I'll go get it!", Martha said as she dashed by the Genetics lab. "Martha, wait!", Chef yelled as he went after her.

Meanwhile, Bethany, Arthur, Jim, and Leyla reached the lobby, however, a couple of guards are blocking the exit. "Hey!", a guard yelled, "YOU DON'T HAVE AUTHORIZATION!", another one shouted. "Listen, we have a few stragglers in sector one.", one of the guards reported. Leyla gasped, then she took her ID out of her pocket and showed it to the guards. "SIXTY SECONDS BEFORE LOCKDOWN!", the alarm blared. "I am Dr. Leyla H. Murphy, I worked in this facility for five years mister! Please open the door for us.", Leyla begged. "Why are you leaving?", one of them asked. "Dr. Whitney ordered us to get something from the watchtower!", Jim said. "Y-yeah, that's right.", Leyla said as she sighed. "Good one kid.", Arthur said. "Wait a minute, we'll ask Dr. Whitney first. I'm pretty sure she didn't tell us to get something from over there.", one of the guards stated as he pulled out his walkie-talkie while the other lifted his gun and pointed it at them. Suddenly, Arthur tackled the guard and tried to take the rifle away from him. However, he was overpowered. The other guard aimed his rifle at Arthur. Luckily, Leyla pushed the guard away just in time. Unfortunately, the guard tripped on his rifle, and his head violently slammed against the glass door, shattering it. 
Everyone gasped, including the other guard that Arthur was tackling earlier. "Leyla!", Bethany yelled. "I'm fine.", Leyla assured. However, the guard growled at Leyla and aimed his gun at her. But before he can pull the trigger, a rainbow-colored rope swirled around his arm and dragged him away. 

Leyla gasped, "Chef!", she ran towards Chef and embraced him. "Thank you.", Leyla said. "You still have it in you, Chef.", Arthur said as he patted him on the back. "5...4...3...2...1! COMMENCING LOCKDOWN.", the alarm blared. Everyone gasped in horror as the gates started to close. Quick, Let's get out here!", Martha yelled. Everyone rushed towards the front door, however, it was sealing. "Chef get something that you can use to keep the door open.", Leyla ordered. Chef used his paintbrush to pull a desk towards the door, keeping it open. "It won't last long...", Chef grunted, "You need to go now!", he ordered. 

As his other friends approached the exit, the desk shattered from the sheer force of the doors closing. Everyone yelped as Chef collapsed on the floor. He groaned as he saw his friends surround him. "Are you okay, Chef?", Bethany asked. Chef nodded in reply.
Meanwhile, in the corner, Leyla sat down and sighed. She failed to get her friends to safety.