Love Finds You - Even If You're On the Run

Chapter 4

Picture this. Your in highschool… and on vacation. In Orlando. You are with your best friend and you’re going to Disney World. Life’s good. Until… you are rudely awakened at 3AM to be informed that apparently you’re a wanted murder.

Now some (rather attractive) guy is claiming that if we want to avoid being killed, we have to go with him.

Oh, and did I mention we’re being chased by the police who think we’re guilty?

Yeah, welcome to my summer vacation.

-Ash [Recap of the story so far]

The windows exploded, sending a shower of glass cascading over the us. I winced as the shards bit into my skin. Blood dripped from a gash on my cheek painting bright red over my pale skin.

Vienna screamed and recoiled, her mascara (which she had somehow managed to put on before all this craziness started) was smudged badly, making her look like a startled raccoon.

Through the broken windows slithered a white, wispy gas of some sort. It hissed and crept forward as if searching for something to devour. 

Panicked, I looked to Jake… to see he was… grinning. His teeth flashed in an excited grin. His hair was tousled from the blast, making him look like a madman.

He grabbed my hand, still grinning. “Now we run.” He said, gleefully.

Definitely a madman.

“You’re crazy!” I murmured, as I was pulled along by Jake. He looked back at me and winked, flashing another defying smile. Behind me, Vienna struggled along, having slipped on high heels.

Wait. Heels?

“Vi, what the hell, its 3AM. Heels?”

Behind me Vienna coughed and giggled. "I always need to look good." She proclamed.

Jake pulled us behind the Starbucks counter, past the coffee machines and to a stainless steel industrial refrigerator.

I glared at him mildly surprised that he’d lead us to a fridge. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Ignoring me, he pulled open the fridge and --before I could react-- he pushed me inside. To my surprise, I found myself in a dark passage way. The walls were dirty and the beige paint was peeling off, but it looked like a hallway from the hotel. An abandoned, windowless hallway.

Behind me, I head the click of Vienna’s heels as my  friend stumbled into the tiled hallway behind me.

“Did we just go through a refrigerator into a secret passageway? “ Vi questioned, her voice thick with irony.

“Yes,” Jake appeared from the murky shadows behind the us, startling me with his silent approach. “No one expects a secret passage to be in a fridge. Now come on, that won’t stump ‘em for long. We gotta get to the portal.”

I glanced at Vienna. “He said portal.”

“Yes, yes he did.” Vienna nodded, unphased.

I nodded slowly, considering whether to be surprised or not. I didn’t get a chance to choose; Jake motioned impatiently and took off in a brisk walk.

He’d been leading for ten minutes down the seemingly endless hallway when Jake stopped suddenly. I bumped into his back, caught off guard by his sudden stop.

“Hey--!” My protest was cut short as he turned and pressed a finger to my lips.

“Listen.”

Ignoring my reddening cheeks, I strained my ears, wondering what it was that had added the level of urgency to Jake’s voice.

Then I heard it.

Boom. Boom boom.

Boom. Boom boom.

Boom. Boom boom.

Vienna stiffened next to me.

“W-what was that?” Vi asked, her voice wavering slightly.

BOOOM.

The deep noise rumbled through the hallway. I could feel it reverberating through my bones. A cold, clammy chill slunk through the tunnel.

“Run.” Jake growled, his good humor vanishing. He shoved Vienna. “Run!”

Jake and Vi took off running, me sprinting after them. My heart beat pounded in my ear drums as fear crept over me. “What is it?!” I puffed, fear fueling my frantic dash. Gym had never been my stong point.

“Death,” Jake replied, looking over his shoulders. His pale eyes seemed to glimmer in the darkness, looking like shards of gleaming ice.

The hallway suddenly changed, the beige painted walls gave way to rough stone. The tiled floors becoming solid cement. A vile scent assaulted my nose. Something that took me a moment to place. Sewage.

BOOM BOOM BOOM.

BOOM BOOM BOOM.

BOOM BOOM BOOM.

There was no time for questions, the noise grew closer. I kept my eyes on the stone path, afraid to look back.

Through the darkness ahead, something moved. I halted, my eyes straining against the darkness. Jake stopped in his tracks and cursed. His fists tightened as he glanced back in the direction we had come. Scratching was clearly audible, but another faint noise could just be detected… Hissing. As if something was leaking.

Jake cursed again. He hesitated, as if making up his mind about something. His eyes flickered over me and Vienna.

“Behind us is something that will rip us to shreds. No mercy. Ahead of us is a gas that will kill us from the inside out if we breathe too much of it.” He murmured, as if contemplating the words. “Don’t breathe in. We’re going to run through the gas. Do not breathe any of it. Understand?”

I snorted, crossing my arms despite the fear that ached to claw its way out of my chest. “Don’t we get a say in this?”

Jake shrugged, some of his humor seeming to return. “Not really. Do you enjoy living? Yes? Okay, follow me.”

Cautiously he walked forward a dozen steps then stopped and motioned for Vi and I to follow.

Twelve feet away, a cloud of the same white vapor from before writhed. Tendrils reached forward, grasping for our group. The cloud crept towards us, as if seeking our presence. It was a thick fog, that engulfed the passage ahead, shrouding it in white. Something about it was unexplainably wrong. Something that I could not place, but as I looked upon it mass I knew it was meant to kill.

Jake grasped my hand, squeezing it tight. “Three.”

I looked to Vienna, who held Jake’s other hand. My friend’s eyes were wide, panicked.

“Two.”

I glanced at Jake. His face was drawn in concentration. His eyes calculating unseen factors, his hair was a tangled mess, casting deep shadows across his face. His skin was warm against mine.

“One.”

He tensed next to me, drawing me close to his body, as if he could protect me from the gas with his flesh. The world seemed to slow down as his lips formed the final word.

“Go.”

With the last word, Jake pulled me and Vienna into the hungry fog.