Terror

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Mark crawled through the underground tunnel that Conner had created. Dirt kept flying into his face from Will, who was crawling in front of him. It reminded him of something a termite would create, with dirt shattered everywhere.

"This is so weird," Will remarked. "It's like those tubes in a playground."

Will was the eyes in this whole tunnel situation. They had driven a car to town, but it had died halfway there. So, they had to resort to Zane's second plan of creating secret tunnels to quickly escape the scene.

"Not exactly," Conner muttered. "It's just like digging a regular hole in the ground."

Conner stopped to crouch slightly, placing both hands on top of the tunnel. The whole ground caved in on top of him, but he managed to pull himself out of the hole.

Will stayed put for a moment before closing his eyes. "Eden's going to use all those moves she learned when she fought Luke."

"Why not Jason and Greyson?" Emma panicked, whirling around to look at Will. "Unless they changed their plan or something,"

"There are missiles," Will stated.

Mark heaved Emma through the tunnel exit, rolling to the side as they hit the mud. His eyes immediately scanned the hole—Will was still crawling, struggling against dirt and narrow walls.

"Missiles... how?" Mark muttered under his breath.

They were usually stored at an army base, unless there were some secretly stored at the power plant.

Nevaeh shrugged. "They're probably from Bella's isolation cabin."

Will popped up behind them, grinning. "Or we could ride them and then jump off like rockets!"

Mark blinked at him, unsure if he was joking.

Slowly, the group emerged from behind the half-burned houses lining the backroad. Most trees were charred or leaned at odd angles, leaving almost no cover.

They ducked under the shadow of ruined houses, peering out toward the plaza. Smoke and fire twisted across the open area, and movement caught Mark's eye.

"I'm glad I didn't grow up here," Will stated, sticking out his tongue. "I'm from Vancouver. I'm an abandoned teen just like Bryce, Mia, and Eden. Our birthdays are never acknowledged or celebrated by our parents. Once, Mia got a card from her parents hated her on her birthday, and it said they hated her. That's how the outside world will see us when we're out of here."

They were no longer just some kids who went to school and played sports. They had to bury and carry the bodies of those who had died, or even fish for them, after the town split happened.

"I have access to my parents' bank account without their knowledge. I've crashed my father's investment by buying drugs and alcohol when I was at Uden. Being a delinquent requires a lot of running. Okay, let's spy!" Will exclaimed.

They cautiously made their way past the destroyed houses and towards a road closer to the plaza. Conner dug himself into the ground, slowly sinking deeper and deeper. Mark peered down the dark hole as Nevaeh shone a small flashlight.

"So, we have to army crawl through this hole?" Emma asked. "And hope we don't break any bones."

James went in first, using the walls to carefully lower himself down, as Nevaeh and Will did the same thing. However, when Emma attempted to do the same, her hand slipped halfway and she let out a scream.

Mark used one hand and his feet to steady himself as he decided into the deep hole. His arms and legs felt shaky, as if he could fall at any moment. When he reached the bottom, Conner was already in front, with Will close behind.