The X-Philes

Chapter 7

"No!"

Phil's heart lurched in his chest as another shot rang out and he felt a pull deep within his chest like he'd never felt before. His eyes squeezed shut on instinct and when he opened them Dan was motionless on the ground. Until he wasn't.

The gun had been aimed at Dan at point-blank range, shot execution style just like it had with Dr. Howell- and yet somehow the bullet had missed. Not by a hair, either. It was as if some invisible force had yanked the bullet out of its path and tossed it aside.

Stunned, the guard looked at his gun, and, sensing his opportunity, Dan rushed him.

Phil rolled to the side and got to his feet while his guard turned to try and help his partner.

Phil ran over and with all of his might lurched into the guard knocking him off balance.

The gun fell to the side and hit the ground and Phil dashed over to pick it up, dropping to the ground and rolling so his hands behind his back could pick it up and carry it with him.

"Run!"

Phil didn't need to hear it twice: The guards, though momentarily dazed, were still armed with their riffles. Phil knew they would never make it across the desert back to the car: their only hope was getting back underground.

Phil made it to the trap door first, tossing the gun off to the side and yanking the door open still with his hands behind his back and practically falling his way down the stairs. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to both grab the gun and open the door while still being handcuffed but he chalked it up to life-threatening adrenaline.

Dan followed close behind and Phil noticed for the first time his hands were no longer cuffed. He must have picked the lock with something while talking to Dr. Steinbeck.

In all the commotion the doctor, instead of helping his guards, had rushed back to the trap door, and indeed, there he was, waiting at the bottom, gun drawn on them again.

"You're not going anywhere," he sneered.

Phil grabbed emotions from deep down inside him and with his mind reached out. The gun flew from Dr. Steinbeck's hand. Stunned, he turned to summon more guards.

Dan was still running on full adrenaline and didn't bother to process what he'd just witnessed. Instead, he led Phil back through the maze of halls, which he'd managed to memorize, until they came back to the original staircase.

They burst through the door back up to the car garage in the dessert and ran as fast as they could back towards the car, zig-zagging their paths just in case, but Phil didn't hear the whir of bullets flying at them or see clouds of dust where they might have landed.

Phil looked at the fence that was slowly coming into focus. Reaching down once again, he pulled from something deep within him and reached out, bending the wires that crisscrossed apart and back so they could run through.

Dan grabbed the rock he'd hidden the key under and chucked it, snatching up the key and fitting them into the door lock and twisting.

Phil looked nervously over his shoulder, sweat dripping into his eyes from his brow and chest tight and heaving while Dan slid across the seats and opened the passenger side door from within.

Phil had barely managed to pull the door shut before Dan threw his beloved car into reverse, speeding backwards before turning about sharply, throwing it into drive, and getting the hell out of dodge.

*-*-*-*-*

Dan did 80 all the way until a gas station in the middle of nowhere with lights on came into view.