LINKAGE

CHAPTER 22: PRESSURE APPLIED

"How is it?" Isaac asked after he was done covering Gavin's hands with the new bandages.

"It is better not to move my fingers, but I can handle it." Gavin got up from the table he was sitting in.

"What about your arm? It is good after yesterday?" Isaac mentioned the episode from the other day, where Gavin's arm was sleepy from the snake's poison.

"I'm fine, Isaac. For real." Gavin liked the way Isaac cared about him during those moments. It felt different from before, but it was a good type of difference. "What are we doing now?" Isaac went to grab the bullets inside the room to put in his backpack.

"We need to find the monster, or we let him find us. Let's go back to the bunker to get the G-NU." Isaac started to walk in front. They were going to leave the mess behind for sure. Nobody would know what that liquid was about and the radiation emerger had a measurer inside the compartment, so anyone that goes over the room will know that it shouldn't be open right away.

Isaac opened the door and held it so Gavin could leave first since he couldn't use his hands when he heard some chatting over the hallway. When Gavin exited, he motioned for them to walk slowly. The hallway did have the lights on so the boys quickly saw the shadows coming right in their direction. Isaac looked everywhere to hide, but nothing looked useful in that hallway. He decided to grab one bullet from his backpack to use as his weapon in case things gets out of control.

Gavin stood in front of Isaac, both boys having their backs facing now a troop of federal soldiers. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" Screamed one of them with an automatic rifle pointed at their backs. "TURN AROUND. HANDS ON YOUR HEAD." They didn't obey obviously, and the soldiers kept walking forward in their direction. "TURN AROUND OR YOU BOTH WILL BE SHOT!"

"On three, we run." He whispered to Gavin. Isaac put his hands over his head and discreetly opened the capsule. He mouthed 'one, two, three', and at the last number, he threw the bullet abruptly on the floor like it was a bomb, making a slight blowing sound, enough to stun the soldiers so they could run. The radiation inside the bullet would knock them down for sure, but one of them was calling up for reinforcements as the radiation started to crawl up his skin.The worst thing is that his Lenses were on and his vision could be watched if someone had access. Isaac and Gavin were being hunted by the Federal Opus now.

As this troop was damaged now, the boys ran far in that corridor without even knowing where it could take them. They were looking everywhere for a way out before it was too late. Both boys felt desperate because getting caught by the Federal Opus never passed through their minds. Isaac wondered deeply how did they were found.

The boys turned to the left to see the hallway getting dark. The lights were off and the night was just beginning, so they didn't have much light except the moons out there. Sounds of cars parking abruptly over there could be heard, so they were aware the reinforcements had just arrived. "Isaac, what are we going to do?" Gavin asked frantically. He didn't want to die or get back to the hands of the Federal Opus, even more when they reached so much so far.

Isaac looked everywhere and the only thing he found as a way out was the windows next to them. "We cannot go too far from the parking lot. We need the car." He elbowed the window once, twice, but it didn't do anything. Then he walked to the closest room he found and grabbed a chair, which he bumped into the window repeatedly until it fell apart in the air. He turned his Lenses on to check the height, and since they were on the first floor, only 3 meters distanced them and the parking lot. As the wind blew strong, Isaac jumped from there and fell alright into the floor, feeling just a bit of pain in the legs. He signaled for Gavin to jump off too. "Jump, Gavin. I will hold you."

Gavin looked at the distance but didn't pay much attention to it. He didn't have much of a choice but to jump. The troops were coming after them and they couldn't waste any more seconds inside that building. When he jumped, his body felt the air, and Isaac's strong hands grabbed him firmly. They exchanged an understanding look before continuing. The parking lot was not that far away, but the path was blocked by the soldiers getting inside the Institute.