Emaria

chapter six.

Wc: 2477

In the darkness, I tied the document and the blueprint in an extra hair tie that was on my wrist. I only tied it around once and hoped for the best as I followed the other two girls out of the Dean's office. We kept quiet, creeping down the corridor towards the hallway, not wanting to draw any attention. We get to the door before the footsteps down the hall stop suddenly. Every cell in my body told me to sprint and not turn back, but I kept myself frozen knowing Jordan and Madison were still in front of me.

Madison opens the door to the hallway slightly peering out into the darkness. She didn't seem to find anything amiss so she steps out in the hallway and Jordan and I follow in pursuit. We tip-toe silently to the opposite direction of the footsteps. I hoped that in the darkness we weren't being seen, seeing as whoever was here has also disappeared into the abyss. That may also be why we were so surprised when the guard came out of nowhere and grabbed me.

I let out a startled scream, and Madison whips around and flicks on the flashlight. Me being behind the two girls, I was the easiest target, but the guard made the mistake of grabbing me the way he did. He came up from behind me and had his arms around me, my own arms crossed over my chest. Luckily for me, he was a pretty small guy (5'11, and maybe 160 lbs) and I was a quick reactor when I was scared. I throw my entirety of my weight back and then quickly forward in the same motion, flipping the guard over my head. Stumbling away slightly, I turned to the girls.

"Run! Now!" And with that, we sprinted through the hallway without looking back.

"Get back here!" A guard yelled from behind us, the multiple footsteps coming from behind us meaning there were at least two of them following us. They may be grown men, but we've been trained just the same amount or even more than them.

Madison pushed through a random side door as if she just remembered that the doors were only locked from the outside. We waste no time running along the side of the school to get back to the woods. As we sprint, I spared a glance behind me seeing the two soldiers running to catch up with us. They lacked their usual semi-automatics but continued the trend of the white and gray camo uniform, combat boots, and harness. There weren't much more interesting outfits in a world of techwear.

The three of us made it to the woods but didn't stop there.

"Split up!" Madison yelled at us clearly running out of her breath. I nodded and turned slightly to the right, going in the direction neither Jordan or Madison were going. I had no idea where I was headed or where I would end up but hearing the heavy steps following close behind me did the opposite of slowing me down. If adrenaline wasn't keeping me going before, it definitely is now.

A run through a dark forest was not as fun as it sounds. I could only see slightly ahead of me because of distant streetlights and the dull purple Emaria emitted daily. I kept my speed, slamming into branches that hung low from trees and spiderwebs, which was also the only reason that I was getting away from the soldier behind me at all.

The street lights become brighter as I near the edge of the woods. I didn't know where I would go when I exited the woods, since out in the open the guard will be able to see me plus catch up with me if I don't play this smart. I was hastily coming up with a plan as I reached the edge of the woods and I made the dumb mistake to look behind me to see if I could see the guard there any longer, and tripped over a tree root, crying out and falling out of the woods, behind a couple houses. I quickly turned onto my back. The guard was not right behind me, but I could hear him barreling through the woods. I staggered my way to my feet, tripping over and falling again, you know, that thing dumb blondes do sometimes when they're running for some reason. I curse at myself, feeling someone grab my arm and pull me up. My first instinct was to pull away and fight the force, but he grabbed my wrist and I faced towards him.