Chapter 56: Ghostly Magnet

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Eiffel winced when I unintentionally touched the burns on her right arm. It turns out that she had bruises under her chin too. She was able to keep up on the running, but it wasn't as fast as before. I remember the first time we met; I punched George's face and we ran immediately, I held her hand. I let go when I knew I could trust her. I wonder if she can still trust me with all the hindrances stirring up everywhere I go.
Zach and Alice run behind us as they both drag Benjamin across the hallway. We stay together, I say to myself. I gestured for them to run past us so we could run behind them. I kept myself alert just in case someone sneaks up behind us. Metal clatters from the ceiling above us, as if it was about to fall on top of us. But before I could look up, the metal plate from the from ceiling vents landed straight on top of my head.
I grasp the back of my head, moaning in pain as I drop Eiffel next to the wall. Someone else's feet land on the hard floor. I turned to see who it was. His emerald eyes were hidden behind the black transparent sunglasses. Jackson. He's standing over me and stretched out a hand to help me up. "Hey, brother," he greeted me as if nothing from two days from ago ever happened.
"Jackson, you came!" I take his hand and pull myself up.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I? Come on, let's get you two out of here."
"Our group's way ahead of us, let's hurry," I said. We kept on running.
"Wait up!" Jackson yelled.
I see their shadows stop abruptly and turn around. They were excited to see their friend trying to save them. "You're here!" they yelled.
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Jackson said impatiently. "I'm not the only one though. Iris and the other Innates are on their way. Time is one of our enemies here. They'll find us, they always do. Let's move, come on!"
We headed straight to the end of the hallway and passed by the brightness that we saw earlier. Jackson lead our way.
"How do you know which way to go?" I ask.
"They gave me these spectacles that map out the whole compound. We've coordinated how we'll let the other captives escape. Follow me."
My breathing felt shallow, like they were faltering. My limbs were too cold to move. I should stop, I thought. But no, only one wrong move can kill the people around me--that's what I learned for the past few months.
"Here, take these." He tossed each and everyone of a gun. "What happened to dad? I thought they were dead," he asked.
"Well...it's a long story," I said. He lead us down a completely different hallway, despite having the walls coated with steel and titanium bolts. It was even more frigid there, after seeing the mist exhaust from my mouth as I breathe.
"Okay fine, I'll tell you: Looks like he and Eiffel didn't die at the explosion, André must've captured them before they got blown to pieces."
"What does he want with a Zip like Eiffel--? No offense though."
"None taken."
"Are you sure we're heading the right way?" Zach asked.
"Yeah. We're getting closer to the control room. Hope there aren't any clone guards in there."
"Well, you should've planned that out before arriving here to save us," I scolded him, even though he's older.
"Somehow my glasses are acting up now. But I know we're in the right place," he said calmly.
"Just be sure no clone's gonna touch my girl," I said, reassuring Eiffel that she'll never get separated from me again. She blushes at that.
"Yeah, bro, I'm sure."
Suddenly, my feet weren't touching the floor anymore. The coldness of the hallway grew stronger, more ghostly. I couldn't feel my face as I spoke. I look around and all I see is cold smoke enveloped around us. Silhouettes of my friends float in one place. We're stuck between the ceiling and the floor, we can simply just paddle our legs as if we were swimming in order to get down, but we were just frozen above the floor. Trapped.
Our guns floated higher than us, making it impossible for us to shoot whoever's attacking us. The door was just right there, and we were too late.
"What the heck is this?!" Zach exclaimed. "What happened?"
"Something's trapped us in midair," Jackson stated. "What do you think it is?" he asks.
"I think it's--" A new voice cuts in before I could my sentence.
"Amazing, isn't it?" I'd turn around to see who it was, but I was too frozen to move. "All the tiny magnetic domains that coated these walls can hold up to tons of weight. Good thing you're only kids--You just never learn do you?"
"Yeah, we do. Just not from you," Alice said.
"I doubt that very much. You see, I was mainly the one who trained you guys the way you are right now. No "thank you" from me? Unbelievable."
"Why would I thank you? You did a bad job on doing it. We would've been able to escape right now."
He steps closer. I think I just had misophonia from hearing his croaked voice.
"Why isn't the damaged one talking?" André sneered.
"Too damaged to talk, yes?" I say.
"Look, Jess, if you want your friends to get down..." He stepped closer and rubbed the back of my head. I can't bear to squeeze my eyes tightly and puff my cheeks until they turn red. Is he putting another chip on the back of my head again? No, of course not. "then you have to do as I say. You come and join me so I can continue the experiments, and I'll let your friends leave."
The fact that I am the target and my friends are the wall that I protect makes me want to take André's hand and succumb to his request in agreement.
"Jess..." Jackson muttered. "Don't."
André pulls my arm slowly to face him.
"It feels weird not having any metal in my body, despite being held captove captive in magnetic domains," I said from the top of my head.
"These walls scan your blood cells, thus taking control of the iron inside your system. Does that answer your question?"
"Not quite. How come you're unaffected?"
"Because real blood doesn't flow in my body. Any more questions?"
"Jess, you can't hand yourself over!" Jackson cuts in.
"Shut up, Jackson!" I scolded him. "It my choice not yours."
"I agree with Jackie here," Zach said.
"So do I," Sarra said.
"Me too," the rest of them said.
"Too bad it's my decision to make!"
"Enough with the whining, kids." André starts to pull me away from the magnetic snare.
I had one final glance of Jackson, similar to the other sympathetic glances I've made before. He winks at me. I hope it's another sign of escape, a part of me says. André drags me away from the scene, I can feel the regret washing over me like a hot, piping waterfall.
"One more thing!" Jackson shouts out from twenty feet away. I stay turned away from them. "Are you just going to leave us trapped here?" he asked.
As André turned around, a gunshot sounds across the hallway. Before I turned, the clone's body snapped back and collapsed on the floor. Its torso bleeding profusely. Then I saw Jackson's left nostril bleeding the same way as André. The magnetic trap must've been so strong, that Jackson struggled to pry the gun from the magnet's force and shoot one bullet without letting it get magnet-ized in midair.
"Thanks," I said.
"You're welcome--Now get us down here now! I almost lost trust in you, little bro."
"But I'm not so little though, right?"
"Sure you are. You're just capable of doing big things that's the case."
"So how am I supposed to get you guys down?" I ask. I scratch my head.
"Not so big now, huh?" Zach chuckled. "Maybe it's somewhere in the control room." I ran off to the end of the hallway.
"That's my boy!" Jackson shouted across the hallway.
There were multiple tables of controlling panels and buttons surrounding the room. I tried pressing random buttons and pulling different levers, nothing. Or so I thought. I heard their bodies fall on the hard floor. I should apologize how it was all too sudden.
"Thanks, Jess." I pulled him up. I find Ace lying on his stomach, I helped him up too. Someone's glasses sit next to Zach, one of its lenses cracked on the corner.
"Is that yours?" I ask him.
"It's Robert's. Here." He slipped them on to my ears.
"Thanks."
"He would want you to keep them."
Someone groans next to Alice, a deep, manly voice. He runs his hand across his black-brown hair and groans in dizziness.
"What happened?" he asked. I rush out to Benjamin and hugged him tight before he even gets up.
"Easy there, son. I'm all right, you're all right."
"We're all right," Jackson said.
"Come here," he said to Jackson. "Join us."
Jackson wraps his arms around us, sinking down the abyss of love and conpassion.
"Wait, hold on a sec..." Ace scratches his head. "Are you two related?" he asked.
"It appears so," said Alice.
"It feels so good to have my two sons together."
"You're right, dad," I said. "Even if this place is crawling with--"
"Watch out!" Zach exclaimed. Three gunshots sounded infront of me, behind Benjamin.
I looked at what's behind him. A clone pointing his gun at us.

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