The Program [COMPLETED]

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Aiden dove for cover, catching a glimpse of uppercase text on the computer which read "message sent". He immediately reentered the fight, his gun loaded and ready to fire on sight. Zariah and Rania were fending off the soldiers relatively well, giving him the opportunity to shoot at the glass windows in hopes that they'd aid in their escape.

As he expected, his first bullet merely scraped the thick sheet of glass between his friends and their freedom. If the bulletproof glass wouldn't break, Aiden wasn't sure how they would be able to escape. He looked down at his handgun before shoving it back into his pocket and reaching for an unconscious guard's body and taking their much larger, more devastating weapon. Perhaps this one would do the trick.

Aiden recounted a lesson he'd learned in the youth centre during his childhood. No glass that existed was completely unbreakable. Even the Program's military grade, seven millimeter bullet-resistant glass could be broken; ironically, by its own weapons. Aiden remembered learning that certain gun editions, such as those carried by Officials, possessed special ammunition that could break through bulletproof glass in a few shots, included as a safety precaution. Aiden cocked the gun and fired at the glass, seeing it give a little at a time. Finally, after what seemed like forever despite being only a mere minute, the glass gave way, revealing a large, gaping hole that provided Aiden, Zariah and Rania with the escape route they needed.

He looked over at his friends to see that Zariah and Rania had taken down quite a few soldiers who'd come their way; not individually, but rather as a single unit. While one of them reloaded, the other would be keeping a steady watch on the door, pegging off soldiers before they even had the chance to make it into the transmission room.

"Through here, quickly!" he shouted at them. The girls whipped around at the sound of his voice, running straight for the window at full speed.

Zariah skidded to a halt, glancing downwards at the darkness beyond the broken glass. "Where the fuck does this lead to?" she demanded.

"Just trust me," he pleaded. Zariah stared him straight in the eye, her gaze unrelenting as she ducked carefully out of the hole, being careful not to cut herself in any way, and jumped downwards.

He ushered Rania out of the window and made sure she'd jumped before he allowed himself to follow her. Without even bothering to think, he leapt from the small platform and closed his eyes tightly, taking a deep breath and preparing for his uncertain landing.

He hit the water with a loud splash, keeping his eyes closed as river water engulfed him. His breath caught in his chest and he had to keep himself from screaming. The intense cold was unforgiving, gripping every inch of his body the second he was submerged. His nerves burned, and he instantly shot to the surface, gasping for air once his head rose above the water. The blood roared in his ears as he scoured the area for Rania and Zariah, desperate to make sure both of them were okay.

He climbed out of the narrow river, shaking uncontrollably. His teeth were chattering, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been had he not been wearing his insulated stealth gear. He scrambled around the edge of the river, searching thoroughly for his friends. Had they made it over okay?

"Aiden!" a female voice hissed. He spun around, finding himself face to face with Zariah.

"You're safe," he sighed in relief. "Where's Rania?"

"I'm h-here too," she offered gently, a few feet away from Zariah. All three of them were shivering, holding their arms tightly to their chests in order to trap as much warmth as possible.

"We've got to get out of here," Aiden urged. "Reinforcements will be on their way shortly. Let's split up. If we all go in different directions, it'll throw them off as to where we're going and where we came from. If all goes well... I'll see both of you at breakfast time tomorrow."