The Company

Chapter Eighteen: I Think The Badges May Have Leveled Up While We Were Gone

To my luck, it got a little more hurried after that.

The Badges had finally caught wind that We were there and taking people with Us, so they were up and about. I was confused as to how We weren't noticed before with all the screaming and dying downstairs, but that was just me, I guess.

I started running from room to room to get as many people up and awake as I could. What scared me was the fact that most people were like Them. I even saw one kid that was one of Them, but he had one of the original "FSFSA WINS" armbands like I had on his nightstand. I started thinking about it for a bit, but I put it on the back burner.

I was sprinting now. We were all stressed and scared at this point. In fact, I almost tripped over a kid that had curled into a ball, sobbing out of shock.

This was almost as stressful as the exodus. Not as stressful, but it was dipping its toes into the water.

"HEY YOU!"

I froze. There was a Badge standing there with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth and a gun in his hand.

"Dude, he's got a gun!" someone yelled.

That caused an even bigger panic. Not only were some people trying to get the rest of Us out of there, but the rest were trying to get out of there as fast as they could.

Myself included.

What? I had to admit it. I was terrified and let fear take over.

We ran, but when we got to the stairs, that was when the panic began.

The first person ran over the pencil that marked where the safe carpet began from the stairs. She was in such a panic that she didn't notice that she'd kicked the pencil from its spot.

When the second person went, they had no clue what to do. The pencil was just beginning to get covered, and they didn't even notice that it wasn't safe. They fell over, and when the carpet started growing on them, they started pull at it, but it only made it worse. It just stuck to their hands and spread.

I knew that person. Dakota, I think. Drawing major. Sophomore like me. They kept on getting in trouble for drawing in class, a lot like me. I tried to talk to them, but they were among the population that hated me for no apparent reason.

Another person almost went forward, but I pulled them back. "Dumb move. We need to see where it starts. Does someone have something we could throw?"

A person stepped forward with a paper clip, but she was the only one. We had used everything else to make the path.

"One shot," I sighed. "That's all we've got. If we mess up now, we might as well be screwed ten times over."

I attempted to aim a bit to where I thought it was before. It seemed about right to me. I aimed and let it fly.

It seemed like everything went silent when it took flight. It was like the world turned to slow-motion, then hit the mute button.

It was over in a second. All I did was blink, and bam, it was finished. It was all over. Play button, fast-forward, sound on.

It hit the floor, and in a second to ring in the air. I pumped a fist in the air with a cheer, but within a second, my victory was gone.

It was covered in carpet within the second.

My breath froze dead cold in my throat. I missed. I missed.

I. Missed.

I may have just killed us all within a matter of seconds.

Oh crap.

I looked back to the group behind me. "Please, for the love of God, someone tell me they've got something to throw. Please." I looked around a little more frantically when I got no response. "Come on! Please!"

There's something about the silence before a mass panic. The air shakes a little, almost like you can feel all of the air's molecules bumping into you all at once. It stops for a brief second, feeling something like all the air is being pushed on you all at once like your head is about to explode. Then, all at once, it's released. It lets itself go when your heart skips a beat, then magnifies the fear, anger, and any other primal instinct of maintaining survival. The mass panic isn't as bad as the few seconds of heart-wrenching silence before. Not as terrifying. If you ask anyone that was there that night, they'd honestly tell you the same thing.

Everyone started running forward in a herd of flat-out fear. I clung against the railing for dear life in an attempt to think of a better plan. I shut my eyes in fear of watching anyone else die and leaned my head against the wall.

Think, Michael. Think! Your and other people's lives depend on this!

Or maybe...

I opened my eyes and looked down to the carpeted floor. If I took a step, I wouldn't have to watch people die anymore. If I took a step, their deaths wouldn't haunt me. If I took a step, I wouldn't be afraid anymore.

I walked down the steps. I stood there on the last step, looking out at the hallway.

This is where my story ends. Out of the rabbit and the dragon, I chose the dragon.

At least dragons are cooler than rabbits.

I'm sorry.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, braced myself, and before I could move, I heard a voice of a certain emo boy in the back of my head, in the brinks of imagination.

"You mean when you come back."

I opened my eyes and fell backwards. I can't do this. What am I doing? What am I doing?

I turned around and waited. A plan had formed into my head, and it involved a specific kind of person.

There they went, right by me to my left. I grabbed the glasses from off her face and threw them onto the carpet.

Safe.

Sweet victory.

I ran forward, leading the panicked pack down the marked path to safety. We burst through the door with the other groups, now with me screaming a loud battle cry.

"FOR NARNIA!"

We rocketed into the woods, but as we did, gunshots rang over our heads. I saw people go down screaming in pain with smoking, glowing wounds.

We couldn't go back for them. As much as it pained me, I knew we couldn't go back. It would only end in disaster. We'd inevitably meet the same fate as them.

I started to fall back on my pace. My lungs burned with anxiety and hope, getting worse and worse with each step.

I have to press on.

The woods felt a lot more cramped now than before, even if we had less people this time.

I went down next to a pine tree. My legs were sore beyond belief, my lungs felt like they were going to explode, and my eyes were so blurry with tears I could barely see.

"Come on," I yelled aloud to my legs. "Come on! We have to keep going! If you give up on me now, I- gah!" I angrily slammed my fist on the ground. "Don't do this to me! For the love of-"