The P.U.L.L || #Wattys2017

Chapter 31: The Capture

  "Rick!" Joshua exclaimed as he rushed to his aide. 

Rick didn't mutter nor did he speak a single word. He just slumped on the ground, not moving at all. Emma and Joshua began shaking him to wake him up, but to no avail. Still, the two of them were quite relieved that Rick was able to survive the explain. If Rick had been a normal person, he would have died the instant the shock and the burning air hit him. 

Although Joshua and Emma couldn't confirm if he was breathing since he was face-down, they checked his pulse and it was steady.

Emma and Joshua just sat there staring at Rick as they waited for him to wake up. The storm was still strong but they could not afford to go back to the evacuation center lest another tornado would come rampaging towards them again.  The thought of people dying because of a wreaking tornado brought chills down their spine as they tried to forget what they just thought of.

"Rick!" Emma excitedly shouted.

To their relief, Rick slowly opened his eyes as he tried to get up. He gritted his teeth as he felt the slight burn on his back. 

But their relief didn't last long.

"Joshua, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Emma anxiously asked as she looked from afar.

From the distance, Joshua and Emma could barely see a few big-wheeled hummers going towards them. The monster-looking cars covered a great distance in such a short amount of time but that's not what worried them. What made them notice it is because it's heading their way. Even though it doesn't seem obvious, and there's a probability that it might just be a group of cars passing by, Joshua and Emma knew that they should always be on guard everytime.

The headlights of some hummers in the group began blinking a few times, as if signaling each other.

"Emma, let's go." Joshua told her as calm as he could. "They are probably here to get us, and a group of hummers in the middle of a storm is an unlikely sight, we shouldn't assume that they are just a group of cars passing by."

"I understand." Emma answered.

"Rick, can you get up?" Joshua turned to him as he seriously asked.

"I guess so, my brain got shook a little bit but I think I could manage." Rick explained, trying to get up. "But, why do we need to go now?"

Emma pointed towards the direction of the group of hummers as she beckoned for Rick to look in the same direction. Rick, seeing the cars headed their way, tried to hide his worried look. Fortunately, the sight sobered him up a little bit.

"Emma, which way to the power plant?" Joshua asked.

"We'll just follow this highway, then there's a clearance tunnel that's adjacent to it. That's where we go." Emma explained.

"Okay, then, lead the way, Emma." Joshua said. "But it would be a problem if we stick too close to the highway. Those hummers would certainly catch up to us. So, what we can do is go to the trees and follow the highway from there."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go!" Rick responded.

Joshua, Rick, and Emma continued their way towards the power plant. After going into the groups of trees just beside the highway, they immediately sprinted as fast as they could, hoping that they could outrun the hummers behind them. The hummers went nearer and nearer towards them as they accelerated on the muddy highway but the group was quite confident that they couldn't catch them while they were in the the group of trees.

But they were wrong.

Before they realize what was happening, the group of monster-looking hummers crashed into the trees, barely missing them without a feet to spare. Joshua almost lost his balance but Rick, fortunately, managed to catch him. Their estimate was really wrong since the hummers were a lot closer than they had imagined.

And the trees couldn't even stop them.

The group desperately ran as the hummers trailed behind them. It was right behind them now, and if they stop running, the hummers would run over them like how they crash the trees from a moment ago. 

Man! My lungs are bursting. Joshua thought as he continued to sprint. Little did he know that Emma and Rick were more tired than he was, but like him, they were trying to continue running.

A huge gust of wind suddenly blew on top of them. Still, Joshua, Rick, and Emma didn't dare look up. They were too focused on continuing their sprint that they ignored everything around them, except the hummers that were chasing them. Adrenaline rushed into their bodies as they accelerated faster and faster. Emma's face began turning pale as they progressed. It seemed like she's going to vomit anytime soon.

Flash!

A bright searchlight suddenly flashed right above them, making them stop short in running. Before they knew it, their hearts began to ache due to the sudden stop that they made. Their heart rate increased too much, making them writhe in pain as soon as they stop.

A heavy net suddenly came down towards them, making them fall to the ground face-down.

What's this? Joshua asked himself as he felt the cold and wet chains on his back. Wait?! This is a net, right?!

The three of them tried to struggle but to no avail. Since they stopped, the net made of chains cleanly caught them. The people who captured them were surprised, though. The chain, unbeknownst to the group, was dropped a few hundreds of feet from the ground, the heaviness of the chain and the acceleration added to it due to the gravity should leave a few broken bones to the people below.

To their amazement, Rick, Joshua, and Emma didn't even get a single scratch from the metal net, nor did it leave any of them unconscious. But their primary job is done:

To capture the three teenagers.

A well-built man wearing a camouflage outfit, went towards them and satisfyingly smiled. They just glared at them in return, giving up their struggle. The man, seeing that they had finally stopped moving, signaled the helicopter to pull them up. A few man went down the hummers, carrying a few handcuffs as per the man's signal. And as the helicopters lifted the net up, the men handcuffed Joshua, Rick, and Emma's arms and legs.

"Good job, men." The well-built man said. "Now, it's time to deliver the package to Mr. Phantom."

Mr. Phantom?! Joshua thought. Could that be, the mastermind?!