Air Kingdom

Chapter 46-Escape

I stormed down the hallway, pushing the lingering Krey aside. I got snarls and curse words in return, but no one ran after me. After knocking a coffee cup out of a woman's hand, I realized that I wasn't accomplishing anything by blindly running down the corridor. I stopped in my tracks and ran back to the woman.

She was patting the coffee stain from her white blouse in the hopes that it would go away. Her black, wire-framed glasses covered her frantic eyes, upset that there was a messy brown blob on her very formal shirt. She was so engrossed in the stain that she didn't notice me walking towards her. She looked familiar though but looking very business-like and professional.

"Zoey?" I cautiously asked, not wanting to anger the troubled woman. Zoey began rubbing the shirt with her hand, suddenly furious.

"Damn you people who think I'm Zoey. Why can't anyone tell us apart? I'm the smarter, well-behaved sister while she's the reckless snob."

"Oh, so you're her sister?"

She finally made eye contact with me, confirming my thoughts. "What do you think, Smartass?"

"Says the so-called 'well-behaved sister.'" I retorted, pretending to sound rude.

"Sorry," she said sarcastically, giving up with the stain. She started to pick up a paper bag on the ground. "I usually don't run into coffee spilling jerks. Why are you still here anyway? Are you going to ruin my muffin as well?"

I ignored the jab. "About your so-called 'reckless sister', do you know where I can find her?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Why do you need Zoey?"

"To get in the vault," I explained, hesitating before adding the next part. "Phineas ordered me to tell her to."

"Here we go again," she said exasperatedly. "Phineas just told me to go in the vault. Not Zoey. I know that we're twins, but it can't be that difficult to tell our names apart."

I blinked. Maybe I had good luck after all. "Well then let's going. Phineas isn't a patient man."

"Of course I know that newbie," she snapped. "Go back to the War Room. Tell him I'll be there as soon as possible."

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm staying with you. We can't have any more delays."

She finally stood up and glared into my soul. I could see the difference and similarities between the two sisters. The same eye color and hair, but Zoey's eyelashes were longer while her look-alike had fuller lips. "May I remind you, that it wasn't my fault I was delayed."

"Now, now, let's stop bickering and get moving," I told her, tapping my foot anxiously.

She walked down the hallway with her 5-inch black heels clicking whenever she took a step. I ran after in my muddy running shoes. The pink on the sides was faded enough for people to think they were brown. "The vault's just up ahead," she explained. "And just for future reference Pinky, go looking for Zara next time. Not Zoey."

I simply nodded and wished that she could pick up the pace. In a matter of minutes, we were at the vault and Zara was typing in the code. She frowned intently at the screen.

"What's wrong?" I demanded, itching to get inside already.

"My sister is here." She said, swiping her keycard against a sensor.

"I thought she was here before?"

Zara pressed her finger on a scanner. "Well according to the log, she's back."

She removed her thumb when the light flashed green. The metal doors slid open quietly. Inside were countless shelves of treasures. Weapons were placed carefully based on their size and category. Gold and jewels were kept in sturdy cardboard boxes. Based on the countless boxes and shelves of gold, Phineas had no problem letting his treasure sit in cheap containers. A commotion from the third shelf from our right alerted us to the presence of someone else. Or rather, the presence of a lot more people.