Chapter Two
I woke up to the sounds of the train squealing on the tracks. It took a dramatic halt and my blurry, tired eyes cleared up to Asha and Car standing up. We all grabbed each of our bags and headed out onto the platform. I took a quick look around and pointed up the stairs to the street exit. Car followed behind Asha and I as we began our journey to the debris.
I remember the only thing on my mind at the time was what had become of my house. I remember being that little boy and taking off and running as fast I could away from the house. I never looked back to see how bad it was. I can see it now. A pile of debris covering memories that I had of a home and a family.
Arriving a top the hill overlooking my house the aftermath was what the three of us expected to see. Not what looked to be a government facility. It was safe to assume that this facility took ground here when they discovered facts of my father's project existing. Given it's current existence, they still couldn't find the formula itself. It is scary to think I can find something in a matter of minutes what they have been looking for all these years.
"What is that?" Car asked looking back at us.
I motioned them to follow me down the hill and slowed down to a stop and answered, "It looks like the people that were looking for my father's formula set up here to try and find it."
"Well...can you still get to it?" Car asked me. I focused on him.
"I remember where the basement used to be. The formula has to be there still if they haven't found it. But the facility is heavily guarded. I can't get in without a distraction," I explained with a look of defeat.
Car tapped my shoulder and looked around the corner real quick as we were approaching the gates, "You leave that part up to me."
"Car," Asha whispered trying to reach for him but he had already made himself known to the guard at the gate.
Car walked in as a transport was driving through the gate. The guard turned towards him and held up his flashlight. He extended his arm out to Car as to gesture him out and said, "Hey kid, you can't be in here."
"Wait what? This isn't...oh gosh, I'm sorry I was looking for a rave. My friends just ditched me and they said it was around here somewhere," Car was pointing and swinging his arms everywhere. We took that as a signal to run through before the guard could get to the gate.
Asha and I snuck in keeping ourselves in a shadow. We managed to get into the building with quick stealth but we had less than a five minute window to find the basement and the formula vile before Car couldn't stall any longer.
I had a hold of Asha's hand as we were walking through the halls of the facility. The walls of my home began to take form in my mind as I searched for the doorway to the basement. Just as a government door in front of me transformed into my basement door, a guard walked out on patrol. I pushed Asha up against the wall behind her and turned to step in front of her. I looked at her and then back around the corner. The guard had vanished around the corner and I took Asha's hand again. We slipped into the room that I believed to be laying on top of the shelter. I ran to the back corner of the office we were in and began to look around for a break in the floor that I could jam some heavy object into.
"Asha, watch the door. Make sure no one is coming," I requested noticing her agreeable nod.
I pushed a file cabinet off the wall and found a way to crack into the foundation to get to my shelter. I just needed something heavy to break into the ground. I looked around the office and my eyes fell on Asha pointing at a closet in the corner by the door. I walked opening a closet to supplies. I dug through the brooms, mops, and found a metal shovel with a wood handle. I pulled it out and briskly walked back to the corner. I looked at Asha and took one swift jab at the ground. I hadn't made a dent in the ground at all. Asha walked over to the closet and found another shovel. She came over to the corner and took a jab at the ground too. Unfortunately, her shovel had not made a dent either. Asha looked up at me and paused for a second noticing the crack in the corner. The ground was tile pieced together. If we started where the creases had, we would be able to peel it up. Her and I both began to jab at the corner and tile started to pull up. Pieces were flying at us and I took one last jab were I was standing and collapsed into the ground underneath.
Asha tossed her shovel and fell to her knees quietly calling down to me, "Evan, are you alright?"
I shook my head to dust off the dirt and looked around noticing the stairs in front of me. The same stairs I watched my mother run up for the last time. I stood up and looked up at Asha, "This is it."
She calmly sighed and looked back to make sure no one was coming. I began to look around for the vile. I pushed aside much wreckage and when I cleared most of the space, I grew frustrated. I could not find it anywhere. I stood there for a second trying to remember the exact moment I dropped the vile.
My mother had been gone for a few minutes. All I heard was crashing and a lot of explosions. I went to the bottom of the steps because I was getting ready to ascend out of the basement. Then, the final explosion happened before the house started to fall apart blew me back against the wall. I was knocked out for a good few minutes when I noticed the fire and debris just in time to run from the house tumbling on top of me.
I turned to the spot where I landed when the blast hit me. It was at that moment I remembered I had let go of the vile when I hit the wall. I walked over to the cracked foundation and glanced around the dirt and old debris. I picked up pieces and scattered it and saw a dusty tube sitting on the ground. I picked it up to untighten the lid to the case. I reached in and saw the vile still intact. I sighed with relief. Finally, one step was complete and now all we had to do was get to Scott Manor to see what the formula is.
Just as I thought we were out of the water, Asha called down to me, "I think Car caused trouble. More guards are heading out to the gate. We better get moving."
I looked up at Asha and slid the case into my coat. She reached for my hand as I launched myself off the staircase. She helped pull me back up and we both walked over to the door to see what was happening. It looks like Car had caused some trouble because the guards were mobilizing to the front gate. As soon as the line passed, Asha and I quietly exited the room and followed the men closely.
We got to the front of the gate to see what was going on with Car. I threw my arm over Asha to slowly move to the right of the gate as we watched Car cause chaos amongst the guards.
"Son, I told you before, there is no raves around here and you can't be here," the guard explained again.
Car raised his hands up and completely circled and turned back to the guard, "Well, they have to be around here somewhere. I lost them right around here and that must mean the rave and them are somewhere around here."
"Kid, have you been drinking alcohol?" the guard asked.
"Alcohol? Brad Paisley song? 2000s?" Car pompously asked.
The guard tried to apprehend Car and tie his hands up, but it was then we saw Car get physical and push the guard off him. Asha and I saw that as our cue to take off running out of the gates. The other guards tried to catch us on the way out but we all managed an escape.
By the time all three of us reached halfway across the woods, we realized we weren't being followed. I turned towards Car and Asha and they looked behind me expecting guards to be standing there.
"Why did they stop chasing us?" Asha questioned.
"I don't think they were chasing us to begin with. Those were just guards. They are going to go back for the agents. In a way that's good it gives us time to get out of here. But that means we are going to be tracked. We need to get to Scott," I explained.
"How do we do that exactly?" Car asked with frustration, "You said that you haven't heard from Scott since your dad's funeral."
"What about your father's old company? Wouldn't Scott still be working for Sineco?" Asha questioned.
It sounded like a good idea at the time, but if the company had found out about my father's work with Scott, both of them would have been terminated and not welcome in the Science community. At the time, it was our only lead.
"I'm not sure but that's our only lead so we should go check it out. We need to find Scott. We take the next train out of here to Peak City," I responded starting to walk out of the woods.
Asha followed behind me and Car took one more glance back and followed the both of us out of the woods. We were on the next train to Peak City.
My main goal now was to find Scott Manor and figure out what this formula was and why the government was trying so hard to get it.
