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

Chapter 32: Power Plant

The rain had not yet stopped and the storm became stronger than ever. Now that Rick, Joshua, and Emma were immobilized and captured by the net, they had no choice but to stay quiet since they couldn't do anything. Silence soon meet the people who captured them, making the rain louder than ever as it hit the ground. The storm had not dissipated yet and it only became stronger. But the pilot of the helicopter, ignoring it, just flew the helicopter higher and higher, tugging the net upwards.

"Huwaa! We're so high!" Rick shouted from the top of his lungs while looking down. The helicopter just kept on gaining altitude, making Rick shout louder and louder.

"Can you please be quiet, Rick?" Emma told him. "And get your face off of my cheek, Joshua!"

"What? I can't even move an inch. They handcuffed us, remember?"

From a third person perspective, it would seem like Rick was leaning on Joshua from the back while both his feet and arms are not even moving. Joshua, on the other hand, tried so hard to move but he couldn't. He looked like he was hugging Emma and Emma was doing the same. But if you look closer, it wasn't the case. They just became like that since the net was pressing on the three of them.

A huge gust of wind brushed past against them as the helicopter increased its velocity while moving forward. A small red light began blinking from the helicopter's cockpit as if it was signaling something from afar. The net made a slight metallic noise as it dangled while being carried away by the helicopter. 

"I guess we've got no choice but to stay like this for the entire trip." Joshua sighed in despair. "And Rick, stop shouting. I could feel my eardrums about to explode."

"Alright alright!" Rick tried to calm himself down as he closed his eyes. But that just made his imagination worse since he could imagine the ground below them. To Joshua and Emma's relief, Rick stopped shouting as soon as he shut is eyes closed.

"Anyway what should we do?" Emma asked.

"We just have to wait." Joshua replied. "I guess we'll be meeting the mastermind soon."

.....

The Power Plant.

It stood a towering height of a hundred meters tall, making it look like a haunted castle from afar amidst the thunder and the rain. The signal light on top of it could be seen blinking a few times from afar. It's color, metallic and blackish, mirrored that of an armor from medieval times and it could be seen as both cool, and scary at times. A few people could be seen busily monitoring the area from the ground below and a few lookouts could be seen stationed with binoculars on their posts. A few trucks went inside with mysterious packages behind them. And in the midst of it all, stood a bespectacled man with gray hair and silver eyes. His height difference from the men on the area could easily be distinguished since he's a seven footer. But the most noticeable out of all this was his actions. 

He was ordering all the people around.

"Carefully put that package over there. Yes, that's right. And you! Hurry up! We're getting behind schedule!" The bespectacled man exclaimed.

Riing!

As if expecting the call, the bespectacled man answered it in a split second while having a satisfied look on his face.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked, even though he already know the outcome of the report.

"The mission was a success, sir. We're bringing them in through the helipad near the vicinity." The guy form the other end replied.

"Good. Very good." He commented as he hung up.

At last. He thought as he walked towards the power plant. I could now continue my plan without the bugs wandering off. If the Quillers had just continued with the PULL project, I wouldn't have done this. But they stopped when they were in the midst of conquering the world! I am the only one left to finish this project so they would see the importance of their project. Now that all the bugs are gone. This should go awfully smooth and according to plan.

Suddenly, the bespectacled man stopped short. His thoughts were interrupted by the man who was busily loading some packages on one of the trucks. The man, seeing that their bespectacled boss was looking at him, increased his pace and worked faster but still, the bespectacled didn't stop glaring at him. He began thinking of his actions but so far, he was not doing anything wrong. 

Why is he looking at me. The man thought, alarmed. Am I going to get fired?! He shuddered.

"You!" The bespectacled man exclaimed. "Yes, you! Stop thinking about your wife and focus on your work."

"Y-yes, sir!" The man shouted in response.

The bespectacled man continued walking after hearing the man's answer. Before he knew it, a steady whirring sound of the helicopter's rotors could be heard from the distance. Once again, he smiled at himself thinking that there won't be any obstructions to his plans anymore.

.....

"Well well, we meet again. How was your stomach-fluttering trip towards the place, did you enjoy it?" The mastermind grinned while shifting his look to Joshua, Rick, then to Emma.

"Can you please get us down from this net right now? We didn't enjoy even a second of the trip." Joshua calmly replied.

"Wow, so calm, are we? Then why don't we release the young ones?" The mastermind looked at the man who captured them. "Now, any other requests? You should be asking me now that I've given you the chance. You won't be able to ask anymore once you've been put inside your cell."

The man lined them up and connected them with chains. Their handcuffs, still not removed, became quite bothersome as it scraped their skin. But now that they had met the mastermind, they didn't know what to say in front of him.

"Then, give us three meals a day." Joshua shrugged his shoulders as he demanded it. "And let us meet our parents."

"Well, the first one couldn't be granted since my budget is running low. You'll only have a meal a day, so conserve your energy. But the latter one, well, I guess I could arrange that." The mastermind smirked.

"Why are you doing this?" Emma glared.

"To conquer the world? Um, that doesn't seem to be a pretty good answer." He muttered. "Let me just say, to continue the works that the Quillers didn't continue. To bear the responsibility of ruining this world instead of them. You know, the Quillers are quite irresponsible. After almost completing the PULL project, they discarded it since they cannot bear to shoulder the responsibilities of its great power. You should thank me, you know. I'm doing the favor of reviving the project."

"Are you a lunatic, or a mad scientist?" Rick asked out of the blue.

"You know what, I'm done talking to you. And you've pissed me enough as it is. Take them away!" The mastermind shouted.

At his signal, a couple of well-built men came to his aide and grabbed Rick, Joshua, and Emma, by the handcuffs. Together, they tugged at them as if they were leading a couple of criminals to their prison. Joshua just gritted his teeth and tried not to complain. The men were fully armed and they seem stronger than the guards in the Quillers' place. Struggling is useless and even though they tried to escape, they would surely just get a serious beating.

The three of them arrived at the same conclusion:

They began to realize that there's no escape.