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

Chapter 44: Rendezvous

It's no good! I can't reach it! Emma thought as she grasped empty air. 

Grab!

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed hers, making her jolt mid-air. The pair hands slowly pulled her up. What's happening? She asked herself.

Wait?! Joshua?! She thought as she went inside the vent. "Joshua! I'm so glad to see you!" She exclaimed as she hugged him. 

"Wait! Emma! We're not out of this mess yet." Joshua stuttered while feeling the air being squeezed out from him. "Rick i...is still down there."

Clang!

"I'm right here. Phew!" Rick responded. "Nice to see you again, Joshua!"

Rick's gaze slowly landed on the girl on the opposite side of them. It was Rick's first time meeting Gladiola. Emma, on the other hand, didn't notice that Gladiola was on the opposite side of the vent. "Who's that girl over there, Joshua?" Rick whispered to Joshua.

"Girl? Which girl?" Gladiola exclaimed. "Gladiola! Long time no see!" 

"Hi, Emma." Gladiola replied as they hugged. "Nice to see you again."

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Rick asked.

"We just have to crawl straight towards the vent until we reach the power-source. That way, we won't be detected by the guards nor the mastermind. This is the safest way to the power-source so this should work." Gladiola explained. 

"Wait, how did you know all that?" Rick asked.

"I hacked the mainframe of this power plant when I first arrived here. And I was able to memorize the vents here and where they lead." Gladiola replied. "But I was detected and I got caught. I was so close to deactivating the power-source that time."

"Oh, let me guess, you lacked Joshua that time, that's why you gave up on trying." Rick added. "We've heard everything from our parents."

"Me? What are you talking about?" Joshua asked. ' '   '

"We'll explain on the way, let's go!" Emma motioned.

The four of them began crawling inside the vent with Gladiola on the lead, followed by Joshua, then Emma, then Rick. They slowly and silently crawled so as not to make any noise since th vent was made of metal. No matter how silently they crept, a few scratches and clangs could still be heard due to the tight space. Rick also began lagging behind, adding to their problems. "Rick, move faster!" Emma hoarsely whispered.

Rick anxiously looked at Emma, sweat trickling on his forehead. "I'm a bit claustrophobic, you know" He said in-between his breaths. "I can't even breathe properly in this tight space. I could feel it closing in on me."

Joshua stopped crawling after hearing the conversation between them. After motioning for Gladiola to wait for a moment, He waited for Emma and Rick to catch up. "The vent is not closing in on us, Rick, the vent is just getting tighter in front of us. Don't worry about getting stuck since we won't leave you behind. You can just crawl back if you want, you know, but this is the only safe way towards the power source." Joshua told him.

Emma smiled as she gave Joshua a thumbs-up. That's a nice way to put it, Joshua. But when did you learn how to use reverse psychology? She wondered as she backed him up. "Rick? You coming?"

"This is nothing compared to being hit by an explosion on the back so, yeah, I'm coming." Rick replied. "Don't expect me to be as fast as the three of you, okay?"

Suddenly, a few metallic clangs could be heard, interrupting their conversation. A few indistinct voices could be heard and an alarming amount of noise began emitting form the gap of the vent. One thought entered in Joshua's mind as he quickly whirled towards Gladiola. "Let's go! We got company!"

"Oh man!" Rick sighed as he shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "Make sure you crawl fast! I'm the last one here!" He shouted.

This time, all of them completely ignored being quiet. The group scaled the vent as fast as they could even if they knew that they would be heard. They had already been found out anyway. The only thing that was currently on their mind is to get out of the vent and get to the power source as fast as they possibly can. "Faster guys! They're gaining on us!" Rick shouted.

"Well, I guess there were times when people change in a flash." Emma said.

"Not funny, Emma." Rick responded. "They're really gaining on us!"

The three of them didn't need telling twice. They could hear the scuffles of the people just behind them. "We're almost there!" Gladiola suddenly said. 

"What will happen when we get there? Any plans?" Joshua asked.

"No, I didn't plan it this far." Gladiola replied. "But at least, we're one step towards deactivating the power source."

"Great! At least we're not stuck yet." Rick sarcastically replied. "I can really feel the vent getting cramped here."

"Save your energy, Rick." Joshua replied. "We're almost out of here."

Gladiola suddenly whirled around and shouted. "Here's our stop!" She pointed at the gap on the vent leading downwards where light streamed.

The four of them crawled even faster as they saw the light. They put the alarmed voices of the guards behind them out of their minds. The guards were almost catching up to them but they knew that they will have a hard time squeezing themselves through the vent. I guess we still have a few seconds to hide before they get out of the vent. Joshua thought.

Finally, Gladiola slipped through the gap, making the three of them heave a sigh of relief in their minds even though they haven't gotten out yet.

Pretty soon, Joshua got out, followed by Emma and Rick. "Phew! We made it!" Rick exclaimed as they fastened something to block the gap of the vent.

However, no one celebrated with Rick. All of them looked around, observing the two-by-two meter room they were in.

And what's worst. There were no exits. The only exit that they could see was the gap leading to the vent.

Bang!

The guards finally caught up and they were trying to open the gap. The four of them just stood there motionlessly, thinking of a way to get out.

"Now, what do we do?" Emma anxiously asked.