TRAPPED (Remaster Coming Soon)

Chapter 9: Reunion

Emily and Max opened the set of double metal doors and gasped in unison. It was Charlie and she was with Agostino. Agostino had his knee pushed into a security officer's stomach. He was cackling and holding his knife against the officer's throat. Charlie, to their surprise, was helping Agostino. She was holding the man's arms down and was cackling with the psychopath.
Emily and Max just stared at them in horror. They watched Agostino push his knife into the officer's throat. Blood poured out of his throat and dripped onto the concrete floor. Then, they both turned towards Emily and Max and smirked.
"Well, well, well," started Agostino, "look who it is." Agostino chuckled.
Charlie and Agostino looked at each other and nodded. The psychopath quickly teleported in front of Emily and grabbed her while Charlie teleported in front of Max and grabbed him. Max tried to push her away, but she now had superhuman strength.
"Charlie, what are you doing?" Max asked while still struggling.
Charlie just ignored him and waited for Agostino's next move.
"She's with me now," said Agostino. He held his knife against Emily's throat and continued to speak, "She listens to me, and only me. Don't even try to save her because it won't work," he whispered into Emily's ear while smirking.
Emily was disgusted. "You disgusting freak!" She yelled.
Agostino tensed up and then pushed Emily against the wall. "How dare you disrespect me like that!" He yelled directly into her face.
Emily tensed up in fear and tried to push Agostino away, but he didn't even budge.
"My dear Agostino, are you ok?" Charlie suddenly asked worryingly.
Now was Max's chance to escape. He quickly turned around and gave Charlie a knee in the stomach. "Sorry, Charlie. It's for your own good," said Max.
He then ran over to Agostino and jumped on his back. Agostino was now furious. Max landed a few hits on the side of his face, but then fell off when Agostino back up into a wall. Max groaned in pain and got up. He charged towards Agostino, but was quickly cut off by Charlie. She had slammed into the side of Max, sending him flying into a table.
"Max!" Emily yelled. She ran over to Max and grabbed his arm. "Max, are you ok?" She asked. She sighed in relief when she saw him slowly nod.
All of a sudden, Charlie and Agostino laughed sinisterly and walked over to Max and Emily.
"Charlie, stop! Why are you doing this?" Emily asked. She was full of anger, sadness, and confusion. After staring into her eyes, she realized something was wrong. "Max, I think Agostino is controlling her!"
Agostino smirked. "Ah, you've finally figured it out. But it's too late, you can't save her," he said while slowly pulling out a syringe filled with strange, black liquid.
"What the hell is that?" Max asked. He slowly got up, but lost balance and leaned against the table.
"It will allow her to see the truth," Agostino replied. He grabbed Charlie by the hair and pulled her against him.
"Let her go, you asshole!" Max yelled and began to charge towards him.
Agostino quickly pushed the syringe into her neck and shot the liquid into her before Max rammed into him. The syringe, now empty, went flying along with Agostino. Charlie was suddenly snapped out of her trance and she fell to the floor screaming. Images began to flash right in front of her. Images of a strange, ghost-like creature. A loud humming sound filled her ears and the world vibrated.
Over to the right, Max and Agostino were still wrestling. Max was on top holding Agostino's throat with one hand and holding his knife in the other trying to stab him. Emily ran over to Charlie to try and help her, but Charlie was still hallucinating.
As Max was about to stab Agostino, the Guardian charged into the room and roared. He ran over to Max and slammed one of his giant fists into the side of his stomach. Max flew off of Agostino and screamed in pain. The Guardian picked up the psychopath and then roared one last time before teleporting away with him.
The room then began to fall apart. Emily grabbed Charlie's arm to help her up and then she ran over to Max. "We need to get out of here!" She yelled.
Max slowly pushed himself up and yelled, "I'll carry Charlie!" He then grabbed Charlie and threw her onto his back and they both ran back to the room they came from. Rubble suddenly crashed down from the roof and blocked the door, forcing them to run all the way across the giant cafeteria and through the other set of double metal doors. The roof crashed down right as they all walked through the door.
"I hope no one was on the floor above us," Max laughed in relief and set Charlie down against the wall.
Emily collapsed to the floor while panting and said, "I'm just glad we made it out."
Charlie, fortunately, was no longer hallucinating. She was back to her normal self and she smiled at Max and Emily. "You guys actually came back for me. Even after what happened," she said.
"Of course we came back for you. You're my best friend. We would never leave you," Max said. He lifted Charlie up and hugged her tightly. Then, Emily joined the hug and Charlie was now hugging both of them.
"What a great reunion," said Charlie. She was happy that she had finally escaped from Agostino's control. She was also happy that her friends were able to find her. Without them, she would still be with the psycho.
"Wow, you're really rocking that suit, Charlie," Max said. He laughed when Charlie made a confused face.
She suddenly remembered that she was still wearing the clothes Agostino gave her. "Shit," mumbled Charlie.
"Don't worry, I picked up your original clothes while we were separated. Agostino left them in the sewer," replied Max. He pulled her clothes out of his bag and handed them over to her.
Charlie smiled and said, "Thanks, Max." She immediately slipped out of the suit, not caring that Max was right there, and put her normal clothes on.
Max, who was now blushing a light red, just stared at Charlie in awe and then proceeded to walk down the hallway. "L-let's find a way out."
Charlie laughed quietly to herself and followed Max. Emily tried to ignore what just happened and started following the other two.
"So, Charlie, what happened with Agostino?" Emily asked.
"He did many things that angered me. When I first woke up, I found myself alone in a small room that seemed empty. The only thing in there was a bed, a flickering light, and some rusty pipes. I was about to leave, but then he came in and trapped me against the bed. He asked me why I was there and of course I gave him an honest answer. He then told me a story about a powerful corporation called Korbitron Inc. and he explained how they began to perform illegal experiments on the patients. After that, he tricked me into joining him and he started controlling me. I couldn't do anything after that," Charlie explained everything while walking with her other two friends. "I trusted him and I let myself get carried away."
"Wow," said Max, "do you think he was experimented on?"
"I don't think so. He didn't have any scars on him like the rest of the patients here," replied Charlie. She touched her neck and felt the cut from Agostino's knife.
"Hm, we need to find him and force the answers out of him," said Max.
"No, he's too dangerous. We also don't know where he went. He could be anywhere. I don't wanna waste my time looking for a scumbag like him. I don't trust him anymore," said Charlie. She was still pissed that Agostino had used her like that.
"Charlie's right," Emily cut in, "Agostino can't be trusted. For now, we should just look for a way out of here. We can't risk losing each other again." Emily knew that Charlie was right about Agostino. Who knows what he'd do to them after what happened.
Max agreed with them and soon the three friends came to another way outside. The rain had stopped, but thick fog covered the entire asylum making it almost impossible to see what's in front of them. They sat at the double doors and decided what to do.
"Alright guys, be prepared. The fog can shield us, but it can also hurt us. It looks like it could rain again, too, so have your hoodies ready," said Max while holding the door open for the two girls.
They nodded and then stepped into the cold, dark, and foggy night.