Lost World

Ch 8: I Try to Escape

I can't believe Kai. He tried to fuck me and then just ran off? Unbelievable, yet so typical. 

I gather my stuff and start to go to the cafeteria, where everyone is gathered listening to the Resistance leader talk about some revolution that is being planned. 

Other teens are pushing their way past me to try and get a better look at the woman rallying the crowd. They seem to be really into it. She starts to pump her fist in the air, and I see... Kai? 

Kai is right by her side, standing firm and motionless. His chest is puffed out, his back stiff. What has gotten into him? 15 minutes go by and the mysterious lady is done talking to him. I walk over to Kai, grabbing his arm. 

"Hey," I say, trying to stop him. He shakes me off. I grab his arm again and turn him toward me. "What is your problem? You haven't talked to me since yesterday, and now you're standing next to this new chick? What the fuck Kai? I thought you were more than that." 

"Her name is Chrysanthe Hatheway. She's the one person who can bring down the Institute, once and for all. I don't have time to be messing around with you, Audrey." He swiftly removes my hand from his arm. It's so weird hearing him call me by my name. My heart basically shatters, but it is quickly replaced by rage. 

"How dare you! We almost have sex and then you just dump me? We've been through hell and back, and you're going to ignore me? Leave me here? I thought you were a quality guy, but now I know the truth. You are a cold hearted, ruthless son of a--" I am cut off by Chrysanthe.

"Ahem, we do not swear in these walls. Especially not at my right hand man. Kai proves to be a very... resourceful young man," she says with a wink, "we wouldn't want you getting into any trouble now, would we?" 

I mumble under my breath. "This isn't over." I insist, shaking my finger at him. 

I hurry to my room, before anyone else can stop me and tell me what is wrong. I rip the covers off the pillows, the sheets from the mattress, and eventually pin the mattress against the door, repeating the process with the other three bunks in the room. I tear through my belongings, flinging them across the space. And then? I cry. I cry until there is nothing left, so I sit in silence against the wall, the cool earth comforting me. 

Alarms interrupt my silence. Carefully, I remove the mattresses from the door, and exit my room. Three guards rush past me, almost knocking me over. The compound is in a frenzy. People are scrambling to collect papers, pictures, belongings, anything that they can salvage. I slip back into the room, packing my backpack with what I came with, along with a picture of my family that I had in my pocket. 

I open the door quietly, heading to the barracks, to grab my knives before I head out of the compound. Right before I open the door, I hear Chrysanthe talking to another man that I do not recognize. 

"Listen here. I want Kai Royle to have nothing  to do with Audrey Lockwood. Do you understand me? Program his brain how you wish, but it is very important that they have no relations if we plan on handing her over to the Institute in once piece." She instructs before heading out the door. I duck into a small room to my right, which seems to be a closet. 

After I deem it safe, I raid the armory. Someone snatched my rainbow knife, so I settle for a retractable black one, and a tool knife. After hearing Chrysanthe talking to that guy about Kai, I set off to find him. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let him be brainwashed by lunatics. 

I work my way through the corridors, trying to find him. I check his room, the cafeteria, the commons, the computer room, the armory, and eventually the labs, where I see him connected to machines and wires. His chest is rising and falling peacefully. He looks like the Kai that I used to know. 

I frantically rip wires off of the machines, detaching them from the boy that I once loved. Machines are beeping, but Kai's chest remains to rise and fall at a steady pace. I try and shake him, wake him up, scream his name, but no result. He's out cold. I drag him off of the table and start hauling him down the hallway. After a good 20 minutes of dragging him and hiding, his eyes begin to open and he starts to wake up. 

"What the fuck?" He says, looking around. His eyes land on me. "You here to yell at me again prin-- Audrey?" He stops himself from saying princess. He's not the boy that he used to be. 

"We need to go. Like, now." I insist, handing him a bag to fill with supplies. He stands up slowly, leaning on the bed frame for support. 

"Why should I go with you?" He questions, raising an eyebrow. 

"Kai, I'll explain it to you on the way, but right now, we have to go. This place is probably a wing of the Institute--" I try to explain, but he cuts me off.

"Stop right there. We're going to fight that damn Institute. If this place was truly a branch of the Institute, I would know. Stop begging for attention, Lockwood." He says, turning to go back to his room. 

"Stop," I say firmly, "you don't know what I heard. You don't know what they're going to do to you, to us. You have to trust me Kai, I thought you did."

"I did, and I still do. I've spent years dreaming of this, Audrey. Years. This place is of pure intent. You wouldn't understand that. You're still a newbie." 

"Stop calling me that! I've been around long enough to know when something is wrong. Something is wrong about this place, Kai. Really wrong." I tell him, but I don't have any more time to argue. I have to get out of here. 

I start heading to the door to escape into the cold, corrupt world of Korupteco, but I don't get far before the guards find me. I'm almost to the door, almost able to escape, but they grab my foot and don't let go. One of them starts shouting into their walkie talkie.

"We've got her! Prisoner 165216 is ready for transport." 

[A/N]: Sorry that I haven't updated in a while... Finals have got me ready to jump off a bridge. But anyway, here's a chapter for you to devour until I can get the next part out over break. Good luck monkeys!