Escape

Chapter 3

Reagan opened the door, then slammed it shut. Breathing heavily, he leaned against the door.
He tried again.
A strong gust of wind knocked us off our feet. My teeth chattered and my whole body was trembling. Then, it got really hot and my whole body turned red.
And then the temperature was normal.
"Come on Rinco, let's go." Vanessa said.
We could not stay together, we knew, so we split into groups.
My group had Ernest, Jonathan, Wyatt, Kin and Vanessa. Good. Emmiera was not with us.
The other team consisted of Reagan, Ken, Duffy, Bernice, Emmiera and Rianna. Emmiera seemed a little upset to be with Bernice.
"My house..." Ernest whispered, seeing his home for the first time after he had gone missing. His house, indeed.
I surveyed our surroundings, and found out that we were somewhere called the Safe Spot. The house looked normal, but I knew there were unknown dangers lurking beneath.
"Ernest, this house is huge...." Reagan muttered.
"I dunno, mate. It's changed somehow." Ernest said quietly, "almost as if I don't know this place anymore."
It was true. Everything looked the same, but the whole atmosphere was just weird. It was as if I did not know my way around this place anymore. I cannot really put a finger on why. I had been there a thousand times, that I knew.
It was like my memory was wiped in a certain way.
But how is that possible?
"I think we should start." Reagan said and so we did. In two different directions, we sped off and I started to get this feeling that splitting up was not a good idea.
The first obstacle came as we were speeding down the hallways of Eryn's house. The family dog, Mr Dude, came barking down the lane, going right into us.
"Hey, little guy!" Ernest exclaimed, going forward to embrace him but the dog bit him gently on the arm and growled at him.
"One of you will be dead after this." Mr Dude whispered.
I swear I saw a flash of red in his eyes then. What was happening, dogs could not talk. I somehow knew that the dog was Mr Dude, but I had no memories of him. No memories, but just facts.
Mr Dude, golden retriever, two years old.
But I hardly had time to try to recall anything because Mr Dude launched himself onto Kin.

Eryn
My stomach was hurting really badly and I felt like throwing up. Must be the food I ate that morning. I left my friend, Rinco, who was immersed in her book then to make a beeline for the toilet.
I never got there.
The moment I stepped into the house, I was grabbed by mechanic arms and was strapped onto a chair, being whisked away somewhere. I remember vomiting, and the world turning black before my eyes.
When I came to, I was at the doorstep of my house in this glass chamber thing. Everything looked too white like it was so sci-fi. This was not happening to me.
And then the air smelt like melting plastic. I don't remember much, only that I slowly lost consciousness. Again.

Rinco
I screamed and covered my eyes and ears as the dog pounced onto Kin. This was really bad. But then as I opened my eyes, I saw Kin standing there without a single scratch.
"I'm okay." She mumbled as she breathed heavily.
"Who wants to challenge me next?" Mr Dude asked maliciously.
"Don't you dare hurt them," Jonathan said and from his haversack, he took out a baton and swung it with full force onto Mr Dude's head. It was very impressive to watch.
Mr Dude vanished into thin air.
All of us were flabbergasted. We were like, how did that even happen? But there was no time to be shocked now.
"The room over there. Where M.I.S.S.L.E keeps weapons." Ernest said. Or did he? The voice sounded mechanical, not like Ernest's low voice.

Eryn
I regained my consciousness, and found myself out if the chamber, and standing in the white room. It was my doorstep, dont ask me how I knew. I just did. I was surrounded by robots. Like humanoid ones.
I also saw eleven other people. Five girls and six boys. And then...
"Jimmy!" I cried. Wait a minute, what was Ernest's best friend doing there? And might this be the answer to where Ernie went?

Ernie.
Missing for a week now, we almost gave up. Until.....
"James, do you know where Ernest is?" I asked hopefully.
Upon hearing that, James looked down tearfully.
"I don't know, Eryn, I'm really sorry."
My heart sank. Was Ernest,
Dead?
I tried to stop the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks. However it gave way and I fell into James' arms.
He patted me on the back. If only Rinco were here. She'd help me. She'd know what to do. Just a day ago, we were close to uncovering Ernest's secret. It all just went downhill from there.
Right. Rinco, where are you?

Rinco
"What the heck was that, dude?" Jonathan asked. His voice was sweet and low, I kind of liked it.
"What was what?" Ernest asked, bewildered.
I glared at Ernest. He was possessed in some way! This was serious.
"You seriously don't remember..." Kin mumbled, looking at her shoes.
"Remember what?" Ernest asked stupidly.
I furrowed my eyebrows in deep thought. How did that even happen? Maybe Ernest was controlled, but if he was, then how?
But I knew that we had to think about this problem when we had time, something we did not have right now.
So we moved on, deciding to go into the room of Weapons.
The Room of Weapons is something that would amaze you. In there were guns like
M4A1, pistols, sniper rifles, assault rifles. There were swords, batons, spears, bombs and too many to name. This was like heaven for 6 fighters for survival.
"We need to plan carefully, we can't take all those stuff." Wyatt remarked, and we all agreed. True enough, there were just too many weapons to fit into our puny sacks.
Ernest knew what he wanted.
He grabbed a belt from one of the racks and fastened it around his waist. He chose a lazer gun. I wonder how they got that technology. He then put daggers and one pistol in the pockets. He grinned.
I however, could not decide.
"I dunno mate." I said awkwardly. I knew I was not a fighter. I never held a knife before, much less a sword.
"We'll get the basics." Jonathan decided, looking at me.
Right into my eyes as I stared intently at his.
Those eyes, was I falling in love?
It's just a crush, I told myself, I was not mature enough.
Or was it?
There was no time to think now.
So we got the basics. I was armed with a pistol and a knife, along with my sword. Then, I had a good idea.
"I can strategize pretty good." I sputtered, amazed how confident I sounded.
Ernest looked as if someone had lit a lightbulb in him.
Right, I can be their strategist! I may not be a good fighter, but I was smart enough, smart enough to plan our escape. Yes, this time, I was truly confident that I could do it.
"Start taking notes of all the strange things that happen." Wyatt told me, which was a good idea.
How nice it was to be part of the team, useful for once. Take that, Emmiera.