Bus 114

Part III

"What?!"

"I stopped the furnace about a half hour ago, when did you two get separated?"

"Not too long before that, ten-fifteen minutes maybe?"

"That's not bad, he might have a chance. But I unlocked all the doors he should've been able to escape."

"We have to get to him!"

I urged Rose out the door and after she locked the doors, we ran back down the stairs. We ran into some kids, and then there were the corpses along the walls. I thought our world had became Hell, but compared to this, it was just a purgatory. This was hell: the blood stained walls, the dying of the kids, the empowerment of evil, the Red Faced Man in charge, this is what Hell is. It was a truly disturbing sight seeing kids, whose parents were probably waiting for them right now, were dead. They were killed along with the others in plain sight like they had no point in life, like they were useless sacks of flesh that were nothing but rats to Them. Is that what They thought of us? How could have it taken me this long to realize that. But to Them, I was different. I got to live a horrible life in the ruins because they saw me as "capable." But no, I wasn't. The kids who are fighting against Them against the weight of the tyranny on their shoulders were "capable." They weren't useless, they were fighters. They were survivors. They were heroes. To Them, they were just animals that you had to kill to keep in order.

Rose and I approached the large oak doors from earlier. She grabbed the key from her pocket and a piece of paper, which I assume was the virtual combination, and unlocked the door. As the door clicked, I felt the hair on my arms stiffen. Was August really behind that door or was he just a lost spirit trapped in this place like so many others? She opened the doors. We crept inside to see a few groups of kids in a straight line with some guards holding a gun to them. They noticed us right away and began shooting at us. Rose pushed me to the ground behind a rickety old bed. She jumped to the opposite side behind a large metal pole and fired back at them. The kids had saw the opportunity and attacked the guards too. The guards were helpless against the fury of the youth as they slammed their heads into the ground. After an unnecessarily bloody fight the kids dispersed and the only one left in the room, standing along the wall, was August. I saw him and ran to him immediately and we embraced. They must have been beating the kids as August, not to mention the other kids, had cuts and bruises along their bodies. August attempted to move but fell, he had somehow broken his ankle. Rose and I tried to lift him and were barely strong enough to carry him.

"June...how did you...?" He muttered, he was clearly exhausted.

"Its okay, we rescued you. We're getting out of here, right?"

"Of course," Rose stated, "I sent a distress signal to my Dad, he knows to send the chopper."

"What do we do in the meantime?" I asked, struggling with August on my shoulder.

"To the roof, its the only option we have," she said. She seemed confident, I finally felt that feeling of hope again. We were close to getting out of here, we're almost there."

"We can grab the elevator, it'll be quicker." Rose approached the elevator shaft to our left and we waited for the doors to open.

"June, if we get out of here, we have to...stay in touch, ok-okay?" August was still struggling with the pain.

"Yes, of course, we'll visit each other often." I replied.

The elevator doors opened and we quickly got inside, the doors shut before a few guards could get a close shot at us. The luminous lights and silence were a comfort to us all. Never before had I been happier to hear nothing.

"Now when we get up here, we have to hide until we see the chopper," Rose explained.

"What if their are kids up here who want a ride too?" I asked.