Listed: Book One of The Listed Trilogy

Chapter Sixteen

Choices

I rush down the steps three at a time, the air getting colder and colder as I descend farther and farther.

"Harper!" I scream again. I hear a gurgling noise, and tears form in my eyes. I run faster down the steps, even at the risk of falling and shattering my skull on the cement.

"Ath, wait!" I hear Laila yell, but the sound is distant, as though she's one hundred feet away.

I keep running until I jump off the last step, tripping over my feet as I adjust to flat ground. I manage to stay standing, and look around myself.

What I see is pure chaos. I see guards in black uniforms chasing after prisoners, who are attempting to run down the hall. A few of them only make it a few steps before a guard tackles them, and they scream and dig their fingernails into the cement floo, only to be dragged back into their cell. Others are being prodded at with a two-pronged metal stick, which makes them fall to the floor and twitch. It takes me a second to realize that the stick is electrically shocking them. My eyes scan the faces of the prisoners, but I fail to find Harper. They must have put her back in her cell.

I run towards the end of the hall, guards not paying much attention to me since I'm running towards my cell. I find the door slightly ajar. I slam it open, and it hits the wall.

I see Harper huddled in a corner, and I run towards her. I open my mouth to tell her that we're leaving, that she's getting out of this torture house. That's when a rough hand slaps over my mouth, and my words become a meaningless mumble. Harper just stares, rocking back and forth.

"Hello, Athena." a familiar voice coos. George. I squirm and thrash, but his hold is too strong and I'm tired from lack of sleep, taking out guards, destroying restraints, crawling through vents, running through the halls, and running down here with Laila.

"I'm sorry." I hear Harper whisper. I look at her face,her bloodshot eyes, and I know that I have to get her out of here. I feel adrenaline and strength course through me. I grab George's arm, and rip it away from my mouth, I catch him off guard, and flip him over. He falls on his back, and the wind is knocked out of him. I kick him in the stomach, just to make sure he stays down for a little longer. I run over to Harper and grab her wrist. I hoist her up and run out the door.

I look for Lilly among the chaos, and find her on the floor, being electrocuted. I run over to the guard who's now dragging her away, and kick him in the stomach. He falls to the ground, and I take Lilly by the arms, Harper standing next to me, glancing around nervously.

"Long time no see." I say breathlessly. She looks at me with gratitude as I pull her onto her feet.

"Thank you." she says, and I nod, looking around.

"Who's this?" Harper asks, gesturing towards Lilly.

"I'll explain later, right now we need to find Laila." I tell her while circling around.

"Who?" Harper asks confusedly. I groan, realizing how little Harper knows. I don't pay attention to her, but keep looking for Laila instead. I find her wrestling with a guard in the corner of the room, and I see that she's losing the fight. The guard has her pinned against a cell door, and is opening the cell.

I run, and tackle the guard. I pin him to the cold floor, and take the keys off his belt. I throw him in the cell and slam it shut with a clang. I fumble through the keys and try five different ones before finally locking the door.

"Ath, thank you so much!" Laila says, walking up to me.

"Welcome. Now let's get out of here." I say, and run towards the stairs.