Plantagion

Chapter 7

Note to readers: I realize I haven't published in a while, but I will publish Chapter 8 by the time school starts. And for "My Perfect Guy" I'll publish the next chapter before school starts... Thanx!!!

-lalawill

“Shit,” I said, knowing that this was going to complicate things a lot. “We need to go… like, now.”

“Madeleine, you are so smart,” Pluter said, grimacing in thought. “Stay with me, okay?” Without waiting, he ran out of the open door and into the hall.

We fled down the halls of the godforsaken building, and like mice in a maze, we knew that this escape was being watched.

“So if the power is working, how have they still not caught us?” I asked.

“Because,” said Pluter. “I have made more than one distraction for them to deal with.”

“Ahhhh.”

We ran from hallway to hallway, not finding any means of transport up or down. Not even a staircase.

“You know Pluter, I thought you had a map of this place…”

“Not every map shows everything.” He stopped at the corner of a wall. “Let’s just take a little rest and try to figure out where we are.”

We looked at the map trying to decipher the different codes and drawings made by the architect.

“This is hella confusing,” I said to Pluter, leaning back against the wall. “How do they get up and down in this place if there are no stairs or elevators. It’s almost as if they’re can walk through walls.”

Just then, a panel in the wall opened up to reveal five large, burly and heavily armed guards. I didn’t really mean that! I thought, but  before I could even react to the sight of the guards, Pluter

pulled me behind the wall.

“It looks like we’ve got a bit of trouble,” Pluter said, reaching into his jacket and retrieving what looked like a pistol but was really a submachine gun.

“Is that the newest version of the FN P90?” I asked, astounded because it had not been released.

“I do get a few perks at my job,” he said, then pulled out another submachine gun that I recognized immediately.

“Hey!” I exclaimed, grabbing it from his hand. “This is the Steyr-TMP.” I had told Pluter during our training that this was my favorite submachine gun.

“I’ll take the three guys to the left and you can take the two on the right,” Pluter said switching off the safety. I did the same. “If you need another magazine, tell me.” We looked each other in the eye. “On the count of three. One.” I thought of Eryn, how beautiful he was, how much he meant to me. “Two.” I thought of mom and dad, who would be proud of where I had gotten in life, after recovering from my troubled adolescence. “Three.”

We turned the corner and went back up the hall we had come from. The guards were taken by surprise, and Pluter let a few rounds loose, they found their target, and two security guards on the left crumpled. I took a knee and fired at the two security guards to the right. By now they were firing back, and bullets flew to my left and right, whistling through the air. Smoke filled the air, and it was getting tougher and tougher to see. I let loose another round of bullets. Through the smoke I could see two figures falling to the ground, taken out by my barrage. But the fighting wasn’t over. Pluter had dispatched two of his three targets but the other guard had fallen back. I could see his outline through the smoke and realized that he would be going to get reinforcements. I took aim, held my breath and fired five quick rounds into his back. He fell to the ground with a thud.

The smoke was starting to clear, and I turned to Pluter, expecting some words of praise. Instead, I found that he was on the ground, and a pool of blood under his back was slowly growing in size.

“No…” I knelt to the ground beside him, not caring about the way my gown would be bloodsoaked afterwards, only caring about the three holes in Pluter’s shirt.

“Madeleine…” Pluter grabbed my gown, pulling me closer. “Listen… listen to me.”

“Pluter.” I said, but he waved his hand in a wild motion, signalling for me to stop talking.

“Listen.” He whispered, his voice rasping like pencils on paper. “You can’t… You can’t trust anyone. Do you hear me. No one.”

Tears filled my eyes. “Stay with me Pluter. We can talk when you’re in another hospi--”

“Madeleine!” he said with more conviction. “My time has come. There is not one thing you can do about it. So just listen. You cant trust anyone.” He coughed, and blood ran down his chin and onto his neck.

“I get it. I won’t trust anyone.” A tear fell onto the floor, mixing with the ocean of Pluter’s blood. Pluter started to talk again.

“You were like a daughter to me Madeleine. You made me so proud and to see you have gotten so far warms my heart,” he coughed again. “You are the only one who can save the world.  There is no one better qualified to do it. So…” he took in a long, deep breath. “So keep making me proud… my daughter…” he trailed off, and his chest grew still and his eyes lost their intensity, their fire that had so often been seen in them.

“No…. no.” I collapsed in a fit over Pluter’s body. I grabbed my gun and put it in my mouth.  He had been my rock for so long, ever since the academy, but now that foundation had fallen, and if it had fallen, why shouldn’t I?