P L A N B E T A

Chapter Twenty-Seven

January 16th, 2043

Wagner

The bombs go off in the auditorium, that is how I am awake. All Plan Beta members throw on our uniforms and Paisley is put into hiding along with the nurses and their children. We all race down to the auditorium where our parents are looking around, wondering what the hell could have just happened.

The stage was untouched, but everything else of demolished. We thought it was a simple attack.

We thought it was a simple attack until attackers flooded in via helicopter and Ara, Orren, P and I were kicking and punching everyone around us.

We thought it was a simple attack until the smell of gasoline flooded our noses and the floor was caught on fire. We then had to stand on the stage and watched as the fire burned the white box into gray ash. Confusion filled my brain like a migraine, and it was like I had woken up from a nightmare, but the nightmare was in real life.

When you're little, and fall asleep with the television on, and your dreams have the same dialogue as the movie that's on, you slowly wake up and realize the situation. When you're standing on a stage watching your life burn before your very own eyes, you get caught up with life, and everything is worse than you thought.

We all spread out, and I was right. It was worse than I thought. Everything happens so fast but it's in slow motion. The thousands of people or androids or whatever they were around every corner, constantly trying to attack. Their efforts are avoided, and it's like I'm prancing over water gracefully, but it's fire, and any wrong move could lead to my immediate death.

They aren't shooting with guns, they're shooting at all of us with arrows. I don't know who or what I'm looking for, but it' someone, or something, and it's dangerous.

A million thoughts are on the train tracks of my brain, this is a deadly fantasy, one that you dream of in a boring class, the ones were you dream of being a hero.

"Where is he?!" I hear one of the terrorist yell, "Our little astronaut! We took amazing care of him, yes? He came back to you and your stupid family, right? Where is he? We'd like to say hello!" They yell. I look around, trying to find where this person is and who they're taunting.

It takes a second, but I see a tall girl who looks as though she's on some sort of illicit drug yelling at Gwen on one of the lofts. I run up the stairs as fast as I can, almost tripping up every other one. Gwen takes a quick glance at me, and shakes her head violently, mouthing for me to go back as fast as I can, but my actions are cut off by the being who was yelling at her.

"Maia Wagner, the one whose information allowed us into this building, termination is near." I raise an eyebrow, but the being raises and arrow, I freeze in place, unable to move whatsoever. My lungs burn from my loss of breath.

The arrow is shot at me, and I prepare myself for death. I inhale calmly and relax my muscles, ridding myself of any pain.

The arrow does not hit me. My eyes open, and Gwen is on the ground, but so is the being. The being has a taser attached to it and is seizing, but it's not what I care about.

Gwen's face is more pale than normal. An arrow is sticking out from her chest, and a small pool of blood surrounds her torso. Her eyes are slightly open, but the life has been drained.

I frantically check her pulse everywhere I can, but there is nothing. It takes about five seconds before I realize what has just happened. "No, Gwen," I say. "Gwen please, no. No, no, no," I whisper. Moments go by, no response, nothing happens. "No!" I scream. "No! Please no! God please no!" I whale, collapsing on top of her body, crying.

Shannon and Ashlynn come up to me. They analyze the situation and Ashlynn is in my state, she's crying just like I am.

As soon as I am able to stand I do, and another being comes to visit. I have picked Gwen up into my arms getting ready to take her into the cellar, but all I see is Shannon being attacked by the being, she falls over the railing backward. My jaw drops. Ashlynn screams in almost hops over the bar herself, but I drop Gwen and grab Ashlynn by the waist, holding her tightly as she screams for her mommy.

I tighten my grip on Ashlynn and grab Gwen's wrist with my other hand, dragging them into the supply closet behind us.

"Ash," I say. "I need you to be good, okay? I'm going to bring you into hiding, you are going to stay there and wait for the rest of us, further instructions will be given soon, I promise." Her pupils are dilated and her breathing is heavy and uneven. She turns and vomits into a bucket placed in the corner but looks back at me and nods.

I take her into the cellar where all of the nurses and their children are. They welcome her with open arms, but I have to race out of the cellar and get back up to the loft. P is standing in the security room.

"Where's Gwen?" he asks anxiously. I freeze in place just like I did before the arrow hit Gwen.

"It's all my fault, P," I blurt through heavy tears.

His demeanor grows mean, and he's scary now, Jack Peter has never been scary to me. "What is? Where's Gwen? Where is she? What's going on? Is she okay?" he worries. I try to grab his hand to lead him, but he pulls away, continuing to follow me, but refusing to show any affection.

I open the supply closet door and he sees Gwen's lifeless body. His knees go weak and he falls to them. "Gwen," he says. "No. No. I promised you everything would be alright. I promised you that everyone would be home safe and we would all be okay and I... I promised you..."

"P," I say. "This isn't your fault. I froze, it's my fault, please don't blame yourself, P. Please..." He looks up at me slowly, tears filling his eyes, they look pretty when he cries, but I'd rather his eyes be average and happy than pretty and sad.

There's a scream from down below. It's Ara. P and I stand up and look over the railing. Orren is gripping onto Ara with all of his might as she tries to collapse.

"Ara," I say. "We have to go, now. Right now. Gather everyone you can. Ashlynn is in hiding, but grab everyone else, tell them to get to the helicopter pad in the next five minutes." I direct my attention toward P. "Grab Gwen, we can have a service for her in Washington, but we need to go.

Everyone is gathered on the helicopter pad. Most alive, all but Gwen. Our parents are off fighting somewhere in the building, but we contact them through signal, telling them that we are leaving.

We stuff ourselves into the self-flying helicopter.

It's hard to look over at Gwen's deceased body, I try not to.

We take out our chips.

First P does.

Then Ara.

Then me.

Then Ashlynn and Paisley.

Then Max.

We take out Gwen's.

Jameson says he was taken out a while ago, and it was a long story. We shouldn't worry about it.

Orren holds Ara's hand tightly as tears become rivers down her face.

I try to hold P's hand, but he pulls away again.

I think I have lost the most important person I have left.

But then I give it a moment.

I am willing to give him a moment.

But it's the beginning of the end.

It's Telos.

According to Newton's third law of motion, every action has an equal opposite reaction. Time reached its peak, it was now going backward.