The Purge Runner

5.

The town was silent. Very silent. Dark, very dark. Suddenly, a gunshot pierced through the silence and continued on with a series of gunshots. People screaming and dying every now and then.

The streets were filled with bandits, people with the desire to purge or to just simply kill for the fun of it. This was the first year the Purge was announced and launched. Many were ecstatic about it since it was supposed to make America a better country after its downfall. America was suffering from economy crisis, crime rates and the population was increasing everyday. America was dying until the New Founding Fathers of America saved the nation and made the decision of creating The Purge in order to maintain the peace, economy and population in the country.

Minho led the trio that he came across while wandering the outskirts of town. He had immediately felt relief to find people who didn't know about the Purge because that only meant he didn't have to shoot anyone just yet and he was thankful for that. They were silently following him as they crept along the alleys or ran across wide roads with dead bodies laying around. No where was safe to hide in unless you were rich and had all the money to safe guard your house but Minho's family was just moderate and had normal security only.

"So, Minho, you aren't from around here either, right?" Teresa asked as she skipped closer to him. Thomas and Newt took their time since they were only jogging.

"I DO look like I'm from around here, don't I?" he replied sarcastically. Teresa frowned.

"No, you don't. Anyways, where are we going to find your friend?"

"I'm trying to call him now. Couldn't reach his cell earlier." Minho sighed. He took out his iPhone and dialed his friend's number. Dialing tone kept on beeping and it seemed like his friend wasn't going to pick up the call but then suddenly a voice called out.

"MINHO!!!"

"Omg. Chuck, are you alright?! Where the hell are you??? And why didn't you pick up your bloody phone earlier?!" Minho shouted into his phone and the trio looked at him. He looked pretty pissed.

"Sorry... I was trying to hide from the Purgers. Put my phone on silent so they couldn't find me. Wouldn't want them to catch me because you called me, right?" Chuck sounded like he was out of breath. Must be all the running and hiding that exhausted him out.

Minho shook his head and replied, "Yeap, that would be bad. Good job then. But you got me very worried about you, you dummy. Where can we meet up?"

"Sorry again. I'm near our school. I'll be waiting in the chemistry lab then. By the way, I saw Gally with a few unknown dudes. He was holding a handgun."

"GALLY?! What the fuck is he doing out here?! ...I do not want an answer for that. See you soon. I'm a few blocks away. Stay safe."

Chuck said his goodbye and Minho hung up. Teresa who was listening in, had a weird look on her face, from Minho's point of view.

"Oh my, is your friend someone 'special'? Like Newt is to Thomas?" She wriggled her eyebrows.

"No," Minho replied her bluntly and walked off.

Teresa shrugged as if she said nothing wrong. Minho told the trio that he was going to meet up with his friend at his high school and they agreed to follow him.

Screams of help and mercy rang through the town. Laughter could be heard. Some of the purgers were having fun. Minho felt disgusted by them. He asked the three of them to wait on the opposite side of the road as he made his way over to check if the gates were opened. A padlock stared back at Minho as he found the lever. Groaning, he looked upwards. He noticed the side gate wasn't that tall so he tried climbing instead. After he got inside, he ushered the other three to the gate. They ran quickly and Teresa was the first to climb over. Newt was about to start climbing when a sudden light entered their eyes. The 4 of them turned to see a huge truck coming their way.

"Go, Newt!" Thomas yelled. Newt tried to pull himself up but his palms started sweating and he couldn't go up.

"Shit! You two, go to the back gate and come in from there! Meet us at the chemistry lab on the second floor," Minho yelled and pulled Teresa away from the headlights. Thomas pulled Newt away from the gate and they both dashed for the back gate. It must've been luck or something but the truck didn't pursue them. Instead, it made a right turn and left Thomas and Newt in the darkness. They sighed in relief and Newt sank to the ground.

"Sorry, Thomas. If I could have just climbed up.... We wouldn't be stuck out here," Newt apologized.

"Hey, it's not your fault. Come on, we gotta go to the back gate. Just in case that truck comes back. Can you walk?" Thomas asked worriedly. Newt nodded and stood up. Thomas could see him shivering slightly so he grabbed Newt's hand tightly and said," I'll do what I can to protect you so don't be afraid, okay?"

"You sound too cheesy," Newt chuckled. "Okay. I'll trust you. Let's go back to Minho and Teresa." They walked carefully to the back of the school, trying not to make any noise all the way. The back alley was dark so they had to depend on their night vision since any lights would attract attention. The back gate was also locked. Thomas cursed softly.

"Newt, come on. I'll push you up," he said and got into position. There was no place to grab like the gate at the front so Thomas propelled Newt upwards. Newt held onto the gate and got over. He jumped down softly and pulled a trash can over to the gate. He stood on it and held a hand out for Thomas.

"Grab my hand," he said.

"You don't have to tell me that." Thomas jumped and held onto Newt's hand. Newt pulled him up and he used his own strength to climb over as well.

"Okay. There we go. Now, where's the lab?" Newt asked and Thomas shrugged. "He should have just waited at the back gate for us instead. Second floor. Do we have to walk the entire second floor?"

"Oh heavens."