The Ultimate Rescue

Chapter XXIII

MACKENZIE

Music: Piranha Plant's Lullaby from Super Mario 64

I've been trapped down here in complete darkness for an unknown amount of time. Mrs. Smith has gone back to Missouri to supervise the building of their new base (wherever that is), and to spend some time helping out with the invasion. Meanwhile, I'm stuck here with no indication of when I'll be released or if anybody is coming to save me. This room also blocks all sound from both directions, meaning I can't hear anything from the outside and nobody from outside could hear me.

Suddenly, a single gleam of light comes from part of the ceiling, revealing a flight of stairs that I didn't even know were there. Multiple figures begin walking down the stairs, and once they turn on their phone's flashlights to light up the place a little bit more, I immediately recognize who they are, and I almost break down out of happiness.

"Oh my God... you guys are finally here..." I utter out, being approached by Sam and Avery, two of the greatest friends I've ever had. Behind them are Elle, Sean, Shanna, Heath, Luke, and Skylar. Mia is nowhere to be seen, which is... odd.

"Hey," Avery says, smiling at me. I accept hugs from her, Sam, and Elle, then get ambushed by Sean and Shanna, who tackle me to the ground and wrap me up tightly.

"Whoa, guys. You don't wanna kill me before I tell you how we can stop my illuminati mother," I laugh. The twins chuckle along with me and release me, and I stand up.

"Oh yeah. Speaking of which, do you know when she's gonna get back?" Sam asks. "I'd like to shove my gun up her ass and make her think twice about what she's done. Might make me feel better about both this and my life choices."

Ah, Sam's impulsive, usually widely inappropriate comments. Most of the time, they're unnecessary and/or disturbing in some fashion, but for me, they'll never get old. I snicker at his playful remark, then answer with, "Well, let's not stick around to find out. She could be back any minute."

"You're right. Let's go," Avery says. She takes one of my hands and leads me out of my prison basement, shutting the trapdoor on the way out. Not sure why Mrs. Smith would have multiple entrances to my holding place, but it sure did me a favor. There's tons of mushy flesh-like material covering the floor, as well some white feathers lying around. It also reeks of death in here. I don't even want to know what they had to go through to get to me, and I'm thankful that none of them tell me.

"Sorry that we didn't come for you earlier," Skylar says once everybody's exited the secret room. "Sam's hovercraft had a factory reset and it didn't get its A.I or human GPS back until last night."

"Oof. That must've sucked," I laugh.

"Oh, believe me, it did," Sam mumbles. "Oh, and by the way: Avery might permanently replace you as my second in command after this mission." I didn't even know they had someone take my spot. I would've assumed it wouldn't be necessary.

"Oh, hell no," Avery smirks. "I'm giving this job right back to Mackenzie after this is over."

"Listen, guys," I say, nervous for how they're going to respond to what I'm about to say. "I'm so, so sorry for how I acted towards you when you first found me. I should've listened to you and come with you. You were right; Mrs. Smith tricked me into getting comfortable and staying with her so she could force me back into spy training."

"You don't need to be sorry," Shanna tells me, hugging me. "We understand completely, and we aren't mad at you at all."

"Well, that makes me feel much better," I smile, relieved. I glance around the room for Mia in case she just decided to not come down with them, and she isn't in here either. "Hey, uh, where's Mia? Is she waiting outside?" I ask everyone. I'd like to extend my apology to her, and hopefully get one from her in return.