The Ultimate Rescue

Chapter XXIV

MACKENZIE

Music: Final Shot from Gradius III SNES

The "ride" from the house back to... wherever Mrs. Smith is taking me is, while not a situation I desired to be in, a unique experience for sure. Since I was unconscious the first time she flew me somewhere, I didn't get to see what this felt like. Now, I know that the only real difference in feeling between flying like this and flying on something like a plane or a helicopter is that you're not standing on anything. You wanna know what I find amusing? This is the third time in less than two days that I've been transported from one location to another by air, and for once, none of these occasions are because of the hovercraft.

Several times during the trip, I asked Mrs. Smith where she's taking me. She doesn't even look at me, much less give me an answer. It's only when the scent of smoke and the gradual change from grey to red in the skies hits my senses that I realize that Mrs. Smith has brought me back to Lee's Summit. When we arrive at our final destination, I'm unable to believe my eyes.

The illuminati has transformed the building that used to be our high school into home base for the illuminati and for the demons. The main buildings are still there, but the campus is flooded with illuminati soldiers guarding the base and demons flying or walking around campus. On top of the B Building is a gigantic green pyramid. A gnawing pain grows in my stomach. If the illuminati isn't stopped, and fast, this will be what life is for the rest of eternity.

As I'm led into the front doors of B Building, my mind goes to my friends, who no doubt are coming after me. But was that their last chance? Now that Mrs. Smith knows they are/were searching for me, she'll likely stuff the base with more security. Not to mention what could happen if she takes them on herself. They won't stand a chance. As for Mia... well, to put it simply, I still haven't quite decided how I feel about that. But if Mrs. Smith is correct (and, as I've established, that woman has a knack for lying to me), then I'm definitely not pleased with the decision she supposedly made.

"You're making a huge mistake," I say to Mrs. Smith. "One way or another, you're going to be stopped." I only say this to make myself feel better; at this point I've lost almost all hope.

Mrs. Smith looks at me like I'm crazy. "Pssh. Look at what I can do." She points to a random man walking on the sidewalk. With a lift of her hand, the man goes floating into the air. She then twists her wrist, and the man's body contorts in an unnatural fashion. Even from this distance, I can hear the crack of their bones. She then makes a squeezing motion with her right hand, and the man's head is crushed. Blood is raining out of his skull, and his body is so disfigured it doesn't even look human anymore. Then, just to make things worse, she slams the body on the ground, further distorting the body. It's an image that will forever be implanted in my mind.

Scarred for life from what I witnessed, I'm led into the building by Mrs. Smith, her assistant, Herbert (who I've interacted with, like, twice ever), two armed guards, and a demon. For the most part, the school looks the same as it normally does, just with the addition of demons flying about. I'm taken up the stairs to the top of B Building, where the math classes are. Normally, this is the highest floor in the building, so this is the highest up the elevator will go. But Mrs. Smith has evidently expanded on that, as there's now an additional three levels higher the elevator can go up to.

We take the elevator up to the second highest floor, where the "lobby" of this base is. Mrs. Smith, Herbert, and the guards lead me through a door that leads to a room filled with nothing but a chair.

"Sit down," Mrs. Smith barks.

"Make me," I growl. During the flight here, I came to the conclusion that I need to use every ounce of physical and mental strength that I have left to fight Mrs. Smith.

A sly grin forms on Mrs. Smith's face. "Well, don't mind if I do." She then lifts me up into the sky and plops my ass down in the chair. Her guards walk over to a nearby control panel and press some buttons. Handcuffs wrap around my wrists and ankles, preventing me from moving.

"Here's how we're going to do this," Mrs. Smith says, hovering right in front of me. "You're going to tell me where the Rock of Doom is."

"Hell no."

Mrs. Smith looks to the demon. He begins rubbing his hands together, and they turn from grey to a dark red in a matter of seconds. Then, he fires a burst of electricity at me. My body begins involuntarily convulsing, and I let out a loud yelp. Pain soars through every inch of my body.

"You wanna try that again, sweetheart?" Mrs. Smith asks mockingly.

I shoot her a deadly glare and grumble, "Kiss. My. Ass."

"Up the voltage," Mrs. Smith instructs the demon. The demon nods and shoots me with another burst of electricity, this one even more powerful than the last. My body scrunches up as it tries to reject the energy, and I cry out in agony. If you think you've ever experienced the most painful thing ever, it's probably nothing compared to what I'm going through.

Weak from pain, I grunt out, "You know... if you keep doing this... eventually, you'll kill me... and I won't be able to tell you where the Rock is." My entire body feels like it's on fire, the throbbing in my head is absolutely killing me, I'm about ready to vomit all over the floor, and it hurts to breathe.

"She has a point, you know," Herbert nods.

Mrs. Smith rolls her eyes and sighs. "Very well. Guess I'll have to try... something else to get her to talk." I don't need to be a genius to know that "something else" means harming my friends.

Herbert and the two guards are instructed to stay behind and keep an eye on me. Once Mrs. Smith and the demon leave, Herbert begins pacing back and forth in front of me, and the guards walk over to the door. I whisper to Herbet, "Psst! Herbert! You're better than this!"

"Do you think I want to be involved in this?!" Herbert hisses angrily. "As much as I'd love to get her to stop, you and I both know what she'd do to me. I mean, you saw what she did to that one guy. In this world, no one's safe. Not even me, and definitely not you." He then goes back to pacing around the room, and I stop talking. I lower my head in shame.

At this point, all that's left for me to do is pray that my friends will somehow find a way to rescue me so we can defeat the illuminati, because I'm basically out of options.

But with the way things are now, the odds are not on our side.