Homesick

Chapter 6

Dawn was breaking and the morning rays shone into my eyes. I squinted and rolled over to Kara. She was already up, her sleeping bag tucked away in the closet. She was at the front, on a control panel, typing on it.

I stretched a kicked the sleeping bag away and ruffling my hair, walked towards her.

"Morning," I yawned groggily.

"Hey," said Kara, not looking at me.

"What are you doing on that anyway?" I asked, peering over her shoulder.

"Making your suit," said Kara.

"Making my what?" I said, stopping in my tracks.

"Your suit," said Kara calmly. "You need to be disguised, with weapons to protect yourself."

"What? Kara, i told you, i'm not an assassin, i don't even know how to use those equipments," I said, eyeing a dozen smoke bombs, a pistol, a electric spiked ball and a sword she had unlatched out of her storage area.

"Simple: just chuck at whatever's in your hand." she said, still looking at the panel.

"Thanks," i groaned. "Really great teacher."

Kara rolled her eyes and hit a green button. My eyes widened in shock as the unused podium began elevating up and there was a blue and black suit, different from Kara's, with no hood, but with a belt to hold equipments. I stepped back.

Kara tapped the glass, which slid down immediately. She tore down the clothes and handed them to me. I looked down at the brand-new suit.

"What-" i began but Kara pointed to a door at the side of the room.

"Change," said Kara. "Now."

I sighed and made my ways towards the door which was an empty room, with only metal benches surrounding the border. I stripped off my clothes and put to new suit on, which felt really unfamiliar. I looked at my hands which was covered by gloves. My belt contained many small pockets and small metal latches. I walked outside where Kara was already changed with her suit from last night. She was just rearranging her glove when she turned around.

"Wow," she said, clicking her tongue. "Looking sharp."

"Shut up," i said, rolling my eyes.

"Here, she said," dumping the equipment into my arms. "Smoke pellets go on the latches around your waist. The Spiked balls go on the bigger latches. The pistol goes into you little pocket and the sword goes on your back on the strap."

After i had finished putting my equipment together, we stepped in the centre of the room where the podium instantly began elevating upwards to the light sky. Kara turned off the lights just about when we were on ground level. We squeezed out of the hedge.

"Ok, remember the plan," said Kara, speaking fast. "We need to break into Claw's Headquarters, find out where his weapon is, keep the core safe and mission complete. If we break of those conditions, we're more than dead. I can't defeat Claw by myself."

I peered in the windows. Kara's dad was still not home. Kara sighed, shook her head and we took off. It was still dawn so no one was around, only a few cars blearing around.

"Do you even know where Claw's Headquarters are?" I said, struggling to keep up.

"Yes," said Kara. "It's on the outskirts of this forest me and my mum used to play in when i was little. I remember seeing a giant building overhead."

We had arrived at the subway station i took to school. We ran up the stairs to the subway as quick as we can. The steps were littered with rubbish on the side. We took a right where the subway corridors were empty, allowing us to turn left again to a case of steeper stairs, leading to the station itself.

I was about to sit down on a bench and wait for the train when Kara led me to the side of the elevator, hidden.

"What-are-you-doing?" she hissed, facing me. "What do you think you are, Jack, some old grandpa waiting for the train? We can't be seen!"

"Okay, okay," i said, calming her down. "Sorry."

She glared at me and peeped around the elevator corner when the loudspeaker blared open.

"The Subway to Glen Street is incoming," said a voice. "Please stand back."

The screeching sound of the railtrack were heard as the train slowed to a stop to let the few passengers out. The subway was heavily graffitied and dirty. Kara beckoned me to follow her and so i followed her. But instead of going into through the doors to the empty subway, Kara leapt to the top of the subway and sat down there, relaxed.

"Are. You. INSANE?" I yelled to her, my feet hovering above the yellow line.

"Yes!" she said, poking her tongue out. "C'mon, get up!"

"I can't!" I cried, looking back and forth and stepping back.

The subway whistled and began to gather speed.

"Hurry UP!" Kara shouted, and i knew i had no other choice.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breathe and began running as fast as i could to catch up. Kara held her hand out so without thinking and without knowing, i jumped.

It was like in slow-motion. I never thought i was going to make it and slip down to my death, but Kara grabbed my gloved-hand with my feet centimetres of the ground and heaved me up, where i lay panting and retching. I immediately ducked to the side and threw up nastily. Kara grimaced.

"Never again," I said, weakly, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Your welcome," she said, turning away from me and staring at the rising sun.

She got up again and walked forwards on the subway carriage. She teetered on the edge of the first carriage before jumping in the air to the second and turning to me.

"No!" I wailed, not believing it.

"Get up!" said Kara. "We need to know when to get off."

I stood up shakily, and the subway rattled like mad. I immediately got on all fours again and crawled my way across. I looked down and jumped, closing my eyes.

And i had made it! I wasn't dead!

"See, wasn't so hard." smiled Kara and we leapt to the very front carriage to see the full view of where we were going.

"Now," said Kara, lowering her hood. "Important stuff. We need to know how to get in. I've always watched this in movies and this is going to work. We get in through the vent and dip into the room that contains the weapon in it. If Claw's in there, we wait. If his workers all in there, we surprise attack them and tie them up with this rope."

Kara waved a small silver gadget in the air.

"This would extract automatic binding metal ropes at the start of impact." she explained, tucking it in her belt. "If all goes to plan, we disable the weapons until Claw can't start it up again."

"Sounds like a hell of a plan," I said, dangling my legs. "Wait, you still have the core, right?"

"Course!" she said, unzipping her backpack and retracting the blue, glowing core. "We can't let Claw lay a finger on it."

The subway screeched loudly to a stop and Kara swung her backpack over her shoulders and hopped off the top and i followed.

We ran down the steps, into the open and head to Claw's Headquarters.