Deadly Atmosphere | Aris Jones [3]

14 || Caught in the Crossfire

BOOM!

The loud noise startled us, heading towards the window to see a bright flash of fire and smoke. "Lawrence," Beth mumbled. "He came here to wreak havoc in the city." She shook her head. "That wasn't the plan!"

"Well, now, we gotta come up with a way to get out of here if what Aris is saying is true," Sonya said.

Aris nodded. "Then we need to hurry and get moving."

"Wait a second." Beth stopped us. "You mean to tell me that I just killed my best friend and now you're telling me that there's a cure that could've saved her?!"

"Beth, we got the timing wrong in this situation, but there's nothing we can do about it now," Sonya said. "Gwyneth is gone."

"But it could've been prevented!" she cried out. "Maybe if he had shown up just a bit earlier, then..." She stopped, inhaling so that she wouldn't cry anymore.

"Listen to me, Beth," I said, my voice getting quiet as I approached her. "Gwyneth was suffering. We saw it with our own eyes. She would have turned into a Crank by the time we got a cure and it would've been too late." I looked into her eyes, the hurt still there. "We need to keep going. Gwyneth wouldn't want us to just stop because she's gone."

I watched as Beth's eyes softened a bit, with tears still coming down. But she finally composed herself and nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right. She would want us to keep going."

I nodded with her. "Okay, so let's figure out a way out of here."

"Hey!" Aris called out for us from down the hallway. "I think I found something!"

Beth and I dashed over there with the others and looked at the empty and trashed room, along with the broken window. "You think this is how the boys got out?"

We looked down at the fountain that settled down below. "Well, if that water wasn't there to break their fall..."

"Look, we gotta move fast," Aris said. "More guards are after us and there's a mandatory evacuation. I think some overheard me telling Teresa about you guys still being here..."

"Okay, we can jump and make it," I assured them. "I mean, if the boys did it, then we can. Right?"

"Well, by all means, you go first," Beth offered.

"I'm coming with you." We all looked at Aris. "Look, Rachel made sure we all stuck together when we were leaving the Glen, and we're sticking together until the end of this sticking war with WICKED." He took a deep breath, then continued. "I'm not letting you all go in that crossfire without me."

"So does this mean you're on our side now?" Sonya asked.

He took a second, but nodded. "Yeah, I am. I wanted to find a cure just as much as WICKED did, and now that we have one, maybe it can save Newt and anyone else infected with the Flare." He paused, sighing. "My job with WICKED is done."

I felt a sense of happiness knowing that Aris was back on our side. All of us had excited yet exhausted looks on our faces and we nodded our heads all at once. With all of the emotions running high, we had to jump into the crossfire and fight until the end.

This was the final battle, and we were going to win this time.

"Uh, guys? I think we're about to get company," Sonya announced, the sound of running and yelling getting closer.

"Follow me!" I shouted, giving myself a head start and lunging out of the window and down into the water. I felt my heart dropping and the screams, along with my own, taking over. The breaking of the water as I went under was enough to burn my nose. Hearing the muffled splashes around me, I went back up the surface, inhaling.