The Purity Project

Chapter 8

"How on earth did you do that?" Tyler asked as he stared in astonishment at Jada. She had figured out the pin code for opening the back door of the sewage plant.

"I payed attention in history class. They never changed the code. Sewage plants don't need heavy guarding." Jada shrugged and closed the door behind them.

"Okay, my turn." Tyler pulled out the map of the sewage plant. He scanned it for a few seconds, then decided where to go. "We need to go to the second floor. That's where they have the information about the citizens. Maybe we'll find something on Malcolm."

The two of them head up the stairs. Tyler recalled when he had a field trip to the sewage plant when he was ten. He remembered the tour guide saying that the elevators were full of tiny cameras, but the rest of the building only had normal security cameras. Once they reached the second floor, they turned right down the hallway. Suddenly, Tyler caught a flash movement in the corner of his eye. He grabbed Jada's arm and pulled her behind a wall.

"What are you-" Tyler silenced Jada with his finger.

Tyler stuck his head out from the wall to catch a glimpse of the stranger. He spotted a girl entering a room. He didn't see her face, but she looked too young to be working at the sewage plant. He waited until he was sure that the hallway was clear, then walked toward the door.

"We can't go in there. Didn't you see someone go in there?" Jada grabbed Tyler's arm and tried to pull him back.

"Just trust me, Jada. I have a feeling that we're supposed to go in there." Tyler yanked his arm away from her.

"A feeling? We're risking getting caught because you had a feeling?" Jada crossed her arms in frustration. 

"No, I am. You're going to hide in that storage closet, while I go in," Tyler said firmly. He already felt guilty about Malcolm disappearing. It was his responsibility to protect Jada.

"What? No way! Look, I know we just met, but I can't just let you get captured. I can't let that happen again," Jada said.

This caught Tyler off guard. He looked at Jada's face. She looked so desperate, and her eyes reminded him of his brother. He would have been doing the same thing if he was here. He had to remind himself that Jada wasn't Ron. She was older than him, smarter than him, and stronger than him. She would be helpful. Tyler would just have to keep an eye on her.

"Fine. Let's go in together." Tyler smiled at Jada. He took a deep breath and turned the doorknob slowly. He pushed the door open.

Whatever Tyler was expecting to see, it wasn't this. A boy and a girl stood next to each other, their fists clenched. The boy had bronze skin, black hair, and amber eyes. The girl had olive skin, caramel brown eyes, and her long dark brown hair was tied in a braid. The boy was holding on tight to a file.

"Who the heck are you?" Tyler asked.

"Who are you?" the boy responded harshly.

Tyler glared at them. He didn't have the patience to wait around for the two kids to start talking. "Just tell me this. Are you going to turn us in, or are you here for some other reason."

The boy glanced at the girl who shrugged. "My friend is missing. We're trying to find him. Are you going to turn us in?" she shot back, staring at Tyler skeptically.

"No, we're here to find her brother," Tyler said, gesturing toward Jada. "It seems like we have similar problems. Do you know anything that could help us out." Tyler eyed the file. The way the boy clenched the file intrigued Tyler.

The boy sighed. "Go ahead and look. You're not going to be happy with what you see." He handed the file to Tyler. 

Tyler scanned it and frowned. Jada rushed to Tyler's side and peered at the file over his shoulder.

"Tyler! That's Malcolm!" She pointed at Malcolm's name on the list.

"The mayor transported them out of the city. They're being used as test subjects, but I don't know what for," the girl said slowly, a hint of pain in her voice.

Tyler grabbed the last document in the file. He scanned it and his eyes grew wide in shock. "They're being shipped to the capitol, which means that this could go all the way up to the president." 

"Wait, what? The president? How are we supposed to get them back?" Jada buried her face in her hands.

"We need to get out of here, now," the boy said, and Tyler couldn't agree more.

Tyler sighed, handing the file back to the boy. "I'm probably going to regret this, but you guys should come with us. I have a car, so I can get us out of here."

"Really? You just met us and you're offering to give us a ride? Aren't you afraid that we'll attack you or something?" the girl said.

"Ha! I run around with rebel gangs. You guys are like daisies compared to them." Tyler opened the door and walked out. He didn't have to turn around to know that they were following him.

"So what? We're just going to go home, knowing all this information? Shouldn't we at least try to save them?" Jada asked.

"Are you crazy? How do you plan on getting them back?" Tyler snapped. A part of him did want to try, but he couldn't risk putting Jada in danger. Suddenly, an alarm went off.

"Security to the Civilians room. Intruders have stolen File Number 1." a voice said over the intercom.

They had to escape now. "What'll it be?" Tyler said to the boy and girl.

They looked at each other, their faces filled with doubt.

"We'll go with you."