Alpha Paradise: Book 1

[Not] A Hollywood-Style Exit

People screaming and howling, running for their lives and amidst the chaos, two girls firing their rifles everywhere made the scene look worse. All they could hope was to get out safely from that torture chamber to a place safe enough to survive under such a circumstance.

The two newbies seemed to be pretty cool, thought the girl as she pushed her way through. Neither of them had tried to fight or protest like the others, which suggested that they were atleast smart, if not stupid. But that wasn't the only thing that caught her attention. The fact that there was someone in the containment camp who was her age was shocking; people her age or younger were hard to find in these troubled times. All the other prisoners were adults, or close to being one, just like Morrigan. The girl shuddered as she recollected Morrigan's scream that dreadful morning as the mad woman charged at the guards.

Currently, she was sneaking towards the sealed gates of the camp. Screams of protest and gunshots were heard from the dining hall. She hoped that the duo were successful in distracting the guards inside, or things would not end well for any of them.

Before she knew it, she reached a corridor. As she peeked through it, she saw a silvery-blue gate. What was confusing was that she could hear a low hum vibrating through it as she came closer. Then it smacked her like a lightning bolt. God! I forgot that the gate is electrified! She mentally cursed. She would have to go to the control room to break the circuit, and God knew where that was. She contemplated, trying to figure out where it could most probably be, when she was startled by voices coming from beyond the gate. Two guards were guarding the gate, and in her hurry, she had not seen them initially. Lucky for her, neither had they. One was old and fat and the other was dashing,young and blond- probably the youngest guard she had ever seen, maybe even her age.He seemed newly employed.

She quickly hid in an open storage room, before they could realise she was there. "Listen kiddo, ya gotta know the layout of this area if you want to secure it." she could hear the older one say. " Let's take the control room, for example. Do ya remember where it is?" The younger one nodded. "The control room is directly one floor above the gate, sir."

The girl could not believe her luck! She stealthily ran to the stairs, which were- lucky for her- rarely utilized. Everyone used the elevator instead, something she had observed from her cell.

She navigated her way to the control room and pushed the door. Inside, she saw computer screens covering every inch of three of the walls, and the ground was strewn with cables of different colours. There were storage cabinets, each containing neatly organized stacks of paper, folders, stationary items and various tools. At the very front of the room, a large steel table stood, upon which a set of controls and a screen showing the layout of the area- and very helpfully, a key labelling where appliances- such as electrical gates- were. The guards in the room might have rushed to the dining room. Even so- she still had very little time.

And it was at that absolutely perfect moment that she had a flashback.

"Daddy, I want to go home!"she wailed, tugging at her father's hand. "Soon, mon chéri. Right after I finish my work." He smiled kindly at her. Just then, the window of his study shattered and she screamed. Her father pulled her up against him and ran out of the room, bolting the door behind him. She could hear muffled thumps and shouts inside. Someone had broken in.

How anyone could get past her father's high-tech security was still a mystery to her. He was a rich and important french politician and had tight protection everywhere. Her father rushed to the hall of their mansion and called for the girl's mother. "Adele! Ils sont venus!'' -French for 'They have come.' He looked at her and said, "Sweet pea, dada has to leave now. I will see you in a few days. Grand mère'll be here for you soon enough.