Destroyed

Chapter 9: I'll Find A Way

As we were walking, I replayed the news broadcast in my head. So far, the terrorist had bombed a bank, destroyed naval air bases, and now he trapped us inside of a ruined museum.

There is something that I am missing. I thought. Looking back before the explosion took place, I remembered there was a video surveillance cameras perches inside and outside of the museum.

There must be a camera room someplace. I wondered, looking at the woman with a unibrow. Just then, a thought occurred to me. I did not know these people, except my classmates.

I don't know if one of them is going to betray us or help us escape. But I do know this: the terrorist on the news might be one of the survivors, watching our every move. It couldn't be my classmates or the triplet brothers, mostly because they do not understand the intricate parts of a bomb.

Even if they bombed Washington's buildings, inexperienced people might get scars from the blast or couldn't bring themselves to do it.

We started walking until the woman came onto a full stop. The big red letters spelled out EXIT, however, boulders covered the door. "Crap," I muttered.

"Isn't there any other exit?" Paige sighed, holding her blue flashlight, like it's a baton. Eight other tour guides shook their heads in sync. "Well, there has to be something!" Allison shrieked. She gave her belly a gentle pat then glared at them.

"If this baby dies," she threatens. "This is all your fault. Every. Single. One. Of. You." We all looked at her as if she was insane. "Just who do you think you are?" Marie seethed. "We are all trapped here because some psychotic monster bombed the museum!"

Clyde tried to calm her down, but she ignored him. "Guys," I insisted. "Calm down. Arguing doesn't solve-" Unexpectedly, everything spiraled out of control.

The male tour guides blamed cave woman for setting all of us up, the triplets are crying, Clyde is trying to separate Marie and Allison from each other.

The worst part, my classmates started picking fights with each other. The twins, Harold, and I were the only ones who stayed rational.

"What should we do?" Jared moaned. His fingers zoomed through his hair. Reaching into my backpack, I hoisted my taser then turned it on.

Along with a piercing cry, the taser let out  blue sparks of electricity. Everyone stopped arguing then stared at me in silence. "SHUT UP!" I snarled. "Do you honestly think that yelling solves anything?! Geez!"

A low murmur came out of the civilians' mouth. Looking at the group of tour guides, I tossed Paige the taser gun and made her in charge. "Cool!" Paige squealed.

I shone my flashlight at their name tags and asked one of them to come over. After a heated debate between the men, a reluctant man in his early thirties came to my side. He had black hair, a small goatee, and dark eyes.

He wore a green shirt, khaki pants, and dark sneakers the other tour guides are wearing. Even though he is handsome, he looks extremely agitated. "What do you need, miss?" he questioned.

I stared at his name tag then returned my eyes at him. Quietly, I leaned over to the guy's ear. "So Bill," I whispered. "Do you know where the security room is?" His eyes widened at my question, but nodded.

"Y-yes," he stuttered. "But the door is locked." I shrugged like it is no big deal. "Can you take me there?" I asked. He nodded again. Immediately, I went up to the twins and asked them if they can distract Harold and the others.

Much to my surprise, they accepted it without questioning my judgement. Paige strut towards Harold, who is leaning against the damaged wall, and asked him a favor while Jared snuck over to his suitcase and took it without people noticing.

Discreetly, he handed me the brown leather suitcase with a smile then joined his friends on the floor. I pulled out an assortment of lockpicks from out of my backpack and gently reaching inside the keyhole.

After the lock opened, I tugged it out then rummaged into the suitcase. There were documents, and house keys, but strangely, there was no medical license or doctor equipment.

Come to think of it, I never seen Harold pulling his equipment out of his bag. I decided to figure this out later until I had found my phone. I scoured through the objects when my cell appeared out of  nowhere.

"Hey!" someone cried. I hid my phone in the back of my pocket and placed the lock back on as if nothing happened.

The cry came from Harold, who marched over to my direction with antipathy on his face. I handed him the suitcase, apologizing for the inconvience. Harold took it without blinking then marched back to his spot.

"Thank goodness," I muttered in relief. I glanced at Bill, who stared at me in amazement. "What?" I asked in confusion. "Aren't you going to get in trouble?" he whispered. "As long as you don't rat me out," I whispered back.

Bill covered his mouth with his hand then promised he wouldn't tell on me. "Good," I responded. "Now, led me to the security room." Without a regret, I followed Bill to the path where we passed about an hour ago.

I shone my light at Bill's direction until he halted in his tracks. Why did we stop? I wanted to ask. All of a sudden, Bill pointed to the bolted metal door which labelled, The Security Room.

I got out my lockpicking kit again, and tried the lock while Bill became the lookout. A part of me thinks this is guilty and stupid,  but the other half suggested for me to shut up and continue what I was doing.

After the lock snapped open, I tossed my kit back into my backpack and opened the door. It let out a low squeak as the door leaned against the white wall.

"Is this your first time?" Bill asked suddenly. I wanted to say no, but I remembered that I shouldn't trust him. "You could say that," I answered with a shrug. Together, I navigated the dark room until a light switch  stood across from me.

After I turned the switch on, the yellow light revealed a small room full of cameras, a small desk with a keyboard, and a metallic chair.