Spy School Apocalypse

Chapter 5

Ben's POV:

I run until I can't feel my feet anymore. The last few hours have finally seemed to seep in. Erica, Joshua, the revolution. I clutch the paper in my hand as if it's the only thing keeping me alive. It's the last connection I have to save Erica.

It's partly my fault that she was captured. If I never came looking for her, if I didn't run into the men, she wouldn't have gotten caught. The last few years I have been dealing with uncontrollable guilt. If you were in my position, you would too.

I had spent many hours trying to hide the dark thoughts, knowing they wouldn't help me, but after losing Erica, they all resurfaced.

This is all my fault. If I had known that we were all being fooled. If I wasn't so weak-minded that I couldn't see the obvious truth right in front of me. If I wasn't such a bad spy, I could have destroyed the mind-control machine and saved the lives of so many. If I could have shot my old friends and put an end to all of this. But I didn't, and because of that, this is all my fault.

I was always the weakest one of the team. I didn't even get truly accepted into the academy, unlike all my friends. They always had to look after me. And of course, once we lost, they all created a rebellion, while I sat on my butt, wallowing in my failures.

And once I decided to actually try to do something, all I did was destroy the last hope for this world. Now, Erica, the leader of the rebellion, and the only person who could save the world, is captured by the most despicable people in the world. And guess what, that too, is all my fault.

I wasn't strong enough to be able to fight and save myself. I was dead weight and Erica sacrificed her life for it. Joshua will probably publicly execute her just so everyone can watch and see how much of a failure I am.

I look at the paper in my hand, and then at the door in front of me. They have the same exact address. This small house is the rebellion.

I start to raise my arm to knock but my worries stop me again. Do I really want to join them? I will probably only cause them more trouble. As I'm only dead weight. And at times like this, dead weight is deadly. I would only hurt the rest of my friends. They created an entire rebellion that was able to fight the most powerful people in the world without me. They never needed me. Plus, I would be coming with bad news. The first thing that I did with them was get Erica captured.

I decide to drop my arm and walk away from the rebellion, from what I could end up destroying. But then, something caught my eye.

Erica wrote on the back of the paper, "I need YOU Ben. The rebellion needs you. You can get my revenge for me. Please avenge me."

Erica was right. She was in danger, and I couldn't leave her there. So, I wiped the tears running down my face and knocked on the door. When it opens, I see a familiar face.

"Ben!" Mike screams and pulls me into a hug.

He sees the tears in my eyes and asks, "hey bro, what happened?"

I choke out, "I failed!"