Remember

Chapter Sixteen (edited)

 The muscle's in Colette's legs burned as she tried to keep up with Kaden. Luckily, the other hallways they ran through still had light or else she was sure she would have lost her companion by now considering the other had up and disappeared already. They took so many twists and turns that the map she had tried to burn into her mind became no help and she had no idea how close they were to the exit. She could only hope Kaden knew where he was going, she did not want to be trapped in this government building any longer.

Jordy was still nowhere in sight and as they ran further and further the feeling in her gut worsened. What if the guards had caught him? What if he did not make it out in time? Colette shook the thoughts out of her head as they rounded the last corner. Her body practically sagged in relief as she spotted the door to the outside of the building at the very end of the seemingly long hallway. The exhaustion that had built up in every single one of her muscles made it feel like she was running in slow motion down hallways that seemed to go on forever.

Colette could feel her legs starting to give out on her and she staggered into the wall to her right. Kaden heard her slam into the wall and turned around to help her. "Come on, we're so close. You can do it." Her chest heaved with all the effort. She was not athletic, she never had been. The only thing that had been pushing her forward was the adrenaline pumping through her veins, but even that was beginning to dissipate quite quickly.

She took a deep breath in, bracing herself against Kaden as she caught her breath. "Just one more second please." She begged as she slipped past his grip and leaned into the cold wall. Black spots were beginning to cloud her vision and her head was spinning. One more step and Colette thought she might pass out, but before she could fully recover shouts echoed down the hallway and guards followed.

"It's now or never Collie." She somehow managed to find the energy in her to peel herself off the wall and run. Kaden's arm snaked around her waist and became the only thing keeping her from collapsing to the ground and becoming the guards' next victim.

They ran and ran until the two of them finally slammed through the door at the end of th hallway. A burst of cool air hit their faces as another deafening alarm echoed through the building behind them. The Paradisium Federation really was serious about keeping them locked in that place forever.

Colette and Kaden paused momentarily as the heavy door slammed shut behind them and the alarm could no longer be heard through the thick walls of the government building. There was a moment of silence as they desperately drank in the air around them. It tasted like freedom and hope and, for once, something good. A fit of hysterical laughter cut through the dead silent night as the two still clung onto each other to stay upright. Perhaps the laughter came from the strange air that was outside or perhaps it was the strong feeling of relief that flooded through both of them that caused its release.

"It's not over yet." Jordy's voice silenced their laughter. "They'll hunt us down to the ends of the earth just to shove us back into that room. We need to go if we want a head start on losing them." Jordy's annoyed voice snapped the two back into reality. Colette's face fell as she spotted him leaning against a crumbling building. Of course he had to ruin the moment of relief to strike fear into them again.

"Just give us a second. She's going to pass out if she doesn't recover herself and then all of this will have been for nothing." Kaden glanced at her as Jordy scoffed an inaudible word that resembled closely to 'whatever'. Even outside the Paradisium Federation walls the world still revolved around Jordy, but he was right. The guards were close behind them and Colette had a feeling they were not going to stop just because they had all made it outside the building.

Colette barely made it to the wall where Jordy was before falling into it and hitting the rubble littered ground. She did not think she could go much further. She leaned her head back against the building and looked around her. It was so dark outside, so black that it she was hardly able to make out anything further than five feet in front of her. It was the first time she had been outside since she broke the simulation and at this moment she wanted nothing more than to run back inside.

Everything here seemed so foreign to her. The air carried a putrid smell of rotting food and smoke. Everywhere she looked, as far as she could tell, was complete and utter destruction. There was trash and broken things everywhere. Overgrown weeds and crumbling buildings decorated with graffiti that did not leave one inch of the brick left to see. There was a run down building to her left that looked like it might have been a corner store at one point. The bent and blinking lamp in front of it showed little of the inside, but from what she could see it looked picked through and ransacked. No doubt from the scientists as they tested their serums.

She sighed and closed her eyes before tipping her head further back and looking up at the sky. Something about it just seemed so strange, like it was missing an essential part of what it was supposed to be. The stars. There were no stars. Had whatever the Paradisium Federation was so afraid of really broken the world so much that there were no stars left? Had they destroyed the world that terribly? Even the moon seemed to shed little light to the pitch black sky.

Before she could think further the doors to the Paradisium Federation building were thrown open, slamming against the outer brick of the building and, once again, Colette was getting hauled to her feet, this time by Jordy. The boys looked at each other wide eyed and then nodded as if there was an unknown secret language between them that only they understood. She had, had that connection with Madie and watching them made her stomach clench with sadness. Colette would find Madie and she would make the world right again, the Paradisium Federation was not going to keep her from doing so.

"Just go, take Colette and run. I'll slow them down. I promise I won't be too far behind." Jordy hesitated before wrapping his arm around Colette's waist and running towards more destruction in the distance. She only glanced back long enough to see Kaden standing in front of the three guards with his hands clenched into fists at his sides. She could feel the wind pick up around them and then debris was flying everywhere. It only took a few moments to pass the rubble of the once corner store and to more buildings destroyed beyond recognition. It seemed the further they ran, the more destruction there was.

Colette tripped over a broken piece of furniture, falling into Jordy and almost causing him to tumble as well. He grunted in effort of pulling her entire weight back up, but said nothing. "Do you even know where we are going?" She finally asked between pants.

"Just shut up and run. I can't hold you up all by myself, you're a lot heavier than you look." Colette frowned and put less of her weight on him. She had gained a little bit of her strength back, but not much and she was afraid she would not be gaining anymore anytime soon.

It felt like forever had passed before she finally heard another set of footsteps sound behind her and Kaden appeared by her side. "Turn right. We will take shelter in that building until the morning. I think I lost them for now but I'm sure they'll find us eventually."

Jordy nodded as he let go of Colette and handed her over to Kaden who seemed just as drained as her. Colette shook him off. "It's fine, I'll be fine." Kaden was sweating and panting like a dog. Luckily, the building was not very far off and they would not have to run for much longer. Hopefully the break would not allow for the Paradisium Federation guards to catch up and haul them back to the facility. They would not be able to escape a second time.

Colette practically collapsed onto the cold, hard floor of the building. It was no different than the other run down buildings they had passed as they ran. If anything, it seemed that the further off they got from the Paradisium Federation building, the more worn down and disgusting the world was. It was disgusting and depressing. She was almost grateful for living in the simulation. Even if the Paradisium Federation had no right to do such a thing without them being aware, at least she had grown up in a beautiful world.

After finally calming her breathing and calming down from the events, she sat up and looked between the boys. Jordy was already half asleep and snoring as he laid on his back, his arm draped over his eyes. Kaden was still sitting up and staring blankly into the darkness beyond the building. Hopefully nothing was staring back. There was no telling what kind of creatures now roamed this world.

Colette pushed herself up off the ground and winced at the pain that shot through her leg muscles -- they were going to feel like hell in the morning. She walked over to where Kaden sat and stared down at him, clearing her throat loudly to gain his attention. "So are you going to tell me where we are going or is there not an actual plan?"

At first, it was like he didn't even hear her, but right as she was about to repeat her question he turned to her and spoke. "We are going to find Madeline."