The Clone and I (gxg)

Chapter 10

By the time we got to the bus, everyone was hurriedly clambering onto the bus through the open door. The alarm was still loud at the bottom of the hill, and you could see the panic in everyone's eyes as they looked around for guards or the police.

"Everyone on the bus! Sit on laps if you need to! There won't be enough seats!"

It took a little more time, but the alarm in the distance made everyone move faster. We had almost 80 people to get onto the bus, but it was only built to hold about 50 adults, so laps became a necessity for people that didn't want to sit on the floor. It was compounded by the fact that it was an old one, still powered by gasoline, and some of the seats were worn down from decades of use or neglect.

But we did it.

Zero jumped into the driver's seat, and I knelt next to her, my hands wrapped behind her back for support. I was afraid to speak, but I had to trust Zero, right? But for the first time since I had started this whole plan, I felt fear. Before long, the bus was roaring to life, and we were racing along the darkened street past the front of the school before the campus faded into the darkness behind us. I hadn't gone anywhere beyond back and forth to the school, and the occasional night out for dinner, in ages, so I had no idea where we were going or where we even were. As dark as it was outside, I don't think I would have known where I was anyway.

Several times, we slid around a corner on the old tires, and everyone in the back screamed in terror, but Zero kept us going. After a bit, it became fun. Not like, I can't wait to do it again, fun, but in what I assumed was the feeling of a roller coaster fun, where you're having fun while scared at the same time. Regardless of the alarm, and the scary driving in an overcrowded bus in the dark, I still believed in Zero. We were going to do this, and I'd be by her side at the end.

"Where are we?" I asked Zero when the driving smoothed out.

"We're almost there. We're going to borrow a train." She turned to me with a smirk, and then winked. I don't think I'd ever wanted to kiss her more than at that moment!

She turned down a road that led behind a strip mall, and we started bouncing over the uneven pavement before I saw a chain link gate across the road up ahead. "Do I need to open that?" I asked, pointing at the gate.

"Nope, just hang on." She put her arm around me, pulling me closer before yelling out. "Hang on everyone!" There was a lot of screaming, and then the front of the bus crumpled a bit as it tore through the gate, though the fence was blasted open. Steam started coming from under the hood, but it didn't matter, in under a minute, we were parking the bus next to a small platform with an older electric train with a pair of cars next to it. "Everyone out, and into the train!"

Zero led the way off, with me right behind her. The door to the rear car was opened, and a figure stepped out waving people up. Zero pulled me aside and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. Go follow them, okay?"

"Can I stay with you?" I asked, not wanting to leave her alone. The next part was the hard part!

"No, they'll keep you safe till we're ready. We'll be chased soon, so we don't have time to waste." I nodded, and she gave me a little nudge, and I joined the group of people headed up to the train. I looked over my shoulder, but she was keeping everyone moving along so we could get them to safety.

To my shock, the figure by the train was Zendaya. I stared at her in confusion for a moment before I realized it must be another clone, as she didn't have the little scar next to her lip. I stepped up into the train, where a door on the other side was also open to a platform with the snow cleared off, and a parking lot with two shiny charter buses in it. A third Zendaya waited there, making my mind spin even more, and she was with the remaining girls that hadn't been living on campus. Was that what Zero was going to do? Grab me from the house if I hadn't helped? I liked the way I did it better, because now I felt like I contributed more.

And I got to spend more time with Zero.

"Everyone get onto the buses!" the third Zendaya said. "We need to leave soon, so no waiting!"

Yeah, I waited. I wasn't leaving without Zero, and I wanted to finish the plan with her! I stayed near the train, and then all the students were finally through. I'd got hugs from Cindy, Candy and Lane, but I still didn't see Zero. Finally, the second Zendaya came out of the train, and looked at me with a frown.

"Come on, get on the bus."

"I'm going with Zero!" I told her. "I'm not letting her go alone!"

"M!" I heard Zero call from the doorway. "Go with my sisters, please. I need to know you're safe."

"No!" I cried out, taking a step towards her, only to be held back by the other Zendaya. "You're not leaving me like this! I told you I wanted to do this with you!"

"I know, and I'm sorry I said yes, but you can't go with me. I don't know if I can keep you safe! I needed them to chase us so it looks like we're all on the train, and I need to be the bait."

"I'm not asking you to! I just can't leave you to do this alone! We were supposed to be a team for this!"

"M, I'll meet you at the end, I promise." She gripped the door handle, and slammed it shut, and I heard the metallic click of the lock.

"No! Zero! Come back!" I cried out. The other Zendaya let me go as I rushed to the door, tugging on the handle, and then banging on it when the lock still held. I could feel the hot tears pouring down my cold cheeks as I knew what she was going to do. She was drawing off all the pursuit, and she'd have to be on her own for that. But she was supposed to be with me!

"Meet us in the bus, we have to go," said the other Zendaya. "I'm sorry, I know this hurts."

I just looked at her with tears in my eyes, and she couldn't meet my gaze. She just turned and walked away, leaving me standing outside the train, all alone. And then that train engine started up. At first it was a loud whine at the front from the electric engine, but then it grew louder. Zero was leaving. I started to move along the train, frantically banging on the windows, and hoping one would break, but none did. However, moving like that made something pinch my belly, and I reached into my pocket to find the forgotten gun I'd taken off the other guard. I didn't know a lot about guns, but I'd seen them in shows when I was younger, and they always used them to shoot open locks. I ran back to the doorway, found the little safety on the side of the gun and flipped it off, placed the barrel against the handle, and pulled the trigger.

The gun was loud, but the handle broke right off, leaving a hole in the door. I tugged it to the side, and the door started to slide open just as the train started. I pulled harder, and it opened more, and I wedged myself into the opening, which allowed me to use all my weight to get it open more. Zero wasn't going anywhere without me!