The Elementists- Part 4

Chapter Two

The lab is dark and quiet. Jillian swims in circles, looking at the damage. How did this happen?Was this some kind of flash flood or something? How do I get out of here? She wonders.

The entire building is flooded. Jill guesses they're probably underground.

She swims through the hole in the ceiling of the lab to the floor above. From the looks of it, it was some kind of lounge or break room for the mad scientists.There's no one there now. It's all terrible.She's the only one who could breathe underwater. Did the others have abilities? She'll never know now.

She swims from room to room. They're all either rooms for experiments or rooms for the scientists. No exits. Until finally she emerges from one room into a long hallway. At the end is a flickering sign reading EXIT.

Hang on... if that sign's still working, that means this place still has electricity!The water could get shocked at any time! I have to get out of here,fast.

She swims down the hall and pushes the door open. She's pushes forward with the current as the water drains all at once into this new, dry room. When she settles she looks around. The water's settled and evened out in this strange cave-like place. She sits on the floor and her head's out of the water. She breathes air.

The water's still rushing into this cave from the main building. Jill staggers to her feet and shuts the door. She fights the current to do so, but manages.

Finally, she's safe.

Her eyes sweep over the cave. It looks basically like an ordinary cave, except for the huge door that leads to the labs. Her white dress is soaked. She shivers as a breeze whispers and echoes off the stone. Wait... wind! She grins.She's near the exit! She must be!

She wades through the cave. The water level still seems to be rising, very slowly. At least that won't be too much of a problem for her. She finds another door.This one leads to a small room, like a closet. It's full of supplies, in case of emergency.

Perfect.

She finds on a shelf a bag of dried fruit. Not even caring exactly what it is, she tears the bag open and shoves a handful in her mouth. As she swallows she can almost feel energy flowing through her. Real energy, like people are supposed to have after eating food. Who knows how they've been keeping her alive. Injected nutrients, probably. She empties two bags and finally starts to feel well.

Jill finds a backpack with waterproof lining inside. Perfect. She shuffled around the room for things to fill it with. She finds some more bags of dried fruit and a few changes of clothes for when she finally gets out of here.She squeezes the water out of her hair and dress. There's a leather belt she finds, and she puts it around her waist. She slides a knife into its sheath. She finds a hair tie and pins her hair back.

Finally she's ready to escape. She seals the backpack shut and shoulders it. She opens the closet door and stops dead in her tracks. Standing before her is the man who opened the door and killed everyone.

"Why, hello there,"he says in a sickly sweet voice.

Jill narrows her eyes.

"I understand your suspicion. I'm impressed you survived." He plasters an artificial smile on his pale face. "I thought a quick death would be much more humane than drowning slowly."

"You denied them a chance to survive at all!" Jill cries in outrage.

"You speak!" hegasps. He recovers so quickly that Jill wonders if she imagined his shock. "What is your name, girl?"

She hesitates.

The man sighs with false patience. "Alright. We'll strike a deal. You answer my questions and I'll help you get out of here."

Slowly, Jillian nods."OK. My name is Jillian."

He looks relieved."Finally, we're getting somewhere! Alright. The water level is rising so we must be quick."

Jill shrugs. "Not really. I can breathe."

Frightening interest sparks in his grey eyes. "You're the one who breathes water?Interesting..." he strokes his chin thoughtfully.

She shifts uncomfortably.

He steps aside for her to exit the closet. "I'll lead the way out. It's quite a maze!"

She walks back into the cave. The water level has risen a few inches already. The man moves to an enormous pair of double doors, and starts typing something into a panel on the wall at a dizzying speed.

I guess I do need him to get out. I wouldn't have been able to get out those doors.

A few seconds later the doors grind open and a long corridor lights up automatically. Jill walks forward,following the man down the corridor.

Something doesn't feel right. The water feels different in here. The man seems to notice it,too. He stops walking and turns to Jill with a puzzled expression.

Jillian spots it first.A wire under the water, a ways away. Even from this distance she can tell it's been cut with a blade.

Someone wanted this water electrocuted.