Unbecoming Humans: Part 2

Chapter 18

Nima and I both looked back to make sure Zan and his small squad were following us as we sprinted in the opposite direction from where we had entered the sodden basement. There were three of them, and they were hot on our heels.

"Aria, where are we going?" Nima called up to me between heavy breaths. We were running straight at a dead end. I didn't waste energy on answering. Approaching the end of the hallway, I stopped dead in my tracks and threw my hand against the steel wall, hoping against hope that our luck would hold out.

Nima watched in horror as the Eden horde barreled towards us, cutting off any hope of escape. At the last possible second, a previously unseen barrier sled across the hallway, cutting off their hasty advance, and nearly taking Zan's nose off in the process. I let my hand fall to my side and the light from the biometric panel on the wall dissipated, concealing the spot from all except those who knew where it was.

"The others," Nima said with a desperate plea.

"We can't help them now. Either they're dead, or they got away." A heavy thud resounded against the steel barrier. The Eden squad was trying to get through, and as neglected as the house was, I wasn't sure how long it would hold.

"We have to go," I said between gasps. The sudden exertion had caught my body off guard, and my lungs and muscles were burning for oxygen.

"Go where?" Nima said, looking around the empty space I had trapped us in.

"My parents are paranoid," I said turning back to the wall from whence I'd summoned the barrier to cut off our would-be attackers. "It's annoying, but not completely useless."

I placed my hand against the unseen spot on the wall again, and it glowed beneath my palm. There was a beep of acknowledgement, and the dead end wall slid away to reveal a concrete passage.

"They hid escape routes all over the house, but you have to have access to the biometrics to get in. I doubt anyone's been through here since these tunnels were built." The wall slid shut behind us with a silent "woosh", and a few dim lights flickered to life, illuminating the passageway just enough to prevent us from tripping over the large chunks of concrete that had fallen away from the walls as the earth shifted around it.

We were silent, except for our footfalls. I kept glancing over at Nima. Her head hung low.

"Are you alright?" I asked tentatively.

"I'm just...worried," Nima replied. "Where are we going?" She changed the subject before I could press the topic.

I wanted to pry an explanation from her, but I thought better of it. "If we're lucky, away. There should be a hangar just around the corner here." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, we took a sharp right, and heavy door with steel cross-bars stood at the end of the hallway. Another biometric lock, this one not concealed like the others, was mounted on the wall next to the door. As we approached, I put my hand up to it, and it reacted immediately, flashing a green light at us, followed by the click of the door locks releasing.

Nima helped me push a the door open, and we found ourselves standing in a large, well-lit hangar. One of the sleek, black Eden planes sat in the center, waiting for the Zan and his cronies to return.

"This is how they got here so fast," I informed Nima unnecessarily. "If there's a pilot, let's get rid of them and get out of here before trouble shows up." Fortunately, the plane was facing away from the door we'd come through, so the pilot wouldn't be able to see us, if they were waiting dutifully in the cockpit.

"Aria, wait," Nima said, grabbing my arm as I started to walk towards the plane. "What about Aan and Doctor Puddy?"

My eyes grew wide. I had completely forgotten about the refugees we'd left back at Gilliad's base. I stared off into space, wracking my brain for a solution, but came up empty handed.