They Don't Own Me

Chapter 34

"Can you walk?" he asked her.

"I've been shot, not disabled. I can handle a bit of pain."

Chris gave her a small smirk. With one arm wrapped around her waist and the other holding his gun, the two hurried down the halls, following the trail of broken security cameras. Every step cause a small shot of pain to go through Ivy but she did not say a word and kept moving. The two came to the end of the hall and were met with a hallway on either side of them. They paused to look down both, noticing burnt cameras in both directions.

"Which way?" Ivy breathed.

Chris was about to respond when he heard someone behind him. But before he could react, Ivy was ripped from his side. The girl cried out when someone grabbed her and pulled her against their chest. Chris spun around and aimed his gun at Ivy and her captor.

"I wouldn't," a voice said. Ivy's brows furrowed when she recognized the voice of the man behind her.

"What do you want, Victor?" Chris said, not dropping his gun.

"I'm not going to shoot her if that's what you're thinking."

"Then why do you have a gun to her head?"

Ivy's eyes widened slightly when she realized that he was right; she felt a cold metal against her head.

"Because if I didn't, I wouldn't have your attention."

"You're right. You'd be dead."

"Will you just listen to me? I know we've had our differences, but I'm here to help."

"Why?" Ivy questioned before Chris could.

"You want my honest answer? I don't know. I should shoot you both like I was ordered, but I'm not going to. Your friends went down that way, toward the hangar." He motioned to the hall behind Chris. "But before you go, knock me out. WCKD needs to believe you got away and not that I let you escape."

"Thanks for the directions," Ivy told him. "Sorry for this."

Before either man could move, Ivy swung her elbow into Victor's gut. The man grunted in pain, hunching over. Ivy quickly got out of his grip, twisting his arm behind him. With as much strength as she could muster, Ivy swung the guard, slamming his face into the brick wall. She winced slightly when she heard a crunch before Victor slid to the ground.

"What the h*ll?" Ivy looked at Chris. "Where did that come from?"

"I lived with a bunch of hormonal teenage boys for over three years. Kinda had to lean to protect myself."

"Fair enough." Ivy almost laughed when he shrugged, acting as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "Come on. We need to move."

Ivy nodded and followed after Chris. They picked up their pace, continuing down the series of halls. At one turn, Ivy felt a wince in her arm. She put her hand on the bandaged area, wincing again when she felt a small shot of pain go through her.

Must have ripped some stitches, she thought. But the thought was ignored as they came to a large door. Chris pulled out his ID card and swiped it. The scanner beeped, showing a green light and the words 'Access Denied' and the doors didn't open. Chris swiped the ID again only to get the same results.

"Come on," he muttered in annoyance. "They must have revoked my access after they saw us on the security cameras. I can see the Berg from here; Isaac and Nicole are almost there. If I can hack the door, then we can get through."

Suddenly, the sound of voice caught their attention. The two looked back down the hall.

"Down this way!"