I could hear the footsteps inching closer, the sound of their footfalls becoming louder with each passing second. The ladder hovered above us, waiting for us to get on.
The first thing on my mind: was this a trap? Tyson could always be with the Institute all along, just pretending to be my friend. Or, he could be the real deal, trying to help us escape.
"Spencer, you first," I ordered. "Tyson, follow."
Spencer shook his head. "Lauren, you first. Those guys are after you more than us."
"You're freezing." His ears and cheeks were red. His teeth chattered in the cold. He clearly wasn't handling the cold well, and it's not like I'm gonna get him sick in the middle of a mission. "You first, Tyson follow, Aidan next, I'll go on last."
My tone was strict and the boys didn't argue or question. When it was an arms reach away, I held onto it, making sure it wasn't gonna blow away as we climbed up. Spencer grabbed onto the rope ladder, pulling himself up.
Once he was up, Tyson grabbed on, climbing up. The wind started blowing harder, the snow falling faster. It should've been able to slow down the guards after us, but their footsteps were going the same pace as before, the crunch of the snow with each step rang in my ears.
They have guns, I thought. They always had guns, no matter the circumstances. If Aidan and I don't reach the top in time, they're probably gonna shoot us down.
What ever happened to 'they'd never hurt the evolutians'?
"Go," I told Aidan once Tyson was up. "We don't have much time."
"You first," He stated.
I looked at him with wide eyes. "I said I was going last. You first."
"Is this really the time to argue, Lauren?" He questioned.
"You started it," I countered. "Now, move."
Too late. Passed the trees, you could here voices. A loud, very familiar voice was leading the group - Mr. Mustache's. It wasn't long until we were surrounded.
"Now look what happened, we're both gonna get caught," I complained. "If you just got on that ladder instead of arguing."
"You know, Lauren, your great with all this using-your-powers stuff but not much on math," Aidan stated. "I knew the guards would get here before both of us made it up. I wanted you to get up there."
Did he really just say that? I thought to myself. Or was it the howling wind playing tricks on me?
"Freeze!" Mr. Mustache yelled. He held his revolver up as did the other ten of them. All were pointed at us.
What's going on? Spencer's voice popped into my mind. Why isn't one of you up yet?
I didn't respond. I just stood there in fear, not knowing what to do.
"Lauren," Aidan said my name. "Lauren, get on the ladder."
"They're gonna shoot us."
"They might, but they can't risk shooting and killing you," He stated. "Now, go."
I didn't talk back at that. Instead, grabbing onto the ladder, I pulled myself up towards what hopefully would be safety. Halfway up, I looked down. I wasn't generally scared of heights but looking down through the bear trees and seeing the guns pointing at me made me gulp.
The question was: why weren't any of them shooting?
I looked back up, my eyes being attacked by snowflakes. There were only a few more steps until the helicopter. I could make it alive, possibly.
A man reached out a hand once I reached the top. I grabbed a hold of it, pulling myself in. I finally felt the cold air from outside and started shivering on the spot.
"You okay?" The man asked, wrapping a blanket around me. I nodded while shivering. He guided me into a seat, then was wrapped in Spencer's arms.
Aidan's head popped through the entrance, pulling himself inside. He was breathing heavily, using the wall of the copter to keep him up.
"They're... following... us..." He breathed. "I... couldn't... convince them... to stop..." He took a seat in the last empty chair. "Get this thing off autopilot... and start moving faster."
The man, I'm guessing now that it was Tyson's uncle, closed to hatch and headed towards the controls.
When he left, I turned to Tyson. "Is that...?"
"My uncle? Yes," He responded. "Uncle Alex was my mom's brother. Was, as in, before she died. He lives in Beverly Hills so yeah... this helicopter wasn't too much of a problem to get."
I looked at him strangely. "But... don't celebrities live there? Is your uncle famous?"
He gave a small smile. "Possibly."
"Well, if he's famous, why don't you live with him?" I questioned. "Imagine all the cool stuff you could get."
"Sometimes, fame isn't for everyone, Laur," He explained. "I'd rather be a normal kid."
"Yeah, like being the foster child of a millionaire is normal," Aidan stated. The four of us broke into laughs, which stopped at the sound of gunshots.
"What was that?" I asked at the copter started shaking. Was it the wind, or did something happen to the wing?
Tyson tapped on his mic, one that I didn't know he and Spencer were wearing. "Uncle Alex, is everything alright?"
I knew it couldn't be so I didn't wait for an answer. I stuck my head out the window and there they were. Riding on a jet, following us were guards from the Institute - the same ones that we left moments ago. Come on, can everyone own a flying vehicle these days?
They had their guns out and ready, blasting the copter. The tail was missing a piece to it, making the helicopter loose stability.
"This thing's gonna crash!" I yelled. "They're right behind us."
"How?" Spencer asked. "It's only been a few minutes since we left that spot."
I shrugged. "Tyson, tell your uncle to land. Now. Or we're toast. Aidan, help me try and stop these guys."
"With what?" Aidan asked. "It's not like we have guns."
I rolled my eyes. "But last time I checked, we can both throw fiery balls at people we don't like. Now move."
But before we could reach the window, I felt our world fall, crashing into the ever so soft blanket below us.
-- : --
The cold snow numbed my back. My legs. My arms. It came as a shocker that I wasn't dead.
Somehow, I survived the crash.
I lifted my head with pain rushing through my body. Two other bodies littered the ground - Spencer and Aidan's. Tyson and his uncle were checking their pulses.
Tyson saw me first. "They'll be fine," He assured. "Are you?"
I nodded. "What happened? Why aren't we back at the Institute? Shouldn't they have captured us."
He hesitated on answering. "I'll - I'll let Aidan explain when we're in safety. I don't think it worked that effectively. The guards will be back."
"What worked?" I question. Everything spun. Everything was numb. I should be dead but here I am. Escaping death once again.
Both Aidan and Spencer jolted awake right then. Both looked around, seeing the damaged copter and people. Spencer crawled over to me and wrapped me in his arms again.
"You're warm," He mumbled into my hair. "What conditioner are you using?"
"What does me being warm having anything to do with my conditioner?" I laughed.
Aidan stood up and looked around. We weren't in the forest anymore, but in a large, plain white field. A city was maybe a kilometer south of us and what looked like a palace was in the distance.
"That's home, isn't it?" He asked. Aidan has never been there after going to the Institute when he was ten. He had no memory of it at all. I couldn't tell if he was excited or nervous to be this close.
"We have to get to the palace," Alex explained. "It's gonna be a long walk."
I tried getting up, pain shooting up my left leg as a put pressure on it. Spencer looks at me with worry in his eyes but I assure him that I'm fine.
Though, I think I may have broken a bone.
"So, there's no car waiting for us in some parking lot?" I questioned. I wanted Spencer to say something but he was too focused on a particular house at the edge of town.
"What's up, Spencer?" Tyson asked.
"I left my car at Kassandra's," He stated. "I think I'm just gonna..."
Oh, I knew exactly what he was thinking. He wanted to see Kassandra again. I knew they mostly spent time at school and this would probably be a nice Christmas gift for her.
But, hell no, I ain't letting him abandon ship right now.
"So, how many can fit in the car?" I asked. "Five, right?"
He hesitated. "No, not exactly. The back seats have stuff in there. Two max."
I know you don't want me to visit, but please? He begged me. It's funny how sometimes, I'm the older sibling here.
I shook my head. "But you and Tyson's uncle could go get the car and meet us at the palace. We'll just teleport there - I could take Tyson with me. It won't be hard."
Spencer looked at all of us. He looked uncomfortable being the center of attention. "Fine," He sighed, then turned to Alex. "Don't embarrass me."
The older man grinned. "I'll try not to."
Something told me that the two knew each other - and that they were pretty close. With an arm slung over Spencer's shoulder, they headed off towards Kassandra's house.
I wonder how she'd react to her boyfriend visiting her at three in the morning asking for his car back.
When they were a good distance away, the three of us looked at each other, questioning what to do now.
"So, teleporting, I guess," Tyson said. "Don't you need a clear image of where you're going before you can get there?"
Aidan nodded. "I'm pretty sure Lauren here forgot about that part. Lauren, do you know what the palace looks like?"
I rocked back and forth on my heels, trying to get an image - any image, of the palace from the depths of my memory. But there was nothing.
"I guess we're walking then," Aidan stated. "Or ru-"
Tyson grabbed one of my arms and one of his. Moment later, I was experiencing the twisting of my insides I got every time I teleported myself. When I knew we stopped moving, I opened my eyes.
We were in the middle of the city. The quiet, semi-dark city. Christmas lights hung from balconies of building and a giant Christmas tree lit up the area. There were no people around, probably sleeping on this Christmas Eve.
What confused me most was how we got here.
Aidan looked at Tyson with wide eyes. "Did you just-"
"Yeah, I did," He admitted. He looked back like someone was following us. "They're close, I could feel it. It's been a while so I couldn't get us directly to the palace. We have to move fast if we don't want to get caught."
He started running down the street, right on the road. Aidan and I looked at each other, then followed.
Pain shot up my leg with every step I took but I couldn't let it stop me. If I slowed down, one of the boys would be there to help me. And if Tyson was right about the guards, I'd be risking their lives as well as mine.
That's when I heard the gun shots.
Both boys in front of me stopped as the alarm of a nearby car went off. A bullet went right through the glass on the driver side window.
It literally was inches away from my chest.
Three shots were fired, each hitting the next three cars beside us.
We started running faster, but of course, my leg slowed me down.
Tyson was waiting for me at an intersection as Aidan passed him. "Do you need help?" He asked.
I shook my head. "Just run. We're not going back after all this, right?"
He agreed but still looked at me like I was an injured deer. I told him once again that I was fine. We continued to run.
"Don't loose sight of them!" A voice boomed. I turned around to find a jeep right behind us, in it was Mr. Mustache and two other guards.
I gulped. We're screwed.
Tyson told me to turn a corner, said he'd bring up the rear. Aidan was just in front of me, looking back at the vehicle determined to run us over.
And then, bang! another bullet escaped their rifle. I collapsed to the ground, my left leg screaming in pain.
My own howls couldn't describe the pain I was in.
Blood soaked the snow around me turning it into an ugly crimson red. Aidan tried helping me up.
"Let go and start running," I croaked. "Just leave me here."
"Over my dead body, Lauren," He stated. "I still care about you, you know. I'm not leaving you here for dead."
His words were comforting - or would be if we weren't in this life-or-death situation where we really shouldn't be talking about feelings.
He helped me up, an arm slung around my shoulder to keep me up. He asked if we should continue running, but I told him to wait for a second.
Tyson and the jeep didn't turn the corner with us.
So where did they go?
I dragged Aidan with me back at the intersection to see the jeep headed towards Tyson. It didn't look like it was going to slow down any time soon.
"Tyson!" I yelled. "Get out of the way!"
But he didn't. He just stood there - actually, he didn't even stand. He was crouched down, looking like a cheetah ready to pounce at his meal.
With the jeep heading towards him, I could feel a wave of energy escaping from him, being applied to the ground. Moments later, the road and the snow on top of it rose like a giant wave. The jeep crashed backwards, wheels spinning as the vehicle laid upside down.
The boy literally lifted up the road and now it's just back in place. Both Aidan and I stood there in shock, not knowing that Tyson was capable of doing something like that.
"What the hell," Aidan muttered.
Tyson then pried the door of a car open and gestured for us to get in.
"You don't even have a key to this, do you?" I asked as I got into the back seat. He sat in the driver's seat with Aidan next to him.
"I do, actually," He stated, grabbing keys from his pocket. "Thank god Taylor left the car where I asked her to."
"Uh, who's Taylor?" Aidan asked.
Tyson started the car. "Someone. Now Lauren, how's your leg?"
"Fine, I guess." I mumbled.
"Okay, so, not fine," He said. He pulled the stick into 'drive'. "There are more guards after us. He have to get there fast."
He quickly started driving at a speedy sixty kilometers an hour, approximately twenty kilometers faster than the limit. I examined the gash on my leg, wincing at the sight.
There was a large tear in my sweatpants, which was now hardened with blood. The red stuff continued to flow, making my dizzy. The smell was strong, making me nauseous.
Minutes of silence passed. Then: "Shoot, there's more behind us."
I looked behind me, spotting another jeep. Gosh, these people were really desperate on catching us, I wonder how much we're worth.
Tyson picked up speed. I was so glad that no one else was on the road. If there was, I'm positive there would be an accident.
He slammed the breaks approximately two yards from what I assumed was the entrance. We clearly were able to drive right in and to the front courtyard of the palace, but we just stopped.
"We're out of gas, gotta walk the rest of the-"
Tyson's sentence was cut off by a bullet flying right above my head and through the front windshield. The glass shattered into a million pieces, cutting the three of us.
We all stumbled out of the car, the Institute's guards meters behind us. The three of us started running, heading for the front entrance. Two palace guards stood at the front. At the sight of us, they first just stared in shock until Tyson screamed for them to open the gate.
We stumbled inside once the gate was only maybe fifty centimeters wide. After thirty seconds of running, I collapsed to the ground, a horrible pain filling my body. The injury in my leg burned. The cuts from the glass stung. I couldn't make it to the front entrance.
The boys hovered above me, urging me to get up. We all knew we were safe but I could tell both of them were worried about me, when really they should be worried about themselves. Both of them were in terrible condition with cuts marking their body.
I didn't know if I was imagining it or not when one after the other, both of the boys fell onto the snow beside me.
The pain shot through me again, making me cry in pain. Looking up at the stars with my back pressed against the cold snow, I closed my eyes and blacked out.