All Clear?

To our surprise and delight, leaving the abandoned building was a piece of cake. No one tried to stop us. Not Davies, not Eagle Eyes, not any of the many soldiers. No one. The hallways were vacant. Outside was an eerie calm. All the streetlights were lit (Eagle Eye's work.) I wanted to be happy. I wanted to celebrate, but it seemed too good to be true. I knew we couldn't be out of the woods yet.

Meanwhile, high in the sky, on the top floor, Eagle Eyes studies us through the scope on his sniper rifle while Todd sits behind a desk and works on the blue prints. "I could pick them off one by one. It wouldn't difficult at all." Eagle Eyes says. "Then why don't you?" Todd asks. "Because where is the fun in that? I want a challenge." "So, we strike in the middle of the night?" "We strike when they least suspect it. I want a worthy challenger. Don't worry. I know they can't go far."

Bury Zip

Zip had never stepped foot in the Waiting Room before so he had no idea there was no escape, but he would soon find that out. He groped the walls and searched for an exit. "Where's the door?" "There is no door." I reply. "Then how do we get out of here?" Olivia points in the other direction to the E.R. Zip squints. Olivia sighs. "We go back into the medical wing." Zip shakes his head. "No, we can't do that." "And why not?" Olivia asks. "Because if you leave through that door they'll know I helped you. They'll question me. I don't know what to tell them. I don't know why I helped you." "Then what do you suggest we do?" I ask. Zip snaps his fingers. "I got it." He then lays down on the floor. "Bury me." "What?" I say. "Just throw some of the rubble on me." "Don't have to tell me twice." Norm replies. "Wait. And then what? Won't you still get chewed out if we overpowered you?" I question. "I will, but trust me. It will look much better for me if it looks like I'm hurt." Olivia looks to me. "I don't mind." We spent the next ten minuets burring Zip in bits of the coach and wall. When he was up to his neck we decided to stop. "There that should be good. I can move my right arm, but not much else." "What if they don't find you right away?" I ask. Zip stares at me for a moment as if it were the stupidest question I could ask. "Are you kidding? I'm very important. All those soldiers know where I went. I won't be gone for long." Norm, Olivia and I shake our heads. "Now get out of here while you can."

Command the Crowd

Going back in to the barracks was like being fed to the wolves. There was a commotion as soon as we stepped foot in the room. There was yelling and screaming. Some even through garbage at us. It was chaos. That is until Zip entered. "Quiet. Everybody. Quiet." He had an unusual command of the room. All eyes were on him, and no one dared to speak. "I assume you all know who these three are?" The crowed raged once more. "Quiet! I didn't say to speak. My disdain for these three matches if not surpasses all of you. But right now I turn my disgust on you." He says marching down the barracks. "How did these three get past an entire room of so called soldiers?" A wimpy soldier raised his hand. Zip directed his attention to him. "I was looking around and I think there's a hole in the wall." "I didn't ask how they entered. I asked how they got past you." The soldier gulps. "I don't know." "You don't know? Does anybody know?" He asks, directing the other soldiers. No one answers. "No one knows? That's fine. No breakfast for anybody." Some moaning is heard. "And no one leaves this room. I will take these three back to the Waiting Room and discipline them myself, but no one is to leave this room."

Lights On

In an attempt to locate a door Olivia accidentally hit the light switch. As you may have guessed it caused the soldiers to stir. It falsely made them think it was time to wake. "We have to get out of here." I say. "No shit." Olivia replies. "Shut up, shut up. It's this way." Norm shouts, pointing to a slightly opened door. We follow him as he scurries past the bunk beds. It seemed as though we were in the clear until we walked through and saw Zip on the other side with his arms crossed. "You're trying to escape, aren't you?" "Back off, Zip." Olivia shouts. "I don't want to stop you, but you can't go this way. Eagle Eyes and Davies are around the corner." "Then what do you suggest?" I ask. "Go back in there." He says, pointing to the barracks. "Are you nuts?" Olivia shouts. "Go back in there. I'll say that I caught you." "And then what?" I ask. "Don't worry." "No, I'll worry." "Don't worry." He repeats, but this time more sternly.

the Barracks

The three of us groped the walls of the Waiting Room. Olivia and I hoped that perhaps Norm could find a hinge or a button that we missed, but no such luck. We could not find any doors and knew once again that this was not the way out. "Back to the E.R.?" I suggest. "No way. That's suicide going back there." Norm shouts. "Well we can't go in through the barracks." I reply. "Sure we can." Olivia says. "What are you talking about that's even worse." "No it's not. They're all sleeping." Olivia started to walk out of the Waiting Room. Norm followed closely. I stood where I was, dumbfounded. After a minute , Olivia realized I wasn't following. "Come on, we'll be quiet."  I didn't want to argue anymore. I sighed and walked with them.
The entrance to the barracks had missing 2 by 4's from where Zip exited. We quietly entered, making  sure not to make a sound. It was pitch black, so all the more reason to be careful. The only noise we heard was snoring. Believe it or not, that was surprisingly helpful.  It allowed us to gage how far we could walk to any one side. Olivia guided the way with myself and Norm closely behind her. In no time we reached the end of the  barracks. The only problem was we hit another wall.

The Rescue

Olivia pushed Zip to the ground which caused him to drop his gun. "What the hell are you doing?" She shouted. "I'm helping." "You're helping? Get out of here."  Zip picked himself off he ground and grabbed his gun. "You really want me to leave?" He asked. "Yes, go." Without saying another word Zip walked down the hall. "He can turn on us you know." I say. " Yeah, I know. I know the pink hearts can wear off any minute, but I don't care. I'd rather not have him involved if that's how he is going to help." Olivia and I continued to work on the wall. Admittedly Zip's reckless firing did help. Because of that we were able to get to the other side in no time. There we saw the saddest thing. Norm was in the corner of the room tucked into a ball. He was shaking like crazy. I had never seen him look more like a frightened animal than at that moment. I slowly walked over to Norm. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder. This proved to be a bad idea. He quickly uncurled himself and clawed my wrist. I stepped back in shock, and pressed my left hand up against my wrist. Olivia not wanting to take any more chances, shot Norm with pink hearts. The effect caused him to sit down on the floor. His face then looked tired and melancholy. He knew exactly what he had done. "Did I hurt you?" He asked. "You did, but you you didn't mean to. It was all the adrenaline." Olivia answers. "Yeah, I guess so. Why were you guys firing at the wall?" "We weren't." I reply, ripping off a piece of my cape to wrap around my wrist. "That was Zip." Olivia adds. "He's not here, is he?" "No, he's not." Norm exhales. "Good. Shall we get out of here?" Olivia looks at the boarded up door. "No, not that way. They've been banging on that door. We gotta leave the way you came in." "But that's where Zip came from." I reply. Olivia glances at the hole in the wall. "It doesn't matter. Either way they'll catch up to us."

Help?

There was no authority in that voice, and even if there were there was still no reason for me to respect it. Olivia and I were trapped. Put their by soldiers with guns. They were not our friends. They were not our allies. We had no reason to listen. Olivia and I continued to bang and scrape the wall with our make shift tools. "I said stop."  The voice commanded. Olivia turned around and shot a pink heart down the hall. I couldn't tell if it hit its intended target, but when there was a sudden silence I naturally assumed it did its job. Eventually we were able to create a small hole. Olivia readied the table leg. She was going to strike the wall and make the opening wider, but before she could the voice called out again. "I know what you're doing." "Yeah, good luck trying to stop us." Olivia sneers. "I'm not trying to stop. I want to help. " I turned around to see Zip standing there with the utmost sincere face. "You want to help? Grab something and smash the wall." Olivia said. "No need to." Zip then pushed past us and without warning he took out his gun, firing at the wall several times.