The Hooded Girl

Chapter 3: Escaping

RHEA'S POV
Aris kicks open the ventilation shaft and peers at us with eyes full of alarm.

"Girls, they're coming after us. We need to go. Now," He speaks hurriedly.

The four of us are on our feet immediately, Harriet and I jumping down from our top bunks to the floor, landing silently. I let the other girls go in before I do, not bothering to close the shaft behind me.

We crawl to a section that I haven't been to, even though I know where we're going. We're heading to the guys. Aris goes through an already-opened shaft and we climb out after him. There, the guys are fighting and they don't seem to even realise we're here.

When we step into the room, I stand behind Aris and the girls, nearer to the shaft in case anything unexpected happens.

That's when the boy with dark skin catches sight of us.

"Um guys..." He says, pointing at us.

"Hope y'all are done with your chit chat," Sonya says, sounding annoyed. "But seriously, what's up?"

It's past midnight but I didn't sleep. I had just laid on my bed, thinking and remembering, so I'm not in a mess. However, Quill's short blond hair is in a total mess. Sonya's too.

"They're coming for us," Thomas says, panicky, pushing things against the door.

"If you're barricading the door, then how do you suppose we get out?" Harriet asks with a raised eyebrow.

"The shafts," Thomas says, pulling a mattress off a bed and forcing it against the door.

The blond slams a hand on the mattress, getting Thomas's attention. Thomas is panting, eyes slightly wild, and the blond purses his lips at him, jaw clenched tightly.

"Tommy, what are you talking about?" He asks slowly, and I'm surprised by the fact that he has a British accent.

My eyes are drawn to the small scratch below his left eye, the red stark against his pale skin.

"They're coming. Me and Aris, we saw them. They're coming to get us. And we have to leave. Now," Thomas says.

"How, huh? How?! Some of us haven't been able to enjoy all this for a long time, Tommy! Some of us more longer than others!" The blond yells, his anger barely contained in his voice.

I let out a mirthless laugh involuntarily, but it draws everyone's attention to me as I step out from behind my friends.

"They. Are. Coming," I say slowly. "In less than two minutes they'll be at this door." I shake my head, pointing to their bunker's door. "And in less than five minutes they'll manage to break it down. In less than three, they'll be able to bring us all to death or capture. Guys, unless you didn't notice, we are in WICKED."

"What do you mean?" The boy with spiky hair asks, forehead creasing.

"This was not some stupid WICKED escape party. It's been WICKED all along. They're the ones who put us in the Maze. And we need to leave. Now," I say forcefully.

Harriet meets my eyes and nods. "Into the shafts. Aris, you lead."

"Where to?" Aris asks.

"Bring them to the nearest exit away from Janson. We need to get something else anyways," I instruct.

Aris nods and crawls in. The girls crawl behind him. Then the guys. I don't go, though. I push everything Thomas had placed up against the door aside and stand behind it, pulling my gun out from the holster.

"Go," I say to the blond, the last one left.

He looks hesitant but he does. Just as he disappears into the shaft, Janson bursts through the door aiming a gun at me, shock evident on his face.

"What is this?" He demands.

I find myself smiling wryly under the hood. "They've left. I stayed to do something though." I don't hesitate to lift my gun. I shoot both of his legs.

He cries out in pain as the WICKED guards train their weapons on me.

"You can't shoot me. You need me. Alive. It's a downside for you, don't you think?" I say, shifting the aim of my gun to another WICKED guard and firing.

I let loose the rest of my bullets, firing at the remaining WICKED guards before they can react, knowing that even though they have bulletproof vests on them, a shot to their bodies would at least knock them out. Janson is already slumped against the ground, blood pooling around him as he lies unconscious from the pain.

I run past him and to where they have put Teresa. No doubt Thomas would go there. I hope Aris remembered to disable the locks for the other side, though.

Sure enough, when I get to the area they'd placed Teresa in, there are a bunch of guards there. I shoot them all. Then I run through the door, and spiky hair dude appears in front of me. On the way out, I grab two bags on one of the shelves, knowing what's inside of them.

I catch up to Spiky, who looks at me in surprise. I don't speak though. I just keep running. I hand him a bag and he slings it over a shoulder without question.

I manage to run up to Harriet and Sonya and Quill, and then I slow down to keep pace with them.

"How the hell?" Quill asks, then shakes her head. "You know what, never mind."

I don't smile. I haven't smiled in a long time.

"Where to?" Thomas shouts.

I look around, running through the layout of this bunker through my head. "Turn right!" I shout, and Thomas, who's in front, does.

I speed up and catch up to Thomas, who's got a gun in his hands. He looks at me and I point to a door at the end of the corridor.

"I have the key card. Don't worry," Thomas says in between deep breaths.

I grit my teeth together. "Key card won't work. Get the others behind. We need to distract the guards."

Thomas doesn't understand, but at least he can listen. When everyone is behind us, trying to get the door open, we position ourselves in front of the group, awaiting the WICKED guards about to turn the corner. Aris and someone else from Group A-the guys' group-are missing. So Aris did remember.

I start firing. I get one at the right leg but there's at least three more still standing.

"Where's Janson?" Thomas asks, firing at the one whose leg I shot.

"Shot his legs," I say simply.

The door behind us hissed open and I know Aris is there on the other side.

"Come on!" Harriet shouts at us from behind. "The doors are closing!"

Thomas shouts "Shit!" and flings the launcher at them as I shove my pistol back into its holster. We run towards the fast closing doors and Thomas and I both slide under it.

The door slides shut as I roll onto a knee. Then I stand up, hands moving up to adjust my hood, my heart hammering against my chest.

Thomas goes to look through the small window at the centre of the door, and when he raises a middle finger at the WICKED guards still behind it, I find myself chuckling.

"We're out," Quill says breathlessly.