Make-Up Thursday [[ Part 9 - The Compound

Sorry this is late. But, life just happens, you know? Well, life and barn dances and piano recitals and rehearsals and cramming to finish my other story and getting lots of books from the library and taking over an hour and a half to curl your hair.

                                                                                                                                      - Part 9 -   

The Compound

"This isn't I.T.A.," gasped Sean.

Clarity took in the rooftop with one sweeping glance. They had a minute, maybe only seconds, before the guards were on them and their only chance of escape slipped through their fingers.

On either end of the of the roof was a boxy structure, just big enough to shelter the entrances to the stairwells. They had come out of one. In the middle, off to the side, was what looked like a supply shed. It was locked.

"Go to that door and leave it open wide," Clarity directed Sean, pointing to the opposite end of the roof at the other entrance to the stairwell. Thankfully he had the wits not to argue and simply did what she said.

Pulling out a paperclip from her shoe, Clarity hurried to the lock on the supply shed. She hadn't told Sean about the clip in the holding cell because she knew the lock on that door had been too heavy-duty. But the lock on this shed was cheap and would be easy enough for her to do.

Sean came back and watched her anxiously. He had done his job, and now the door at the other end stood open. That way, when they hid in the shed and the guards arrived on the roof, they would think that they had gone back down the stairs through the other entrance. At least, that was the only plan she could come up with on short notice.

The lock plicked and she slid the entrance open. "Get in," she pushed Sean, then re-did the lock and went in after him. Heart thumping, she closed the door. Darkness gathered in around them. Hopefully the guards would be too busy noticing the open door at the other end to look closely at the shed door and see that the lock wasn't attached to both the door and the bolt on the siding.

For breathless moments they crouched in the shadows. Soon the crunch of footfalls was outside, then voices of gruff men. In seconds they had faded, but it took more than ten minutes for Clarity's heart to stop racing.

Neither of them dared to speak for what seemed an eternity. The light leaking through the cracks around the door frame slowly faded as the sun set. At last, Sean broke the silence.

"That was good back there. What you did," he whispered.

Clarity grinned in the dark, despite the pit of dread in her stomach, "Thanks. Same trick I sometimes use to hide from paparazzi. How long do you think before they search the roof more thoroughly?"

"They'll probably search everywhere else first. I'd give it half an hour."

"We need a better hiding spot. And we need a way over that wall."

"I still can't believe we're on an island. Even if we get over the wall, they're not going to have much ground to cover outside. We have no way off."

"I guess we'll think about that when the time comes," she whispered back.

"Is there a light in here?" Sean's clothing rustled as he moved, groping for a switch. At last, there was a flicker overhead and a dull bulb lit the interior. There were various dirty buckets, old tablecloths and sheets, random gardening tools and building implements. Several trashcans sat stacked in a corner by an old black guard helmet. Lab goggles and coats hung on hooks near the door.

Sean smiled, "You aren't thinking what I'm thinking?"

The knot of fear in her stomach diminished slightly as she felt a glimmer of hope. "Yeah, I think I am. Disguises?"

Sean inspected the guard helmet. "Disguises."

Clarity found a spare frock that looked something like a nurse scrub, and then pulled on a lab coat and hair net. She saw a box of disposable plastic gloves and mouth-covers and stuffed some her pockets.

A few minutes later, they were ready.

The night was tangy and warm. What stars Clarity could see through the wisps of clouds were crisp with color, the constellations foreign to the ones she knew by heart on Aerethyst. For a moment her heart ached painfully for home. But then she remembered their immenant danger and most likely inevitable discovery, and all thoughts of home vanished. She shut the shed door silently, clicking the padlock back into place.

Together, she and Sean headed for the stair entryway. Opening the door with a slight squeak, they ducked inside and peered over the landing railing to be sure the coast was clear. Sounds of movement and banging drifted up from the floors below. Stallings was having to place torn apart to find them.

"Which floors do you think they've already searched?" asked Clarity.

Sean shrugged, "They probably worked from the top down, since we were last seen going up. My guess is these top floor's will be safe. Well, as safe as we can get."

Tense, they slunk down the stairs, coming to the first landing. Clarity peeked through the small window in the door to the rest of the floor. The coast was clear.

The layout was the same as the floors below, with only four doors down a single hallway. But these doors were different. Unlocked, for one thing, and not heavy-duty prison material for another. A few had windows. They all seemed to be laboratories of one sort or another. There wasn't another soul in sight.

Clarity jumped as the sound of footsteps on the stairs pounded towards them.

"Quick! The masks," Sean said, grabbing one from her as she tore them from her lab coat pocket. He pulled the doctor's mouth-masks over his face, Clarity doing likewise, willing herself to stay calm.

A moment later, two guards walked through the doors. Their black boots clacked on the tile floor. They spotted Clarity and Sean racing towards them and called out.

"What are you two doing on this floor? You were ordered to vacate--"

"Watch out! The deadly toxin is spreading!" Clarity yelled.

"Save yourselves before it's too late!" cried Sean. "Go! GO!"

Bewildered, the guards stumbled back as the two short scientists rushed past them, screaming "It's gonna blow!" and "Doom!" and "Death!". Then they disappeared out the stairway door. Alarmed now, they quickly followed. But when they got to the stairs, there was no one in sight.

They were in a broom closet on the floor below. Sean started laughing, quietly so no one would hear them. Clarity punched him, but she was laughing too. Once they started, neither of them could stop. They were both giggles of relief and exhilaration, and probably the look on the guard's faces as well.

Those poor guys, thought Clarity. Then, Well, maybe they deserved it for working for a lunatic.

"How long do you think we'll be safe here?" she asked Sean, wiping away tears. They were both sitting cross-legged with their backs to the wall. It was a very big broom closet.

Sean breathed deeply to calm himself, "I suppose we just have to wait long enough for them to check the roof again, and then go hide out up there until we know what to do."

"How on Aerethyst are we supposed to know when they've checked the roof?"

Sean held up one of the walkie-talkies Clarity had seen the guards wearing. He grinned at Clarity's astonished expression.

"How did you get that?" she asked excitedly.

"When we were running past, I just snagged it off one of the guard's belts. Here… let's see if we can tune into their coms…"

Clarity waited as Sean fiddled with the buttons and dial until finally he got some static and then voices.

"Rom to Omega, top five floors cleared. Over."

"Omega to Rom, continue search. Again, all personal you meet are to be brought to the Basement. Over."

"Copy that."

"Do you think the top five floors include the roof?" Clarity wondered.

Sean shrugged, "I've no idea--"

The walkie-talkie interrupted him.

"Omega to Rom, we're sending a team to search the roof again. Continue working down. Over."

"Copy that, Omega."

Clarity hugged herself, "Guess that answers that question."

For a long time they sat in silence, listening to distant sounds, listening to each other's breathing. Clarity was exhausted and struggled to stay awake. She was used to long hard days and late night parties. It would have been in the job description for being a famous rock singer if they had one. But crouching, tense, cold and scared, she couldn't seem to push away the weariness.

"We can't fall asleep," said Sean, shaking her gently. She blinked to find herself leaning against him. Hurriedly, she sat up.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm tired too. We should talk to keep each other awake."

They were quiet again for a moment before Sean finally came up with something to talk about.

"Do you have any family? I mean… besides your mom and dad."

Clarity swallowed. "Just my aunt. But she's more my manager for my career than my family."

Thankfully, before there could be a very long awkward silence, the walkie-talkie came on again.

"Brion to Omega, roof cleared. Targets not found. Over."

"Omega to Brion, copy that. Come back and assist with the lower floor searches. Over."

"Understood."

Sean pushed himself up and onto his feet, holding a hand out to help Clarity. "Looks like it's time to move."

Clarity took his hand and softly they crept out of the broom closet. The hallway outside was empty. They headed for the stairs door.

Without warning, the door banged open and four guards stalked through. Without the mouth-masks to hide their faces, the men recognized them immediately. Sean, who was in front of Clarity, was grabbed and dragged backwards.

"GO!" he yelled at Clarity. "Just run!"

Sorry about having another cliffhanger...
Well, actually, I'm not really sorry. MWAHAHAHA! ;D
~The Scribbler in the Attic