"Not too fast," Aaron cautioned as we hurried down the hall, heading towards the doors to the staircase.

"This is why we took the elevator," Rowen said with a laugh as we took the steps two at a time.

At the second level, however, an alarm started blaring. We all stopped in our tracks.

"What's that?" Kevin asked.

"This is why I tried to keep you guys from running down the hall," Aaron said, suddenly looking nervous. "There are sensors on the walls that catch any sudden movements and report it to the security room."

Just then, there was a loud clicking and we realized the doors to the stairs were locking floor by floor. "We've got to go!" Rowen said, pushing us back up to the closest door as fast as we could.

We ran back into a long white hallway on the second floor, now without an exit. Aaron told us to hurry, but I was still supporting most of Cliff's weight and I couldn't go as fast as the others. As everyone else began to run, I struggled to keep up. "Guys, wait!" I said, barely keeping Cliff, who was exhausted, on his own feet. "I could use some help!"

Aaron turned back to help me and lifted Cliff's other side. We moved as fast as we could, looking for some way out of the building, but the elevators and stairs were locked, making them useless. There were a few small windows, but with Cliff in this condition there was no way we could jump.

Aaron groaned. "I need to get to my laptop."

We could hear shouts as gaurds rushed up the stairs and started searching the floors. With nowhere else to go, I made a quick decision and pushed everyone into a room on the far side of the second floor. I pulled the door shut behind us and turned to look at the others.

"What are you doing?!" Rowen asked, clearly agitated. "Now we're sitting ducks!"

I lowered Cliff to a sitting position. "We were already sitting ducks," I said. "Besides, this way Aaron can find a way out without us all standing in the open."

Though Rowen still seemed annoyed with this course of action, Aaron nodded and started typing on his laptop. "Looks like they're locking everything and they are probably evacuating the doctors too. We're on level two and they appear to be on level one," he explained.

Aaron began typing furiously, and by the time he was done, we could hear them running by the door to our hiding place. "They'll start checking rooms soon," Rowen warned with a scowl. "Then what are we gonna do? Huh?"

As Aaron finished whatever it was he had been doing, he snapped his laptop closed. "I got it. I unlocked a few doors and started up some alarms in another area. This should give us the opening we need to get down to the first level and out of the building quick enough to get away."

"Then let's go!" Rowen demanded, pushing us towards the door.

We left the room and started back towards the stairs under Aaron's instructions. "Take a right," he directed. "Left. Alright, it's just up ahead."

The stair doors were right in front of us; we had a clear shot to our exit. However, just as we got to the doors, we heard a shout. "They're over here!"

One of the security guards had spotted us as he rounded a corner. He grabbed for his Taser and ran towards us. Rowen shoved Kevin, Cliff, and I in the direction of the stairs. "You guys keep going. I'll take him and meet you at the car."

Aaron stood at his side. "I'll help," he said. He turned to me. "Take Cliff and your friend, and get out of here. If you hurry, there shouldn't be anyone to stop you."

Though I knew they were doing this to help us, I couldn't help feeling worried. As the two of them ran off, I could see Cliff expressed the same concern. But I didn't let him protest. "Come on. We need to go," I said, pulling him with me and nodding at Kevin to follow. My friend hesitated, but soon followed me.

We ran as fast as we could to the the bottom of the stairs. I pushed the door open and saw the glass doors that lead to the parking lot. There were no desk personnel or guards by the doors, so I make a beeline for our exit, carrying Cliff with me. 

"What about Rowen and Aaron? We can't just leave them," Kevin said, looking back at the stairs, reluctant to leave.

"They'll be fine," I said. "They know what they're doing."

"But-"

I cut him off by looking at him sharply. "Kevin, trust me. You and I will only get in the way. I know them, and I know they'll take care of it," I said. When Kevin still looked unsure, I added, "If they don't meet us at the car in ten minutes, we'll go back in. I promise."

Kevin finally nodded and we made our way to the car. Surprisingly, however, when we rounded the corner of the building, Rowen and Aaron were already waiting for us. They looked a bit haggard and tired, but they were still standing and that was what mattered. They waved us to hurry.

"How did you guys get out here so fast?" I asked when we reached them.

Aaron shrugged. "Without Cliff, it was easy to take out all the security and jump a second story window," he explained.

That was a good enough explanation for me. Cliff looked weary as I helped him into the car, so we made haste in our retreat and drove off into the night as fast as we could. As we put that horrid building behind us, I couldn't help looking back at it. The place was like a dark nightmare, gray walls and darkness surrounded it like a black cape. I was glad to be leaving it.

Cliff sighed next to me, his voice rough with the exertion of trying to run, and I let him lean on my shoulder. He fell asleep shortly after that, and I closed my eyes too. What a long day we had had. Aaron, Rowen, Cliff, Kevin, and myself... we would need some major recovery time after this.

Suddenly a voice disturbed my thoughts. "Are you going to go away now?"

I looked at Kevin across the backseats. His expression was obviously disheartened. "Are you and Cliff going to go somewhere far?" he repeated. "Am I never going to see you again?"

I looked at Cliff. Then I shook my head. "I don't think so," I said. "I belong with Cliff now; I won't be able to go back to any life I had before... But I can't abandon everything. There will always be a part of me that needs to be here for my sanity's sake."

Kevin looked relieved. "I see. I can't say I blame you for that," he said.

"We won't be able to stay where we were before, but I'll make sure we don't go far, and we'll come visit all the time." I meant it when I said that too. Kevin and I shared an experience that would keep us close for a long time to come. I would probably need him and he me if we were going to rationally put this venture behind us.

"Don't worry, Zane," Rowen said from the front seat. He turned and gave Kevin a wink while he spoke to me. "I'll keep your friend company while you're away."

A flush dark enough to turn a rose to shame covered Kevin's cheeks and he glared at his lap. "You better not," he said, to which Rowen chuckled to himself, quite pleased with the reaction.

After dropping Aaron off at the shop, we drove back to Rowen's place that night to avoid the risk of anyone looking for us at Cliff's house. When the car stopped, I shook Cliff awake. His eyes opened slowly but sanely this time.

After everyone was inside, I turned to Kevin. "You should get home," I said.

"You're not coming?" He looked disappointed. "Not even for one last night?"

I glanced at Cliff, but he was still mostly incapacitated. That meant it was up to me, a strange feeling after so many months of imprisonment. Though I knew it would only cause more heartbreak over my departure, I agreed to one more night. "I have to leave tomorrow. I can't stay any longer than that," I insisted.

Kevin nodded amiably.

Rowen drove us to Cliff's to grab our bikes, and then, we made our way back to Kevin's house. When we got there, it was almost four in the morning and we were utterly exhausted. I dropped onto my temporary bed for what I knew would be the last time and sighed up at the ceiling. "I'm so tired," I said, finally letting everything from the last two days sink in.

Kevin flopped onto his own bed with equal enthusiasm. "Well, we did kinda pull two all-nighters in a row," he reminded me. He needn't have; I knew all too well how little sleep we were working off of.

After wishing each other a good night's rest, knowing the nightmares that awaited us, we both fell asleep. I don't know about Kevin, but the nightmares did come and my sleep wasn't fitful. But I was glad for the dreams. Similar to burning off a fever, I knew that once they were though my system, I knew I would feel much better. I wasn't surprised to sleep until noon the next day.

*******

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