Inside a shiny new gray car a young man nodded his head to the beat of the music. His wavy red hair bounced as he closed his eyes momentarily, to beat on the steering wheel as if he was doing his own drum solo for millions of raving fans. He bit his lip and abruptly turned the dial up before he leaned over the steering wheel belted out the chorus "And I-eeee--II will always lo---."

His eyes bulged as if he had seen a ghost. He slammed on his brakes watching as an ambulance in front of him was side swiped by what looked like a jeep. Squinting his eyes, he could spot three figures emerging from the jeep. Two of them had weapons of some sort, but from his car on the road he couldn't tell what they were for certain. All he knew was that he didn't want to be anywhere near here if there was going to be a shootout. He jerked his gear shift into reverse and, giving one final look at what lay before him, he paused. Two of the figures were dragging men out of the front of the ambulance, but they didn't look dead.

That's curious, he thought to himself.

He thought they would've surely killed the men leaving no witnesses, but instead it seemed as if they had only knocked them out somehow. The man ducked behind his steering wheel trying to hide from the scene that was unfolding in front of him. As if the tiny bit of material would better protect him from any bullets. He watched from between his steering wheel and saw a fourth person come from the back of the ambulance.

The man sat up quickly and tilted his head.

"No. That can't. I'm."

He rubbed his eyes and shook his head trying to refocus on the scene in front of him.

"I must have hit my head."

The young man felt his head for any sore spots, but there were still four people now entering the jeep.

"I have a headache. Definitely, just hit my head."

The man watched as the jeep drove away, shaking his head. Chills ran down his spine as he shifted back into drive and cautiously approached the ambulance. He parked on the opposite side of the ambulance and exited with his phone in hand. Held the phone to his ear, hearing the ringing as he leaned over to check on the two men lying in the grass.

"Sir? Sir? Are you ok? Can you hear me?"

The red-headed older man rolled in the grass adding green stains to the red stains spattered about his previously white outfit. He groaned, grasping his forehead before losing consciousness again.

"Sir, I'm calling for help. Help will be on the way soon." The man said with his phone pressed tight against his shoulder and ear.

The man finally reached emergency services and told them what had happened, most of it at least. He left out the part about a fourth person exiting the ambulance intentionally knowing it would sound crazy.

The man hung up the phone and thought to himself, David why can't you just have a normal day? Why does trouble always seem to find you?

The two unconscious men lay on the side of the road as the sirens cut through the silence. The afternoon sun glared down, causing sweat to build on the man's lip as he waited for help to arrive. The emergency vehicles came rushing in as David sprawled out his arms and waved them down. They slowed and quickly attended to the two doctors. The emergency personnel loaded the drugged men into ambulances slamming the doors behind them. With tires screeching, the ambulances sped away. The smell of burnt rubber filled the air as the ambulances became tiny dots in the distance. A tow truck had arrived with its orange and yellow lights flashing as two people worked on getting the remaining ambulance up on the large truck bed.

Two officers had arrived with their blue lights still flashing as they closed their doors. The first officer had a crew cut to go along with his stocky military-like build. His body looked like all muscle and his face seemed to show few emotions. A stern look seemed to be frozen across his face with frown lines cutting deep across his forehead. He had a strange way of walking; he almost waddled, gripping his belt like a cowboy straight out of a western. He should've been named John Wayne, but instead he had been stuck with the name Calvin Johnson.

The second officer was a thin tall woman who seemed too happy to be there. She grinned with delight as she approached David. Her brown hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and she had a unibrow that desperately needed to be trimmed. She was confident and always eager to work, if only her colleagues could understand her awkward quirks. She smiled too much, and it made most people uncomfortable, but she only meant for it to help her look approachable. It had the opposite effect. Ironically her last name was Friendly, and she seemed to stick to it.

The officers finally reached David who was sweating bullets at this point. The faint scent of onion filled his nostrils from the sweat building on his back and under his arms. His hair was drenched in sweat and he shifted on his feet, trying to relieve some of the soreness that had been building.

Johnson adjusted his belt with his right hand and fished out a notebook from his front pocket with his left. He dabbed the tip of a pen on his tongue before he asked, "Sir, did you see the attackers?"

Shaking his head, David rubbed his forehead trying to remember, "No, it all happened so fast. I was up the road."

David pointed in the direction the two ambulances had gone as he responded.

He continued. "In the distance, I saw a jeep slam into the side of the ambulance. I assumed it was an accident until two figures came out carrying weapons. I stopped in the road not wanting to get involved. They shot those two guys and then the strangest thing happened; they helped a man out of the back."

Raising an eyebrow officer Friendly lost her smile only momentarily as she asked, "You mean a body?"

Johnson took down notes furiously as David spoke, only pausing when David had finished speaking. His handwriting was elegant almost like calligraphy.

Rubbing his neck David responded, "I don't know. It. It looked like he was walking."

The two officers looked at each other perplexed and David continued, "I mean, I probably saw it wrong. I was kind of far away. Plus, I think I might've hit my head when I stopped."

Friendly smiled her usual unsettling smile and nodded as she responded, "Yeah, that's probably it." She reached out one of her long dangly arms to touch David's shoulder as she continued, "Accidents can also be stressful. Stress can cause you to see things the wrong way."

Johnson clicked his pen shut shoving it back into his pocket along with the notepad and stated, "Well, I think we have everything we need Sir. You're free to go. You should get yourself checked for a concussion."

David nodded and made his way to an ambulance. As he walked towards the ambulance he let the scene replay in his mind. He shook away the image of the man, scoffing at himself as he reached the ambulance and took a seat.

Friendly dropped her smile and asked, "What do you think Johnson?"

Johnson lowered his voice, glanced up to his taller counterpart to respond, "I think we ought to call this in to the Mill."

Friendly nodded in agreement but added a comment, "You think he really sa—"

Johnson cut her off before she could finish "No. He's obviously concussed."

Friendly nodded, but thought to herself, Perhaps he did see something. Probably not.

#

Gasping for breath a short, slender man crashed into a conference room like a bull in a china shop. The little man had a pointed nose that seemed almost cartoonish. The room was filled with men and women dressed in business attire. All eyes had shifted to the short man who stood with his one hand covering his mouth as he tried to catch his breath.

His remaining bits of hair were standing up as he blurted "Sir!"

He was looking at the man on the opposite end of the table who had stood as soon as the door had opened. He had his hands closed into fists leaning on them against the huge mahogany table. His voiced boomed, "This better be important Rutherford!"

Rutherford stood as tall as he could with his eyes widening and replied, "We have a breach with one of the transports. It's a code E²."

The larger man's black hair was buzzed close to his forehead, causing it to move as he furrowed his brow. The man's face turned ashen as his brown eyes widened in shock. His thoughts were swirling around like a tornado filled with turmoil. He leaned back almost in a daze, slumping into his chair as his inner voice drowned out all other noise.

E². It can't be. This sort of thing never happens. It's impossible via transport. Impossible. Yes, there had been other double E's, but not in broad daylight during a transport. All other "Elderly Escapes" had been resolved before attempts could be made. No, it just can't be true. Only a few have ever gone missing before their pill day, no one escapes transport, it's unheard of. Lockdown the roads. Will that work? Of course, it will! Where on earth could the escapee run to? Certainly not home.

Snapping out of his inner turmoil the larger man rose from his seat with a pointed finger and barked out his orders, "Lockdown the main roads within a hundred mile radius. Do searches of the surrounding grounds near the E². Lock down the bunks. The Mill is on lockdown until further notice."

Rutherford nodded, causing his hair to flap up and down as he responded, "Yes Sir."

Rutherford pushed up his glasses which had slid down his thin nose and rushed out of the room. The tiny man glided like a gazelle sprinting as fast as his little legs would carry him. He turned a corner and spotted the CONTROL room which was labelled with large red letters above the door frame. Rutherford paused when he reached the door to wipe his slick brow and fix his comb over. He burst into the CONTROL room with his comb-over flopping up with the breeze of the closing door.

The room had a large wooden table in the center similar to the one from the room he had just left. There were computers with green, red, and blue lights blinking in various places on the right side of the room. The back wall was filled with TV screens that showed the entire facility even the parts that the public knew nothing about. A single man sat on a rolly chair staring into the screens. The left wall had several white boards and a single bulletin board covered in papers. Rutherford quickly looked at the panicked faces and gave out orders.

"We need roadblocks in a 35-mile radius of the attack. Search the grounds, lock down the bunks, and we are on lockdown until the boss says otherwise."

The people looked like deer frozen in headlights as Rutherford gave orders. Rutherford seeing their reaction yelled, "Well, any day now!"

The people quickly snapped out of their daze and went to work.

#

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