❝ 𝗕𝗟𝗨𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 ❞
▬▬ Chapter 07
• . ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳₊·͟͟͟͟͟͟͞͞͞͞͞͞➳💧

Minho grabbed Madison's waist, trying to push her toward the lever. His push was too forceful, causing her to swing back and collide with his chest.

"Ow!" Madison exclaimed, her voice tinged with annoyance.

"Uh, I didn't think you would be so light," Minho groaned, clutching his chest.

"Just try again!" Thomas snapped, urgency in his voice.

Minho repositioned himself and carefully pushed Madison toward the lever once more. This time, Madison managed to swing her arm up and grasp the handle. "Yes!" she exclaimed triumphantly as she pulled the lever, causing the ropes to release slightly and everyone to drop a little.

Madison quickly untied herself, her eyes catching a glimpse of a metal rod in the corner. She picked it up and handed one end to Thomas, helping him pull himself free. Together, they moved around, untying the others. The sound of a helicopter filled the air, followed by a voice that sent chills down Madison's spine.

"Good evening, this is the World Catastrophe Killzone Department. We have your facility surrounded. If you find yourself or anyone you know in possession of WICKED property, turn them over to us unharmed, and this will be labeled as a simple misunderstanding. If you don't, every last one of you will die!"

The voice of Janson made Madison feel sick; she despised him with every fiber of her being. They freed everyone and turned to leave, only to be confronted by the man from earlier, smirking at Madison and pointing a gun at them.

"We're not trying to cause any trouble; we just want to get out of here," Thomas stated, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Is that so? Janson, I've got them. I'll bring them down, don't shoot us," the man said into his radio. "Come on, let's go!" He urged, his tone menacing.

Madison's anger flared. She lunged at the man, pushing the gun aside. "No!" Evie yelled, but Madison was already in motion. She punched the man in the face. Thomas and Minho moved to assist her, but the man quickly regained his balance.

"You little bitch," he snarled, aiming the gun at her again.

A gunshot rang out, and Madison braced herself, but the man fell to the ground, revealing Brenda and a boy, Asher, behind him, holding a gun. "Come on!" Brenda urged.

Confused, Madison and Evie exchanged glances as music started playing. Asher and Brenda led the group down a hallway and opened a large door, revealing a zip line stretching to the other side of the building.

"You kids want to get to the Right Arm? I'll take you to it. But you owe me," Jorge said, appearing out of nowhere. "Follow me!" he shouted, descending the zip line.

"Alright, let's go!" Asher yelled.

"Go! Go!" Thomas urged.

Everyone started down the zip line, one after another. Brenda disappeared first, followed by Thomas and Asher. Madison and Evie exchanged nervous looks but followed.

"Where the hell are you going, Thomas?" Madison asked, following him.

Madison and Evie ran to catch up with the small group, finding Brenda rifling through a drawer. "What are you guys doing?!" Madison yelled.

Brenda found what she was looking for and shouted, "Okay! Let's go!"

They turned back to the zip line, but it was now swarming with WICKED guards. Brenda and Asher pulled out their guns and started shooting.

"Go! Go!" Brenda and Asher yelled together.

They sprinted through a hallway, bullets whizzing past them. Brenda and Asher led them through a bridge. "Come on! Hurry!" Brenda yelled.

"Follow us!" Asher shouted, stepping onto a thin pipe on the ground and shimmying across. "Come on!" Brenda urged.

Madison grabbed Evie's hand and whispered, "Everything will be okay, just don't look down."

Evie nodded and followed, running across the small piece of metal. Madison glanced back and saw a WICKED guard aiming at her. "Don't move!" the guard yelled.

"Brenda! Where are we going?" Thomas yelled.

"Hurry, the song's almost over!" Brenda yelled back, confusing Madison and Evie.

As the song ended, bombs detonated around them, the blasts pushing Madison and Evie towards Thomas. Madison felt the heat on her face as the building began to collapse.

Madison clutched Evie's hand and jumped over a railing. They ran as the ground shook beneath them, making it hard to stay upright. They jumped down an elevator shaft, rolling to the side as dust enveloped them. Madison sat up, checking on Evie first. "Are you okay?" she asked, still coughing.

"Yeah," Evie replied, also coughing. "Are you?"

"Amazing," Madison responded sarcastically as Brenda turned on her flashlight.

"No, how are we gonna get back to the others?" Thomas asked, frustration evident in his voice.

"Relax, we'll get out of here," Asher said, motioning to Brenda.

Brenda pulled more flashlights from her backpack, handing them out. "Why are you helping us?" Thomas asked.

"Trust us, it's not our idea," Asher said, making Madison glare at him.

"Jorge thinks you guys are our ticket to the safe haven," Brenda interjected.

"The what?" Evie asked.

"You know, paradise. Safe from the sun, safe from infection. Supposedly, the Right Arm has been taking kids there for years. Immunes, anyway," Brenda explained, standing up.

"You know where that is?" Madison asked.

"No, but Jorge knows a guy. Marcus," Asher said.

"Yeah, he used to smuggle kids into the mountains. If Jorge made it out, that's where he'll be taking your friends," Brenda said, moving pieces of metal out of the way with Asher's help.

"If he made it out?" Thomas questioned.

"You ask a lot of questions. Can you guys just come over and help with this?" Asher said, motioning to a vent on the floor.

"Please," Brenda added.

"Since you asked nicely," Madison said, walking over to help, with Evie and Thomas following.

They all pulled at the vent, finally prying it open. They pointed their flashlights down and heard screeching sounds. "Well, that doesn't sound good," Evie remarked.

"Yeah, down here will be full of them," Brenda said.

"Let's go," Asher said, jumping down, with everyone following.

They landed in a tunnel covered in graffiti and bent down to navigate through it, entering a larger chamber.

"I think it's this way," Asher said, heading to the right.

"You think?" Madison asked skeptically.

"I know, I know it's this way," Asher corrected, glaring at Madison.

"Do people live down here?" Evie asked.

"The solar storms forced people underground. Jorge says there are settlements all over these tunnels," Brenda explained.

"So, what about Jorge? Is he your father?" Thomas asked.

"Close enough. Truth is, I don't really know what he is. He's just always been there. We've always done what he's asked us to do, no matter how stupid," Brenda said, glancing at Asher.

"What about you guys? How long have you known each other?" Asher asked.

Madison and Evie exchanged looks before Evie spoke. "We've known each other since we can remember," Evie smiled. "We've only known Thomas for a short time. He helped us escape."

Thomas smiled at the girls. "So, you don't think the Right Arm is real?"

They heard distant screeching and looked back. "I think... hope is a dangerous thing," Brenda said. "Hope has killed more of my friends than the Flare and the Scorch combined. Just thought Jorge was smarter than that." She stopped at a fork in the path, unsure of which way to go.

"Damn," Asher muttered.

Madison wandered off, her attention caught by a wall covered in infection. "Madison?" Thomas called.

"Over here," Madison said, focused on the wall.

The group joined her, staring at the infected wall in awe. "What the hell is this?" Thomas asked.

"I don't know," Brenda replied.

Suddenly, they heard squealing from a sewer, and a rat fell out, crawling towards Madison. She kicked it away in disgust, but the rat was snatched up by a crank attached to the wall. The crank bit the rat's head off, causing the group to gasp and step back.

"Oh, god," Madison said, revolted.

More cranks emerged from the wall, advancing towards them. "Run!" Asher yelled.

They turned to flee but were blocked by another crank. Madison stepped forward and stabbed it in the eye. "Go!" she shouted.

The cranks chased after them. "Oh my god!" Brenda yelled.

"Come on!" Thomas urged.

They ran as fast as they could. "Almost there, come on!" Asher yelled.

They burst into the light, and Thomas quickly pulled Madison back. "What the—" She was cut off by Thomas and Evie pulling her up a crumbling building.

"This way!" Brenda yelled.

They scrambled up rocks and debris, trying to reach the top. Madison looked back and saw the cranks in pursuit. "Madison! Come on!" Thomas yelled.

They crawled through a hole and paused for a moment. "Okay," Brenda said, continuing up the rocks. "Go! Go!" Thomas yelled as the cranks closed in.

"Watch out!" Asher yelled as a large rock fell, knocking out two cranks.

They crawled through another hole just in time before it collapsed. "You okay?" Brenda yelled back.

"Yeah," Madison and Evie said in unison.

"Come on!" Brenda urged.

"Follow me," Asher yelled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Thomas yelled as a crank almost grabbed his leg.

Madison kicked the crank in the face, sending it flying down the stairwell.

"Okay, go! Go!" Thomas yelled.

They continued up, with Brenda reaching for something that broke, causing her to fall back through a door and hit glass, almost breaking it. "Brenda!" Asher yelled in panic.

"Brenda! You okay?" Thomas yelled.

"Yeah," Brenda called back.

"We're gonna find a way down!" Evie said.

"You guys wait here!" Asher yelled at Madison and Evie.

"What?!" Madison and Evie yelled in unison.

"He's right, just wait," Thomas agreed.

They made it to the bottom and tried to help Brenda. "Guys!" Evie and Madison yelled as a crank fell through, grabbing hold of Brenda.

Suddenly, the glass broke, and Thomas grabbed Brenda, slowly pulling her up.

AUTHORS NOTE;

Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading! Things are really heating up with Madison, Minho, and the crew. I had so much fun writing the extra tension between Madison and Minho—can't you just feel the sparks flying? I'm really loving how her sass is coming through, and it's fun to explore her fiery personality!

I can't wait to see how you all think the group will handle what's coming next! There's so much at stake, and with WICKED's looming threat, I'm excited to see how our characters react.

I always love hearing your thoughts, so feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think! Stay tuned for more action and drama next chapter!

Thanks for all your support, and see you soon!