"The Mission of Escape," short story

"The Mission of Escape"

By Keagan Pickett, 8th grade

    “Shh!” Mehow said. “We have to be quiet or else they will hear us,” he whispered in a hushed voice. Kenzie was having trouble trying to stay quiet as they crawled through the air system. As they continued, murmurs of conversations could be heard in the rooms below. As they both passed over a vent, they heard someone mention that they had seen them exit the hallway through the vents. They both froze, silent in terror. Mehow’s palms started to sweat as the conversation continued down below. 

    “We must find them!” an angry male voice shouted. A pen was heard being thrown across the room. “These deceivers need to be discarded immediately!” hissed the angry voice. Footsteps were heard as members of the faculty left the room to find them. Mehow gestured with his hand to Kenzie to continue as they both were frozen in fear. They both had to exit the building with a one-of-a-kind object. This object was the key to stopping a major war that could happen in the next few months. All it was, was a  simple glassware cup with a tight cap screwed on. The foamy light green liquid could destroy half of a continent in seconds. It was one of the most radioactive war products ever created. Mehow felt it through his pocket with his hand, checking like a mother would check on their sleeping infant. 

    “Stop,” Kenzie whispered. They both froze. They both heard the dreaded loud clanging of someone else in the vents. Mehow reacted quickly. He pushed one of the air vents near him and dragged Kenzie down into the room below them. When they both landed like a sack of potatoes on the floor, they both sprang to action, running out of the room as fast as they could. 

    “Hey!” someone shouted from behind them. “Stop there this instant!” Mehow looked behind him and saw five men running at both of them full speed ahead. Almost slipping on the sleek lab floor, they both ran as if a stampede was right behind them. As they ran around the corners, bullets whizzed by, leaving holes in the wall. Kenzie was far ahead of Mehow, but skidded to a stop.

    “Give it back to them!” Kenzie yelled. “We’re at a dead end! Leave it here so we can escape safely!” she said in a rigid voice. Mehow stopped a few feet behind her panting. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked hard at it for a few seconds.

    “No,” Mehow said, putting it back in his pocket. “We can’t have the world end this way,” he sighed. “I know a way out.” He quickly swept Kenzie up and pushed through a small vent in the wall with his foot. It fell over to Mehow’s satisfaction as Mehow dove in still clutching Kenzie. More bullets whizzed by as they both slid inside. The loud sound of glass shattering was followed by several gasps. Mehow looked behind him, his blue eyes filled with terror. The foamy liquid began to fizz uncontrollably and radiate extreme amounts of heat. Mehow winced, closing his eyes against the pain. The yells of troops filled the parching air. It became hard to breathe as the air became dense and full of choking oxygen. Even the walls began to fuse under the extreme heat. Even though the pain was almost unbearable, Mehow continued to push through the vent system, looking back to make sure Kenzie was still following.  At last they were able to exit the lab and made it safely back to their special forces far from the accident. Mehow was weighted with guilt for causing such a thing to happen, but thought about it deeply enough to the point he could somewhat forgive himself. Kenzie talked to him about it more and explained that all things happen for a reason. 

    “Even though we made quite a mess, it may have a positive impact on the future,” Kenzie explained. Mehow decided to let it go and give in. Even though he had left a mess, at least he had tried.