Chapter 23
“Haru!” Ari calls as she turns the corner from the door and catches a glimpse of him running in front of her. “Haru, slow down a little!”
Haru drops back and waits for Ari to catch up. “Where did you find them?” he asks.
Ari motions for him to follow her. “This way!” Ari and Haru race down the halls, passing rows of doors along the way. Finally, Ari stops next to a door with a barred window built into the top. “In here,” she says, leading him in. Ari pulls a hairpin from her hair and jams it into the lock, fiddling with it until the lock finally clicks and she pulls the door open. She and Haru step into the dark room to find Hikaru and Asha sitting in the corner.
“Haru-san!” Asha cries. “You came! And Ari-san, too!”
“I was beginning to think you’d never show up,” Hikaru comments.
“And miss all this action?” Ari jests. “I think not!”
Haru walks over to his friends and helps Asha up. “You guys okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” Hikaru says.
Haru smiles gratefully. “Let’s get out of here,” he says.
The kids quickly file out of the room and head down the hall. “This isn’t the way we came!” Haru says.
“You wanna go back where my wretch of an uncle is waitin’ for ya?” she replies. “There’s another door back here that we can escape from without havin’ to face him an’ his guys.”
“Good thinking,” Hikaru muses. Then his eyes widen. “Wait a minute! That dreg is your uncle?!”
“Unfortunately,” Ari grumbles.
“Then it was you! You told him where to find us!”
“Now ain’t the time for this!” Ari cries. “We’ll discuss that after we get outta here!” Suddenly, Ari skids to a halt, and the procession topples like a set of dominoes.
“What are you–?!” When Hikaru sees the men in front of Ari, he realizes that they have been cut off.
“TURN BACK!!” Ari yells. But by the time all the kids get back up and make an about-face, men block the path behind them, as well.
“We’re cornered!” Hikaru cries.
“You poor dolts,” Ari’s uncle says, striding out to meet them. “I’m not so foolish as to forget that Ariana knows every nook and cranny of this old laboratory. After all, this is the facility where she and her brother were cloned.”
“Ari-san...?!” Asha cries.
Ari clenches her fists in frustration. He had this all figured out from the moment we ran from that room. He was just waiting for the right time to make his move.
“Now, if you’re wise, you’ll give up your folly and hand yourself over to us, Haru. Otherwise...” Ari’s uncle pauses, eying the children. “…your friends will be the ones to pay. If you still refuse by then, maybe we’ll have to replace you, as well– though that would be a shame considering the funds that went into the experiments that made you.”
“Haru, what’s the plan?” Hikaru hisses anxiously.
Haru notices Ari moving her hands around and wonders if she has a plan. Suddenly, she makes a sweeping motion, and all the men on their left side fly backward into the walls. “NOW, HARU!” Ari yells. “GET YOUR FRIENDS OUT OF HERE!!!” She flicks her right hand, and the men on her right topple over. Haru, Hikaru and Asha flee down the cleared path and bolt for the exit. As they are struggling with the door, Ari whirls around, and with several more waves of both her hands, the rest of the men come crashing to the ground.
“Suddenly this is beginning to feel like some crazy sci-fi thriller,” Hikaru jokes, still pushing against the door.
“Not now, Hikaru!” Haru pleads. “Push harder!!!”
Finally, the heavy door sweeps open before them. “ARI, COME ON!!” Haru calls back. As Haru waves Hikaru and Asha out, Ari comes racing out behind them. Then Haru disappears through the door before all the men can get to their feet. The moment he steps outside, he hears Asha shriek. Already, a good four dozen men block them in. Four of them have grabbed Asha, another five or so have Hikaru, and three or four are chasing Ari.
Haru darts out, trying to avoid the men grabbing for his arms, and goes after the men who are wrestling with Asha. Before he can get any of them away from her, one of the men lets her fall into a ditch filled with debris. “ASHA!!!” Haru screams. The men pin him down, and he isn’t strong enough to escape. Just then, the men all fly to the side.
“HARU, ASHA’S HURT!!!” Ari yells.
Haru pushes himself up and scrambles to the edge of the ditch. Asha is unconscious at the bottom, scratches and gashes all over her arms and legs. “ASHA!!!” Haru quickly maneuvers down the edge of the ditch to get to her. He kneels down at her side and tries to wake her up. “Asha! Asha, can you hear me?!”
Asha’s eyes flicker open. “H-Haru-san...?”
“Hang in there, I’ll get you out of here!” Haru cries in panic. He realizes that she has an ugly gash on the back of her head, as well. She won’t last much longer with wounds like that!
“Haru-san...it’s bad...” Asha says weakly.
“Stay with me okay?” Haru cries. “Hold on!” Haru gently picks her up and struggles to carry her out of the ditch. By the time he reaches the top, Asha has lost consciousness. I’ve got to do something and fast! He thinks. He remembers the promise he made to try to take away her disease. It’s now or never...But first...!
BIOTECH’s men come running at him before he has a chance to try to heal anything. “LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!” Ari yells. She knocks the men aside and rushes in. “What do you want to do, Haru?” she asks urgently.
“We’ve got to get away from these guys!” Haru says.
“Consider it done!” Ari calls as she runs off and knocks more of the men away from Hikaru. “LET’S GO, HIKARU!!!” she yells to him.
Hikaru clambers away from his attackers and follows after Ari and Haru. “Is Asha okay?!” Hikaru cries.
“I can’t do anything to help her with these goons attacking us!” Haru replies. “We’ve got to hurry!”
Before long, they have left BIOTECH behind. They race deep into town and search for a temporary hideaway, when they finally find an abandoned building and stop to look for an entrance. “Let’s get inside before they catch up,” Haru says.
