Chapter 4
1776 Words
Years
The years inside Orion Division had changed JJ.
They had changed Ricky too.
When they had first met, they were children who had been brought into a place they didn't understand. They had been frightened, confused, and completely dependent on the adults around them.
Now they were seventeen.
They understood exactly where they were.
And they knew they didn't belong there.
JJ stood in front of a large reinforced window inside one of Orion Division's training rooms. Beyond the glass was a long corridor filled with security cameras and automatic doors.
He watched the guards walking past.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then the corridor became empty again.
Behind him, Ricky sat at a table with his arms folded.
"Three guards," Ricky said.
JJ turned around.
Ricky continued.
"The first one is thinking about his daughter. The second one is thinking about dinner. The third one is thinking about how much he hates night shifts."
JJ smiled slightly.
Ricky shook his head.
"Don't laugh. I'm serious."
JJ pointed toward the corridor.
Ricky understood.
"Yes. They're exactly where we expected them to be."
JJ walked toward the table.
A small sheet of paper was lying there.
On it was a rough drawing of Orion Division.
It wasn't a perfect map, but they had spent months creating it.
Every corridor they knew.
Every security door.
Every camera.
Every guard station.
Every possible route toward the outside.
Ricky looked at the map.
"We've checked everything."
JJ nodded.
Ricky tapped one section.
"This is our biggest problem."
JJ looked at it.
"The eastern security gate."
JJ nodded.
"Three cameras."
JJ held up three fingers.
"Two guards."
JJ held up two.
"And an electronic lock."
JJ pointed toward himself.
Ricky smiled.
"Yes. You can move the lock."
JJ shook his head.
Ricky understood.
"The problem isn't moving it."
JJ nodded.
"The problem is doing it without anyone noticing."
JJ smiled.
That was the problem.
---
Their escape plan had taken months to develop.
They couldn't simply run through the front entrance.
They couldn't overpower every guard.
And they couldn't rely entirely on JJ's abilities.
Orion Division knew what JJ could do.
They had spent years studying him.
They knew his strengths.
They knew his weaknesses.
They knew how far he could teleport objects.
They knew how much weight he could move.
They knew how quickly he could react.
They had even designed some of their security systems specifically because of him.
Ricky had an advantage.
His ability wasn't as physically powerful as JJ's, but it allowed him to know what people were thinking.
That meant they could predict movements.
They could avoid guards.
They could recognize when someone was suspicious.
But Ricky couldn't read every mind in the building at once.
If too many people were nearby, the thoughts became difficult to separate.
So they needed timing.
Perfect timing.
---
The plan was simple in theory.
They would leave their room after midnight.
Ricky would monitor the nearby guards.
JJ would use his telekinesis to move a small security device that controlled one of the doors.
They would travel through a maintenance corridor.
From there, they would reach the eastern section of the building.
Then they would cross the security gate.
After that, they would have to reach the outer perimeter.
The wall surrounding Orion Division was high.
There were cameras everywhere.
But there was one place where the cameras couldn't see properly.
A narrow section near an old storage building.
It was their best chance.
Once they reached the other side of the wall, they would run.
They didn't know where they would go.
They didn't know how they would survive.
They didn't even know what the outside world would be like after spending most of their lives inside Orion Division.
But they knew one thing.
They had to try.
---
The night before the escape, neither of them slept much.
JJ sat on his bed, looking at an old photograph.
It was one of the few things he had kept from his childhood.
His mother.
His father.
And himself.
He barely remembered the day the photograph had been taken.
His mother had been smiling.
His father had been smiling.
JJ had been sitting between them.
A normal family.
A normal life.
At least, that was what the photograph suggested.
Ricky sat across from him.
"You still think about them."
JJ looked at him.
Ricky didn't need to explain.
JJ nodded.
Ricky leaned back.
"Do you think your mother knows you're still alive?"
JJ didn't answer.
Ricky looked at his thoughts.
"Yeah."
JJ raised an eyebrow.
Ricky smiled.
"Sorry."
JJ looked back at the photograph.
Ricky became serious.
"You know, if we get out, you might be able to find her."
JJ looked at him.
The thought had crossed his mind many times.
But there was something else.
His father.
JJ had never understood why his father had given him away.
He had spent years wondering whether his father regretted it.
Whether his mother had tried to find him.
Whether they had forgotten him.
He had no answers.
Maybe freedom would finally give him the chance to find them.
JJ carefully put the photograph away.
Ricky stood.
"Tomorrow."
JJ nodded.
"Tomorrow."
---
The next night arrived.
Midnight passed.
Then one o'clock.
Finally, the moment came.
Ricky sat up.
"Now."
JJ stood.
They quietly left their room.
The corridor was almost completely dark.
JJ moved silently.
Ricky closed his eyes.
He listened to the thoughts around them.
"Left."
JJ immediately turned.
A guard was approaching from the opposite corridor.
They stepped into a small storage room.
The guard walked past.
Ricky waited.
"Clear."
They continued.
They reached the first security door.
JJ placed his hand near the electronic lock.
He concentrated.
The mechanism inside the door shifted.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Ricky smiled.
"Nice."
JJ nodded.
They moved forward.
Another corridor.
Another door.
Another guard.
This time, the guard stopped.
Ricky froze.
JJ looked at him.
Ricky whispered:
"He's suspicious."
The guard looked around.
JJ slowly raised his hand.
A small metal object on the wall lifted slightly.
The guard turned toward it.
JJ moved it.
The object fell.
The guard walked over to investigate.
Ricky grabbed JJ's arm.
"Now."
They ran.
---
They reached the maintenance corridor.
For a few seconds, everything went according to plan.
Then an alarm sounded.
JJ stopped.
Ricky's eyes widened.
"They know."
The lights turned red.
A voice echoed through the corridor.
"Security breach detected."
JJ looked at Ricky.
Ricky shook his head.
"I don't know how they found us."
Footsteps sounded in the distance.
Several guards were approaching.
JJ raised his hands.
A metal door suddenly slammed shut behind them.
The guards were blocked.
Ricky stared at him.
"That won't hold forever."
JJ nodded.
They ran.
The corridor stretched ahead.
JJ could hear the alarms.
He could hear doors opening.
He could hear people shouting.
Ricky could hear something else.
"They're sending people ahead of us."
JJ stopped.
Ricky pointed toward a side corridor.
"We need to go there."
JJ followed him.
They turned.
Then turned again.
Soon, the sounds behind them became quieter.
They had lost the guards.
For a moment, they simply stood there.
Ricky breathed heavily.
"Still alive?"
JJ nodded.
Ricky smiled.
"Good."
They continued.
---
Eventually, they reached the eastern security gate.
The largest obstacle stood directly in front of them.
A massive metal barrier.
Two security cameras watched the area.
JJ looked at them.
Ricky closed his eyes.
"The guards are coming."
JJ looked at the gate.
Then at Ricky.
Ricky understood.
"Do it."
JJ concentrated.
The cameras moved.
One turned toward the ceiling.
The other turned toward the opposite wall.
JJ then focused on the electronic lock.
His hand trembled.
The mechanism resisted.
He concentrated harder.
The lock clicked.
The gate opened.
Ricky smiled.
"Let's go!"
They ran through.
But the cameras suddenly turned back.
A red light appeared.
Ricky looked behind them.
"They're going to see us!"
JJ turned.
He raised his hand.
The camera suddenly disappeared.
Ricky stared.
"Where did you send it?"
JJ pointed toward the floor.
Ricky laughed.
"You teleported it?"
JJ nodded.
"You're getting better."
They continued running.
---
The final obstacle was the outer perimeter.
The wall was enormous.
JJ stared upward.
Ricky looked at him.
"You think you can do it?"
JJ nodded.
He searched for something nearby.
A metal storage container sat beside the wall.
JJ moved it closer.
Then he used his telekinesis to lift it.
Ricky stepped onto it.
JJ followed.
The container rose.
Higher.
Higher.
The top of the wall came closer.
JJ concentrated.
His muscles strained.
Ricky looked down.
"Don't look down."
JJ looked at him.
Ricky laughed nervously.
"I said don't."
They reached the top.
For the first time, JJ could see beyond Orion Division.
There were trees.
Roads.
Buildings.
Lights.
The world.
A world he had only seen through windows and photographs.
JJ stared.
Ricky stood beside him.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
JJ nodded.
Neither moved for several seconds.
Then Ricky pointed ahead.
"Come on."
They climbed down the other side.
Their feet touched the ground.
Neither of them spoke.
They were outside.
Actually outside.
JJ looked back at the wall.
For seventeen years, those walls had controlled his life.
Now they were behind him.
Ricky placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't."
JJ looked at him.
Ricky smiled.
"Don't look back."
JJ looked forward.
And for the first time in his life, he saw a road that didn't belong to Orion Division.
They started walking.
---
They had no money.
No food.
No proper clothes.
No plan beyond escaping.
But they had something more important.
Freedom.
They walked until the facility was no longer visible.
Then they stopped near an empty road.
Ricky sat down.
"We should probably figure out where we're going."
JJ nodded.
Ricky looked at him.
"Any ideas?"
JJ shook his head.
Ricky laughed.
"Me neither."
JJ smiled.
For the first time, neither of them had someone telling them what to do.
No scientists.
No guards.
No schedules.
No tests.
Just the two of them.
JJ reached into his pocket and pulled out the old photograph.
He looked at his family.
Then he looked toward the road ahead.
Ricky watched him.
"You're thinking about finding them."
JJ nodded.
"We can."
JJ looked at him.
Ricky smiled.
"Eventually."
JJ put the photograph away.
They started walking again.
They didn't know where they were going.
They didn't know what would happen next.
But they were finally free.
At least, they thought they were.
Because somewhere behind them, inside Orion Division, an alarm was still sounding.
And someone was already looking for them.
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