41. Junkyard Explosions
1048 Words
With teary eyes, Amir steadied his posture and from where he was, he watched fumes go up into the sky.
Not particularly sure of what to make of the explosion, he reasoned he had to get them all to safety.
"We should-" he stopped as he turned and saw an empty seat where Chloe was supposed to be, or at least clamouring for shelter. "Where is Chloe?"
Lucille also sat up and looked around. There was still no sign of Chloe. “Do you think she ran elsewhere?"
Amir, who was already feeling extremely uneasy, found no response to Lucille's question.
His skin feeling like it was being roasted and eaten by some parasite at the same time, he looked beyond the jumbled mess of abandoned, rusting cars behind them.
Still, he saw no sign of Chloe.
"Lucille?" The woman looked at him, her worry as much as his. "Get your stuff and Chloe's, too. I have a feeling we should leave this place now."
"But what about Chloe? A-And your car?"
He reached for his small cross bag from underneath the driver's seat. He always kept it in his vehicle in case of a need to hold less stuff in his hands.
As his head popped to the surface, he said, "We need to find Chloe. Forget about the car."
"Okay. I have our stuff."
"Good. Let's go."
All that was on his mind was finding Chloe. Nothing was to happen to her as far as he was concerned.
"Wait. I think I can see someone approaching," Lucille said as she shut the passenger door, her eyes squinting as though they had ultravision.
"That is not Chloe," he pointed out as he analysed that the approaching figure had the physique of a man.
As the figure moved closer amidst the crazy fumes, which Amir’s throat was starting to react to, another loud noise came.
It was another explosion, and it had the floor and machines vibrating.
Before Amir could tell Lucille to run, the earlier figure ran towards them.
"Sebastian?!" Amir yelled.
It was indeed Sebastian. Covered in soot and sweat, he looked like life had pissed on him a million times.
“What's going on, Seb?”
“Amir… We…” Sebastian gasped for air as he halted. “We need to get out… out of here. They're going to blow this place up.”
“Wh-” Amir shook his head. The moment wasn't the time for questions. “Sebastian, we need to find Chloe. She disappeared.”
The man found a way to reduce his panting. "We…" He gasped for air. "We need to get out of here. They are going to blow this whole place up."
Sebastian's eyes darkened as he swept them from Amir to Lucille. "We had better do that fast."
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Chloe had rushed out of the car after the explosion and had no idea she was running alone till she had made it a far distance away from where Amir and Lucille were.
And she had no idea how she was going to find her way back.
She tried looking for a way, but the area seemed to be some kind of junkyard maze.
Her head calculating, her eyes scanning through the area for the umpteenth time, Chloe worked out and struck the paths she had taken, hoping within her that she was calculating the right thing.
With the growing desire to get out, she made for a certain path on her extreme right, which was narrower than the rest.
But, before she could move more than three steps, another explosion came and fire gutted out.
The vang felt closer this time, her legs even gave in to the vibration of the ground.
As she managed to get up and maintain balance, her side eye caught the familiar brightness of fire in a nearby window and that was when she realised.
The explosion was right behind her!
Should she remain in that spot, she would not survive.
So, with some guts, she rushed towards the narrow path she had just discovered.
Her heart couldn't stop pounding with the fear that she could end up dead, but she kept running either way. She didn't even look back once to check if the explosion was closer than before.
When she met another straight dead end, she was nearly turning left when she noticed a rusted door on the right.
It was slightly open.
Without thinking twice, she entered.
She hurried down the staircase that led her away from the flames and soon, she ended up in a large room reeking of engine oil.
All that was in the space was a small chair.
With a frown, her cautious steps advanced towards the chair and she worried about how she would reach Amir and Lucille.
“I hope they're fine,” her voice echoed as she sat.
Suddenly, a sharp pain rushed into her head.
With a wince, she squeezed her eyes shut, but the pain worsened. So much that she fell to the ground with a painful thud.
With her eyes now refusing to open, her fear grew bigger and she worried that she would die in this unknown place.
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She didn't die.
Weirdly she was seated, but feeling uncomfortable.
And as she lifted her head and snapped her eyes open, she found out why.
Thick ropes secured her hands against both arms of the chair. Even her legs were roped together such that as she tried to budge, only pure pain surged through her body.
Unable to make sense of the situation, Chloe adjusted her eyes to the dimmed space and immediately, she noticed the eyes watching her from afar.
Scoffing, she cleared her throat and called, “Stop hiding and show your face.
Nothing came after. Not even a squeak.
"You will regret this. I will make sure," Chloe almost growled as she felt more pain.
"Now that's where you are wrong," came the response, finally.
But the voice...
Chloe's mind raced to and fro.
The voice was so familiar.
The owner didn't make her ponder too much.
Heavy steps echoed through the room as he marched forward, his hands pocketed with style.
As he finally stepped closer enough, Chloe's soul grew bigger as she whispered, "Agent Markings."
- Writer
