Young Writers Society

As I walk, I’m not watching where I’m going and step on something that holds strong under my foot. I look down to find a communication device. The box is small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and won’t be hard to hide in my back pocket. There’s an earpiece there too that doubles as a microphone as well. I could never be a comms. How does anyone make something like this?

I set up the device. Despite knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’ll work, I test it out. “Will? You there?” The silence unnerves me. What happened to Will? He should be right there on the other side, waiting for me to contact him.

A burst of static attacks my ear drum before Will’s voice comes in clear. “How cool is this? You should see the equipment I have here! Computers, monitors, a keyboard designed specifically for coding. I could hack into the president’s private chamber with this technology.”

“That’s great,” I respond. “But forget about the advantages for a second. What are we supposed to do now? We need a plan. Oh, did anything strange happen on your end?"

Will rambles on about an earthquake and blacking out, all while I hear him typing away in the background. None of what he says really differs from my experience. I want to know more than what happened. I want to know where to go from here. I want to know what’s on the other end of that door.

Of course neither of us have those answers, so I give up planning. Whatever happened to us was supposed to happen. Somehow that was our transportation. There seemed to be no other solution.

All Will is able to tell me is that I’ll be walking into a hallway. He’s still working on bringing up the entire map of the place and warns me not to take a step out there.

“I’m going in.” I say as I start off toward the door.

“What? No. You need to take three steps back and start forming a plan.” Will demands. But I’m not listening, ignoring the fact I never go into anything without a plan. His job is to protect me, to follow me to the grave and back. It’s not that I don’t appreciate his insight, but sometimes he’s wrong. Like he is now.

I push the door open and step out into the hallway.

It’s bright in here; I don’t like it. There are so many lights that I have to raise my hand to shield my eyes. With almost every inch of this hallway illuminated, it’ll be hard for me to pass through unnoticed. Of course. And it doesn’t help that I’m boxed in, forced to go straight ahead because there’s a dead end behind me.

The door I came through slams shut, making me jump. I look back at it, but don’t see a handle or any indication that there was ever a door there. Great. How am I supposed to get back now?

The hallway makes me feel sick. The walls are white, the floor is white, the ceiling is white. It’s too much white. Would it hurt these guys to add some color? If I have any dirt on me anywhere, I’ll leave a mark. Normally I wouldn’t care, but I can’t leave any traces here that could lead back to me.

Ahead of me the hallway curves. At least I think it does. My eyes are having trouble processing anything in this monochrome design. Whoever designed this building could’ve put a nice, thick black line running along the middle of the wall. That would’ve helped.

Will is rattling off information in my ear. He finally managed to download the entire map of the place. Apparently this hallway leads to the main room where the cup is. All I have to do is retrieve the cup and make it back down this hallway. Will promises to get cracking on opening that hidden door again.

I move to take a step, but Will barks in my ear, “Don’t move!” His words sound desperate enough to stop me. I know that this place has defenses, but I have no idea what their security system is like. My brain is creating every impossible, terrible situation, from collapsing ceilings to flooding out the hallway. And I believe ever one of them.

A sudden, panicked question rises in my mind. How far from Vido’s am I? I hadn’t left that room that I first entered, but the note had mentioned transportation. If I’m really somewhere on campus there would be no need for that. This building must be off campus, maybe even somewhere in the city. Will could be any range of distances from me, which I’m not too fond of. What if technology fails him and I need help? He can’t just pop over here when I snap my fingers.

I’m alone.

“Done,” he announces, sounding rather proud of himself. “I knocked out their motion sensors. There doesn’t seem to be any cameras, but they could be easily hidden.”

“Well can you find the hidden ones?” I hiss. I can almost hear him cringing under my harsh tone. Unfortunately though, he’s used to it by now. Sometimes I let my emotions get the best of me.

There’s a pause before Will responds. “It’s hard to tell, Bryn. They could be anywhere.”

“You said that they could be easily hidden. That means easily found.”

“I meant easy for them to hide so no one could find them,” he retorts. “I didn’t say that I could find them.”

I groan audibly. We don’t have time for an argument. I’m standing in the same spot I was when I first came in and I don’t even have my watch to tell me how much time is left. There’s a lot more riding on this mission than it seems on the surface. I cannot fail.

I tell Will to keep an eye out for any cameras as I start down the hall. Any noise I make makes me flinch. Will had promised to make it look like I’m not even here, but I still want to be discreet. Just because the sensors are down and there are no cameras, which I find odd, doesn’t mean I can run around screaming and pounding the walls. Someone somewhere is going to hear me. Besides, this cup is important enough that Vido wants it. No one is going to leave something like that unguarded.

The hallway leads me through twists and turns, each one revealing a new path that ends in white. I start to wonder if I’ll ever reach the end. Maybe this is just all an illusion and I’ve actually been walking in circles for hours.

A sudden thud that doesn’t come from me makes me jump. I spin around to look behind me, expecting to see something out of place, but everything is just the way it was. My heart races.

“Will,” I whisper. “Did that noise come from your end?”

“What noise? I didn’t hear anything.”

I curse under my breath. My grandmother’s ninety-five year old house makes noises. This new building laid out entirely in white wouldn’t make noises. Someone is out there. I’m praying that they don’t already know I’m here.

I continue on with a new focus. Despite the panic the noise installed in me, it gives me strength. Now I can go on knowing that someone’s after me. The mystery is solved; I have an enemy.

“Down!” Will orders. I don’t think twice. I flatten myself against the cold floor. A complicated array of lasers appear throughout the hallway. There’s no consistent pattern to it from what I can see. Some go straight up and down, others side to side, others diagonal. The only thing I care about is that none of them cut through me. I’m lucky to have been in a place where no lasers reach the floor.

I wait for Will to say something. Never before have I been face to face with a stick of burning energy, threatening to eat my skin alive. Will may know something though. I can only pray that he finds a way to get rid of them. I’m surprised that he didn’t see them coming. He has the entire floor plan of the building. Why isn’t he studying it closer?

Stop it. Will is doing his best. I reprimand myself. If I question him even in the slightest, our trust will be broken. I can’t have that. Will and I are one. We do this together. Questioning him would only be questioning myself.

But as I lay here I can’t help but get antsy. “Will, got any ideas?” I can’t keep the panic out of my voice. I hate it. Fear is weakness and I’m not going to show weakness to anyone. Not even my best friend.

“I’m working on it,” he responds, a slight difference in his voice. I can’t tell if he’s annoyed with me or the situation. “This is some complicated coding. I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Will is very skilled, but if he ever comes across something he can’t fix, it mine as well be the end of the world. He panics more than he takes time to really think it out. Usually I’m there to keep him relaxed, but I can’t do that over sounds waves.

While I wait, I study the lasers. There’s obviously not a set pattern; I’ve realized that now. The only holes I see are too small for me to make through. Not that I would risk it if I thought I could fit. I’m not interested in getting my skin burned off.

That’s when I see the small opening in front of me. I was too busy focusing on the big picture that I hadn’t noticed what was in my face. I can get a bit farther along the hallway. It seems like a good idea. I need something to distract my mind while I wait. But can I risk it? There seems to be more than enough room for me to make it, but we don’t know anything about these lasers. They could be motion sensing. The second I move, one could pop out from the wall and incinerate me.

It’s something I have to do though. I have to find a way to get through in case Will can’t help.

So I start moving. I move my right hand first, slowly sliding it forward. When the lasers don’t react I move my left hand to match the other. Gripping the floor as well as I can, I pull myself forward. My heart pounds so hard I fear that it might break through my ribs. One wrong move and I’m done for.

I make it as far as I can before I’m boxed in again. My eyes scan the area, begging to find a place I can go. There’s nowhere left. I’m truly stuck now.