Silence Falls

Alexis, Natasha, Demitria and Onika each thoroughly tiptoed out of the unoccupied room they had locked themselves in right before the scuffle took place, unsure whether it was truly secure from the other staffs of the facility that could be patrolling nearby. The first thing Demetria saw when she walked out was the limp bodies distributed all over the floors. “Oh my god!” Gasping in horror, she covered her mouth and spun away. Despite having seen lifeless bodies before, she hadn't gotten used to it yet.

“Shh, it's okay. They can't hurt us now.” Alexis alleviated, placing a hand on her shoulder for comfort as she glared down at these people that were their enemies. For years, they kept them sealed down there with no aim of ever letting them out. It was horrific that it had to come to this, human beings slaying each other, but if that's what they had to do in order to escape, then it was imminent.

Onika stepped towards Bert, her brown eyes beseeching with him as her features remained unruffled by the remains. “Can we leave now, Bert? I don't want to fucking stay here any longer in case their friends come looking for them.”

With permission, Bert said. “You're right, we're leaving.”

Hermanni emerged from one of the rooms nearby, and greeted out to their leader before anyone could make a move towards the exit. “Bert. Here.” He watched as Bert twisted around to glimpse at him suspiciously. Signaling with a point of his finger deeper into the room, Hermanni departed back inside to pause before a cart of fresh white bed sheets. As Bert made his way towards the doorway, Hermanni closed his eyes for a moment, then steadily opened them to review the stockpile of loaded handguns assembled on the sheets.

“WHOA, WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM?” Bert hissed in astonishment as Hermanni stepped aside to thoroughly present what he had already seen. An odd cache of handguns loaded on a cart that's function was to transfer bed sheets to each patient's room. Where did those come from, he marveled to himself? Moving forward, Bert delicately seize one in hopes of verifying that his mind was playing tricks on him. When the weight and feel substantiated otherwise, Bert's large eyes hurtled to Hermanni, who nodded as if awarding him license to use it. “These...these are real?”

Hermanni nodded again, an eager smile on his face as if he just presented Bert a chest chock-full of authentic gold dubloons, and priceless gems. “Yes.”

Not understanding why they were here, Bert shook his head. “But...why? I mean, who would a mountain of guns be stashed in a patient's room like this where anyone walking by could see it? I don't fucking get it!”

Having come up behind him, Natasha's eyes amplified at the sight of the destructive weapons. Reaching out, she picked one up unbeknownst to Bert. “Whoa, we should totally take all these guns with us, Bert!”

Jumping at her unforeseen presence, Bert shot her a look of displeasure as he rescued the gun from her and rebuked. “Give me that! None of us probably know the first thing about using a gun!”

“That may be true, but I think we can all agree that we're already past NOT slaughtering our way outta here because it's already come to that!” Natasha reminded him, kidnapping back the gun to aimlessly hand them all out to the others behind her. Gazing back at them, she could tell some of the others appeared unsettled about using the loaded weapons on actual people, and also on how to use it. Either way, they elected not to articulate their concerns on it, likewise seeing that it was fundamental for their survival.

“Fuck it, you've got a point. We've already wiped out a bunch of people already, what's the harm of killing the rest trying to stop us?” Bert threw a hand up in defeat before undertaking and successfully cocking his gun utilizing long ago experience. “Alright, let's get the fuck out of here everyone, and shoot ANYONE that tries to stop us, understand?”

The group nodded shakily, some clenching the guns to their chest like armor, some with perspiration forming on their foreheads, and all with their heart beating powerfully in their ears. The spectacle of these young kids with guns would probably be enough to make their attackers laugh, and grasp their guns with further motivation for the hunt. Sensibly these kids were terrified beyond anything at this point now they had a gun in their hands. For the most part all they had to do to escape was to dash like hell for freedom except for the slower few that might not have a choice but to shoot someone. At this very moment, they all had to be fit to kill from here on out. True, murdering can come easy for some, in fact it can be quite the adrenaline rush and a thrilling adventure. But none of them were confident that they had that capability within them even after all they'd been through.The members of the gang that hadn't murdered anyone up to this point were trembling so much at the thought that their time would soon come where they'd have to raise the gun and shoot. For the ones who had spilled blood, all except Connor had a look of monotony on their face. They didn't really want to have to do all that again. Taking lives hadn't come easy to their hearts, but their minds knew they had to get the job done.

With one definite nod, Otep diligently attended the group down the long hallway and towards the exit. Every little noise that reverberated the pleasantly-decorated hallway nearly gave them a heart attack for fear of getting assaulted by another crew of vile employees determined to arrest them and tow them back underground again. Bert monitored from the back of the group as his comrades bumped and nearly stumbled over each other due to flinging rapid peeks into each room they passed just in case there was a staff member taking shelter there with the anticipation of getting the drop on them.

“Hurry guys, I think I can see the front door from here! We're almost free!” Cris heartened with glee, a huge smile on his face with shimmering sapphire eyes dancing in rejoice. The females let out a mix of gasps and expelling sobs of discharged strain. The males couldn't contain themselves from making hurrahs in triumph. At the end of the hall was a grand bright light shinning through from the right where the exit had to be, it was presumed to be sunlight. No one balked to turn right to be washed in its warm brilliance...no one except for Bert.

Sighing with reprieve, but no longer laughing, Bert regarded his friends exploded out through the front double doors with cheers of merriment in the fresh open air, plummeting down the stairs and crashing to their knees to feel the earth with their bare hands, or dance beneath the rays of the sun with their arms outstretched. Bert suddenly grasped he couldn't leave this facility just yet. No, his mind and body weren't ready to make that move. Much to his own dismay, Bert had something else to do first. Fingering the trigger to his handgun, Bert whirled around and backtrack down the hall until he made a right into an 'employee only' access, up a flight of stairs and towards the Office of Dr. McCarter. Two men were stationed outside the white double doors, heedless of the imminent danger hiding behind the corner to their left. Bert pressed his back to the wall, closed his eyes, and tried to concentrate on relaxing the heavy drumming of his heart.

What am I doing? I mean, am I really gonna shoot these men in order to face the man liable for incarcerating us face to face? They could have families, Bert deemed, until visions of the traumatic ordeals of not just what his friends been through, but what the other young patients that were driven insane until their last dying breath had gone through. Bert's eyes narrowed into a vindictive glare filled with malice so red hot he couldn't hold it back. Lifting his gun, Bert turned past the corner into a crouch, targeted, and shot his gun at the guards. It'd been a long time since he used a gun, and so he predicted to have several misses. However, the guards didn't have enough time to snag their guns from their holsters, and were hit by the bullets, succumbing instantaneously before they hit the floor in front of the white door bearing a cross in the center. Without breaking a sweat, Bert traipsed forward, ignoring his spectacular luck to kick the door open and direct the gun precisely at Dr. McCarter who stood behind his desk with his hands up.

“Over here! Over here!” Bam hailed out to the others as he and Connor pinpointed the ideal getaway vehicle.

“It's big enough for all of us!” Connor included once everyone was reunited again, reaching for the door handle and dragging it open, but then suspended immediately in place. “Oh fuck...”

In the back seat sat a recoiling medical doctor that must have been late for work and had just shown up the second before they came exploding out of the facility brandishing their handguns. His eyes were as enormous as the moon as they scurried between Bam and Connor with terror stamped on his face. They look like patients, but what in the name of our lord are they doing out here, the medical doctor desperately deliberate to himself before suddenly, Connor and Bam dived to the floor after identifying something behind him through the window. The doctor swiveled to peer out his right window and diagnosed what had startled them, but only had time for his screech to lodge in his throat as a bullet shattered through the window and went straight through the inner corner of his eye. His lifeless body sagged against the door with a thud, blood splattered all over that side of the car's interior.

Bam and Connor slowly straightened back up and scrutinized the blood with horror. “Holy shit...”

Coming around the car from the other side, Otep crammed her handgun back in her pants before pushing past them to wrench the man's body out to ransack his pockets. “Weird. No keys.” Otep rambled to herself before heading to the front door to explore the front seats for it. Upon not locating any, she banged her fist on the dashboard with a curse. “Fuck! We got no damn keys in here. Do any of you know how to hot-wire this van?”

Bam pointed at her in incredulity, having trouble fathoming what she just done. “Dude...you just shot his brains out.”

“No shit, Sherlock, now do you know how to hot-wire this thing or not?!” Otep snapped, growing irritable with everyone's setback. Who cared if she shot the man, he was slowing them down, innocent or not.

Alexis stepped forward from behind the two boys, lifting a hand. “I-I can. My brother taught me.”

Fascinated, Connor, Bam and Otep monitored Alexis as she got to work slashing the wires beneath the steering wheel with a pair of scissors she discovered. “Well, ain't that a surprise among many?” Connor shared, a smile on his face. Within a few minutes the van was initiated, and everyone clambered into the van ready to go home..wherever home is.