Out Of This World

Kim sneezed, eyes tearing and throat stinging as flakes of grey soot stuck to her wet mouth. They floated delicately around her like soft, ashen confetti, celebrating separation, death, heartache. Irony.

“Sorry,” she said, wiping the spray of saliva from Ben’s clammy cheek. Ben turned his head and gave her a small smile, jostling her higher up to rest on his hips. Kim followed a piece of ash with her watery eyes. Deathly let strangely beautiful, its glowing amber edges curled inwards as it landed on Ben’s shoulder. Kim tapped it gently with her finger and felt it crumble into powder beneath her touch. She raised her index finger and trailed it down her left cheek.

Ada pounced out from the thick grey smoke and came to a stop in the cell’s door way. Wisps of opaque white stroked her figure as if trying to allure her back into the hell hole. She stood firm, coughing a little before producing a gun from the wedge of her arm.

“Don’t hesitate,” she said firmly, pushing the weapon to Ben’s chest. He fumbled a bit with Kim before reaching out and securing it against him. Ada looked at Kim pointedly before taking a step forward and staring Ben crucially in the eye. “Protect her, she’s all you’ve got now,” she said, before turning sharply away and striding quickly down the corridor. Ben felt the solid weight of life on his back and reinforced his grip.

The hallway carried on for a good thirty echoing paces before a soft green glow shafted out from the right. It was this right that took the three up a short set of steps to a heavy metal door with flaking red paint and a push-down handle. Ada leaned on it with her elbow and forearm and shoved with the corresponding shoulder. The muscles on her calves flexed to their limit as she walked them into her lunge. With a low growl the door grated open. The exit sign flickered and Ada froze, listening for signs of pursue before stepping outside and ushering Ben and Kim through.

The air was still and cool as Ada lead the way across the giant sandpit, keeping to the shadows so they all blended together, safe from the moon’s luminous glow. From Ben’s back, Kim could make out several one-story buildings placed strategically around the site- two dimensional boxes against the navy blue sky. The place seemed too mediocre, too poorly guarded for a top secret base but eighteen years of idle soldiers guarding idle experiments had run the agency low on funds. It was upon noticing this that Kieth Rogers withdrew the campus sentry and limited it to six men watching CCTV cameras and a hundred more on call at a push of a button.

Ada’s head angled upwards, her eyes twitched to inspect the perimeter of the vicinity before nudging Ben in the ribs and scampering across the sand to the shadows of another building. Ben followed suit, trying his best to jerk Kim around as little as possible. Ada grabbed Ben and forced him and Kim against the russet brick before flattening her back against it too. Her chest shuddered as she struggled to keep her breath from gasping out. Ben and Kim stared at her, perplexed, but remained silent and motionless. The muted thump of footsteps on sand sounded a few metres away and the three stopped breathing all together. Ada relaxed as they died away, as did Ben, but Kim remained quivering and wide-eyed, unbeknown that the guard was not intending to come back in a hurry. Ada popped her head around the wall and began to creep around it but Ben placed a firm hand on her shoulder and grabbed her back.

“How do you know where you’re taking us?” he hissed under his breath, eying her skeptically. What he really wanted to say was “How do we know where you’re taking us?” but the words twisted into something innocent as they slipped from his brain. Ada’s face fell at the lack of trust circulating in her direction; she’d brought it upon herself and it wasn’t going to be easily forgotten.

“Open your mind Ben,” she said softly, “Listen to them, predict their actions and counter them, look into their minds...do you see?” Ben’s eyes glazed over and his jaw lowered a little to expose the infinite darkness between his lips. It was as if he were in another’s body, watching as a rough hand drew up and scratched what would be his face, though he felt nothing. He knew if felt satisfying, and that the itch was gone, but the feeling of nails grating over wind-worn skin was completely and utterly absent to his brain. Ben carried on watching through the soldier’s eyes as he entered a building, skipped up two flights of iron stairs and carried on down a hallway. Ben knew the near-blindness was irritating, he knew the clang! of feet on metal was obnoxious and uncomfortable to the ears, but the feelings were not experienced. At the end of the hall was a door, and seeing it, the soldier quickened his pace and reached for the knob, giving it a sharp turn and jerking the door open. Ben knew the knob was cold. The soldier stopped, the view zoomed in and focused on several main aspects: five men asleep on office chairs, eleven mini TVs screening various sections of the base, one screening black. The view focused out again and suddenly the five soldiers were jolting awake. Ben didn’t hear the soldier’s yells, he only felt the panic.

“They’re coming!” He hissed, snapping Ada out of a similar trance. She nodded, eyes shining apprehensively.

“Who?” Kim whispered, her heart pattering furiously against Ben’s back. Ben held her firmly and her heart quickened even more as she felt his grip tense around her legs.

“The soldiers, they’ve realized we’re gone,” Ben replied monotonously.

“We don’t have much time,” Ada gave them both critical look, “Over there!”
Ada gestured toward another building -about the size of a master bedroom- diagonally opposite the building they were standing at before sprinting off towards it, kicking up a spray of sand behind her. Ben followed and caught up to her pace, adrenaline rush aiding the extra weight. Ada halted abruptly at the door, took a decided step back and lashed out with her leg, kicking down on the door handle with an inhuman force. The handle fell off with a clang! and landed silently on the sand below. Ada then lifted her leg again and brought it close to her body before striking out with her heel and kicking the door open with a small, feminine grunt. Inside, the room was crammed with crates from the floor piled upwards, sometimes all the way to the ceiling. Ada took one sweeping look before bounding in and grabbing a crow bar from atop a near by box. In one swift movement she had the lid off and the crate’s contents visible. Kim peered over Ben’s shoulder at the cakes of explosives tucked in with wood shavings.

“Just one will do,” Ada said, her voice drifting, “Just one...”

“What?!” Kim yelled, a little louder than intended. “Use one and the whole thing will...oh...” She gaped, her face taking on a horrified expression, “Ada...you can’t!”

“I can and I must. I have nothing to live for,” Ada got down on her knees and carefully began pushing the wood shavings aside with her finger tips, “There’s no point you breaking out if they’re just gonna catch you again, Kim. I’m giving you three minutes after this is set up to get the hell out of here.” Her eyes remained fixed on the crate. “Take a left out of this room, then take the back route along the fence behind the next two buildings. Its not far, you should be at the back fence in thirty seconds.” Ada gestured to the corner of the room, “Climb over and get as far away as possible.”

“Three minutes?” Ben questioned, “That fence is barbed up top, we can’t make-“

“Over there,” Ada nodded at another crate in the corner of the room, “Should be some pliers, cut through.” Ben nodded and Kim looked at him disbelievingly. Ada began carefully unloading the crate and wiring the explosives together. Kim watched her with wet eyes as Ben walked them to the other crate and handed her the two pairs of pliers. When Ada was done, she looked up at them both and gave them a determined nod towards the door. Ben nodded back and started in the said direction.

“Ada,” He said as they reached the doorway, “Thank you.”

Ada didn’t respond. Her face was pinched together and she was staring mesmerized at the wiring on the floor. Ben turned and carried on outside, closing the door behind him.

“Ben, are we honestly just going to leave-“

“I’m not risking you.” Ben’s voice was rough and strained. Kim’s argument caught in her throat at the compassion in his tone and she held him tighter to her body. Ben took a left and carried on along the fence at a fast pace. Suddenly he stopped and the two froze against the wall. Several pairs of feet were walking briskly past, the feedback of a walkie-talkie droning away in someone’s hand. Ben waited until they were a safe distance away and continued on along the fence. Soon the fence was met by another one placed horizontally across to meet it at a corner. Ben placed Kim gently down on the sand and she leaned back on the wire, breathing deeply to calm her nerves. She handed Ben the pliers and he set to work cutting a hole in the barrier.

Snap! Snap!

Perspiration glistened on the creases of Ben’s forehead as he cut through, the metal bending outwards and nicking his fingertips. Kim picked up the other plier and began forty centimeters across from Ben’s section.

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

Ben pulled his sleeves over his hands and pulled at the wire, a gaping hole now began at the sand and formed a child-sized gap to crawl through. Just enough for Kim, but not enough for him. Ben’s focus wavered towards the time and he thought about sending Kim through by herself. Kim read his expression and frowned, reaching for the pliers and enlarging the hole.

Snap!

Snap!

Click-click!

The two froze.

“Drop the pliers and turn around,” The voice had a harsh wring of command and threat blended together. Kim whimpered and dropped her tool, shuffling around to face the pointed barrel.

“Both of you.”

Ben’s eyes were glazed over again. The soldier was going to take one hand off his gun to pull the back and load it again- the sound was going to scare Ben into obeying. In the solid second it took for the guard to lift his fingers from the hold, Ben swiveled -gun erect- and fired three shots into the man’s chest. Kim closed her eyes and cringed at the sound. The man dropped his weapon and collapsed into the sand. Ben breathed hard, teeth clenched together, hands shaking. The thoughts of a gun shot ringing into the darkness snapped him out of it- the rest were coming. Kim began snapping at the fence relentlessly, missing several times which pushed her into even more panic. Ben snatched the pliers from her and shoved her down towards the hole.

“Kim, go! Get out of here! Please!” he begged, pushing her into the sand.

“Ben- no!” She struggled against his arms and hung onto his torso, eyes over flowing with salt water.

“Kim, please! Ada will have heard the shots, she’ll be lighting it in seconds- please Kim, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Kim gasped, pressing her lips to his. He kissed back but pulled away, “More than anything,” she sobbed.

“Kim, go!” Ben shoved the gun into her hands and pushed her onto all fours. Kim ducked under the gap and pulled herself along on her stomach. Her shirt caught on the jagged bits of metal and tore away. “Run!”

Kim started running- backwards. Behind Ben she could see a group of men in uniform sprinting towards him. They slowed down, held their guns, took aim and began to fire. Ben ducked and shoved himself through the gap. The metal skewers clung to his flesh, tearing away in a bloody, fleshy mess. He grunted in pain and looked up at Kim hopelessly. Kim screamed and fell backwards in the sand.

“Kim, Run!” Ben screeched. Kim couldn’t see where she was going, everything was a watery black and grey. She pawed at the sand and crawled desperately toward the gunshots.

“Ben!”

“Kim!”

Silence.

BOOM...

Kim’s body was hurled backwards, limbs flapping helplessly against the current of air and sand forcing her back across the land. She landed on her spine and scattered several metres further, body twisting and turning uncontrollably as it hurtled away. With one last push she was flung to the ground where she lay, limp and ashen. A high pitched bleep rang out through her ears. Numb- she felt nothing as she lay on the sand, check listing body parts and trying to make sense of the senseless shrieking in her head. The shrieking grew louder, into a brain-imploding growl. It seemed to grow in her head and well over, and over, and over, slipping down her body and spilling into something more than her heart. Her soul? She didn’t know. So much of it had already been blown to oblivion, that she doubted its existence. Her throat burned as the shriek erupted from her lips, though she could still hear nothing but the shrill bleep.

Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!

The shrieking wouldn’t stop. She fingered the comfortable weight in her palm.

Shut up!

Kim lifted the gun, pushed the barrel to the back of the shriek, and shut it the fuck up.