"Not even locked!" Nate turns the handle. "Why wouldn't they lock a security room?"

"Um, because it's a trap to violently kill all four of us," Jack replies, coming up behind him.

"I'll die last," Cara says. "Just to have that little satisfaction of beating you guys at something."

"Wow, dark," I laugh.

"No trap that I can see," Nate steps in. "Just computers. They're all off though."

"Room for us all in there?" I ask.

"Oh yeah, come on in."

I walk in last and take in the sight. There must be twenty or more computers here, lining the walls.

"Do they work? Will they turn on?"

"Let's see." Nate reaches for a few buttons and then waits. The computers buzz to life.

Open security cameras? They simultaneously blink. Two 'yes or no' buttons rest underneath.

"Click yes," Cara whispers.

Jack reaches forward and does it, then a new set of images fill the screens.

"No!" I cover my mouth with my hand. "Oh please no."

"Aria, it's okay. It's okay," Nate pulls me to his chest, but I can't look away from the screens.

"Are they... are they dead?" Cara whispers.

"No... No..." I shake my head. "No, no, no."

"T– They can't be dead. Why would there be cameras on their bodies if they were dead?"

"Observation?" Cara squeaks out.

On the screens is security video footage of all the eliminated. They do look like corpses, lying in a bubble shaped to their bodies inside some weird red fluid.

"Carrie," I touch the screen that shows her. She looks peaceful, but deadly pale.

"I guess that's what the other door leads to..."

"The door was open, sir!" An unfamiliar voice breaks the silence that follows. "They must be here!" It takes me only a few minutes to remember the chosen it belongs too.

"Guys, grab my arm," I whisper-scream.

They quickly do, and I work at turning all three of them invisible. I bite my tongue and scrunch my face together, trying to ignore the searing pain. They really should've fixed that when creating the abilities.

"Let's go," Nate whispers.

Cara, Jack and I nod. We make it into the main room before anyone speaks again. There are four guards and three Chosen, including the one who previously spoke.

"The security room was open. The monitors were on, sir."

"Do you know what this means?" A guard, obviously the leader, yells.

"Wha– What does it m– mean sir?"

"It means they've seen what's on those monitors. Not a single one of them can escape now, you got that? Do what you have to do. Bring them all back to me! NOW!"

"Yes sir! Will do, sir!"

"We're screwed," Nate whispers into my ear.

I put the palm of the hand they're not all clutching onto over his mouth to shush him. Then, I drag them all over to the door, holding my breath as I go. We need to wait for someone to go out the door, and then scoot out before it closes. That really won't be easy for four people at once.

As if reading my thoughts, Nate speaks again in a whisper saying, "I'll run, they won't even see me."

"I'll shrink," Cara adds helpfully.

"Did you hear something?" a guard on the other side of the room asks to a chosen.

I freeze in spot and await the response.

"Um, no? Why, did you?"

"Guess not."

The first Chosen we heard marches over to the door and heads outside, flinging the door open. Nate dashes out with Cara shrunk down sitting on his shoulder, leaving just me and Jack to follow. The leader then snaps his fingers, symbolizing for all to follow him out. After the last one falls into line, we scurry behind him, making as little noise as possible with our rushed steps. It's not too big of a problem anyway, as the six of them make plenty of noise to cover up any sound we might accidentally make. Once we're outside and far enough away from them, I let of a huge breath of relief. Jack and I had went behind the building, while they went straight ahead, so he can let go of my arm now.

"Oh thank goodness," I sigh as the pain of keeping him invisible evanesces. "I thought you'd never let go, Jack."

"Please tell me that was not a Titanic reference."

"Using humour to null my pain. I just saw someone I really care about floating in a creepy chamber, I can make Titanic references if I so decide."

He nods. "Feel better now?"

"Yes. We need to get them out of there though!"

"Geez, this keeps getting more and more complicated," Jack groans.

"I know."

"But you're right. They must be alive still, they need to be rescued."

"Okay, we need to find everyone else and bring them back here."

"Yes, okay which way?"

"Let's split up," I suggest hesitantly.

"Split up?! We're already split up! Nate and Cara are gone!"

"Come on, we know where we're meeting back up again!"

"Hope!"

"Jack!"

"Ugh! You're being very problematic right now."

"Jack, come on. We're both smart people!"

"Fine! I'll call you in an hour. If you don't pick up..."

"Then I've been brutally murdered?"

"Or are being tortured maliciously."

"Yeah that's a possibility."

"Okay. If Nate kills me, this was all your idea and therefore all your fault."

"Well it was all my idea, so you're good."

"One hour then."

"One hour."

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I run through the woods, dodging branches and hopping over anything lying on the ground in front of me. The sun is straight ahead of me on the horizon, and the pinks, oranges, and purples of a sunset are already starting to fill the sky. Oh how I missed sunsets.

"Aria?"

I spin around to see the brown haired boy staring back at me. "Nate! There you are!"

"I've been looking for you!" he laughs.

"I've been looking for you too! Where's Cara?"

"Cara? Uh, Cara. She's with Jack."

"You found Jack?"

"Yes." Nate scratches the back of his neck. "All of us ran into him a minute ago."

All of who?

"Oh. Okay. Hey they're something I wanted to tell you," My voice wavers. "I um, I wanted you to know..."

"Know what?" He takes a few steps closer.

"About what you said. A while ago."

"What did I say? What do you mean?"

Don't you know what I'm talking about?

I ignore his last comment and clear my throat. I can do it. "I don't know why I'm so scared to say this..."

I takes a few more steps, and now he's only two feet away."

"You should know that I, I um." I suck in a breath, and he takes one more step.

"I love you too."

"Aw, isn't that cute," he smirks, grabbing my hands and pinning them behind my back.

"What're you doing?!"

"I can't believe you thought I was him!" The boy suddenly changes his face and voice completely. This isn't Nate at all. "You clearly don't love him that much if you don't even know when someone else is impersonating him!"

"Let me go!" I pull and thrash around, trying to free myself, but someone else comes from the shadows cast by the trees and grabs onto my right arm.

"Come on, let's take her in."

"Let go!" I screech. "Get your hands off of me!" 

*******************

Hey, have any of you guys seen The 5th Wave movie yet? I'm halfway through the book, it's so good! 

Hope you like the chapter! :D I can't believe how close I am to 50k reads on this book!! You're awesome! Thank you so much for reading, voting and commenting!! 

Have a fantastic day everyone (:     ~A