The car ride down the mountain was so tense, you could cut it with a knife.
"Thankfully Seth and Sara didn't have to witness how quickly you gave up." Alex said coldly.
"I told them from the beginning it was a suicide mission, I wasn't wrong." Jack retaliated.
"They trusted you. I trusted you." Alex shot back and I closed my eyes.
Anytime now.
"Join the club of everybody else in my life who I've disappointed." Jack said, "Hell, look beside you."
I opened my eyes to see Jack gesturing to me and Alex sitting there with her mouth hanging open.
"They will dissect them like frogs in a high school biology class. You know that." Alex said to Jack.
"It's not my problem and it never wa-" Jack began it Alex reached up over my head and slapped him across the face.
I gasped.
"Hey!" One guy in the front turned around and said but Jack didn't give him time to say anything else before punching him and pulling the driver over the top of him.
The car swerved up over a hill of dirt and came close to going over the edge as Jack pulled and push the driver from side to side, slamming his head through the window and slamming him into his colleague, forcing them both out the other side.
Alex jumped into the driver's seat and Jack jumped into passenger, while I stayed in the back.
Jack closed his door and felt his jaw.
"By the way, that slap, very realistic." Jack said to Alex, "When did you know?"
"You haven't bailed on the kids yet. Why start now?" She replied.

I bit my lip, "Uncle Jack?"
He turned around in his seat to look at me.
"I'm not in that disappointed club, you know. If anything, I've disappointed you..." I trailed off.
"You disappointed me?" He asked.
"I'm sorry Uncle Jack. I'm so sorry." I whispered, tearfully, "I meant to tell you that Mom and Dad were dead. I really did."
Jack was silent for a moment, "When did they die?" He asked softly, looking at me with a soft expression.
I hesitated, "Six months ago..."
Jack didn't say anything.
"I wanted to tell you the moment I got the news!" I said.
"Why didn't you?"
"Because no one had your number! Ever since you became a criminal, everyone deleted your contact except for Mom and Dad. They were the only ones who still trusted you other than me. That's why they kept sending me to you over the Summer."
Jack turned and simply stared at me, "They died in a car crash...their phones were destroyed so there was no hope in calling you. I couldn't mail you because no one would let me...so I waited until school ended so I wouldn't look suspicious and...I ran away." I told him.
I started to cry.
"Emily. Baby. Please don't cry." I felt Jack's muscled arm on mine and I covered my mouth with my hands, "I'm sorry too. I was never close to your Dad. But he never gave up on me. So to repay him, I'm never letting you go again." Then he hesitated, "Unless...Seth swears on his life to take care of you."
I looked up at him in shock to see him smiling slightly at me and I smiled back, reaching over the front seat and hugging him.
In the corner of my eye, I could see Alex smiling at us.

Alex drove around to the back of the mountain, looking for some way to get in.
I looked to my left and saw a concrete drainage pipe.
"There!" I cried and pointed over to there it was.
Alex stopped the car and we got out.
Jack grabbed hold of the wheel to open the pipe and struggled.
Alex and I stepped forward and grabbed opposite ends of the wheel, giving Jack a hand.
"Here." Alex said.
We pulled and pushed together, feeling the wheel begin to turn.
"Coming...almost..." Jack muttered.
With a final grunt, we got it to turn and Jack pulled open the rusty door.
"After you." He said, gesturing to Alex.
"I'm right behind you." She replied.
I rolled my eyes and climbed through, "Oh, come on, you chickens." I called back.

I heard them climb in behind me as I crawled through the small pipe.
I came to a stop at an opening onto a vertical tunnel.
"Okay, let's see if I can do this." I said to myself.
"What?" Jack asked, and I turned as best I could.
"Back up for a second." I told them and I turned myself around so I was lying on my back.
I did a quick calculation that if I brace myself in the right way and kick hard enough, the porthole should just come free.
I placed my hands above me on the pipe, tucked in my legs and kicked out with all my strength with a grunt.
The opening came free and fell down the vertical pipe.
"Yes!" I cheered for myself.
"Nice work Emily." Jack praised and I smiled.
I wormed my way out of the pipe and onto the ladder that sat there.
I looked down into the darkness and felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.
I climbed upwards to let Jack go onto the ladder below me and looked down at him.
"It's gonna be okay. I'll be right here the whole time. I'm gonna be right below you." He said to us and I nodded.
Even though I had panic attacks, heights were not one of the reasons why. I'd always loved heights, so the sinking feeling was something I kinda liked.
Alex, however, was shaking as she slowly climbed out below me.
"I can." She said.
"You can." Jack said to her.
"Here I go. Oh boy." Alex said again, grabbing onto the handles as best as she could.
"That's it. Right there." Jack continued to say to her and I smiled at his gentleness.
"You got it." Jack said and they both began to climb down, me following close behind.

Suddenly the tunnels shook and we were nearly thrown off the ladder!
I cried out and clung to the railing as best I could.
"Ah! What's that?" Jack cried out.
"Oh no, Jack. Exhaust furnace!" Alex said, "Quick Emily! Back up!" She commanded me and obeyed.
"No! This way, this way! There's another tunnel right here." Jack said below us and immediately we climbed back down again.
"Hurry up!" I cried and Jack slipped into the tunnel, followed by Alex and I slipped in just before the fire burst through the tunnel where we just were.

We screamed as we slid down the tunnel.
I tried to slow myself down by sliding my hands on the sides of the pipe but only gave myself burns.
Suddenly, Jack stopped screaming and I heard a thud.
Alex was next to thud and I worried for a split second that they had been killed!
But as I fell through, both Jack and Alex caught me and righted me on my feet.
We all panted for a minute from that exciting slip and slid experience and looked around at where we were.
"You okay, girls?" Jack asked us.
"Yeah." Alex replied.
"Me too." I said.
"Okay, let's go."

Jack poked his head out of a pipe for a moment then pulled himself out slowly and quietly. Alex let me out first and Jack helped me down, then he turned and helped Alex down as well.
We pressed ourselves against the wall and Jack looked out to see if anyone saw us.
"What now?" I asked Jack.
"Find the kids. Don't get caught." He said.
Alex and I looked at each other and nodded, "Good plan." She said.
We ran from shadow to shadow, keeping to the darkness so we weren't seen and keeping close so we didn't lose each other.
We came to a hallway which was empty except for boxes and equipment and we ran full on down to the end towards a door where the commotion seemed to be.
We snuck behind a huge pile of covered equipment and peeked round the corner to see the leader in a white room surrounded by glass.
We jerked back when we saw him but slowly peeked again. I gasped when I saw Seth and Sara dressed in white on tables with other men dressed in containment suits doing what had to be tests on them.
Jack pushed as back again and we pressed ourselves against the wall.

Suddenly, red lights started blaring and an announcement came on to the PA.
"Whiskey 7, we have penetration in fence sector 28. Break. Tango 31. All stations, general alert." It said.
"Oh no!" I whisper yelled.
"No, no I don't think that's us." Jack said to me.
"Red alert, security breach." The PA said and we peeked over again to see everyone leaving the room. Even some of the people testing Seth and Sara.
"Close containment doors, all levels!" It continued and armed men in armor ran by us but luckily didn't see us.

As a truck rolled by, Jack grabbed Alex's hand who grabbed mine and we ran together over towards the testing facility, keeping behind the truck.
"This facility is on red alert!"
Jack knocked on the door and it was opened by a man in a lab coat.
"Hi." Jack said, "Can I borrow that pen?"
The guy looked at it and Jack grabbed his collar and pulled him into the door then pushed him over a table, knocking over glass bottles and test tubes.
Jack punched another guy and pushed him to the ground as well but not before Alex turned around and roundhouse kicked him in the face!
Jack and I turned to her in surprise.
"I have three older brothers." She said as a form of explanation and Jack and I raised our eyebrows.
We got down on the ground and watched as Seth and Sara were continued to be tested on.

I looked from the window to see if anything was there that could be used and my eyes fell on the white suits the men were wearing.
Coincidently, there were three suits sitting there and I smiled.