Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Plane Traverser
At least two hundred people rushed out of the maze, but for some reason, their progress suddenly stopped.Thomas dodged left and right in the crowded hallway, struggling to make his way forward.
He walked through the group of men, women and children, and finally saw Brenda.She squeezed towards him, hugged him in her arms, and kissed his cheek.How he wished in his heart that everything would be over at that moment, how he wished that they were safe now and didn't need to run around anymore!
She said: "It was Minho who made me leave. He forced me to leave and asked me to promise to help you when you needed it. He told me that it was so important to lead everyone out, and you guys could To the Griever. I should have stayed, sorry."
"I told him," Thomas replied, "you did the right thing. It's the only thing to do. We're going to get out of here soon."
She gave him a slight push. "Then let's hurry up and get out of here quickly."
"Okay!" He squeezed her hand, caught up with Teresa, and continued to walk in front of the crowd.
The foyer was even darker, and the lights that could shine here were dim and flickering.Silently embracing, waiting anxiously, they passed through the people.Thomas saw Frypan, he said nothing, forced a smile.His smile was encouraging, but as usual, it looked more like a smirk.From time to time, there were bursts of booming in the distance, and the whole building was shaking.Even at such a distance, the explosion could still be heard.But Thomas knew that the sound would eventually stop.
When he and Brenda got to the front of the line, they found that the crowd had stopped at the stairs, not knowing whether to go up or down.
"We have to go up," Brenda said.
Thomas didn't hesitate.He motioned for the people to follow, and began to climb, Brenda at his side.
He was exhausted, but he gritted his teeth.On the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors, he stopped on a landing to rest for a while.He looked down and saw that the others were following.Brenda led him through a door and down another long hallway, turning left, then right, and up a flight of stairs.Go through another hall and down a few more flights of stairs.Everyone followed one by one, and Thomas really hoped that what the Prime Minister said about the planar traverser was true.
Suddenly, there was an explosion from nowhere above, the whole building shook and he fell to the floor.Dust is everywhere, making it hard to breathe.There was a creaking and cracking sound in the air as shattered tiles from the ceiling smashed against his back.Finally, there was a few more seconds of shaking, and then everything fell still.
He reaches out for Brenda and finds that she is unhurt.
"Everyone okay?" he yelled down the corridor.
"It's all right!" someone replied.
"Keep going! We're almost there!" He lifted Brenda up and continued on.Thomas silently prayed that the building would last a little longer.
Thomas, Brenda, and a group of people following them finally made it to the place the prime minister had circled on the map, the maintenance room of the building.Several more bombs went off, one closer than the other.But nothing can stop them, and they have actually arrived.
The maintenance room is located behind a large warehouse, and the right wall is lined with rows of metal shelves holding boxes.Thomas walked to the other side of the maintenance room and motioned for everyone to come in.He wanted everyone to be together before crossing the plane.There was a door behind the maintenance room: this door must lead to the room they had been looking for!
"Let them come here, get ready," he told Brenda, and he sprinted for the door at full speed.If Prime Minister Page lied about the plane traverser, or if someone from WICKED or the Justice Force found out what they were doing, they were dead.
Through this door is a small room filled with tables.Tools, scraps of metal, and machine parts were littered on the table.On the far side, a huge canvas hangs on the wall.Thomas rushed over and tore the canvas off: behind it was a shimmering gray wall surrounded by a gleaming silver frame, with a control box next to it.
It really is a plane traverser.
What the Prime Minister said was true.
He laughed at the thought: WICKED...the head of WICKED...helped them!
Unless...he realizes he has to figure out one last thing.He'd have to test it out to see exactly where it would lead before he could let everyone follow.Thomas took a deep breath: Yes, that's it!
He forced himself to step onto the icy surface of the planar traverser.He came out and found himself in a rough wooden house with the door open before him.He looked out - green!Eyes full of green!Flowers, grass, trees, bushes!For him, that's enough.
He turned back to the maintenance room, uncontrollably excited.They finally did, and they were safe in no time!He ran back to the warehouse.
"Come on!" he yelled. "Call everyone over here . . . Let's get out! Long live!"
There was an explosion that rattled walls and metal shelves and rained dust and debris from the ceiling.
"Quick!" he yelled again.
Teresa had already urged everyone to run, leading them towards Thomas.Thomas was standing at the door of the maintenance room. When the first person stepped on the threshold, he grabbed her hand and led her to the gray wall of the plane traverser.
"You know what this is, don't you?" he asked her.
She nodded bravely, trying her best to conceal her urgency to go through and get out of here. "I've been here a few times, boy."
"Can I ask you to stand here and make sure everyone goes through?"
At first her face suddenly paled, but soon she nodded.
"Don't worry," Thomas reassured her. "You can stay here as long as you can."
As soon as she said yes, he ran back to the door.
The others crowded into the small room, and Thomas came along. "It's right there, please make room over there."
He squeezed his way through the crowd and returned to the warehouse.At the back of the crowd were Minho, Brenda, Jorge, Teresa, Ares, Frypan, and the B group, and Gary was there too.Thomas weaved his way through the crowd and came up to them.
"Everyone has to hurry up," Minho said, "The explosion is getting closer."
"The whole building is about to collapse," Gehry added.
Thomas glanced at the ceiling, thinking it was about to collapse. "I know, I've told them to hurry up, we're going out soon..."
"Hey, what's going on here?" A loud voice came from the back of the room.
There were a few gasps around him, and Thomas turned around to see who was talking.The Ratman happened to walk in the door from the outer corridor, and he was not alone.He was surrounded by a group of WICKED security guards.Thomas counted seven, which meant he and his friends had the upper hand.
Jenson paused, cupping his hands to his mouth so his voice could drown out another explosion. "It's so strange that I found such a place to hide! The whole building is about to collapse!" Several pieces of metal fell from the ceiling and hit the ground, making a few clangs.
"You know where this is!" Thomas yelled back. "It's too late...we're leaving!"
Jansen took out the knife he had used outside and shook it.At the same time, others showed the same weapons.
"But we can save a few." Jason said, "and it seems that the strongest and smartest people are ahead of us! They are our last candidates! Just right! Just what we need most , is also the guy who refuses to cooperate!"
Thomas and his friends lined up between the security guards and the dwindling number of immunized people.Thomas and the others grabbed anything that could serve as a weapon from the floor: iron pipes, long screwdrivers, and jagged metal grids.Thomas saw a thick, twisting bollard with a sharp cable at the end that looked like a deadly spear.He grabbed it in his hand.At the same time, there was another explosion, the whole room shook, and a large row of metal shelves fell to the ground.
"I've never seen such a horrific group of thugs!" the Ratman yelled, his face twisted like crazy, his mouth twisted into a savage sneer, "I have to admit, I'm so scared!"
"Shut your mouth, let's fight!" Minho responded loudly.
Jansen's cold, crazy eyes fixed on the teenagers in front of him.
"Just what I want!" he said.
Thomas fought desperately to suppress the fear, pain and torment that had accompanied him throughout his life. "Hit!" he yelled.
The two groups rushed towards each other, but the sound of their fighting was drowned out by sudden explosions that shook the entire building violently.