Beth is lying bed hooked up to monitors, she's had some tests and Slate is sitting beside her concerned. At a table short distance away, Solayo is sitting with his friends going over test results with Ester while Mikey and Grayson are being fly's on the wall sorta.
"What happened?" Beth whispers, waking up. "Beth?" Slate whispers back, bending down to her, cupping her face. She weakly raises her hands to touch his.
"She's awake!" Slate calls out and our leaders look up, approaching her bed. Mikey gestures to Grayson to say something, build rapport.
"Hey, Beth. How are you feeling?" Grayson says awkwardly. Solayo shoots a 'wtf'? look at him.
"Where am I? What happened to me?" She asks as Ester approaches her, taking her vitals again.
"You're in medical." She responds to Beth.
"W-why?"
"You had a seizure and we don't know why. Has this ever happened before?"
"N-no."
"Okay. You're vitals have stabalised and you're awake now which is good. Medically, I don't see anything wrong with you other than a bit of minor malnutrition, dehydration so I'll write the order that the kitchen gives you more, take it easy physically."
"Could her meds have caused this?" Slate pipes up. "Uh..." Ester says, looking to Solayo.
"Maybe?" He responds. "We've been giving her the same nighttime ones for weeks, but the ones she had this morning are different ones we're trialing than the ones she's had in psych."
Bethany shudders a little when he says psych.
"Do we take her off them? It's not worth giving them again incase they played a part in her seizure today. She could go without them, Solayo and we just give her the night ones and food and water uptake."
"Seriously, Ester? You want to just take her off any daytime meds? After the girl tried to take her life two weeks ago?"
"That's not because I-" Bethany begins.
"Shut up!" Solayo yells at her. "Are you okay?" Grayson mouths to her. "No." She mouths back.
"Get me out of here?" She mouths again, her eyes pleading. They're not telling Slate the truth about what Murphy did and she can't begin to tell him as the memories are traumatic.
"Solayo, please, you might want to go with Ester on this one. We see how she goes, if you want, I could stick close to her and Slate a bit more if you like. We're a bit down on our military and security personal numbers anyway." Grayson speaks.
"Okay, okay, fine. Go ahead and try, both of you. I don't have a lot of time for this anyway. Her seizure ended, she's not dying which is very different from the man I have in Treatment 2 in a medically induced coma. Please excuse me." Solayo says, storming out the room.
"Can we go?" Slate asks gently helping Beth to sit up. "Uh, not just yet. There is something we need to talk about first." Ester says sternly, her attitude changing all of a sudden. She gestures to Mikey to lock the door and he does so.
"Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?" Beth asks, looking scared.
"No, not you. Slate, I ran your vitals as well hours ago cause I had you here anyway. Your medication levels are down indicating you haven't been taking them for a while and you're acting lot like your old self, drawing again.
I'm not going to make you take them, but be careful, cause if Solayo finds out, you will be starting from square one and going on them again will be brutal."
"Going off them was brutal. You can't expect me to be on them while Beth is on hers. I need to be lucid enough to take care of her, she's my friend.
And I've had two weeks to get a grip on it while you had Beth locked up."
"For her own safety. She did try to throw herself off the roof, she has cuts on her arms and legs if you bothered to look closely and she beat the shit out of Murphy for no reason which made her a risk to others." Ester challenges, but also lying at the end.
Ester glares at Beth about the Gerald thing even though she doesn't say it.
"You're cutting yourself?" Slate asks horrified, lifting a sleeve way up to see a stitched up cut. "No." He says, dropping it back down.
"I'm sorry, Slate."
"Whatever, it's fine. Just don't keeping do it okay or I will never see you again! You'll end up back in psych on sedatives and you will never be consciousness again!"
"Have you guys done that before?" She asks looking up at Ester when her pager goes off. "I'm sorry, I'm needed elsewhere in the building." And Ester races off. "Well, this now awkward." Mikey says.
"Go back to your room. I'll walk you both there." Grayson says, helping Beth up, leading her and Slate back to the main floor.
---
A week passes, our group working out the final details of The Escape Plan and testing the limits and blind spots of Security through day testing and Slate's previous knowelledge having been Security.
They have put together a pretty solid plan, it's not as ideal as Slate would have liked as it would be impossible to yoink his helicopter and take off allowing them fly a much further distance than stealing a road veichle, but it's the safer and easier option they have.
They know how to exit the building undetected, take a truck, just the hard part will be the drive out as they won't know the roads outside for a bit, but assuming they are still close to Hope-Thorn, it shouldn't be to difficult on account he lived there before.
They're escaping tonight when Security is lower as less people want to work at night, Solayo's incentives are to low. They've also been stockpiling food, general medicine and even some weapons and have it hidden well.
And Bethany's been seizure free since then and only on nighttime meds. His going to help her cheek her meds tonight for the first time so she's able to escape without any additional problems, and she's been compliant so Solayo is keeping less of an eye on them now which will make them all cheeking their meds easier.
Dinner rolls around, they eat, then desert soon, but meds beforehand. Gideon's told he can have desert this time as his lost some weight lately.
They're given their meds, all manage to cheek theirs without raising suspicion and our leaders walk away to take a break. Ester takes a seat on a chair in the corner while Grayson and Mikey sit at a table near her and Solayo takes first helping of desert before it is served.
"Guys." Slate whispers. "We forgot something vital. We're idiots."
"What?" Gideon whispers back.
"Zekey, he'll bark."
"Shit." Gideon responds. "I can try to make a muzzle and we sneak him very last minute. He doesn't yap much, but he will in this circumstance."
"Okay." Slate answers. "Try. I'm going to get some extra water and pocket my tablet now." He adds on, standing. He has to be careful as the leaders are right there, but if he heads behind some particular tables and a podium he will enter their blind spot for just a minute.
He does so just for a minute, but on his way, he feels a leg under his before it's to late and looks to see who's actually doing it.
"You think I'm stupid?" Murphy whispers sitting at a table in passing, but it's not long enough for Slate to respond before tripping over, face planting, injuring his chin and accidentally choking that he coughs, the tablet he hid go flying which makes a sound bouncing across the floor, drawing the leaders attention.
Ester sits up from her chair, opening her eyes. "What was that sound?" She looks confused. Mikey and Grayson look to eachother realizing what is going on and Solayo gets annoyed having to put his desert down to get up to deal with this.
He does so, standing up to walk over to Slate.
"You trip or what-" He begins, minor irritance, but then notices the tablet Slate didn't take. "Oh, you fucking idiot. That's it. Come here, boy.
I thought you we're diffrent slightly." And he roughly pulls Slate to his feet by his shoulder while grabbing the tablet with his other hand.
"Downstairs, now."
"Shit." Beth and Gideon say, passing Lyla their tablets to hold onto and hide as the leaders are distracted. Looks like their not escaping tonight, if they aren't, their not going down without getting a good punch in or two at-least.
"Leave him alone!" Gideon yells, crash tackling Solayo, holding Slate, punching him square in the jaw. "The fuck are you doing? This isn't like you." Mikey yells, coming over pulling Gideon off, pushing him to the ground.
Grayson sees Beth heading their way. "No, you don't!" He says, pushing Beth to the ground before she even makes it there. "Get off me!" She yells, fighting with him, but he just holds her arms close to eachother, secured. "Don't do this or it will be worse for you." He whispers into her ear. "Play along, please. I can help you."
"I don't believe you." She whispers back, struggling writhing around on the floor, struggling.
"There was a 5th member who was one of us, he betrayed us before we launched this apocalypse.
He was against this plan from the start. He tried to go to the media, but it didn't work. We haven't seen him since the day him and us departed ways." He tells her in her ear, a secret.
Anything to get her to stop. "What?" She whispers, no longer struggling, but still held down, secured in his arms. Her eyes are wide, thinking about it.
"What are you people doing, geez? People are bloody losing it lately." Solayo curses annoyed. "You're going downstairs, Slate and so are you, Gideon. That's final, no it's or but's!"
"Wait!" Ester calls out.
"Grayson, nice job. Beth, be a good girl like I know you are, show me and go back to your room without further incident. Ester, give her an extra shot for the night." Solayo tells them, taking Slate away with Mikey following with Gideon.
"No, please. Please don't, Ester." Beth begs in Grayson's arms. He sits up with her. "I'm sorry." She appolgizes, swabbing Beth's shoulder, then gently inserting a needle, pressing down.
"Ah." Beth says from the pain. Ester quickly rubs a bandaide over it. "Can you take her back to her room? I have to go downstairs." She asks Grayson, leaving him behind with a now drugged Beth.
"Easy does it, to your feet." He instructs, helping her to her feet. He throws a disssproving look at Murphy who shudders a bit, afraid showing underneath he is a coward.
"Can I please sleep in the same room with her so she isn't alone? Please." Lyla begs, approaching Grayson.
"Uhh, I guess? I'd say ask Ester, but- OK, sure, yeah." Grayson answers bringing Lyla with him back to Beth and Slate's room. He helps Beth into bed and while his distracted, Lyla stuffs something into the door lock, jamming it so it doesn't shut properly.
On his way out, she asks to him to check on Zekey. "Puppy? Sure! His a fluffy cutie bundle! I love dogs!" Grayson smiles, agreeing to feed Zekey. "Good night, girls." And he leaves the room, locking it, failing to notice it didn't.
"Beth, get up. Now, now, now." Lyla says quickly, running to shake Bethany awake before the drugs take full effect. The longer she tries to stay awake, the more chance they'll have at escaping.
"Why?" Beth asks her.
"Because this is our chance. You and me can still escape!"
"But the boys and Zekey."
"They'd still want us to go on. We have to do this, please!" Lyla begs her. "O-okay." Beth responds eyes blinking heavily. Lyla helps her to stand and grabs the bag, Beth and Slate had hidden. She's going to have use Slate's as hers is in her room, but it's better than nothing.
Lyla pulls the door open, the girls sneaking out and managing to make their way to the other side of the building where cars and trucks are parked.
"We shouldn't take a van if there is only two of us. Too risky."
Beth doesn't respond, trying to stay awake. She has something small and sharp, slicing her arm with it, drawing little blood trying to keep herself awake.
"What should we steal Beth that is easier for two people? But still offers some protection if they shoot at us."
"I don't know."
"I guess we die trying then. We can't have it both ways with just two of us." Lyla says, then eyes a motorbike in the corner, the keys in it.
"That way." She instructs Beth leading her over. They pull on motorcycle helmets. "Well?" Lyla asks Beth. "What?" Beth responds.
"You driving?"
"L-Lyla, I'm cutting my a-arm here to stay a-awake."
"So, I have to do it?"
"I-I know we haven't a-always been f-friends, and you don't see yourself as anything more than girly, but you can drive this if you want. You took that motorcycle class back when you we're 16-17."
Lyla thinks about it. "Okay, but don't complain about my skills. I'm a little rusty and they're going to shoot at us."
They get on the bike, Beth leaning forward wrapping her arms around Lyla. Lyla grips the handles and pushes down on the gas. They take off rather quickly, mostly a smooth start for Lyla who has not be on motorbikes in 2-3 years.
The bike is loud, but not loud enough so they can get away easily. There is a massive steep hill to drive up, but they manage and immediatly end on the freeway, seeing the night sky for the first time in a year for Lyla and a few months for Beth.
"It's prettier than I remember." Lyla says, looking up. "Eyes on the road." Bethany whispers, struggling to keep her eyes open, grip loosening.
"Don't worry, I'll get us further away and find somewhere we can rest for the night and you can sleep off the drugs. Let's just get out of this immediate area." And Lyla presses harder on the speed, shooting across the open, empty freeway, the whole space to themselves, vast land with few trees and what is the dead city of Hope-Thorn in the distance.
---
Solayo enters the interview room, Slate is being held in. His hands are handcuffed to the centre of the table. Solayo drops a notebook, clicks a pen and takes a seat.
"Slate."
"......"
"Do you realize what you all have done?"
"......"
"I see. So that how's it going to be is it? Fine, you and Gideon can go down to the labs, the final floor then. You've made your bed and now you can lay in it.
We'll take custody of Zekey. But I must warn you, Slate. This transgression against us will not be ignored nor easily be forgiven.
And you've just doomed Bethany and Lyla. Think of them, they won't survive long out there."
"......"
"Okay, you can go now. Get out of my sight, I don't want to see you again. Mikey!" Solayo calls and Mikey enters, unhooking Slate from the table and drags him into the elevator, swiping his pass and hitting the button for floor 13.
"Solayo." Grayson says, entering the room.
"Grayson, prepare a party. The search for Beth and Lyla commences ASAP. We're going to find them if it's the last thing I do, I sware."
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