5th Chapter

We walk in silence towards the main theater. Sam is fumbling with her dagger, she hates death and killing. She would look away if someone got killed in the movies. It's a bit hard when we are inside the movie, especially if it's an interactive. Sam stops suddenly and I look up to find that we have arrived. We open the huge oak doors and across the room we see a giant hole in the far wall. We step down a modern staircase carefully, trying not to make a noise. The staircase opens out into a hallway with a secure looking door. I try looking for another way through but after a few twists and turns, both sides are dead ends. Sam is at the security pad when I get back and is figuring out different code patterns.

"Blythe, there are millions of possibilities for this security code it's nine numbers long." Sam stands by the door and types frantically, while I try to think of something rational. I think about all my family wondering what they would do in this situation. My siblings would probably do their birthdays? No, this is a government bunker they wouldn't do something like that. Mum would do something tricky like 2481632, so that every number doubled is the next number. Dad loves puzzles and would do something testing. I tell Sam, Mum's method, run back through and up the stairs, grab a piece of chalk that has crumbled from the wall and run back to Sam. Positioning myself in front a hallway wall. I start writing the alphabet then writing the numbers backwards underneath. This was dad's favourite method. I spell out words with the numbers and tell Sam to put them in the key pad, but none of them work. Thinking of Dad I tried my name. Nine numbers long, tons of words are like that but a small voice in the back of my head says "What if, what if, what if…"

"Sam, put in 251422085." She types in the numbers and begins to ask why, when we hear the hissing of released air and a large clunk. We watch as the huge door slides open.

"Blythe, how did you know? Even RBK couldn't get into here."

"It was using Dad's method, Sam. It was my name." Her jaw drops. We look towards the room that has now appeared. Along the walls were many different science experiments with labels showing of whether they had failed or not. Sam was looking closer at some of the weird objects but I was looking for a specific experiment. Right at the end of the room I saw it, Project Freeze. "Sam look at this!" She comes running over and we read the tag together.

"Why does it say successful, tons of people died!

As I open my mouth to reply the sound of loud static comes through the room. "Blythe, I know this may be confusing but you must understand this is for the sake of the world." It was my Dad's voice echoing over the static. "I will explain, see the government came to us, your mum and I, to continue research into the global warming crisis. We accepted thinking of you and your siblings health. We thought the project was going well, so well in fact we let slip some things about the research. The media took it on and made rumours about our experiments calling us crazy." I think about what Dad is saying, it makes sense. Every time something about the research came on the HTD, they would turn it off and deny it. Dad continues, "After that our workers were even sceptical of the experiment itself and many quit, the project going downhill."

"So that's why you bought a position in the bunker?" I say, getting more and more angry at him and this stupid experiment. "So, Dad, why does it say successful on the tag in this room?"

"It's successful because we trapped you and others into horrific situations, and had significant results from it." Sam makes a noise in her throat, while I try looking for the source of the speaker. "Blythe, what your mum and I didn't know was that when we signed up for the experiment, we had unknowingly signed you up too, to be the subjects." Sam and I gasp at the same time looking at each other. "But, Blythe, we have improved our research because of you, we will be on track now."

"And how long has this been going on Dad, how long?"

"Honey, it's been four years, but it's improving!"

"No Dad, it hasn't, I say with a surprising calmness in my voice, all of these chemicals must have gone to your brain, nothing has changed!" I start shouting now, Sam still behind me, her mouth gaping open. "Dad, where is mum? Where are the rest of the scientists?"

"Oh Honey, they all have died, the stress was to much on your mother."

"What!" I scream at his voice, I start sobbing and I feel Sam move closer to me.

In a whisper and still sobbing I cry, "Dad, quit this project, it isn't helping anyone."

"Blythe, I can't do that, it would prove all those people right. I am going to finish this experiment." He says with a seriousness that he would use when I used to get into trouble.

"I'm going now honey, don't struggle, this will be over soon."

"What!  Dad, listen to me, I love you, don't do this to me!"

"Hmm…. that's funny that's what you said the last nineteen times."

"Wait, Dad, what?"

I hear the speaker crackle again, then silence. An alarm goes off somewhere inside the room as the giant doors start closing with immense speed.

"Quick, Sam, Run!" We start sprinting towards the door, but it closes before we get there. "Sam, what do we do?"

"I don't know!" She slumps to the floor and starts crying and sobbing.

"Sam, come on, we have to get outta here, Sam…." as I try to get her motivated I hear a hissing noise, looking to see where it's coming from, I see a gas filling into the room. "Sam, we, need, to, leave!" I feel weak, my eyes are drooping with sleepiness.

"Sam?" But she was already asleep. The immense sleepiness washes over me as my eyes close.

Desolate, decaying and, well, abandoned. I walk down a specific street I know well, turn left into a cul-de-sac and walk slowly to the end.