Chương 63

Frenchie was the first to react when he saw Lamplighter on the monitor. His hand went inside his jacket, searching for the gun. His fingers closed around it, and he started pulling it out.

"I will not let him go," Frenchie said. M. M. stepped in front of him before he could pull it free and caught Frenchie's wrist, pushing the gun back toward his jacket.

"No, do not do anything without thinking; too much is at stake here." Frenchie looked at him, still holding the gun inside his jacket. Frenchie kept the gun hidden there.

"Because of him, what happened to us years ago? Have you forgotten what he did to Madame Mallory's grandchildren?" He kept the gun inside his jacket, but his hand did not leave it. M. M. kept his eyes on Frenchie.

"I know. I am just as angry as you are, so wait." Adam touched Frenchie's shoulder, keeping his hand away from the gun.

"M. M. is right. Do not rush this." M. M. turned back toward the monitors. He did not look away from the screens as he spoke.

"We need to leave this place with the evidence. We have to get out from here, but we are taking what we found with us."

"And how do we do that?" Frenchie asked. M. M. looked toward Kimiko.

"We use the plan we came in with." Before they entered the center, they had planned to put Kimiko on a stretcher as a patient. She would lie there while the others moved her inside. That would let the group pass through the building with her without drawing attention. Kimiko shook her head. She gave no spoken answer. She raised both hands in front of herself and kept shaking her head.

"I understand how you feel, mon coeur; we need you," Frenchie said to Kimiko. Kimiko shook her head again. She did not move toward the stretcher. Adam looked at the bed.

"Then Frenchie should lie on it." No one had another choice. They put Frenchie on the stretcher and started toward the corridor. He lay flat while Kimiko took hold of one end. Kimiko took one end of the stretcher. M. M. walked behind the bed, and Adam followed them. Kimiko carried the other end while they moved forward. Adam stayed behind the stretcher. Frenchie stayed on the bed as they moved away from the control room. They carried the evidence with them.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Lamplighter was coming from the other end of the corridor. At first, he did not pay much attention to the group. He came close enough to pass the patient without stopping. Lamplighter did not suspect the disguise. Then his eyes moved toward the patient on the stretcher. Lamplighter stopped. His eyes widened as he looked at Frenchie.

"Frenchie," he thought. He turned around and looked again. Frenchie had seen him too. Frenchie kept looking at Lamplighter. He kept staring at Lamplighter as if he might jump off the stretcher and attack him. His body stayed on the bed, but his eyes never left Lamplighter. M. M. noticed Frenchie's expression. Adam noticed it as well. The three of them stopped in the corridor. Lamplighter straightened his neck. He reached beside him and pulled out a lighter. He extended the lighter.

Adam stepped a little farther forward. Frenchie started to move, but Adam caught his shoulder first. He threw him upward and shouted, "Jump. Get out of here." M. M. saw Adam's hand leave Frenchie's shoulder and immediately ran forward. He did not wait to see where Frenchie would land. Frenchie caught the edge of the stretcher as he came down and used it to balance himself. He ran after M. M. and Kimiko, leaving the empty bed behind in the middle of the corridor. Adam moved before Lamplighter's hand rose.

His body disappeared from beside the stretcher, and he used his speed to cross the distance. He passed over the bed in an instant. Adam ran like A-Train and crossed the corridor before Lamplighter could react, appearing beside the others while the group kept moving. Lamplighter turned back toward the empty stretcher. He lit the lighter. Heavy fire came out and rushed down the corridor. The flames were meant for the stretcher. He had aimed it at the stretcher and the people around it, but they were no longer there.

The attack missed them. The flames missed the runners and went over the empty bed. They crossed the space where the group had been standing and struck the iron gate beside the room. Lamplighter kept the fire moving across it. The bed remained between him and the gate while Frenchie, M. M., Kimiko, and Adam had already crossed to the other side. No one remained on the stretcher. The iron grew hotter under the fire. It began to soften and melt as Lamplighter kept the flames on it.

Its shape changed while the stretcher remained in the corridor. The Boys reached the other side of the corridor and turned back. Adam stood beside them as they watched the iron gate give way under Lamplighter's fire. Lamplighter looked toward it, then looked back as the gate melted. The gate shifted while the entire wall around it was pushed outward from the room. No hand or foot broke it. No hand touched the gate. An invisible force pushed it outward with the entire wall around it.

The force was powerful enough to send the gate and the entire wall away from the room, leaving the opening wide and clear. Adam understood who was coming before the opening was clear. Adam knew who was coming. The opening was now wide enough to pass through. A girl stepped out from inside the room. She had come from one of the cells. She wore the same kind of clothes as the test subjects locked in the cells. She came through the opening without saying anything at all. Her head had almost been shaved.

Only a few small strands of hair had started growing back across it. Adam spoke softly.

"Adult Eleven."