9: How could you?

Ralph POV

"SHIT!!!" I screamed while throwing my empty glass of water towards the see through glass. 

Every plan I could possibly think of had the same gruesome outcome. People I love were going to die, they would watch people they love die, and we would lose. In every single plan. 

I was so close to just giving up, we are forbidden children, we aren't meant to be alive anyway, why not die now? Besides we got to meet each other, some of my happiest memories have been made in this hospital. I also already lost my best friend. Now my parents are in danger, and I can't figure out a way to save them without saving myself. 

What's the point? We save them to hide again? For the rest of our lives we'll feel this sense of fear of being caught and slaughtered. We will never have a normal life no matter how much we want one. We will always be forbidden, and now we made our parents apart of that world. 

"RUAGHHH!" I screamed while punching my desk. 

I'm so exhausted, mentally and physically. How much longer can I keep this up?

"Ralph, Ralph, Ralph, Ralph!" I heard Tate's faint echos coming closer and closer to the chief of surgery's office. 

"Yes Tate?" I asked slowly turning around, afraid of what he might say. 

"They sent, phew ugh." He tried to speak while bending over to catch his breathe. He was holding a couple of high tech gadgets I couldn't even name. They were all over the hospital, he disabled all of them and then hacked into a few for we could have some sort of communication. Like the Walkie Talkies and now my laptop. 

"Tate spit it out." I said getting highly annoyed. 

"They sent the distress signal." He stated way too fast. 

"They what?! Who?" I asked getting my laptop open for Tate can see what's going on. 

"I think it was Dylan, I couldn't really hear him, but he definitely used the signal. Jaanai and Hunter agree." He explained while taking my chair and typing on my black computer screen in a language I would never want to learn. 

The letters and numbers were popping up green while he typed sentence after sentence. 

"Almost got it, if it's Blade Briar's army I memorized the van camera code, I'm hacking into them right now." He added. 

"You'll see all the van cameras?" I asked flustered, why didn't he tell me this before.

"Not sure yet, hopefully. The camera views what's in front of the car, you know like those cameras old people use to reverse?" Tate tried to help me understand. 

"My mom had that reverse camera and she's not old." Hunter came peeking in. 

"Jaanai's out there too I suppose?" I assumed with one brow raised. 

"Who do you think made us come up here?" Hunter sighed. He hates losing. 

"If Jack is in any sort of trouble I need to see it personally or I will die from overthinking." She came bolting in and stood behind Tate's seat. 

"Damnit, it's not working." Tate started raising his voice in frustration. 

"Keep trying!" Jaanai yelled in response. 

"What do you think I'm doing woman!?" He pushed his chair back which went over her foot. 

"OW!" She screamed while slapping him in the back of head. 

"Oh God please let Briana and Alex come back to me safely I can't deal with Jaanai." He whispered to himself. 

"Hurry." I simply stated. 

"Maybe if I hit return instead of ent--" 

"LOOK!" Hunter pointed at the screen.

Hundreds of tiny squares popped up all over the screen completely filling it. 

"That's a lot of vans..." Jaanai sighed. 

"Look for some that are in the woods." Tate replied while squinting his eyes. 

"Wait wait tap that one." I slouched over the desk, pointing rapidly. 

"Why that's not even close to what we are looking for..?" Tate questioned me.

"JUST CLICK IT!" I ordered. 

"Ok ok everyone needs a tic tac, yelling and no toothpaste is really getting the best of us." Tate rubbed his temples after clicking the view of the one van I was focusing on. 

It was two workers that looked oddly familiar, they were in some sort of underground garage, or lab type of setting. A lot of Salem Balor's security men were in there as well, with their hands resting on their tasers. 

"Is there anyway we can hear what's going on." I asked quietly. Why does the back of their heads feel so familiar? 

"Let me see..." Tate said while what it seemed like him tapping random buttons. 

"Salem Balor is in there!" Jaanai gasped. 

"Yo he's a literal rat, I'm calling it. Peter Pettigrew is that you?" Hunter laughed awkwardly.

"Who the hell is Peter Pettigrew?" Jaanai looked at him with one of her death glares. 

"You don't know Harry Potter either? What the fuck did you and Alex do trapped at home all day. Uneducated losers." He said quietly while going to sit in the lounge area of my office with his arms crossed. 

"I upset the poor child." Jaanai stated smugly. 

"Sir, I don't know what you are talking about." The computer spoke.

"Shh shhh everyone." I waved my hand around the room. 

"You said you hacked into their walkie talkies, and that they were hiding at the old gas stage in Santa Barbara California." Salem slowly walked around the two gentleman that wouldn't move a muscle.

"It's station sir." One of his employee's spoke up.

"What!" Salem snapped. 

"It's gas station, not stage. Didn't want you sounding stupid." The employee was definitely not taking the hint to shut up.

"Get out." Salem ordered quietly.

"But Sir, this is my first day." 

"GET OUT!" He yelled while several of his security dragged the man out. 

"They are recruiting?" Jaanai whispered. 

"Sh." I had to focus. 

"Yes, I did say that." One of the men being held hostage sounded vaguely familiar. 

"Then why weren't they there?" Salem asked stopping right in front of him. 

"I'm sure you would've caught them by now if they were dumb. You haven't. These kids are smart, they are going to keep moving Balor." The guy kept standing tall, no nerves were found. 

"Well I'd like to inform you my men are fighting them right now in the woods, all the way in San Bernardino. Not Santa Barbara." Salem smirked at him. 

"and I'm sure they are winning." The hoarse voice replied. 

Salem went to turn around but decided to stop in the middle of him doing so and punch the guy right in the face. 

"Oh my god Ralph." Tate gasped. 

It's my dad. The man Is my dad. 

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Briana POV

"Dylan, we are outnumbered!"

"I know I know" I heard him breathing heavily sprinting right behind me. 

"They got Jack and Alex." Kadyn came out from behind a tree running with us. 

"Captured?" I asked worriedly. 

"No, circled around them though." Kadyn tried to reply in between breaths. 

"How did they find us?" Dylan asked.

"Walkie." Kadyn simply stated. 

"That's the only explanation." I concluded while looking around. 

"Our best bet is to get back to the hospital and get the hell out." Kadyn stopped and used a tree as camouflage. I slid behind a rock while Dylan bent down behind a bush. 

"We aren't leaving Alex and Jack." I growled while getting my knife out. More and More of them were running towards our direction. 

"What else can we do cupcake?" Kadyn asked impatiently with his bow and arrow ready. 

"They'll follow us to the hospital Kadyn, your plan ain't great either." Dylan yelled over the chaos. 

"We just need to get one of their vans and roll over their shit." I snarled while throwing my knife towards someones leg. 

"I sent the distress signal also, Tate will help!" Dylan added.

"What can he do?" Kadyn asked walking away from us to another tree.

"A lot, let's just fight for as long as we can. They want us back alive anyway." I replied while my knife flew back into my hand. 

Time to chop some shit up.

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Alex POV

"Jack they are tranquilizers, if you get hit with one I'm not carrying you." I yelled towards the dumb ass running across the open area shooting his pistol like crazy. 

He's going to have to reload at some point and he won't have any cover. 

We were circled by at least five vans, most of the men were down, but the rest were being smart, way too smart. I've been trying to sharpen my spear forever it feels like. I just need to get to a van. That's all. 

When Jack said he'll cover for me I didn't know he meant sacrifice himself by acting disabled. He's literally acting like Tarzan, Jane come get your man. 

"The girl is hiding, it was a trick!"

Damnit 

I started sprinting in Jack's tracks. Since I've been blocking the tranquilizers with my spear they started shooting at my legs, so I was skipping. 

"These bitches wish they can catch me, bitch I'm the gingerbread woman coming to fuck you up. Ya'll should be the ones running." I whispered to myself as motivation. 

"Freeze or ill shoot, and I got bullets pretty lady." One of the soldiers guarding a van came out of no where 

"and I got two fists that love punching faces, I didn't know we were sharing fun facts with each other today. What a lovely first date." I smiled while throwing my spear as a distraction. 

He shoved it away from his face with his gun so I jumped on his back and kicked his knee in. 

"Bitch." He sputtered while rolling around on the floor and punching me in the eye. 

"Hah me?" I kneed his chin up and then stomped my foot down hard on his face. 

"Shit my eye!" He growled. 

"Thanks for this." I said while grabbing his gun.

"Here's my gift in return, even though gifts on the first date, is a little too much." 

*bang*

"SHE SHOT ME IN THE DICK, SHE SHOT ME IN THE DICK!!!" His screams filled the air. 

"Feels worse than a black eye doesn't it?" I asked while walking away. 

"Now, you are mine." I smiled while climbing into the familiar white van. 

it's locked, the controls are fucking locked.

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Tate POV

Ralph stood in silence as his dad got beat up on camera 

"That's enough!" The other man being held hostage spoke up. His hands were in handcuffs and soon his mouth will probably be taped. 

"Turn it off!" Jaanai shoved my back. 

"If you touch it, I will hurt you." Ralph whispered so quietly I could barely hear him. 

ring

"Is that-?" Hunter began to question when I interrupted him.

"The walkie!" I stood up abruptly sprinting towards my bag on the coffee table. 

"Hello!?" I yelled.

"Shh I don't know how to turn the volume down of your call, I don't want the other soldiers to hear it." It sounded like Alex whispering frantically.

"Where are you guys, is everyone alright?" I asked frantically while Hunter sat up listening intently.

"I need you to unlock the controls of the van, for I can drive us out of here. As soon as possible please, before they know i'm in here." Alex replied quickly.

"On it." I said confidently while walking back to the computer. 

"Ralph I know it's your dad, but watching this happen without you being able to do anything is killing you right now. I'm changing it to the van Alex is in for I can help OUR FRIENDS. Then I'll switch it right back." I explained quickly while exiting out of the gory image and looking for Alex's van.

"What's in front of you right now?" I questioned Alex.

"A guy with no dick. He should look like he's in pain." She replied.

"I can hear the smug through the screen." Hunter laughed. 

"HERE!" Jaanai shouted while pointing. 

"Damn she really fucked him up huh?" Hunter was in hysterics now. 

I felt Ralph's hand grasp onto the back of chair tighter. 

"Okay unlocking it now." I said when suddenly a click was heard through the walkie. 

"I can move the gear shift now! Thank you!" Alex concluded when the connection was lost. 

"Go back now." Ralph said instantly. 

"Yep got it." I went back to the clip that's damaging Ralph every second. 

His dad was laying still on the floor while the other guy was being dragged towards the van.

'Isn't that.."

"Briana's dad." I finished for Hunter. 

"So they do have your parents at Salem's base..." Jaanai gasped. 

"Not the capital." Ralph growled.

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Jack POV 

I kept running, no aim, no idea where I was headed, I just knew there were evil men in front of me and behind me. I was in the middle, with no coverage, and Alex just disappeared. 

*bang*

*bang*

*bang*

*bang*

*click* 

Shit now I'm out of Ammo. 

run Jack run.

think of Jaanai. 

I sprinted across the woods. There were so may of their lifeless bodies sprawled across the leaves, how are there still more coming? 

"Jack down!" 

*zing*

I got dragged down on the hard soil as soon as I felt a sharp prick in my neck.

"Crap he was hit I didn't grab him in time!" Briana's faint voice echoed throughout my head.

"At least we know where the last guy is hiding now." Kadyn's voice echoed as well.

"I got him!" hmm Dylan's voice maybe.

*GRRRRRRRRRR*

"Is that Alex? In a van?" Briana asked.

"Holy shit she ran that guy completely over!" Dylan's voice spiked over theirs.

"Get him in, we have to leave!!!" There's Alex.

That was the last thing I heard before everything went black. 

***********************************************************************************************

Ralph POV

"You really thought you could still save him, even when he disobeyed you, and caused you all this pain?" Salem was circling my dad's lifeless, bloody body, around the cement. 

"He didn't disobey me. He disobeyed you, and that's why hitting me feels so good. I raised the thing that's going to destroy you." My dad heaved as blood came out of his mouth. 

"Wow how courageous, the dad still sacrificing everything for a life that should have never taken his  first breath." 

"Only according to you. Millions of people disagree with you, and millions of people created the thing you are terrified of. This is just the start, more and more forbidden children are rising. And trust me Balor, They will find you, and they will kill you." My dad whispered. 

"Sir someone hacked into the van cameras, we traced them back to a hospital in San Luis Obispo." A younger woman entered the garage. 

"Cut their connection after receiving their location, send Briar's men right away!" Salem looked up.

"We are trying, they used an unknown language, we are deciphering as much as possible." The lady replied while leaving. 

"Shit, I'll start packing." Jaanai said breathlessly running out of the office. 

"I'll help her, warn the others not to come back here Tate!" Hunter ran after Jaanai. 

"Ralph we have to kill the connection before they decipher our code that ruins everything we've built." Tate tapped my arm nervously. 

"Not yet." I said. 

"Shit." He stood up angrily while walkie talking our group. 

The echos of him warning them were nothing compared to the sound of Salem taking out his gun, and pointing it at my dad's head. 

"All that saving, all that hiding, all that money. It just created your death wish huh?" Salem snarled towards my dad. 

"No, it created the revolution you've been avoiding." My Dad replied slowly while turning his head towards the van camera, away from Salem. 

"We have to leave now Ralph, we have to get off NOW!" Tates shouts echoed off of my skull as Salem pulled the trigger and the screen went black. 

"You have lost connection to Salem Balor's van's cameras due to assumptions of illegal use. Please try again later or use another device." 

"No." I stood up slowly.

"Ralph?" Tate came near me, Hunter and Jaanai stood in the doorway. 

"I'll kill him! I'LL KILL HIM! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM! I'll KILL HIM!!!" I screamed as Hunter and Tate held me back from running out the door. 

"HE KILLED HIM! HE KILLED MY DAD!!!" I screamed as I fell to the floor.

"Ralph we have to go." Tate's voice echoed as sobs racked my body. 

"Get him up!" Hunter grunted. 

"I'm almost done packing!" Jaanai yelled. 

They dragged me down the steps, into the van outside. 

"We got you Ralph, we got you." Tate's face appeared above me. 

"We will kill him. I promise."