INTO THE ABYSS II

Lena's POV Gunfire broke out all around me, and the globe shrank to the turmoil of the instant. Adrenaline shot through my veins as I bent behind a tipped container, the air smelling strongly of gunpowder. Though my heart surged in line with the anarchy outside, Finn's voice sliced through the noise. He said, "Lena, we need to regroup!" then turned back to attack the guards marching on us. I nodded and looked about, my breath in short bursts. My head was racing, attempting to organize among the anarchy. This was a war for our independence, for our future, not only for survival. But when I turned back to Beckett, a knot of fear clenched in my gut. I had guided us exactly into this trap. "Over here!" From a side passage, Jacob's words pierced through my thoughts and I watched him waving. Finn trailed closely as I ran toward him. "What's the proposal?" With a thumping heart, I asked. Jacob muttered, his eyes darting over the space, "We have to get out." But we cannot go without the intelligence we arrived for. "Right," I said, my will rekindling. "We have to locate the Beckett files. Should we be able to expose him, he will become weaker permanently. The sound of gunshots diminished somewhat as we descended further into the warehouse, but I knew we were still under risk. Though I experienced a mix of adrenaline and anxiety, the will to resist kept me anchored. We had gone too far to turn around now. Finn said, "Stay close," looking over his shoulder. "We cannot afford to get split." I nodded, the weight of our circumstances falling on my shoulders. For everyone who had suffered under Beckett's tyranny as much as for us, this was a turning point. Fear should not control our behavior. There were scattered old computers and files in the room we found. "This must be it," Jacob murmured, his eyes ablaze as he hurried to a desk laden with documents. "We can at last stop him if we can uncover the details of his activities." "Start looking!" I pleaded, my eyes darting the space for any indication of threat. "We are running short of time." I could feel the anxiety building as we furiously searched among the papers. Every second seemed like a countdown, and the doubt that had dogged me started to slink back in. Should we find nothing, what then? Imagine Beckett spotting us before we could get away. "Lena!." Finn spoke out, his voice frantic. "Look at this!," says He raised a folder with Beckett's symbol, the seal a memento of the man who had planned so much suffering. As I grabbed it from him, my pulse pounded and turned it open to show records on operations, ally names, and sites Beckett had been gathering his troops from. I said, "This is it," my heart thumping. "We can show him this. Just then, though, a huge boom reverberated across the room, and I whirled around to find guards storming in with rifles leveled. My belly plummeted. We have been located. "Run!" I yelled and grabbed the folder, shoved it into my backpack. "Get out of here!" Though the guards were closing in, we shot toward the rear escape. As I collided with one of them, I felt a stinging pain in my side, but I pushed through. "Keep running!" I cried and pushed my buddies ahead. Finn shot back to cover our run along a little hallway. Gunfire echoed behind us, and I could feel my heart pounding, each pulse reminding me of how near we were to lose everything. "We have to divide up!" As we came across a fork in the passageway, Jacob yelled. "This is the only way we can fool them and get out." "No way," I said, shaking my head. We hang around. We cannot afford to get caught by ourselves. But we will be cornered if we stay together! Jacob pressed forward, his eyes begging. We have to leave this place, Lena. We cannot let Beckett triumph! His comments spoke to me and reflected the anxiety I had experienced recently. I understood, though, that dividing may mean losing someone we couldn't afford to lose. We can accomplish this as a team, I insisted forcefully. "together." Finn gazed at us and I could see tension in his eyes. "I trust Lena," he murmured softly. "We follow her lead if she believes we could survive together." "Okay, but we have to migrate quickly!" Jacob nodded, reluctant. "Let's head!" We started down the corridor dodging bullets by whizzing by us by ducking and weaving. Though I could hear the guards yelling behind us, there was no time to turn around. We had to keep on. I felt a flutter of hope—a path out—as we neared yet another door. The door opened, though, showing a guard on the other side just as we were reaching for the handle. His eyes grew wide with surprise, but before he could blink, I lunged forward and smacked him. We dropped to the ground, and among the confusion I grabbed his firearm. I rolled off him fast then pointed the rifle down the hall. "Get out!," I cried out to my buddies. They did not pause; we hurried through the door into the blinding sunshine outside. Though the danger was far from gone, we had made it. A reminder of the struggle we had just gone through, the warehouse loomed behind us. "Where are we headed??" Jacob asked, looking about frantically. Finn said, "head toward the alleyway." "We can reorganize and decide what to do going forward." Hearts thumping as we sought cover from the turmoil we had just escaped, we ran toward the alley. Though the adrenaline was still running through me, under all of it I felt a burst of will. We were nearer bringing Beckett down; we had survived. We stopped at the alley to catch our breath, leaning against the cold brick wall. My head whirling, I stopped to gather my ideas. We had the intelligence we required, but I also knew Beckett would not stop following us. Are we safe? Panting as I stared at my buddies, I asked. "For now," Finn said, looking down the alley for any indicators of threat. But we have to move quickly. I looked at the folder I had snatched from the warehouse while we recovered our breath. Though it felt like the secret to our success, it also carried great weight in my hands. Would this be sufficient to permanently discredit Beckett? "Lena," Jacob remarked, breaking off my concentration. "Are you doing okay?" You resemble lost. I inhaled deeply and pushed my concerns aside. "I am good." Just considering what is to come. "Next, we get this intel to our allies," Finn remarked, eyes gleaming with resolve. "We have to bring Beckett forward. He cannot keep slipping away with this. I nodded, the fire of determination ablaze once more inside me. You are right. We cannot let anxiety rule us any more. I noticed changes in my pals as we started to plan. We were no more ordinary people trapped in a risky game; they had fought valiantly at my side. As a team, we could meet whatever was ahead. We paused as a great bang suddenly rang down the lane. " What was that?" Whispers from Jacob, his eyes bulging. Finn remarked, desperation in his voice, "I don't know, but we need to move." We got off once more and negotiated the small streets. My heart hammered, terror blending with will. I was ready for whatever lay ahead. We had gone too far to turn around right now. Turning a bend, I saw a familiar person ahead. Running toward us, Mara had a face that combined relief with anxiety. You are here! I considered us to have lost you! "Mara!"— I yelled, then relief flooded over me. "We have the intel! But we must be careful; it is a trap. She murmured, "Let's regroup," staring across the alley. "We have to locate a secure area for strategic planning." Reality of what we had just done started to seep in as we entered a little café that had survived the turmoil. Though we had fled, the war was far from finished. The weight of our next moves pressed down on me. Pulling out the paperwork, we gathered around a table and laid them on the surface. As I held my hands, the weight of what we were going to do settled over me. They shook just a little. Looking at my buddies, "This is it," I said. "This could be our opportunity to permanently bring Beckett down. Mara nodded, resolved in her eyes. "We must, however, be strategic." He will come after us; we must be ready. I felt direction filling me as we began to talk about our future steps. We were in this together, and I was prepared to fight—not just for my life but for every person who had suffered under Beckett's rule. But a worry kept nagging at the rear of my mind as I went over the papers before me: Would we be sufficient to oppose him? Though the response was unknown, I knew one thing for certain. I would struggle right until the