I was running as hard as I could. The guards were still on my tail. I had to lose them somehow. Down the street, there is a supermarket. It’s always packed with people trying to get their groceries quickly and get out. I dashed into the blob of people standing outside the entrance, through the doorway, and into one of the aisles. I slowed down to a walk, trying to regain control of my breath and not attract any attention. I stood facing one of the shelves when I heard an announcement on the intercom.
“If there is a Mr. Hamilton here, could you please come to the front of the building?”
I immediately knew it was the guards. How had they searched everywhere already? I thought. I bolted out of the aisle trying to find the closest exit. It happened to be an emergency exit, but between me and the door were at least 50 people, a ton of small shelves, pastries, and two guards. I cautiously approached the door, every so often stopping to take a look at the bakery items on the tables. It looked like the guards didn’t see me. I was blending into the population. The guards eventually turned around, and that is when I made my move. I sprinted to the door, threw it open, and darted as fast as I could away as I heard alarms and screams coming from inside the shop. I ran with seemingly no guards chasing me. When I turned back around to see where I was going, I saw a concrete wall rapidly approaching me. I had quick enough reflexes that I stopped just short of the wall.
I knew the guards would find me soon, considering I escaped through the emergency exit. I debated my options. If I went back into town, there was a high risk of getting caught. By now, there must be hundreds of guards searching for me. I could follow the wall and see where it leads me. I could end up in a safer area where I could find shelter, but it could also signal where I was to the guards. I’m not certain, but I think there are motion detectors every so often along the wall. However I’m positive there are cameras. Any sudden movement could trigger an alarm.
“Hey you!” a voice from behind me said.
I spun around and froze when I saw a squad of guards encircling me.
“Raise your hands and kneel on the floor.” The captain instructed.
I didn’t move. I was still in shock at how quickly they had found me.
“Do you hear me!” the captain yelled. “Put your hands up and get on the ground!” he screamed angrily.
I had no other choice now. I had to jump the fence. I slowly advanced towards the guards. When one of them stepped forward with handcuffs, I turned around and ran straight at the wall.
“He’s going to jump it!” one guard yelled.
I put all of my energy into my legs. I sent myself high up in the air and over the wall. The guards stood in shock. I hit the ground and rolled away from the wall, my limbs flailing. I lift my head up to see a lake filled with cool water, shimmering in the sunlight. Surrounding the lake are tall green trees, whose leaves blow in the crisp wind. The farthest area I could see in the distance was a long chain of tall snow capped mountains. I pulled myself towards the lake when two people stepped in front of me. “Don’t hurt me, please!” I cried.
“Don’t worry, we won’t. You made it out of that terrible place,” one of them said.
They helped me up and took me to their city. It was a megalopolis. Bigger than anything I had ever seen. Somehow they had hidden this city into the quiet nature of the lake. The buildings were huge, so tall it seemed they could touch the moon. People and cars quickly moved about. I was shocked by what I saw. I was struggling to take it all in.
“Let’s head to the Centre, shall we?” one of the people asked.
“Let’s go,” I said, not really thinking. Off we went, to the Centre, wherever that may be in this huge metropolis.