Chapter Seven- RUN!


Everybody was running. Straight through the metallic corridors, with Cyclops leading the way, blasting every door that blocked their path. Logan, still out cold, was being telekinetically carried by Jean, who ran just behind Cyclops. Everybody else was running behind them, trying to keep up. The X-Men expected soldiers would come blocking their way, but no one came. Finally, they came to where Shadowcat had phased them from above. Everyone hung on to either Nightcrawler or Shadowcat. Moments later, they were running again, above on the hard, dry soil. ““Bobby! Get over here now!”” Scott yelled through his small communicator. Everybody was standing close together, very alert. They were in the middle of enemy grounds; they were sitting ducks. Silently, they waited, for Iceman and Avalanche, but expecting soldiers to come out any minute. No soldiers did. Instead, it came out. The huge, red, gigantic robot. Cyclops stared in shock.

““Oh no,”” Rogue murmured. Cyclops glanced at her. She was slowly backing away.

The robot, meanwhile, was heading straight towards them. Each step, sent trembles through the hard earth. Cyclops fired an optic blast straight at its chest, but still, it kept going. Everyone was stepping back now, while Cyclops helplessly fired blast after blast. Suddenly, they heard a helicopter in the near distance.

The ground shook hard, making the robot fall to its back. ““Lance!”” Kitty cried, as she saw him up the helicopter, his eyes rolled back, his hand stretched out front. As the Sentinel struggled to get back, the X-copter landed. Jean put Logan in first, while Rogue followed. As Kitty stepped in the aircraft, a laser beam blasted a couple of feet near them. The Sentinel was up now, his chest opened, revealing a hundred holes where fatal beams emerged. It stopped walking. It held out its hand, its palm aimed at them. Suddenly, the one whole on its palm began to glow into a cold, bluish color. ““Kitty, Kurt! Get in!”” Cyclops yelled. The two younger teenagers scrambled to their feet, and into the helicopter. ““Jean! Run!”” Scott ordered, firing another optic blast at the enemy. ““No! You go! I can defend myself with a shield. You can’’t.”” Jean shouted, forming a telekinetic shield in front of her.

““Jean!! Don’’t be so stub--””

Suddenly, the bluish glow turned deep into red. Jean’’s eyes widened.

““Uh-oh.””

==

Iceman did his best to lift the helicopter off the ground, pulling a lever to close the platform door at the same time. A huge blast shook the helicopter in midair. ““I-I don’’t think I can dodge every blast,”” he said shakily as Kitty sat beside him in the front seat. ““Maybe Scott or Logan could, but Scott’’s somewhere down there, and Logan’’s out cold!”” He was starting to panic. Their only offense was Avalanche, who did his best trying to keep the robot unstable. Suddenly, Shadowcat got an idea. ““Hey Bobby, remember that night when you guys took the Blackbird for a little……joyride?”” Bobby nodded, not following. ““Well, I think I can phase this ’’copter just like last time.”” A smile formed on Bobby’’s face. ““Hey, that could work! Yeah! You do that while I try be best to get us outta here……I just really hope that Scott and Jean are alright down there.””

==

Cyclops did the only thing he could do: he grabbed Jean’’s arm and ran towards the fence, towards the thick woods. He blasted the blocking fence while Jean formed a shield around them. As they ran, they could faintly feel the hotness of the blast. If there were any broken debris, Jean shielded them out. A while later, it seemed that the giant robot was more interested in the X-Copter than them, but still, they kept running. Hand-in-hand, together. Jean’’s legs felt as if they were going to collapse if they weren’’t going to stop soon. But still she ran, trying to keep up with Scott’’s fast pace.

==

It was amazing. He didn’’t know he had it in him. The endurance, the strength. All he kept thinking about was that he had to get Jean out of there. It suddenly felt like they’’d been running for hours, when truly, in was only minutes. Finally, he saw a highway. He could see cars and trucks zooming past them. They stopped just at the end of the woods, not daring to go to the road. They sat against a tree, huffing and panting. Then they heard a helicopter fly above. It was Bobby and the others. They had escaped.

And they, were left behind.