Calvan Greene vs. The One

[TheOne]

EXODUS: Chapter Five

Everything in life was still so surreal for me.  Hailey... A girl who had had no identifying name for all of these years, and was lost, was back in my life, and someone who wasn't just a "person" in my life, but a somebody.  It was something that, for the lost girl who still resided inside of my body, was what dreams were made of.  And after all this time, we still had the chemistry to come together and reunite, and return to our previous mission...

This time, as a unit...

Now while elation and happiness churn throughout my inner self, her returning creates a situation which The Oracle quickly approved of, and her brother quickly felt betrayed about.  He felt as if he should have been brought into the fold about Hsiley before she was brought into the room, as would any protective brother.  He felt like I betrayed his trust and his feelings were rational at that point.  The Oracle, however, saw something in her and believed in her from the start.  This trust was something I didn't see coming, or understand, but I did feel its importance over everyone in the room.  Her voice, her confidence, and her belief in Hailey effectively took her brother's angst away, and created a small, but effective level of comfort in seeing what she brought to the table, and also gave me a chance to explain who she was.

I told her brother how she ultimately recruited me, when I was first brought to The Compound, and our goal was to take it over, and get rid of The One, at the time.  I explained that she was the one who created the foundation for what I did for them both, and led me to getting The Oracle to safety.  I explained that with her, they now have the ability to more effectively stay put or move to the next phase, as they won't be solely reliant on The One to ensure everyone's safety.

In essence... Hailey gave us cover...

But the man we had caught snooping was a sign that we didn't have much more time left to dawdle if we wanted to make a real move to cross the river into the next county and actually be far enough out of the jurisdiction of The Compound for The Oracle to be safe.  I had known they were around, and now we knew they were close.  Our next move had to be smart, and it had to be calculated.  We couldn't just react without having a plan or an idea of what our antagonists were planning next.  We knew the man would have returned to The Compound.  We knew his story would have told them that they were close.  And we knew they would hone in on the location we were staying, if they weren't already.

So for the next few nights, Hailey and I took turns staying up and keeping watch.  It was the first time I had any decent sleep, knowing I could let my guard down for any substantial period of time and it was a recharge that I needed.  But it would be only a couple of nights of rest before we got our answers of how close they were, and in how much danger The Oracle was in...

As The One takes her night to slowly get ready to turn into bed, after The Oracle and her brother have long sense gone to sleep, she quickly feels a tap on her shoulder.  The One quickly jumps up, and sees Hailey staring back at her.  Hailey lifts a finger to her lips signalling her to be quiet.  The One cocks an eyebrow, and then Hailey uses the same finger to have her to come her way.

The One gets out of her make-shift bed, and follows Hailey to the door of the room.  Hailey slowly peels back the curtain of the window enough for The One to look out.  The One looks at Hailey, and then leans around to peek out the window.  The One's eyes widen as multiple cars are now in the parking lot, with several recognizable members from The Compound getting out.  The group all coalesces outside of the main "office" of the motel and looking around suspiciously.  The One and Hailey watch as the group looks around, before bashing the front door of the motel office open and all rushing in.

The One: Fuck...

Hailey: Well this just got real...

The two look at one another and without thinking, The One simply says...

The One: Should we go for it?

Hailey: You're The One... It's your call...

The One looks at Hailey with a very serious look in her eyes, but the sound of her voice is that of the "little sister" who may have been more successful in life.

The One: Hailey... Stop... It's OUR call...

Hailey: Call it however you want... It's your decision, and I'm in with you...

The One nods.

The One: So like we sort of planned?

Hailey: I think I know how we can improvise the rest...

Without speaking, The One nods and closes the curtain briefly.

The One: Who is taking the car, and who is taking the mob?

Hailey smiles.

Hailey: It's my turn to get revenge on a lot of these people at once... That one guy wasn't enough!  Besides, The Oracle is your responsibility, and you hold it true... You get her where she needs to be, and just be ready for me...

The One: Deal...

Hailey looks out of the curtain again, and sees everyone still inside the office, and knows this is her time to get out of the room.  She quickly unlatches the door and runs out around the opposite corner into the shadows.  She runs around the back of the building, and The One watches until she sees Hailey appear around the side of the building nearest to the office.  Hailey has something in her hand, and she quickly moves toward the door, does something, then returns to the shadows.  She looks toward the window, where she knows The One is watching, and gives her a sign to "go."  The One turns and yells.

The One: EVERYONE UP, NOW!  THEY'RE HERE!  NOW!  NOW!  NOW!

The Oracle and her brother and blindsided by the loud exclamation of The One, and jump out of bed.  The One continues her instructions.

The One: GRAB YOUR SHIT!  ONLY STUFF THAT MATTERS!  WE HAVE TO GET OUT NOW!

The Oracle, a bit delirious of the situation, looks around and sees Hailey gone.

The Oracle: Where is Hailey?!

Her brother immediately makes assumptions.

Brother: I TOLD YOU SHE WASN'T TRUTHWORTHY!

The One fires back without hesitation.

The One: Would you shut the FUCK up?!  She's out there buying us fucking time, now GET YOUR GODDAMN SHIT!

She then looks at The Oracle, talking in a much lower tone.

The One: ... I'm serious... Grab what you can!  We have to get out of here now...

The Oracle: And go where?!

The One: To be determined... Trust us, please... I'll be right back!

The Oracle just nods and begins grabbing what she can.  As they are doing so, The One sneaks out of the room and heads for the closest vehicle in the parking lot.  She immediately goes under the front console and hotwires the ignition to start it up.  Hailey looks up, and sees her protege do exactly as she had hoped, and she smiles.  It's at this time the mob who had arrived go to leave the office, and realize that what Hailey had done is shimmed and jammed the door shut.  There is a look of confusion at the glass door, and it's at this time that Hailey emerges from the shadows, turning and facing all of the members who recognize her from her challenge to the authority.  And the irony of the situation is the mob includes the man she challenged, and the one that The One knocked out to take the moniker from him.  As Hailey makes eye contact with the man who caused her several years of personal pain, a very evil grin comes across her face, and she raises both hands, signalling him to come get her.

As the mob focuses on Hailey, and The One has the car running, The One looks toward the motel room door and yells...

The One: NOW!  NOW!  NOW!  MOVE!

The mob, even though inside, hear the yelling from The One, and look up to see The Oracle and her brother leaving the room, and running toward the running vehicle.  The mob all quickly begin to yank on the door, which actually causes the shim that Hailey pushed into the jam to become even tighter.  Hailey begins to chuckle, still staring her personal nemesis down.  This leads him to begin throwing the older men of the mob out of the way so he can get to the door, being the far superior person in terms of strength.

The man begins to try and yank the door open, which as with others, causes the door to become more and more stuck.  This angers the man, as Hailey begins to chuckle more and more.  The man pushes the mob around more, and eventually grabs one of the office items to cover his hand, and he rears back and swings at the glass in the door.  This shatters the full size pane of glass, which initially leads to shock both from Hailey and the rest of the mob.  Hailey glances back to ensure everyone is getting in the vehicle, as she sees The One close the driver's side door and begin reversing the car.  As she glances back at the windowless door, she sees her nemesis crawling under the push-to-open bar so he can escape.  With his head down, she wastes no time getting a modicum of revenge as she spins around and throws a spin kick that connects along the same side of the head that The One had kneed him across years before.

The man falls but doesn't go unconscious.  This leads to the mob all trying to follow the man in the same route, jamming themselves inside the frame, and making Hailey laugh at the comedy of the situation.  She hears the vehicle wheels spin gravel behind her and approach the office.

The One: GET IN!

Hailey quickly looks back and sees the window of the passenger side open and she runs and jumps in, and The One immediately begins to speed off out of the parking lot.  As Hailey crawls into the passenger seat, The One instructs everyone to slump down except for Hailey.  As the two alphas expected, other cars emerge trying to stop them, as The One makes her way toward the county line that is their ultimate goal.  Some of the cars that begin following them immediately turn on their patrol lights, indicating they are members of the local county law enforcement, still under the persuasion of The Compound.

Hailey: You think they'll cross lines running hot?

The One: I'm more curious if they have people on the other side waiting for us...

Hearing this makes the brother interject.

Brother: I thought that county was safe?!

The One: It will be if we aren't accused of something more nefarious.  They call in some accusation and run after us across the border then they csn request backup...

Hailey: You think they'd risk it like that?

The One: I wouldn't put it past them...

As the group approach the bridge that represents the border between counties, two cars come out of the shadows to begin trying to block their way.  The One sees this, and immediately slams on the gas and begins to try and aim right for the middle of where these two cars meet.  Hailey quickly turns to the two in the back.

Hailey: You two, middle of the seat, and hold on!

The Oracle and her brother basically sit in one another's lap as the moment of truth comes, and The One, as if right out of the Fast and Furious franchise, weaves in between the two vehicles without a scratch on the car, almost spinning out on the bridge.  She is able to regain control and get across the bridge before any of the official vehicles were able to turn their lights on and be considered "in pursuit."  The One gets everyone across the border, and continues driving for another 10 to 15 minutes.  Once she realizes she is a safe distance from the border, she slows the car down as they pull into a small nearby town.

As the car stops, she stops and is audibly heard breathing pretty heavily.  She just stares forward before uttering words to everyone else.

The One: Everyone OK?

Hailey senses The One's anxiety and turns around and looks at both The Oracle and her brother.  Both from the back seat nod.

Hailey: We're good...

The One: Good...

It was at this moment I realized that I had done exactly what I had planned to do and I had saved The Oracle from the reach of The Compound.  But that didn't mean that the battle was over.  The Oracle was safe and could now begin to have a little more freedom, whereas I knew I still had issues with The Compound, and I believed that I wasn't alone in that feeling.  I believed that Hailey was right there with me and ready to take the fight to the next level with those who made a lot of people's lives hell, and exploited and extorted many for money.

So while the Exodus, itself, may have been completed, the chapter still has more before it's ready to turn the page.