But a dim light hit my face as a rope was tossed inside. "What are you waiting for?! Hurry!"
It wasn't them? We looked at each other. We weren't found? I quickly grabbed the rope and hung on; Edward pushing as a pair of hands pulled and pulled and pulled—
My heart rose in my chest. I was free! They came back for us!
"Hurry. Hurry. We have to hurry!" Hands were grabbing me and my feet tumbled beneath me as they shoved me to the back hastily.
"Come on. Hurry up! Pull!—!"
Edward appeared, clasping an unfamiliar boy's arm. "I knew it. I knew you wouldn't leave us!"
The golden head dipped. "Y-yes. Of course—"
"Eh, who are you kidding? You were halfway out the door!" Pierre. Loud. Abrasive. Pierre. I hugged him to me fiercely—
"Oy! You're strangling me! Let go!" He slapped my back over and over.
I released him quietly; something wet dripping from my eyes.
"You came back, Adrian. That's all that matters." Edward sighed as the boy paled and turned away. "At least we're all together…"
The children still living, there really weren't many. Not many at all.
Five? No, six of us survived—
A high pitched scream. We whipped around in unison. The alarm was sounding—!
We ran. Quickly. Hastily! Where were we going—?! How were we escaping—?!
Deeper inside. Just how did they know where we were going?!
But the twists and turns were dizzying and my feet were hurt and bleeding and the hallways were dim and creaking—
Our kidnappers cursed loudly. We stopped. One heartbeat. Two.
Silently, Edward motioned us. Silently, we backed away.
"Jamie." The whisper sounded too close to my ear. "Jamie, which way?!"
His hand, dipped in ink, was hard to see in the dark. "The—there! There's another exit that way!"
Their shadows were creeping—
We scrambled to escape quickly, but softly—
Edward? I looked back earnestly. He was stopped at the rear. And for the last time, he grabbed me. Hugged me. And pushed me away. His eyes were screaming. Go! Flee! Be free!
My hand reached—!
But he planted his feet; releasing his weakened aura shakily. A shield? A force—the barricade flimsy at best!
I tried to go back, launching myself carelessly—!
But I bounced right off of it, landing on my butt. I tried to scream his name—
But Pierre grabbed me by the hair, ripping into my skull as he screamed. "Are you trying to get us all killed?! Stuuuuupid!" He rammed my hips, pushing me forward forcefully—
My body, it was hesitating. Edward. Edward! But, I, too, could hear the attackers coming. And my feet, they were running before I could think—
His back—!
It looked like it was trembling. He, too, was scared of dying—
I left him. I left Edward.
Abused. Abandoned. Scared. And alone. Just what were his last moments like? I didn't even stay to see.
But I'm sure. It was terrifying.
***
The exit appeared before us.
Panting. Gasping. All we could do was freeze. Because it was open. And the air was fresh. Almost abrasively so.
And that was—
Eerie.
And yet, the sounds of pursuit weren't abating—!
Trembling. Shaking. We couldn't take our eyes from that door. The exit. It was right there!
I looked back only once—and Pierre slapped my hand away. "Stop that!" He whispered, gazing at the door deliriously.
"But I—"
The door creaked. And a man entered.
Menacing black aura. And the feel of a hundred eyes creeping.
"Well. You have some guts, don't you?" He said. It seemed, at that time, he looked at us from an immense height; the sounds of thumping—thudding—yelling right behind us.
Our pursuers, they were swiftly catching up—!
I could hear them. The shouts. The clamor. The noise—!
Boots rapidly closing in. The ferocious roar.
A Beast?!
Adrian collapsed, begging on his knees. A chill fell; the bleakness of death wrapping around me—
Pierre quickly hid behind me; his tiny claws tearing into my back as he held tightly to my clothes.
The pain was haunting. That pain, it was only the beginning…
***
They came in waves. Faceless. Nameless. Men. Their swords. And knives. And arrows. Then the Beasts…
Tiger eyes. Drawn claws. And gleaming, sharp fangs.
Shuddering. Shivering. I felt their monstrous teeth were already sinking into my skin.
The bite of a thousand million crunching teeth—!
"Please. Please! Let me go. I won't—I won't tell anyone! Pleas—!"
A fierce wind.
And Adrian's body crumbled, curling into a ball on the ground as he moaned weakly. His body—! It was riddled in wounds!
Whip marks that were really wind marks; the signs of cruelty there for anyone to see.
The sheer power. The frightening, invisible killer.
"Shouldn't you be thanking me? I saved you!" Laughter. And my face paled.
He kicked and kicked and kicked that boy as if he were already dead and gone. "We still have a use for you. You can't leave."
The Beast growled. And Pierre huddled closer to my side.
He slapped another's back. "Don't stiffen so much, my boy. You're not going." His collarbone cracked beneath the pressure. He screamed, trying to inch away—
But was tossed to the floor and stepped on pitifully.
I winced, shuddering from the phantom pain.
And then, that man turned. Towards me. "Now, what's this? I thought our precious Noble had long since died…Ah, damnit!" He screamed. "I lost. I lost the bet—!"
My face—! It stretched! And the wind pierced me to the wall; a bug amongst the Beasts!
My limbs spread, struggling in vain. And my nose and eyes started bleeding.
The pressure—
It was immense—!
A boulder. A stream—!
Gasping. Wheezing—!
I couldn't even hear my own screaming. There was sweat—and salt—and blood—!
But all at once, I fell hard.
Because of Pierre. Little, misguided Pierre.
He stabbed my tormentor's toe with a makeshift knife—
And his neck snapped. From the impact of a boot against his face.