Nine - Chapter 20

His feet made no sound as he ran down the corridor.  The room may have been dark, but thankfully he could see well in it.  A few months of practice could perform miracles.  He could hear the different conversations bouncing off the walls, such as the scientists’ panicked chatter above him, and the multiple conversations between the experiments.  However, there was only one person on his mind right about now, and that would be the one causing this all.

He heard a thud beside him from behind one of the doors, and turned his head. Without realizing it, he walked straight through an opened closet door.  His eyes went back to the hallway as he felt the spiritual vibrations in the air.  She had to be here somewhere.  He just hoped he found her before it was too late.  His feet came to a halt and he closed his eyes, straining his ears for any type of sound.  

Do you fear me, Damian?

He darted forward once again, realizing she was in Five’s room.  He prayed he wasn’t too late.  His feet stopped at the door, which was frozen over, and he held out his hands.  Without much effort, he went through the door and into the frozen room.  His yellow eyes widened as the sight before him unfolded. 

“Zara, stop it!” He yelled out, grabbing her shoulder and ripping her away.  She hissed and spun around, her golden eyes locking on his.

“Why should I?” she growled.

“Because he hasn’t done anything wrong to you,” he replied, cupping her cheeks in his hands.  “Zara, I know you’re upset.  Don’t let revenge corrupt your soul.  You’ll turn into a demon before your time.”

“I already am a demon.  Same as you,” she remarked. “The day they took us in to experiment on was the day we handed our souls over to the devil.”

“Hear me out, okay?  This boy has been through so much to be where he is today.  He stood up to Ryan, to the council, which is more than I ever can say I did.  He’s got the strength to carry on, and there’s still so much life left in him.  Don’t cut his life short because of a selfish wish.”

Zara’s eyes lowered to the ground, and her voice broke a bit.  “But if they take you away from me, I’ll have no one.  You’re my only friend, the only one I have left.  It’s… it’s not fair.”

He held her close and kissed her forehead, cradling her in his arms.  “Just because I won’t be a spirit doesn’t mean you’ll be alone.”

“Neil,” she hiccupped. “I can’t.  I’m not strong enough to be alone.  You reminded me what it’s like to be loved.  What it’s like to be a friend.  I was without that for so long.  I didn’t want to go back to that.  I can’t.”  Her eyes widened as she stared at Neil. “Oh no.  It’s happening.”

“What’s…” Neil held up a hand and felt his skin tingling.  Then it grew hot, as if he were on fire.  His hand disappeared altogether, and the invisible spell worked its way up his arm.  His eyes searched for something in hers, but they had already glazed over, cold as stone.

“I’m sorry, Neil.  I have to.” She turned away from him, back to Five.  

“Zara, stop!” He called after her, but his hand went right through her.  “No, no no! Zara, don’t do it!  Don’t give in.  Please.   He’s just a kid.”

Zara leaned in and kissed Five’s lips again, a white light coming from it.  The world began to blur around Neil, and he could hear someone calling his name.



“Come on, Neil,” Two whined.  “What’s taking so long?”

Three’s forehead was lined with sweat.  “If you really want to help, you could find a light switch or something.”  Two’s eyes looked around the dark room, nothing visible in the pitch black.  He heard a door open down the hallway and slam shut.

“Is everyone alright down here?” One’s voice echoed down the hall.

“George and I are fine,” Two replied back.  “I don’t know what to say about the others.”

“I’m going for the backup generator,” One yelled back.  Two turned his attention back to Three, or at least the general area he thought George to be.

“Here he comes,” Three spoke through strained teeth.  Two heard someone take a breath in the glass, and he let out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.  Two hands tapped on the glass, and Two hurried to open the latch.

“Hang on, Neil,” he spoke.  He fumbled with the key pad and the glass sprung open with a hiss.  Seven tried to sit up, but instead rolled off of the coffin, falling to his hands and knees.  Two kneeled down beside him.  “Easy, Neil.  You just woke up.  You lost a lot of muscle tone.”

Seven opened his mouth to speak, but he found his mouth barren as a desert.  He put a hand up on the bed, doing his best to stand up, but he couldn’t make it off the floor.  “Two,” he breathed out, being as the word Paul wouldn’t separate from his lips.  “Heh… Heh..” He tried to speak.  

Two put a hand on Seven's back as the lights flickered back on.  His eyes lit up toward the ceiling and around the room, seeing both Three and Two.

“I think you could use a haircut before anything,” Three chuckled.  Seven looked around, desperation in his eyes.  Two’s eyebrows folded together.

“What’s wrong,” Two asked.

“Day… Day… Heh…” Seven tried to swallow, and Two helped him back on the bed.  Seven shook his head back and forth, his eyes pleading him to understand something was wrong.  Of course, he knew at this point, it was already too late.  Damian was gone.