Night of the Living Bacteria [Old version]

Chapter Fourteen (Part Two)

(Ashley's POV) 

I step into the Gifted basement, walking against the wind, straight to the closet. The lock's broken, and there's a crack in the wooden door. I try to open the door, but it won't budge. I try kicking the door, but my foot goes straight through the door. Something on the other side of the door grabs hold of my leg and pulls me through the door. The last thing I hear before I slide to the other side of the door is another voice screaming my name. Then, I'm in the closet, looking up at a black-and-white, fuzzy monster. The bacteria. It grabs me by the legs, turning everything upside-down. I struggle against its grip, watching in horror as I'm lifted above its head and I see the rows of huge, sharp, saliva-coated teeth. I have an idea.

"Resuregemus!" The container of soap hits my palm as my head dangles an inch away from its teeth. "Eat this!" I scream, opening the soap container and tossing it between its teeth. This buys me enough time to grab the knife I brought with me. I reach up and slice its fingers away from my legs, and stretching my legs out beneath me to keep from breaking my back. I hit the floor with a thud, watching as the bacteria corner me again. At the last second, flames shoot at it. Olivia runs in front of me, casting spell after spell on the bacteria. I struggle to my feet.

"Ignis!" I join Olivia, casting each spell, hoping that I'm hitting the bacteria. Finally, it's reduced enough to stick its hostile body into a jar, which I levitate into the sink, fill it with water, and pour soap all around it.

"That'll do." I pause. "For now. We'll have to wait until the next full moon to seal it away for good."

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It's been a few days; things have passed soundly. Olivia and I noticed that the bacteria got larger every day, so we had to put it into a different container, which was done by levitation. Soon, the bacteria outgrew all the glass containers, so I put it into a plastic bin and poured the soap into it every day. It was weakening it, but it wasn't killing it. We weren't going to be able to wait another week for the full moon. I opened the spellbook, flipping to the page titled "Sigillum, interfice: Ne dissipes-Seal, Kill, Destroy"

This spell was strong, and it required a sizeable amount of energy. We would perform this spell tomorrow. If we wait any longer, it'll kill us before we learn this spell. I think. I close the spellbook, trying to sleep, but something tells me that I'm not safe here. Something was telling me to go to the Tunnels again and to take the books with me. Something is going to happen. I grab my jacket and walk outside. Everything is silent; way too silent. I walk by the vent to make sure nobody's around, but from behind me, I hear, "Ashley! In here!" Jayden's voice comes from the vent.

"You too?" I ask, sliding into the vent, clutching the journals to my chest. I notice Olivia standing behind him.

"All of us." She says.

"Oh," I say. That's when I notice the torches in the Tunnel. "Just a second." I press my palm to the cold metal of the unlit torches. "Ignis!" The warmth of the flames tells me that I've lit the torches. I open my eyes to see the end of the tunnel ahead. Then, I walk down it, leading the way. When we reach the main room, the torches are unlit and the room is cold as ice. I don't want to walk through all the tunnels to do this, I think. Wait. There's a central point, I'm sure. I walk to the circle on the floor. Crouching down, I place my hand in the center and close my eyes. "Ignis!" I feel a rush of wind as I open my eyes to a warmly-lit room. "Woah. I didn't know it could do that." Olivia exclaims.

"I didn't either," I say, sitting down next to one of the torches. "But what are we going to do for the next few hours? We probably aren't going to sleep, and I don't think it's safe to go exploring." We sit in silence for a while, but soon, I catch myself falling asleep. Reluctantly, I lay on the stone-cold floor. After a while, I drift off into a dreamless sleep. 

A/N-Sorry I've been gone for a while! Again, I've been getting a ton of schoolwork and it has been hard to update lately, though I'll be around more now that I have time again.-Laura S.