The adventures of the Horror Gang: The horrors within

Chapter seventy-one: Can you count?

The three teenagers looked around, seeing the room as dark, grey and gloomy as their emotions.

"What happened here?" Dylan asked, slightly confused.
Alex pointed to a vent ahead of them.

"Is that where she is?" Cheyenne asked, Alex nodded.

"Damn vent" Dylan said, shaking his head, "What happened to-"

"I'm claustrophobic?" Cheyenne cut in, "I guess you got over fear" she said,

"Yeaaah" Dylan said, "I guess..."
Cheyenne laughed as they crawled inside.
Then, as they exited the vent, they found what they were looking for.

"The girl" Cheyenne said, staring at her with a pang of sadness. "She looks so scared"

"No wonder why" Dylan said, "That thing looks terrifying!" He said, pointing to the eye camera.

"Right" Alex said, holding out her hand, "Now it's time to see if I have powers" she said as black mist emerged from her fingertips.

It was followed by a flicker. Then another, like the light dying in your eyes when you see what you had become in the years before. However, this had no regrets or memories. Only the image of Death.
Then it faded. Never to be feared again.

"Woah!" Dylan and Cheyenne said in astonishment.

"Remind me never to piss you off" Dylan mentioned. Cheyenne nodded, agreeing with him.

"Yeah I don't fancy dying any time soon" she said, Alex nodded back and turned to the other girl.

"I won't" Alex said, "I just hope that this works"
With a deep breath, she outstretched her hand towards the frozen girl, her skin the colour of her expression, reflecting in her eyes. Until her cold, terrified expression was gone, replaced with new ones, happy ones, ones she couldn't do for who knows how long. Finally, when the girl's body had been freed of its stone prison.
The two girls stared at each other.

"You"  The unfrozen one said, "but I thought...you were dead" she said.

We're dead" Another voice rang out. The four children stared in the direction of where the words came from. "But he-" the figure stopped, seeing Alex's new form. "-She was replaced" the figure finished.

Alex stared at the boy, the frail boy with brown hair that covered his eyes and a old, ragged shirt and shorts that needed to be replaced sooner rather than later. Alex looked down to his feet, bare. However, on his ankle was a very familiar shackle...
The same boy that had gave him the bread.
The same boy who is-

"You" Alex said, "You're the-" she was cut off by Cheyenne.

"-The RunAway Kid" she said, staring at the familiar face. The boy smiled.

"Call me One" he said as he was joined by some other children.

"How many of you guys are there?" Dylan asked, staring at the unknown faces.

"There were five of us" another boy said, his whole body covered in bandages. "I'm Two" he said.

"And I'm Three" the unfrozen girl said. Now that she was more lively, Alex could make out her features, blue eyes and long blonde hair, she wore an orange cape, revealing a similar ragged dress underneath. It reminded Alex a little of himself. Three held out her hand, Alex took it.

"I'm Alex" she said back to her. The girl gave her a puzzled look.

"But I thought you were Six?" She said,

"She is" Cheyenne cut in, "Just in her own way"
Alex smiled. "You know I'm never gonna get used to you being a girl right?" Cheyenne said.

"I know" Alex replied, "It's strange for me too"

"Same here" Dylan agreed, he looked back at the line of kids, "So, who are the rest of you?" He asked.

"I'm Four" another boy said, he wore a green T-shirt and a judgmental look. "Are you really a girl?" He asked Alex.

"I think so" she replied. The boy held out his hands, Alex's coat telepathically disconnecting from his body.

"Hey!" Cheyenne said, "That's hers!"
The boy smiled.

"I think you mean his" Cheyenne and Dylan turned to see Alex, a boy once more.

"Okay, that's creepy" Dylan said.

"Yeah and totally uncool! That's his coat! Give it back!" Cheyenne yelled at the green haired boy.

"I think you mean her" Dylan added, Cheyenne rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean" Cheyenne said, frustrated. The boy in green laughed.

"Oh I will give it back, once Five has taken a look at it" he said, giving the piece of clothing to something that didn't look like a girl as a white cloak covered their body.

"What is she doing with it?!" Cheyenne demanded, Dylan looked at her, ink starting to cover her elbows and biceps.

"Removing his fake identity" a hoarse voice said, under the white cloak.

"WHAT?!" Alex and Cheyenne said, however, before they could do anything a stream of white emerged from under the cloak, surrounding the Yellow Raincoat. Then, within seconds it was gone.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Cheyenne said in a threatening voice.

"We all have powers" Three said, looking at Alex in concern. "Don't worry, you still have yours" she said, grabbing the coat out of the the girl in the cloaks' hands and giving it to Alex.

"What's hers?" Alex asked Three.

"While yours is to seek the Hunger, Five's is to be rid Lies" Three said.

"What does that mean?" Dylan asked, confused.

"Ever wonder where all the masks go after they have been killed?" Three questioned.
The Gang shook their heads.

"Five collects them, harnesses their fake identities and gets rid of them" she said, "And that coat was obviously full of Lies" she continued.

"And Hunger" One cut in, crossing his arms, "I also took the liberty to be rid your Hunger" he said smiling at Alex.

"Thanks?" He said to the boy.

"And what are there powers?" Cheyenne asked One.

"-I seek Truth" the bandaged boy said, he looked at The Nome. "I cover secrets with silence" he said. "If word ever got out that there was more than one child escaping we would all be dead" Two said. "So I had to keep as many people quiet as possible" he said, the Nome backed away.

"So it was you who turned Grayson" Cheyenne said, the boy nodded.

"And before you ask, I cannot change him back, it is a burden and punishment he must bare" Cheyenne looked down sadly at the Nome, he looked back up at her, holding her hand as if to say 'It's ok, I'll be fine.'

"And him?" Dylan said, pointing at the boy in the green t-shirt.

"I seek reality, I think you'll find I'm the one who's been showing you those flashbacks" Four said to Alex.
Cheyenne turned to the other girl.

"And you?" Alex said curiously.

"I be rid dreams, I'm the one who was protecting you from the Lady's hypnotic spell" Three faced Alex's friends, "I was the one protecting all of you" she finished.

"That said" The RunAway Kid mentioned, "We should get out of here" he pointed to the vent where the teenagers came from.
Once Alex had put on the coat he said,

"Then let's go"
With a nod from the others, all eight (plus the Nome and Demon) exited the lower levels of the Maw by the lift again, back up to the restaurant of chaos.

As the elevator rose up, they all were prepared to win this war.
Death was only in the lead by a few minutes.

But not for much longer.