Luke's cheeks stung with flowing tears. He hadn't realised himself subconsciously start crying as be ran to Rosie's side and felt for a pulse. His heart was practically jumping out of his chest, he couldn't lose her, not like this.
Everything about her, her smile, her style, her humour, her very being. Yes, she was his little sister, but she was also one of the most important people in his life. She was the only reason he got through some of the roughest patches in his life. Her constant upbeat attitude, her positivity, just everything.
His hands fumbled around her neck, reaching for a pulse under her ear. Tears dropped down and splashed onto her skin.
Kasper stood back in shock staring at his friend while simultaneously at a loss for words. He and Rosie had always gotten along, and now he was watching her older brother desperately try to find proof of her being alive.
"L-Luke..." Ava's choked sobs reached his ears, but he didn't respond.
Clasping his hands together he started pressing into her chest at intervals, preforming CPR. Ava fell back into more tears, seeing this as a last hopeless endeavour from Luke.
"One...two...three...four!" He pressed his hands down on her chest four times, then looked at her face. He gave it a quick thought and pinched her nose to close off the airways. He then closed his eyes and lowered his face, resting his lips on top of hers and breathing air into her mouth.
This went on for 3 loops, and after the third breath into her mouth, he was starting to lose hope.
Typically, CPR could save most people even if only for a moment. At least, that's what Luke liked to tell himself.
He pinched her nose for the fourth time, preparing to have to part with his sister. He closed their lips together, and breathed into her mouth for the last time.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Luke felt the hope drain out of his body, and a huge wave of hopelessness hit him. His little sister had just been torn from this world, and he hadn't been able to save her. If they hadn't spent so much time with Amaris and Lily in the other chamber, they could've prevented this.
Rosie's eyelids fluttered open and she started coughing lightly, her body twitched and Luke felt a huge amount of relief and grace wash over him. Silently praying to whatever gods were out in the solar system.
Kasper covered his mouth and let out a laugh, he couldn't believe his eyes.
Rosie sat up and rubbed her hands together, wiping the blood off her nose.
"W-Was someone kissing me??"
The gang all burst out into laughter.
==================================
"WHAT!?"
"You heard me correctly, sir. Amaris has been slain." The boy talking was smartly dressed, and had a posh look to him.
The man coated in shadows banged his fist on the table. His eyes darted over to Etsuko, who was stood in the corner of the room playing with her hands and whistling.
"You're bored?"
Etsuko looked up, her face showing complete uninterest in small talk.
"Oh no!! I'm SUPER into talking about that waste of space dying!! Let's talk some more!"
"ETSUKO!!"
She fell silent, albeit begrudgingly.
The man sighed and put his head in his hands.
"Lewis I want you to make sure the traitor is locked away and untraceable. Etsuko, you go and deal with our guests." His voice was strained.
Lewis, the posh looking boy, nodded and left the room swiftly. Etsuko, on the other hand, stayed behind and glared at her boss.
"Really? I don't care for any of them."
"I didn't ask if you cared...I gave you an order."
She rolled her eyes, but she didn't dare push her luck too far. She followed Lewis out the office and left her boss behind.
==================================
Luke and the others had pressed forward after reuniting. The scare with Rosie still fresh on his mind, Luke swallowed the lump in his throat and cleared his head.
Rosie, being supported by both Ava and Ruby, was physically okay. Her head ached a bit from whatever had happened to her, but she paid it no mind.
The gang had left Lily behind with Amaris's body. She had started playing with his blood and moving his limbs around like a puppeteer. This had severely disturbed Ava, and the gang quickly left Lily to her own devices.
Their goal of saving Brooke from whoever had kidnapped her was still the main priority, Lily and Amaris had just massively impacted that in the wrong way.
As the ventured deeper into the never ending labyrinth that was this Palace, Luke felt his spirits dampen. So far, they had been in the Palace for around an hour if his watch was informing him correctly, and they hadn't found anything new. It was almost as if the walls were shifting and hiding their true destination.
"One moment, Lucy." Damien excused himself and ran to the front of the line they were walking in. He matched Luke's pace and cleared his throat.
Luke gave him a surprised stare for a moment. Had he forgot Damien existed? That possibility hurt Damien a little, but he moved forward regardless.
"Do you have a compass?" He asked.
"What..?" Luke stared at him.
"A compass? Like...North, West, Sou-" Damien was suddenly cut off.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it! Why do you want to know?"
"Just trust me. Can I see it?"
Luke tossed Damien the compass from his pocket and shrugged.
Damien immediately flipped the compass the right way up and stared at it, smirking as he realised he was right.
"GUYS! Look!"
Quickly circling around Damien, the group all saw what made him smirk. The needle of the compass was spinning wildly in all different directions.
"I'm so confused..." Kasper looked lost.
"Don't you get it??" Damien could barely hide the joy in his voice.
"No?"
"Right. So compasses don't use batteries, as you should know. They work based on the earths magnetic field."
"I'm still not following..." Kasper scratched his head, trying to contemplate.
"So. This compass isn't pointing to the magnetic field, it's pointing all over the place. Meaning, this entire Palace is shrouded in energy and enough magnetic force to pull the planet apart."
"How does this help..." Kasper moaned.
"Well, given we find the heart of the source then the needle will start going more wild than it is right now."
"So we just head towards whatever direction makes the needle spin harder?" Ruby asked in a hopeful voice.
"Exactly!"
Luke patted Damien's shoulder.
"I was wrong about you. You aren't completely useless."
While Damien tried to work out whether that was an insult or a compliment, he looked down at the compass and started walking in the direction that gave the needle the most movement. The others followed suit behind him.
After they had crossed over into a different hall, Lewis materialised into view. He'd been using a cloaking technology unique to this world to hide himself.
"Tsk tsk. So they figured it out thanks to that nerdy kid? Can't have that..."
With a new mission in mind, Lewis cloaked again and disappeared.
YOU ARE READING
Breakthrough
Adventure*UNDER MAINTENANCE* (The earlier chapters are being re-written and edited to make them more clear and easy to read.) After encountering a small artifact of unknown origin than seemingly fell from the sky, one Luke Wilson becomes the host of an other...
