Call Spirits in Your Past **Book Two**

Chapter 44 (Saturday)

"The teleporter," Tago muttered. "We could've gone back..."

Kwayo stared at the ceiling. Of course they could. Just when it seemed they might be near freedom, an army of robots had to show up and ruin everything.

An unconscious Rielle leaning on her shoulder, Bella muttered, "at least Maro's okay."

Kwayo snorted. Maro was as okay as the five other unconscious people. Probably better than the guy Kwayo had bitten, or the super-speed woman they'd found half buried under the teleporter gone ka-ploosh. "Is Ripple alright?" Kwayo asked.

Bella twisted to peer out the door. "She's still unconscious. You could look, you know."

Kwayo shook his head. He purposefully avoided staring out the door straight in front of him; he didn't want to see the bruise marks around her neck, or the singed hair.

The light flickered out.

"That's just great," Tago mumbled, shoes scraping over to Kwayo's left. "Useless lights."

Zillie weakly chuckled. "The emergency already happened...so maybe the emergency lights know when they're not needed anymore?"

"Zillie," Tago grumbled, "that doesn't make sense." A burst of bright red illuminated Tago, but he winced and the light faded.

"What was that?" Bella asked.

"That was me trying to use a laser as a lightbulb," Tago said. "It didn't work well."

Kwayo shapeshifted to a kiwi, tapping his long beak to navigate across the floor. He found the wall, and shapeshifted to a gecko to clamber up it, padding along the doorframe. Maybe the light switch would turn the emergency light back on--he flicked it with his snout. Nothing happened. He shapeshifted back to a human, stumbling on part of a disassembled robot. An arm? Or maybe it was a leg. "I think we should leave," he said loudly.

"I agree," Bella called from the other side of the doorway. "We're sitting in a robot graveyard. In the dark."

"But the teleporter..." Tago whispered.

"We can always come back," Zillie told him. The two of them slowly shuffled to their feet.

Kwayo seriously doubted they'd come back. If they left, someone was bound to discover what happened here and at the very least block the door off.

"So who's gonna carry two people?" Bella asked.

"Not me!" Tago exclaimed.

"Why not you?" Zillie shot back.

"Literally anybody would do better," Tago said.

Zillie paused. "Okay, you're probably right, weakling."

"Hey!"

Kwayo turned away, shaking his head. "Tago, you get Dryda, and Zillie, take Manuel. I'll take whoever Vizz doesn't," Kwayo stepped into the hall and bumped into something, sending it floating away. "Or...I guess Vizz could take three people," he whispered to himself.

Vizz whispered back, "I...I thought you would all try to leave."

Kwayo squinted, feeling out with his hands. "You thought we could fix the teleporter?"

Vizz's feet shuffled over the floor. "Thanks for not leaving...me alone."

"Oh," Kwayo tried not to blush. "I can carry somebody if--"

"No," she whispered.

"Hello?" Zillie called from behind him. "Kwayo, if you left us--"

"I'm right here," Kwayo said. "Does anybody remember the way out?"