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Chapter 7: Alyx

I was pulled away. Tears flew down my face, and I had one, final, thought.

Sylvia, Clara,

Juem,

I hope you're okay.

I closed my eyes, ready for Jonathan to start screaming at me, about how I betrayed him. Surprisingly though, I landed in a basement. "OW! WHAT THE HELL?!" I screamed as Xander landed on me.

"Shut up."

"Haha! I thought I detected a person! This 'Man magnet thang' never fails me!"

AHHH!!" I screamed as I stumbled backward, my back against the wall.

"Geez! Calm down," Xander put his hands on his hips, glaring at me. "So dramatic," he said, shaking his head.

I laughed. "You're right. I am being dramatic."

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, before searing reality hit me. My friends were gone, and they were afraid I wouldn't make it out alive. A wave of terror engulfed me as I realized the horrible truth - that I may never be able to see them again.

I took another deep breath, when I couldn't. I was choking. My heart pounded in my chest, and I looked down at my hands, which were shaking. This never happened before. I began to cry, and I sank to my knees. "Help," I choked out. "Help!"

Xander rolled his eyes. "Didn't you say that you were being dramatic just three seconds before this?!" he massaged his temples, saying, "Kids these days. Sure, I'm a child, but this is just embarrassing."

I looked up at Xander, feeling a mixture of anger and sadness. "You don't understand," I whispered, wiping away my tears. "My friends... they're gone. And I don't know if I'll ever see them again."

"Hey, hey," The unknown guy crouched down in front of me, his expression softening. "Calm down, will ya? At least your safe. We'll prolly find yer friends soon enough. Take deep breaths."

I did as the man said, and found myself calming down. I stopped shaking, and looked up at the person that calmed me down, and was talking about the weird man magnet.

"Jonathan? I thought you were sleeping... I'm sorry," I muttered. "Sorry for escaping. I know I was supposed to help-"

"Oh, you must be so confused! I ain't Jonathan, but his older brother," the anonymous man said.

I got up from where I landed and looked at the guy talking to me. His face had the same color palette as Jonathan's. Same brown eyes and hair. He was just a little more... Chaotic.

His hair was all over the place, and his lab coat was dyed a sickly shade of green. He had an unhinged smile on his face, and spoke in a strange accent. I couldn't place where it came from, but it was strange.

I asked, "Well, what's your name?"

"I'm Finley. Call me Fing."

"Fing?"

"Yes. I'm here to make sure you don't escape from here."

"What about Jonathan?"

"He's busy. Why are you askin' bout him? You like him or somethin'?" Fing sighed. "Actually, it would be nice for Jonathan to actually talk to someone."

"Oh. Yeah. I just was asking where Jonathan was, because it just seemed like you would be busy,"

"Naw, I finished my work for tonight."

"Why am I in the basement?"

"Because Jonathan said that you were okay with sleeping on the floor."

"It was so I didn't wake Jonathan up so we could escape."