Mianite- Season 3

Chapter 23: Running Out of Time

Ambrosia's POV: 

I didn't want to separate from Martha, but it looked like I didn't have much of a choice. We parted ways, and I headed toward the visitation center. It was incredibly late, but I figured going now was my best bet. I doubted anyone was at the visitation center now. 

I slipped silently through the streets, gripping my golden necklace. I looked back and forth to make sure that nobody was around, but all of Galena was eerily quiet. I didn't think much of it, though, since it was sometime around midnight. I picked up my pace and took off in a jog, heading toward the center of town. 

Before I reached it, I pressed myself against a wall bathed in shadows, quickly scouring the main area to make sure that there was nobody there. I was relatively close to one side of the laboratory, which made me the most uneasy. Once I had confirmed that there was nobody in sight, and no noises could be heard, I crept through the main area and down the small alley that led to the visitation center. 

The only sound was the gentle gushing of the fountain, which was terrifying. It was too quiet. I felt shudders down my spine as I approached the abandoned visitation center, half expecting a leader to leap out at me from the dark and point a gun at me. I shook my head at this idea, knowing that what I had seen the guard do to Cypress was getting to me. I was insanely paranoid, expecting every twist and turn to be a trap of some sort. 

I stopped short when I saw the pool of blood on the floor. It was dried now, just a dark stain on the cement floor. Feeling like I was about to puke, I forced myself to look away. I kept walking, heading toward the... open door?

I stopped short and stared at the door for a second. Why was it open? Whenever there wasn't anyone in the visitation center, the doors were closed and locked. 

The area outside of the door suddenly seemed like an enormous void. Once I entered, I would be swallowed up, and there would be no going back. 

I closed my eyes and continued. 

It was a long run to get to the train station, which greatly annoyed me. I was weak from exhaustion, and, being someone who spent their time working indoors with machines, I wasn't exactly the most athletic person ever. I was about to pass out by the time it was over, but I pressed on. 

This was for Spark, and to avenge my brother.

And nothing was more important than that. 

When I finally arrived at the train station, the worker looked at me funny, but let me on the train without giving me any problems. I let out a long sigh as the train took off, letting my short brown hair sweep in front of my face. 

Terror began to grip me as the ride went on. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, or if Iolite would even listen to me. How did I know she would help me? I had been taught all my life that everyone in Chrysoberyl was self-centered. Of course, I didn't exactly trust what I had learned from Galena, but that doesn't mean what they said was completely false either. 

Finally, I saw signs for the upcoming city. I was practically holding my breath at this point, my palms sweaty, even though it was a slightly chilly evening. As the train began to slow down, I squeezed my eyes shut and took a few deep breaths, knowing this would only work if I was calm. 

Everything came to a halt in the silent station. The worker looked half-asleep himself, and didn't even look in my direction when I passed him. I stared straight ahead, my eyes fixed on the door, gathering up all the courage I had. This would take a special kind of bravery, one that I wasn't sure I had. I just kept my eyes on the door, determined to swing it open with confidence and stride into the middle of the city. 

I never reached the door. 

Before I could get there, it flew open, and out stepped Iolite. That was shocking enough, seeing an incredibly tall goddess with long, elegant violet hair stepping into the train station. To the side of her was a slightly shorter woman with sparkling eyes and blue hair. And then, emerging from behind both of them, was a man with short red hair and stubble. He was bleeding badly, and looked almost near death. He froze when he saw me, and I did too. 

The eerie silence of the station was shattered by my scream, high-pitched and terrified. 

Martha's POV:

Determination in my stride, I was almost stomping toward the elevator. I needed to act fast if I wanted to save my father. I didn't know if I alone was going to be enough, but I needed to give it a shot. I mentally prepared myself, holding my head high and glaring at the wall ahead of me. I couldn't think about anything else during this. My entire focus was on my mission. 

That's why I jumped so much when someone behind me said my name. 

"What are you doing?" I spun around to face Waglington, his black hood hanging in front of his face. He pulled it down to reveal his bloody eyes, a sight that I had long grown used to. "Where are you going? It's the middle of the night!"

"I can't explain," I said in a hushed voice. "I don't have a lot of time. Please just trust that I'm doing the right thing. Stay here and wait for me, okay? I don't want you getting involved."

He stepped closer and spoke with a new urgency, although now keeping his voice down. "Martha, I want to help. I need to help. I can't just stand by while you do... who knows what. I've spent my whole life training to help in battle."

I was getting incredibly frustrated. "You were trained to fight with your spells, which I don't exactly have on me. I can't explain, but Spark is in danger. I need to save him, and I can't have you dying too. Please stay here. Nobody else can get hurt."

"I'm not leaving you," Waglington insisted, pulling his dark hood back over his face. "We go together. I'm not going to wait here for you to return."

I stood there for a second, glaring fiercely at him. When he didn't back down, or even flinch under my gaze, I decided that I didn't have much of a choice. I summoned a sword with my powers, and handed it to him gently. 

"Use this," I whispered. "But we have to go. Now."

"Does anyone know what you're doing?" he asked, following me into the elevator. 

"Ambrosia does, but nobody else," I answered, staring fixedly at the numbers in the elevator, slowly ticking down. "Now, I need you to understand this. There's a very, very good chance we won't be returning alive."

"I'll stay safe," he muttered. 

I let out a long sigh. "I can only hope so."