Thirteen

Thirteen - Chapter Twelve

I knew I wouldn't sleep that night.
    The image of Scarlett around all that blood kept me awake and my head filled with the information about Soul Suckers.
    Soon, the Soul Sucker would destroy the light and goodness in Scarlett's body and replace it with darkness while feeding on the blood of frightened humans. Soon it would be anything she could get her hands on. And Scarlett would die unless she found a way to fight against it. If it became too weak she'd be able to get it out and kill it.
    But she would only be able to do it.
    Maybe it was too late. The Soul Sucker seemed to have rooted itself in and soon it would force out its image and destroy Scarlett forever.
    The thought of never seeing her again brought tears to my eyes.
    When morning came, Sebastian opened the door to me huddled in the corner of the room with the blanket pulled over my head.
    "Dani!" Sebastian ran over to me but I got up before he could make it. "What's wrong?"
    "Nothing," I sniffed, my voice still raspy from crying, and wiped my eyes. I dragged the quilt onto the bed. "I'm fine"
    "You're obviously-"
    "I said I'm fine!" I hissed. "What do you want?"
    He pulled a slip of paper out and handed it to me. "Doctor Mayhew wanted you to have this" My eyebrows furrowed and I unfolded the paper.
    We have a rumor that a very dangerous portal is opening today and I know you aren't scared to help us contain it, so come to the Conference Room on the first floor. It's very important you attend the meeting.
    I read the note again to make sure I'd gotten it right. "They want to use me?!" I sighed and shoved the note into my pocket.
    "Are you going?" Sebastian asked.
    "Of course," I scoffed. "I get out of this place and I get to see the others. It's a win win situation. There's just one problem"
    "What?"
    "I can't remember where the first floor is"

 Sebastian led me down a hallway in silence. He seemed to know where he was going so I just followed with my head down. I probably looked a mess and I had a feeling there were deep bags under my eyes.
    "Don't worry about Scarlett" Sebastian blurted. Before I could look up I walked into him and he took hold of my shoulders. I kept my head down, not wanting to look into the endless green of his perfect eyes-
    Stop thinking like that!
    "I can't..." I whispered. "Never being able to see Scarlett again keeps haunting me," I kept my eyes on the floor. "The thought of the Soul Sucker taking over makes me want to scream"
    I felt his stare burn into my skin. "I know you're scared but everyone gets scared sometimes. That's life. But you won't go through this alone; we're here to help" He lifted my chin. He saw my eyes wet with tears and smiled sympathetically.
    "Thanks" I mumbled, and he pulled me into a hug. I buried my face into his chest and breathed deeply to hold in tears, letting out an involuntary satisfied sigh. It felt nice but it also felt wrong.
    We couldn't be together. One, because Lexi would kill us and two, because I would lose him. I was going to live forever and if we were together I wouldn't be able to watch him die, even if he did become an ex. It would be like someone scooping my heart out with a spoon.
    Sebastian pulled away and motioned for me to follow. "Let's go. We're probably late"
    We went a little further down the hall before Sebastian held a battered door open and followed me up the stairs. Once we reached the top he held the door open again and I stepped into a very nice hallway. A lot of scientists were busy rushing about but a few looked at me weirdly but then quickly got away. I just ignored them.
    "This way" Sebastian's voice had gotten darker. Had I hurt his feelings? Or was it being on the first floor?
    He pushed a door open to a room that held a giant conference table, with scientists crowded round it. Doctor Mayhew sat at the head of the table, sifting through papers. When he heard the door open he glared at me.
    "You're late," He scolded. "We couldn't start without you"
    "Sorry, we... got lost" I muttered, making myself look smaller. The way they looked at me, as if I were crazy, made me feel worse. Doctor Mayhew's eyes widened and his glare melted away.
    "Sit down," I took my seat at the other end of the table. "So, Doctor Cerulean's away on business and has left me in charge. He will be back in three days but for now you will be taking orders from me," He scanned the faces of the men and each nodded. "Now, onto the business at hand. We're talking about the rumor of a portal opening today"
    "Yes sir," One scientist spoke and shuffled through his papers. "We've calculated from the instructions we received that it'll open in a couple of hours in the lunch room. We were also given clear warning about the portal; it's very unstable and there's no knowing what might happen"
    Doctor Mayhew nodded. "What have you concluded?"
    "We think-"
    "Excuse me," I raised my hand and everyone turned to me. "Can you explain why I'm here? I thought you decided I was unstable"
    "We did. Something... changed," Doctor Mayhew refused to look at me. "We agreed you'd be the best person to help us"
    I stifled a laugh. "Bad move. And where does this portal go?"
    "No," One of the men answered. "We think it'll be opening into a magical world"
    "You think it's a portal to a magical world?!" I laughed. "Do you even hear yourself; this is insane!"
    "This isn't a laughing matter" Doctor Mayhew's expressionless face made me stop.
    I blinked. "But what do you want me for?"
    "We need you to stop whatever decides to come through the portal," He explained. "You're the only one who can control their emotions long enough to stop anything"
    "Only because I'm forced to" I muttered. If I didn't stay calm I would be fried to a crisp. They knew that; that's probably why they were using me. Because they could control me.
    I listened to the rest of the meeting in silence but I forgot most of it when I left. All I knew was I was to be in the Lunch Room in two hours.
    But the only thing in my head was that I was going to see the others.
    Doctor Mayhew had said I could spend time with the other Subjects because I was doing this for them. They probably thought I was going to die so they let me do something I wanted to do so I would go along with it. I didn't care though.
    Sebastian led me down the hallway as I bubbled and exploded with happiness. Soon I was walking faster than him to get there.
    I pushed the door open a little and saw them all crowded on the two sofas.
    "Do you think she looks different?" Naida asked.
    "How am I supposed to know?" Lexi hissed.
    "But what if she is different?" Rufus counteracted. "What if those months away from us changed her. Would you still like her?"
    "Of course we would!" Candace gasped.
    "Yeah," Lexi nodded. "And as for her looking different-"
    "You'll have to see for yourselves," I cut in, stepping into the room and striking a pose. One second they were staring at me as if I were a ghost and the next I was suffocated in a group hug, everyone else drowned out by each others excited blabbering. "Guys! Let me breath!"
    "Never!" Merlin laughed. But they all dispersed and sat back down.
    "So," Candace started, trying to act casual. "What happened to you?"
    "Maybe pick an easier question, Candace" Abraxas suggested.
    "I have one!" B12 raised his hand excitedly. I sat down in the arm chair Lexi was leaning against and crossed my arms.
    "So you're just gonna ask me twenty question before I go?" I asked, smiling from ear to ear. I was so glad to hear their childishness and their arguing and just them being them. But I was also sad. Being in Nova I'd become dependent on them but when they were taken away I'd become seriously depressed.
    "Where are you going?" Saffron sounded sad as she fiddled with her skirt.
    "You're not going back into therapy, are you?" Rufus asked cautiously. "Because I'm not having my little sis stuck in that room again"
    I laughed. "No, nothing like that"
    "Good," Lexi's expression turned dark. "If you had to go back there without us I don't know what I would do"
    "That makes me feel really special but I'm actually going to a magical planet" I said straight-faced. They stared at me for a while before bursting into peels of laughter. Merlin ended up on the floor and Lexi fell into the arm chair, pushing me up against the side as her loud laugh echoed in my ear.
    "Really?" Abraxas asked, the only one not laughing. "What magical planet?"
    "That's actually not true. A portal is opening in the Lunch Room that leads to a different world and I have to stop whatever comes through," I shrugged. "Same old same old" I looked around and noticed Sebastian had disappeared.
    "Did they say where the portal leads to?" Abraxas pushed the information.
    "Maridia, I think..." I wracked my brain to remember the meeting but it had been so boring my mind had just automatically blocked it out. "But I'm not sure"
    "Hmm..." Abraxas lifted a claw to his chin. "I didn't think they would risk that..."
    "Risk what?" Rufus asked. "What could come through that only Dani could stop?"
    "Anything," Abraxas admitted grimly. "Maridia can be a very dangerous place. That's why only mystical creatures live there. Except, of course, the Royals, but no one would try to defy them. But anything can change. Just please Danielle, be careful"
    I gulped. "I'm always careful but can you guys stay near the door?" My stomach suddenly felt as if it were lined with knives pressing into the skin.
    "Of course," Naida agreed immediately. "We were gonna be there anyway, right guys”
    "I just wanna see what comes out" Merlin shrugged.
    "Thanks, that makes me feel much better" I muttered sarcastically, rolling my eyes and rubbing my arms absentmindedly. The only thing on my mind was the thing making the knives sink deeper.
    What would come out?