Edit | #Wattys2016

Twenty Two

"Hello, Dakota," Emily drawls, turning towards her sister and letting go of me, a hand on her hip.

"How did you know so much about us?" Dakota asks, her hands limp at her sides. I'll bet that only people working for Edit have the air-materializing power.

"I'm not stupid, Kota. When they sent you over to the Black Hole, I wasn't going to let it go so easily. I wanted to find out what exactly happened to people who didn't listen to Master and Mistress."

Dakota shudders. "But you hated them."

"Of course I did," Emily rolls her eyes, taking a step forward just as Dakota takes a step back, backing her against a wall slowly.

To my left is a bridge that has no railings. It cuts through the middle of the level, towards a dorm room, for what reason I have no idea, and behind me is the door. I'm sure that there are still guards standing down there waiting for us.

"But I learnt a long time ago, that if you want to live, you shouldn't rebel."

Dakota's face breaks out in a grin. "Amber's going to hate you for that, you know."

Emily turns around, grinning, and her face changes, her dark hair turning to a dirty-blonde.

"Carmen," I breathe, rubbing my neck. If you want to live, you shouldn't rebel.

"Hello," she rolls her eyes, "sorry bout that. Gotta make sure you're really Amber, right? How's your head?"

"It's alright," I say cautiously.

"Okay, let's go," Carmen steps onto the bridge, sending a ripple of blue charging towards the other end.

"That's a distraction," she says, "if you look down, you fall, and that's it."

The bridge is only big enough to place one, maximum two feet, if your legs are exceptionally small at a time on its breadth. It reminds me of a tightrope, something Chance told me existed in circuses, where people would put up exciting performances to entertain the audience, and earn money at the same time.

Dakota gets on next, and her feet send out ripples of pink. Keeping her eyes forward, she manages to cross half the bridge when Carmen is at its end.

"Come on, Amber," Carmen yells, cupping her mouth, and I gulp, placing a shaky leg on the bridge.

I won't fall.

The door bursts open, and I watch as green sprays out from beneath my feet. Carmen hurries and manages to place two blocks on either side of the building, so that the only way to get to us is through the bridge. I take another step, then another, focusing on my front.

The guards start to move backwards, and I know it's Carmen's doings, to buy me a little time. I keep going, but at the halfway mark I look down on accident, and lose my footing. Holding on to the bridge until my knuckles are white, one of my hands slip, and Dakota starts walking towards me, the guards that Carmen can't hold back on the other side.

Catching my arm, Dakota tries to yank me up, and somehow we manage to get to the position where my legs are sandwiching the bridge. Climbing to my feet, I start walking again, the guards right after me.

"Come on, guys, come on," Carmen says through gritted teeth. I'm about one-eight from the end when the bridge starts disintegrating at a supernatural pace.

"Jump, Amber!" On the spur of the moment, I launch myself into the air, and land on the ground, the wind having knocked out of my lungs. The bridge is gone, replaced with emptiness. The guards on the other side start firing at us, and Carmen and Dakota get on their stomachs, and together we slide towards the dorm room.