Another World

The Race

•---Niall---•

Zayn.
Is here. In this castle.

Leila.
Is probably his prisoner now.

This can't be happening. I can't think. I was vaguely aware that someone was calling my name, but it seemed too distant to matter. I was brought back to reality when a hand connected with my face.

"OUCH!" I yelled in outrage.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? WE NEED TO SAVE LEILA AND YOUR STANDING THERE STARING OFF INTO SPACE LIKE SOME DUMB BUFFOON!" Liam yelled into my face.

"Huh?" I said dully before reality hit me. "Oh my god-RUN!" I yelled and we all ran toward the stairs. It was a race against time, and winning wasn't going to be easy.

•---Zayn---•

Triumph.
That was all I felt.
Utter and total victory.

Looking down at Leila's limp body, I felt so powerful. After all of these years, I finally had her. I am going to be the winner this time. No one can stop me.

Well, it would seem time to get her out of here. I scooped her up and started towards the nearest room. I set her down on the bed and locked us in. I wasn't powerful enough to teleport since I was still regenerating. It would be another ten minutes at most before I could teleport to the safety of my castle.

A lot could happen in ten minutes.

Any lesser person might be concerned, but I wasn't. I know how to keep my calm in the middle of the storm. I quickly did a spell to make sure that if Leila woke up(which was extremely unlikely since I had made sure to say the words that would affect her the most) she wouldn't be able to move or make noise, and I walked into the hallway, awaiting my challengers.

You think you can challenge the king of this game? Think again.

•---Harry---•

We were nearing the twentieth floor, but I was still utterly worried. Marcus was chasing me, right on my tail but I was afraid for what we would find on the twentieth floor. All sorts of images ran through my head, and all though I tried to push them back, they came through anyway.

A captured Leila.
A dead, lifeless Leila.
A ravaging shapeshifter Leila.
No Leila at all.

It was hard for me to decide which was the worst out of these possibilities. Of course, I did have the comfort of knowing that it takes days for the process of becoming a shapeshifter to be complete. There was always the possibility, the only way I'd be able to reverse it-no. I could never do that to her. Everything is going to be okay... It has to be. I stopped at the top of the stairs and looked out at the twentieth floor. I ran to the spot where the twentieth door would be and flung it open. Without even going in I could feel the emptiness and silence. I slammed the door shut and ran down the hall-to what would've been the right had you been standing in the doorway. I vaguely heard footsteps racing behind me-Marcus's. At last I came to another crossroad, I looked left and saw nothing, I looked right and saw the thing I feared most.
Standing in front of me, looking very pleased with himself stood none other then Zayn.

•---Niall---•

We were very close to the top of the stairs. I could hear anxious pants behind me. Having the speed of a wolf, I was a fast runner. This was nothing to me, but for my human friends it was labor. Louis seemed to be fine too. As soon as I hit the ground, I didn't stop and I kept running. I ran straight to the place Louis had said the hidden room was, but right before I reached it a body came flying down the hall and into me.

I crashed to the ground, the wind being knocked out of me.

"NIALL!" I heard Louis call at the same time someone yelled "HARRY!"