Soul: Book 1 (DISCONTINUED)

All in Smoke

Tyler could barely keep his hands steady as he carefully climbed down the slippery ladder. He couldn't believe it; he was actually escaping the prison. But he couldn't relish his victory just yet. Tyler reached the bottom of the ladder and felt the cool dirt underneath his feet. His knees trembled as he took his first few steps of freedom before breaking into a run.

He blindly made his way through the forest, the pouring rain limiting his vision and slowing him down. Lightning split the sky, making him whimper in terror, but not once did he stop moving. He tripped over a slippery tree root and immediately pulled himself up as he continued to run away from what he considered the closest thing to the Nether in the Overworld. He had no idea where he was going, but to him anywhere was better than there.

He would rather die than go back to the Factory again.

Occasionally he caught glimpses of hostile mobs, but he was moving so fast they didn't even bother to give chase. But as he continued to run, Tyler realized that it would only be a matter of time before he ran out of energy. Only adrenaline and fear was keeping Tyler going, for he was unaccustomed to running this much. He noticed that it was taking him a little longer to pick himself off the ground whenever he tripped and that each breath he took was more strained than before. His heart felt like it was going to pound its way out of his ribcage.

Tyler managed to take one more step before he saw a blinding flash of light out of the corner of his eye. The dog-hybrid's hair stood on end as he was sent sprawling on the damp ground just a few feet away from the lightning bolt that had struck the ground nearby. Tyler opened his eyes and dazedly wondered why the trees were spinning around him. There was a terrible ringing in his left ear and he felt something warm and wet running down the right side of his neck from his other ear, which heard absolutely nothing.

He coughed weakly as he tried to stand up again. Tyler looked up to see three... six? No, three charged creepers walking towards him, swooping in for the kill. But Tyler was too exhausted to move. This isn't such a bad place to die. he thought. He rested his cheek against the cool mud and sighed with content, closing his eyes. At least he was going to leave this earth as a free person, not someone trapped in prison.

And then the serene feeling was destroyed when someone grabbed him and took to the sky. The initial shock was quickly replaced by fear when Tyler looked up to see Warden Ryan's ice-blue eyes glaring back at him. Tyler shrieked as he struggled violently against the bat-hybrid, who only tightened his grip as he flew high above the trees. "LET ME GO!" he screamed desperately. "I don't want to go back, please don't take me back!" Tyler burst into sobs as he finally stopped struggling, accepting his fate. There was no escaping the Factory, the place where fears and horrors come true.

---

By now, Seto was a truly terrifying sight to behold. His jailsuit was stained red with his own blood and there was a jagged tear in the front where he had been stabbed. His arms were slightly extended to his sides and if one looked closely they could see tiny sparks shooting out from his fingertips. Eight water whips trailed behind him, following him like gleaming shadows. His purple aura was ablaze with magical light and there was a positively murderous look in his glowing eyes as he took slow, staggering steps down the hallway, guided by a strange instinct.

Seto paused by an iron door which was labeled, 'Experiment Room'. He was about to use his hand to push down the lever, but sensed that something was amiss. The sorcerer lifted one of the water whips and wrapped it around the lever. Sure enough, the lever began to spark with electricity. It was booby-trapped, but Seto was unfazed by this obstacle. He casually lifted his hand and the door exploded.

His narrowed eyes widened when he saw the bacca on the table. His brown fur was stained black with burn marks and he lay deathly still. The sorcerer's mindless anger quickly faded and was replaced with only worry and concern as he ran up to Jerome and shook his shoulder. "Jerome?" Seto asked. Jerome's head merely lolled to the side. "Jerome, please wake up..." Seto said as he started to panic, shaking the bacca's shoulder harder with desperation. "Jerome? JEROME!"