Dignified

Chapter 26

Chapter twenty six

Zach let his eyes wander around for escape routes, thankful he had done so earlier. A slow, devious grin creeped its way onto Estemus's face, forcing his lip to curl up. He brought his hand up in front of him, slowly clenching and unclenching his fists. "I took the liberty of taking a few new Chronics for myself." He said, his voice low. He raised his eyebrows, small shards of thin, spiky metal slowly rising from his skin. Phase's expression became contorted with surprise, his lips forming a flat line. Before long, Estemus's hand was covered in growing metal spikes, his smirk growing with it. He flickered his eyes up to meet Zach and Phase's, quickly extending his arm out and shooting a few shards out. "Move!" Phase shouted, pushing Zach to the side and falling in the opposite direction. Zach scrambled to his knees, pushing himself up and running down a random hallway. He could hear Estemus's heavy footsteps following him and decided to quickly turn into a random room and lock the door. He'd seen enough scary movies to know not to stand right by the door. He moved to the opposite side of the room, his eyes locked on the door. The footsteps slowed to a stop, right in front of the room, only to be followed by Phase's quick, frantic steps. "What the- Oh, I see. You think you'll be able to stop me?" Estemus shouted. "Let me fucking see!" Zach sighed in relief, guessing that Phase had changed his vision to distract him. "You're not getting the boy, Avalon! I'm letting them know it was you who-" There was a loud ripping sound, Phase cutting himself off with a bloodcurdling yell. Zach gasped, listening to Estemus laugh as a loud thud, which he assumed to be Phase's body, hit the ground. "That's one more life you've caused, Zach. Your's will be next if you don't come out!" He shouted, hitting the door. Zach knew Estemus could easily knock it down, so he decided to do the only thing he knew how to. He held his hands up towards the door and gritted his teeth as he fired a massive ball of flames at it. The door flew back, engulfed in bright flames as it slammed Estemus against the wall. Zach shot another, making sure to catch more of the wall. He turned and ran straight at a window, jumping through and hitting the ground hard. He quickly flew up, forcing the fire to spread faster. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest as he imagined Phase's burning body lying on the floor of his own house. He shook the thought from his mind, turning and speeding off in the opposite direction. Zach caught sight of the city's giant buildings, an idea quickly popping into his head. 'I have to find him. Oh, what was his name?' He scratched his head as he struggled to remember the king of Chronis's name. "Erymund!" He said out loud, grinning as he finally remember. "I have to find him.." Zach forced himself to fly faster, watching the world blur around him. Within minutes he was zooming around the tall cluster of buildings, each of them sleek and grand. He lowered himself, slowing to a stop in front of a group of bystanders. "Do any of you know where I can find, um, Erymund?" Everyone in the group gave him a weird look, glancing at one another as if that were the most ridiculous question they had ever heard. Finally, a taller, dark headed boy stepped forward and spoke. "In the Square. Duh." He sneered, shaking his head and laughing. Zach ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Well, where is that at?"

"Dude, seriously? Are you stupid? What kind of idiot doesn't know where the Square's at?"

"Someone who's not from around here. Now tell me where it's at." Said Zach, becoming frustrated.

"Even people who aren't from around here know where it's at. It's the king's quarters, for crying out loud."

Zach glared at the boy, his irritation getting to him. "I'm not from around here." He repeated, his voice low. "Because I'm one of the four elements." He flicked his wrists, his arms quickly catching fire. The entire group gasped in unison, each stepping back. The taller boy went pale, staring at Zach with a look of apprehension. "It's near the cobalt colored building." He said, his voice cracking as he backed into the group. They all quickly scattered, some of them even breaking into a run to get away from the scene. Zach sighed and flew into the air, flying in the direction of the tall, cobalt colored building the boy had mentioned. It, like everything else in Chronis, was sleek looking, giving it a luxurious look to it.