Storm

Chapter Twenty-Eight

It felt like I was back in high school. The sound of the fire alarm pretty much blew my ears off as I struggled to shove the fire extinguisher into the looped handles of the door. It was a really tight fit...but somehow I got it in.

The second the door was pretty much sealed, Max and I let go of our hold on it. Neither of us needed much instruction on what to do next.

We ran down the hall back the way we came. I honestly had no idea where they'd be holding them. This place was huge. We were pretty much screwed unless we got lucky and stumbled upon them.

People were running about now, but nobody paid much attention to the two of us still in party dress. They were all too focused on getting the hell out of there. I wondered how long it'd take them to realize that there was no real threat.

Hopefully, a long time.

After running down a couple more halls with absolutely no luck, I turned to Max. He was panting and bent over, clutching his knees. He looked up, and I saw the hopelessness in his eyes.

I knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"We can't...we won't find them this way."

I just shook my head and started sprinting again, not caring if Max was following me or not. There was no way I'd be leaving them behind. How many times had they helped me? I couldn't ditch them. Not in a million years.

I turned another corner and realized I'd somehow gotten close to the ballroom again. And also realized that Asten was standing on the opposite end of the hall. He spotted me before I could keep looking.

"Calestia," he said. "We need to get out of here."He took a few steps down the hall towards me. He had the same look in his eyes that Max had had a couple seconds ago. Now, I saw that Max had indeed caught up to me, and was standing a few feet behind Asten.

It seemed like the two of them were planning on leaving whether I liked it or not.

"We can't just ditch them," I replied, not moving a step closer.

Asten shook his head sadly. "There's no way we'll find them like this. There are too many rooms to check...this place is too big. And any second now, they're going to realize there isn't a fire, find the guard you two trapped, and come after us."

I guess Max had already told him everything. I didn't care about any of that, though. "I'm not leaving."

"Calestia, don't do this-"

"I'm. Not. Moving."

Asten seemed exasperated and looked at Max over his shoulder. Max seemed just as torn about what to do. "You're coming with us, if you like it or not."

The sirens kept wailing in the background and I was pretty sure every person in the compound was definitely already out. Which meant it'd be that much easier to get them out if we found them.

If we found them.

I let out a sigh. It would be nearly impossible to get to them before the sirens stopped their incessant noise. I knew it. They knew it. The only option left would be to just run away before it was too late.

I took a step forward and the tension in Asten's shoulders seemed to relax.

Then, I turned on my heel and sprinted in the opposite direction.

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Asten was going to kill me.

But I didn't care.

I was slamming through metal door after metal door, searching for any sign of life. Nothing. No one. Nowhere to go but forward.

So, I kept going.

I ignored Asten and Max shouting at me to come back. I ignored all logic and kept going.

I didn't know why, but just the thought of leaving them behind killed me. January and Kyan were some of the only people I felt I could somewhat trust. Elijah...well, I didn't wish for him to be hurt anyway.

They were trusting us to save them. If we didn't...

I didn't know what would happen to them.

The Equator saw all of us as traitors, and honestly, I couldn't imagine them sparing their lives. Most likely...if we didn't get to them first, they'd be dead in the next week.

It was dark but true.

I turned another corner and found myself facing a door. There was nothing else in the hallway but it. I grabbed the handle and tugged but it was locked.

I frowned.

None of the other doors had been locked probably in the rush to get the hell out.

I tugged again, and nothing happened. Then, I tugged one last time.

The door opened.

But not because of me.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," Mace said.

Hey!! I just wanted to inform you all that I have created a new Instagram account for my writing. You can follow me at @authorjuliaesposito on IG. Thanks!

-Julia