My World: On Fire (A Black Veil Brides Fan-Fiction)

24. We Can Still Win This

We're running.

We aren't running fast enough.

I push my muscles to the limit, shooting ahead of the others. Even Andy with his gazelle legs is behind me, though that may just be due to his pants falling down.

"Cait, wait up!" Jake shouts. He's desperately trying to catch up to me, the map clutched in his hands.

"Run faster!" I scream back. I don't want to slow down. I don't think I've ever run this fast in my life!

"Turn left! Turn left!" He says frantically and I skid to the side.

My feet slip out from underneath me and I crash to the ground.

As Jake comes whizzing past, he reaches out and grabs my outstretched arm, hauling me to my feet.

I stumble back into a sprint.

CC, Andy and Jinxx shoot ahead of me as I struggle to speed up.

Sammi is beside me. She has tears in her eyes.

Jinxx tried to get her to stay, but she refused.

Jake stops in front of us and we all follow. "This is it," he says. "This is where the statue is."

I look at the building in front of us. It is a large, grey warehouse type thing. There is a huge roller door that is half open and a bunch of loose papers flying around the place.

"How big is this statue again?" Andy asks, his eyebrows disappearing into his hair.

Demi? I ask quietly, praying that she's back.

There's no reply.

I take a deep breath and duck under the roller door. I stand still for a moment, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. There's a small light coming from the opposite end of this place. I think it's a door... An open door... which means that someone's here already.

"We'll find the damn thing faster if we split up..." CC whispers.

"Dude, we've been through this, splitting up is NOT a good idea," Andy hisses. Even their hushed voices echo around this place.

Jinxx joins in the hushed conversation and I wander off.

"Cait..." Sammi reaches out and touches my arm. "Cait don't go...."

"I have to find this thing," I say and give her a hug. "I'll be alright."

She lets go of me and takes a few backwards steps until she reaches Jinxx.

I nod to her and turn back to the maze of crates and boxes that's in front of me.

Demi, if you're listening to me, now would be a great time for you to help...

My demon remains absent.

I sigh and walk further into the maze. The boxes tower over me and I have no clue where to start. I don't think there's any efficient way of doing this... After I'm deep in the maze of crates, I pull one down from one of the piles. It lands with a huge thud on the dull concrete floor.

A loud hiss echoes through the building, followed by the scuffling of sharp claws.

The crate in front of me isn't locked. It's no better sealed than a cardboard box. I yank open the lid and stare into its contents. It's a vase. Boring and dusty. I close the lid and pull down another box. Empty.

This is stupid and pointless. Even if, by some miracle, I find the bloody thing and Phyra goes down, Ash will still be gone. Nothing and no one can bring back the dead.

I kick out at the box on the ground, smashing my foot into the cold metal. Pain shoots through my toe, but honestly, I don't care. I'm alone in this. Ashley is dead, Aniissa has gone dark side and I'm probably going to be nothing but a pile of minced meat on the floor by the end of this.

There's another loud roar and I look up from my throbbing foot.

Flinging open more crates, I find nothing.

There's a loud crash and the crates up above me topple down. One smacks me on the shoulder and I fall with them.

A huge weight suddenly presses down on my shoulder and I can't move. There is a hiss, followed by a blast of warm breath on my face and a smell worse than anything I've smelt before.

I close my eyes and try to turn my head as far away as possible. "You need to start using mouthwash!" I gasp.

Phyra screams. She scratches at me with her huge claws and her lips pull back from her creepy-huge teeth.

Demi, if you're there, now would be the perfect time to help me out!

Damn it! Damn her! Where did she go!?

I gather together my energy and shoot it out through my fingers. There's that familiar tingling sensation before the flames flare up and I send them shooting towards the creature above me.

She doesn't seem to react.

"DEMI!!! PLEASE!" I shout out loud before shooting a stream of water at the thing. I don't know how that's supposed to help, but it made me feel better! My powers aren't working too well. They're still there. I'm not powerless or anything, just...no longer dangerous I guess.

There's a scorching heat on my face and I press myself into the floor.

Phyra screeches and pushes off from me.

Jesus Christ that hurts!

"Leave her alone," a soft tinkling voice comes from somewhere behind the monster in front of me.

Phyra is yanked off and thrown back, screaming.

I push myself up onto my elbows and find two huge blue eyes staring back at me. Hair of fire surrounds her head and her skirt is like flowing water. I know who she is immediately.

"DEMI!?"

The little girl nods. She can't be more than five feet tall. "Listen to me Cait," She kneels down in front of me. "Aniissa is gone. She no longer has control over her body. It may still look like her, but she's merely buried in the back. There's no way to save her, and for that I am sorry." Demi puts a small hand on my shoulder. "We can still win this. Sullivan almost has Phyra's statue, but it is not too late. You have to kill her."