Stonebrook High School

Chapter 60

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Luckily, the minecart ride back was not as aerodynamic, unbeknownst to everyone except for Soren. They arrived at the storage room, everything still in its place and unmoved.

"Okay, Axel must not have arrived yet. That gives us time to go up the mountain," Jess nodded. "Which way is out so we can climb?"

"There's no need to go out," Soren said. "We can go up the elevator I made."

"You have an elevator in here?"

"When you're digging into a mountain, an elevator seems necessary, don't you think?"

The four of them took the lift to the top, admiring the sunset as they exited. Jess took a few steps forward and stared off into the horizon. "Sunsets were this beautiful?" She felt the blood rush to her nose and tried to keep the waterworks in. "I wonder if I ever saw one like this."

Ivor put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you have."

Ellegaard put her hand on her other shoulder and nodded. "It's always breathtaking seeing one, though."

"Psssh," scoffed Magnus. "I've seen explosions way better. You get your memory back and I'll show you something way better than this, shortstack."

Jess blinked her subtle tears away and chuckled at Magnus's antics. "Okay. I will."

"Everyone," Soren spoke up, "it's here."

Their eyes followed the path of the Architect's finger to the Witherstorms, all nine heads floating and scanning the ground. Down on the earth, a small green speck was waving to them.

"Axel!" Jess screamed.

The large male ran through Soren's doors and closed them behind him. The Witherstorm began to hover over the entrance and attempt to pull and break away the rock surrounding it.

Jess's eyes flickered back and forth as she searched for the perfect opening. "Urgh... it's so close but so far. None of us could get on it right now."

"I have an idea."

She turned to meet Magnus's face. "What would that be?"

He pulled out a grappling rope, hook and all, from his bag and smirked. "Good enough for you?"

"It's... perfect. But could we hook onto it safely?"

The Rogue scanned the Witherstorm. "Not sure. We'd need a good three more feet to be sure."

Ivor was digging around in his bag when he took out a lime green elixir in a small glass bottle and laughed. "The perfect potion for this moment!"

"What's that?" Jess asked.

"A potion of leaping! You can jump much, much higher with this. You'll easily get that three feet!"

"Huh. Okay, Magnus, drink it."

He shook his head. "You take some, too, kiddo."

"Me? Why?"

"It'll be much safer for you to get on top with the potion. Once I get this rope secured, you can jump and latch onto the rope. You can then climb up faster with the potion so you won't be tired."

"Guess you're right." Then she realized. "Wait, I'm climbing on!?"

"You're the one with the remote. And besides, you'd be the only one who can climb on without hurting themselves. We may not look like it, but we're a little older than we feel."

Ellegaard added on to Magnus's sentence. "Plus, we need to be here in case something else comes up."

Jess puffed her cheeks, afraid but understanding of the situation. "Okay. Okay, I can do this."

"Alright. Here's the potion," Ivor said, handing it over to Magnus. The Rogue drank half of it and jumped high into the air, spinning the hook and launching it towards the Storm's back. It landed with a loud clang and latched onto the rough mass, now stable and safe.

Magnus tossed the bottle to Jess and nodded. "Your turn." The teenager hesistantly drank the rest, hurrying to jump onto the rope. She leapt up and grabbed the rope, clutching it with her whole body. Unwilling to look down, she scaled the Storm, taking advantage of her high jumps to get up quicker.

Now that she was on top, she ran towards the center in a flash of adrenaline. She was afraid. This Storm was a tumultuous one, teasing her with every turn and fall it did, threatening to drop her. She couldn't die here. She was needed. She needed. She needed to return to the others. She needed to remember her brother, her friends, her family. She needed to apologize to Lukas for her actions. She needed to take this Storm down.

The bag came off and out came the remote. Pointing it downwards into the heart of the Storm, she was about to press it when she realized something.

How was she going to get off?

If she pressed this button, she would immediately fall thousands of feet. No one would catch her and no one would be able to save her. Why hadn't she thought of this before? She didn't think she would do this, but here she was, risking every chance at a future in this single moment.

There was no hesitating anymore. She had to do it. There was no point in letting down all those who had lost their lives to this Storm, her included. She wanted things to be set correctly. She wanted others to have what had been taken. If her life would be taken in return for everyone else's future, she would do it. Here she was.

She pressed the button.