Isle of Sanctum | The Aya Thrasher Chronicles | Book 1 |[Editing]

Chapter Eighteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

RAYNE

"You knew Aya was in Tower B all along didn't you?" Lake accused, pointing her finger directly at me.

I took a deep breath. "I know what you're thinking—"

Lake pushed my shoulder. "Aya is your friend now too. How could betray her like that?"

I stood up. "This is not my fault!" I shouted. "You were the brains behind this whole operation, not me."

"Oh, so you're saying this is my fault?" 

"Maybe it is," I said, crossing my arms. "Or maybe, it was all an innocent mistake and neither of our faults?" I hoped Lake would calm down. We came this far, so we would just have to figure out how to get to the other tower.

"You did it for Nova and Zander." Lake sighed.

"I didn't do anything," I said. I actually didn't mind it here. Nova's and Zander's lives were on the chopping block, and yes, that did eat at me like a parasitic infection, but could I really save them? Even if I did turn myself over now, how could I trust the government to release them?

"Well, it's too late now." Lake sulked.

"We'll get to Aya, I promise," I tried to pacify her. "Can we just rest for a bit?"

Someone banged on the door in a frenzied manner that made us both jump. The guards had finally caught up to us. The door was strong, but not strong enough to hold them back for a long period of time. 

"I know you two brats are in there," the guard said.

"Oh, it's just me." Lake tried to disguise her voice, so she sounded like she was a lot older. 

"Who?" the guard responded.

"Your mom!" Lake said with a flood of laughter, causing me to laugh.

"That's it. We've had enough of your foolishness for today," the guard growled.

They made another attempt to tear through the door.  This time, it made a dent. I looked around and spotted a way out. There was a smaller back door behind the control panel. 

"Let's go," I said.

Without looking back, I led Lake to the door.

"Where does this go?" she asked.

"Not sure, but we're about to find out."

Opening the door, revealed a staircase. I tripped over one of my shoelaces, my hand reached out toward the guardrail, but I missed it by a matter of centimeters. My body was sent tumbling down the hard concrete stairs. When I landed on the bottom step, I was a little shaken up, but still full of adrenaline, which aided in numbing the pain. Lake sprinted down the stairs to check to see if I was all right.

Ironically, there was another door with a skull symbol painted on with the big bold words, "DO NOT ENTER". Lake ignored the warning and proceeded to open the door. What it opened to was another question -- a long passage of grass and flowers. It was dark, but in the distance, I could make out a crude path made out of gravel and sticks. Beyond that, everything was a blur.

The guard had forced his way into the room, and pounding footsteps above us indicated that he was on his way down. I turned to Lake.

"We can't go," I told her. "We have to go back in."

"Go. Save your friends," 

"You guys are my friends," I said. "I'm not leaving you."

"I know, but Zander and Nova need you." She smiled softly. I was glad she wasn't mad at me anymore.

I didn't know if I could do this. It all seemed like a lot. Plus, if I did go, there would be no turning back. I hesitated. I had no idea what Serina would do if she had found out Lake had helped me escape. If I left, I would have to leave Lake there to fend for herself. Like Nova, Lake might suffer at my hand. The thought of it was sickening. Too many people were suffering because of me.

"Go," Lake reassured me. "It'll be fine."

The heavy footsteps from the guards grew louder. They were closing in on us. I took my first step out the door, and my boots started to sink again in the saturated grass. I strained my neck and looked back at Lake for one last time. Her lips mouthed the word "go".

I sludged through the muddy grass. I wanted to stop and turn back, but I had to force myself to keep trudging along. I was almost there, quicker than I had anticipated. Maybe being on the track team in tenth-grade had finally paid off.

I stopped right before the grovel path. It was hard to see, and I had to squint, but there it was -- a smooth silver wall. Of course, there had to be another obstacle. This was the border after all. It would have been too easy otherwise.

I kneeled. I was exhausted. I took in a deep breath and tried to emit enough force to break the wall down. Nothing. It was like the wall was absorbing my powers.

Frustrated, I slumped down in the dirt, my back leaning against the wall. I needed a second to catch my breath. The emergency red lights from the towers spun violently, and an obnoxiously loud siren soon followed.

Defeated, I considered going back. Surrendering. Then something miraculous happened. I got up and turned around. The wall had slots that popped out to form a set of stairs. As I climbed the steps, I saw the guards running toward me. They were only about a hundred feet away. I could even hear one of the guards shouting, "She's getting away."

I flung my body over the wall and jumped to the gravel path without any injuries. From there, I ran straight into the forest. I did it. I had escaped from the Sanctum. 

END OF PART III.

EDITED: 01/29/2020