Twisted Trials

Day 6, Part 2

Ashlyn's POV:
After running for what felt like hours, I could finally see the tops of the large, white building. A chill ran down my spine as Annalisa, Juliana, and I galloped as fast as we could against the cooling sand. Meson was on Julie's back, holding tight the the horse's mane.
"Nearly there!" I called over the wind rushing past my ears. Anna and Julie just gave a short nod of acknowledgement and raced onwards.

Once I could see the building more clearly, I shifted back into my fae form. Still keeping pace with the others, I thought up a plan.
Now we were only a few feet away from the door. Anna quickly shifted back into her fae form. Julie shook Meson off her back and did the same.
"Now what?" Meson asked, digging her heels into the sand.
"Now we break in and save our friends," I paused, glancing at Julie. "Julie I need you to help me open the door"
"What? How?" The red head girl looked at me like I was crazy.
"They key pad and handle are metal. So if you hear it up enough, it'll melt and we can get in." I grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the door and pointed. She nodded and kneeled down, getting straight to work.

After a few minutes of waiting, I saw that the metal started to drip. Hot drops of steel landed on Julie's knees, but she didn't seem to notice.
Soon the key pad and door handle were nothing but a puddle at Juliana's knees. She stood up and wiped off some of the liquid off her legs.

"Alright, so if we want to find everyone and avoid trouble, we need to split up." I said, stepping forward over the hot liquid and pushing the heavy door open. "I'll find Skylar. Anna, you find Rachel. Julie can find Grace, and that leaves Meson to get Theo."
"But how do we know where they are?" Meson asked.
"We don't. That's the whole point of splitting up." I replied simply. Anna, Julie, and Meson followed me over the puddle and through the door.

We were met with a bright, blinding white hallway. I glanced back at the others to make sure they were there, and started forward cautiously. I could hear shouting from farther down the hall. Picking up speed to try and avoid the voices, I was faced with four identical white hallways. I turned to face my two friends and Meson.
"Okay, now this is where we have to split up. Once you find your person meet back in front of the building." All three nodded their understanding, and we quickly chose our hallways.
"Good luck!" I called to them before racing down my own hallway.

There was nothing to see but white. White walls, white floors, and no windows. I couldn't even see the end of the hall. Yet I kept on running. I needed to find Skylar and save our friends. Running with both of my arms out-stretched so my finger tips brushed the walls, I found something unusual. A small blemish to the wall on my right. I stopped in my tracks, squinting and inspecting the wall. A small circle was carved into the wall.
But why? I thought.
Pushing my finger into the circle, I could feel it moving backwards, like a button. Soon there was a click and a loud clang of metal against metal. Just a few inches away from the button, part of the wall started sliding open. A black door slowly appeared, making it seem so odd in the colorless hallway. I slowly reached for the handle and lightly pushed. Letting the door open just a crack, I peered in.
It was a plushy, padded room. the only thing in the lit room was a small shadow in the corner. Opening the door all the way, I stepped into the room. The shadow moved quickly and a familiar face shown from the darkness.
"Skylar!" I cried, and raced toward him with my arms open.
"Ashlyn what are you doing here?" He stammered as I threw myself into him.
"Saving you!" My voice was muffled as I buried my face into his feathery shoulder. I breathed in his warm vanilla scent, trying desperately to hold back tears.
"Then we need to go before they catch you." Skylar held me in his arms and was trying to pull me up. We stood there for a moment longer, before he pulled away from me.
"Come on. We have to go." He took my hand in his and lead me to the door.
Just then, three other figures joined us in the room. They were WICKED guards.
"You're not going anywhere." One of the guards said. I quickly drew my sword and lunges at the man. He was caught off guard and didn't have time to raise his gun. I sliced a clean cut into his shoulder and spun around to do the same to the others. Yet I my sword was met with the side of the second man's gun. I whipped my sword around and sliced his knees. He instantly fell with a cry. I turned my head and saw Skylar trying to wrestle the gun out of the third man's hands. I sprang up against the plushy padded floor, aiming to land a killing blow to the guard's chest. Yet at that moment, he elbowed Skylar's face and pointed the gun at me. Before either me or Skylar could stop him, he pulled the trigger.

The bullet teared into my foot. Right as it did, I landed my blow to the guard.
"Ashlyn!" Skylar yelled.
I shook my head and grabbed onto the wall. I was now on the other side of the now-dead guard, my sword sticking straight up out of his chest. I limped over and pulled it out, returning my sword to its sheath.
"Ashlyn are you okay?" Skylar rushed over to me and grabbed me, one arm around my waist and the other holding my arm.
"Yeah I'm fine." I said, trying to free my wrist from his grasp. "We need to go before more come." I hobbled beside him as he led me to the door.
"Can you walk?" He asked, motioning for me to climb on his back.
"Yes I'll be fine. I can walk on my own." I laid my left hand on the wall and started towards the way I came. Skylar insisted on keeping his arm around my waist, but i didn't mind. He helped me walk as fast as my wounded foot would let me, and soon we were nearing the four-way split of the halls.
Soon I heard the voices of Annalisa and Rachel at the end of the hall.
"Rachel! Anna! Come help!" I called toward my friends. Their heads turned and as soon as they saw me, they started running.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Rachel asked as she scooped up my left arm.
"WICKED guards tried to stop us, and I got shot in the foot." My face flushed.
Why did I always have to get hurt? I cursed to myself. With both Rachel and Skylar's help, I was able to make my way down the hall much more quickly.
Soon enough we made it to the entrance. There waiting for us was Meson and Theo. Rachel suddenly let go of my arm.
"Theo!" she cried and raced towards the girl. Theo smiled and reluctantly opened her arms. "Oh Theo I'm so glad you're safe!" my friend squeezed the girl as tears slipped down her cheeks. I rolled my eyes and shot Rachel a disapproving look, which she didn't even notice.
"Anyways, where's Julie and Grace" I asked, trying to switch the topic.
"Right here." A raspy, unknown voice came from behind me. I quickly turned and Skylar held on to me so I wouldn't fall. A muscular woman in a WICKED uniform walked through the door with Julie and Grace following behind her.
"Gaia?" Meson gasped.
Gaia gave her a smirk. "In the flesh." She replied.