The P.O.E. & a Gateway in the Basement

Chapter Seventeen

They all look very closely across this big room. It is not easy to see across the boiling pool of blood, as steam rises off of the surface.

"I think I see something very small next to the other door." Jacob admits.

"Wait a minute... I think I see what Jacob is talking about." Nick agrees. He also sees a very small bulls-eye right next to a door. Maybe if he hits the small target with one of his small throwing knives... that something will happen that will allow them passage over the pool of boiling blood and into the next death trap.

"Do you think that you can hit something that is that small and that far away?" Rebecca asks. She isn't that sure he can hit that bulls-eye. Seeing that the mark is very small and it is so far away from them.

"I guess we are about to find out." Nick grabs one of his small throwing knives. He takes a second to calm down, so he can get more of an accurate aim and then he throws the knife as swiftly as possible. It makes its final destination in the middle of the bulls-eye. Nick rises both of his arms into the air, being proud that he hit something very small and a long way away.

"Great job Nick. I didn't think that you could hit it from this distance." Frank congratulates his friend.

"Me neither. But I did. Maybe next time I won't second guess my abilities." A small drawbridge quickly connects both sides of the room to each other.

"I guess that I will go first. But just remember be prepared to defend yourselves at every moment. Who knows what sorts of surprises that Balthazar has laid out for us?" Rebecca very carefully begins to cross the very unstable draw-bridge. "Be careful guys. This bridge feels like it is going to collapse at any moment." She resumes crossing the very shaky draw-bridge, followed by the rest of her team. They all cross the bridge one at a time in a single file line. All four of them have their guards up, expecting anything to jump in front of them at any moment. Once Rebecca is standing exactly in the middle of the bridge; her grandfather comes out of the door that they are trying to get to. He has a huge smile on his face because he is happy to see his two grandchildren one more time.

"Rebecca... Nick... I am so glad to see you once again. But I am afraid that you came all of this way for nothing. Balthazar can not be killed and he is making sure that you will not be able to close the gateway when you leave." The headmaster stretches both of his arms outwards, trying to give both of his grandchildren a great big hug. Rebecca is skeptical about going near him. She wants to believe that she has her grandfather back, but she also knows that he is dead because she was there to witness it with her own two eyes and she has not forgotten.

"Don't trust him, Becky. He is not our grandfather I can promise you that. He is a zombie class-B created by Balthazar to get underneath our skin." Nick pleads. He does hope that it is his grandfather gazing towards them. But he knows for a fact that it is not the same person that raised him. "Now you take your sword and you cut off his head." Rebecca brings her sword to an attack position. But she still can not bring herself to take her grandfather's head... dead or alive. She feels if she decapitates this demon then even his memory is lost to her.

"If you don't kill this demon version of the headmaster... I will do it myself." Frank blurts out. This demon is standing in their way to completing their mission... and there have been way too many loved ones that got murdered by this mission for them to just abandon it and go home now.

"I am so sorry about this grandfather. Just remember that we really do love you." Rebecca closes her eyes so she does not have to witness her grandfather getting killed... again. But this time it will be by her two hands. So she swings her sword and it slices the top portion off her grandfather's head, it then rolls off the bridge and into the pool of blood; his body falls off the other side of the bridge and into the pool as well. Rebecca reopens her eyes... but this time there are tears dripping down both of her cheeks. Just as they are about to resume their walk over the draw-bridge; Ms. Whitmore exits the door that they are trying to get to. So Jacob now can be tested on how bad he wants to get to Britney. Will he kill his own mother to save his girlfriend?