The Sacrifice [Undergoing Editing]

Chapter 26: Why Us Sacrifices Exist

Shinobi led us deeper into the decrepit brick house. We walked down chipped cement stairs, where water marks and rust left stripes across the walls. We entered the basement. The shards of what used to be a window pane was frosted over with cold. Archer shivered through his two layers. Fortunately, I was used to this cold, and when I had lived here, used to only wear thin jackets. I pulled off my cloak and wrapped it around Archer, watching as he smiled and pulled it closer to him.

My now white hair fell across my shoulders, and some of the layers brushed softly against my face, tickling me. I wasn't used to this shocking white, but it wasn't a BAD color. Actually, I kind of liked it. It made me seem more sister-like in appearance to Archer.

Shinobi grabbed a strand of my hair and twirled it around his finger. "I thought that you had long black hair." He said, simply stating it. Aisu and Aaron seemed to tense at how close Shinobi was -distance wise- to me. I shrugged.

"Changes were made to ensure I wasn't recognized." Shinobi nodded, and after letting go of my hair, walked over to a steel door on the floor. With a great tug, the door opened, revealing a hole in the concrete and a long series of steps that fell into darkness. I frowned at the darkness. Surely he didn't think that we'd go in a deep, dark hole without any light. As if reading my thoughts, Shinobi pulled out a flare and struck it. The flare emitted a red-orange glow and casted strange shadows as Shinobi walked down the steps.

"Are you coming or not? We don't have all day." Frost went first, sniffing ahead, followed by Aisu, then me, then Archer, and lastly Aaron, who closed the trap door behind him. The reddish light gave everything an evil, haunted glow. Archer grabbed my hand, squeezing it. I squeezed his hand back, trying to comfort him.

The stairs ended and led to a long hall, which had two doors at the end. One was a blue door, the other was orange. I frowned. Why would someone need two doors? Shinobi yanked both doors open at the same time. For a moment, nothing happened. Then I felt myself falling. My eyes widened as we continued to fall.

The fall seemed to last an eternity, as gravity forced us down. We landed on something that resembled a mattress. I stood shakily eyeing the silent Archer. 'Are you two okay?' I thought at Aisu and Frost.

'Yeah.' They replied. I looked at Shinobi. "What would've happened if we'd only opened one of the doors?" I asked, my eyes narrowed.

"There would've been an explosion, and we would've died." I felt my jaw begin to drop, but quickly recovered. I nodded. "Let's continue." We walked down a hallway, which was now lit with flourescent lighting on the ceiling. Several doors passed and we at last stopped at one that had 'Central' written on it.

Inside was a large group of young adults who chattered happily, while comparing pieces of paper and writing things down on what seemed to be a former Government computer. As we entered, the room when silent. Every pair of eyes went from my Wolves, to Aaron, to Archer, and, at last, me. I wanted to turn invisible. I hate attention.

Shinobi seemed to sense the tension in the room, which could easily be cut with a knife. "This is Luna, the Rebel that's going to help us, and Aaron, the Warrior who's helping us. The Rebels from base sent them."

The silence was deafening. Archer, who had been hiding behind me, peeked around my waist. In a flash, someone ran forward and began to pinch his cheeks. "Oh my God! He's SO adorable!" She began to make nonsense baby-noises while Archer attempted to pull away from her.

I felt my hands curl into fists. "Please let go of him." I asked quietly.

"Why?" The girl asked, her eyes bright and teasing, "So you can have him all to yourself?" I facepalmed.