Ice Asylum

Four: False Fires

Four: False Fires

FALSE; (fô-l-ss) - Not according to truth or fact; Incorrect.

When Courtney awoke, the first thing she noticed was the throbbing, heated in pain in her right temple. Clenching her jaw, she blinked a few times, trying fruitlessly to clear the black spots from her vision. 

"Awake yet, Princess?" The mocking voice came from no other than Daniel himself. Courtney immediately sat uo in alarm, "What happened? Where is Roan?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes at her slightly, "We ran into a few...--complications." He finally replied with hesitance. Courtney frowned and quickly looked around the room they were in. "Where are we? Where is my brother?"

Daniel stood up, bending to dust off imaginary lint from his trousers before straightening and gesturing to a large, frosted window. "Why don't you take a look for yourself, Princess. Roan is fine."

Silently, Courtney slipped out of the uncomfortable position she had been sitting in and stumbled towards the window. She placed her palms on the delicate glass, brushing off a few ice crystals to get a better view. Out the window, down below where thousands upon thousands of little glowing lights. They were just floating aimlessly above the snow blanketed ground. Courtney's lips parted in wonder and Daniel couldn't help his eyes wonder to the pinkness of them. Realising his stare, he quickly tugged his eyes back to stare out the window with her. He couldn't be attracted to the girl. It was not allowed. 

"It's like looking at the night sky, the heavens, yet...yet-"

"We are in Hell." Daniel convieniently finished for her. Courtney pulled back from the window,             "We are near the ground? The top?" Daniel nodded silently.

"Yeah. I found this room up when I escaped last time, no one ever comes in here." 

"Where is Roan? Is he okay?" Courtney questioned, turning to give the room a once over. A large metal table filled the centre of the room, accompanied by four metal chairs. Other than the large window, nothing else occupied the cold room. Courtney supressed a shiver as Daniel's voice broke through her thoughts; "He's back working. He's fine Courtney." The way he said that led Courtney to think otherwise. "What really happened back there?" Daniel tensed and turned sharply to her;                "It doesn't matter. What matters is that we are safe for now. We need to move."

Courtney frowned again, they needed to move?

"Move where?" 

"Out. We need to get out. We've made it to the top floor...we need to get out."

"Even if we do, what about all the others they've got? We have to free them too."

"No!" Daniel yelled causing Courtney to shrink back. 

"What? Why-"

"No, we have to go alone. Come on." Daniel gripped her by her forearm and towed her towards the metal door on the other side of the room. Courtney spared one last glance at the Twilight window, before she was shoved out rather rudely into an empty coridoor. Immediately she began looking for CCTV camera  but found none. Daniel leaned into her ear, "They don't put them up here baby, no one ever get's this far." She nodded but still, something held her back. Images from the vision she had - moments before she was knocked to the floor. They were going to get hurt, were they going to get caught here?

Something told her that the room she saw in her vision was not in this building. 

Still gripping her arm, Daniel pulled her down the hallway. COTI co-orporations like the Ice Asylum where all over the United States, buried in every corner of them. But each site was hidden away in the most unlikeliest places. 

There was only one way out and one way back. 

"Daniel, even if we do get out, where would we go? We are in the middle of no where and the snow-- it will be cold and-"

"Shut up." His harsh command made Courtney grind her teeth together, Just who did he think he was?

They turned a corner and Daniel quickly pulled her back, pressing her body against him as his hand went up to cover her mouth. He carefully motioned for her to be silent before sneaking a glance back around the corner. He turned back to her, tight-lipped. 

"We're gonna have to find another way out."