'Alex?' whispered Oliver.
'Yeah?'
'Are we still in England?'
Alex looked around and shook her head.
'No, I don't think so,' she answered. Oliver felt like crying, where were they?
Alex and Oliver had woken up and found themselves standing in a dark and gloomy stone corridor, laden with empty and dusty cobwebs. It smelt like sewage and wet dog, it wasn't nice. Up ahead, flaming torches lined the walls every few yards or so. Oliver looked at Alex, who was staring transfixed at a broken spider web slowly swaying in the air, pushed by a breeze flowing through the cracks in the walls.
'Are we dreaming again?' he asked. Alex looked down at the petrified boy's fingers, which were nervously tapping against his semi transparent thigh. They were ghosts just like before again.
'We must be, but I don't understand. I thought you and I only saw the others last time because magic transported us to them, so we could be together,' whispered Alex. All of sudden a thought entered Alex's mind and her hopes soared.
'Do you think they could still be-'
'No,' firmly stated Oliver, 'I watched them die. They all died.'
'But what about your fire? I watched that bed burn almost to ashes but when you stopped it, the bed looked as though it had never been touched-'
'I know what I saw,' said Oliver with hatred. Alex immediately fell silent and looked away. Oliver had anger issues and she didn't want him to start another fire any time soon.
Awkwardness fell upon the two children. Alex remembered Kirsty's screams of pain and knew Oliver wasn't lying when he said Glen had died too. But the idea that her cousin, her best friend, was dead was too hard to believe. Call it denial, Alex didn't care, but she wanted proof. She turned back to Oliver.
'We need to see where we are. We're here for a reason and we have to make the most of it,' she said. Oliver eyes widen and he looked down the gloomy corridor petrified. He nodded dutifully.
'I understand,' he whispered. Alex nodded and took a deep breath. It was time to find answers. She took a step forward but Oliver tugged her backwards. His limbs were shaking.
'Whatever happens, we'll stick together, right?' he cried. The image of Glen standing in his room, in front of his open window, immediately resurfaced to Alex's mind. Alex sniffed and forced herself not to cry.
'Always,' replied Alex.
Together, Alex and Oliver stepped forward. They were scared, how could they not be? They were scared of the unknown. Every day in their lives so far they had been use to a routine; for Alex it was school Monday to Friday, work on Saturday, do whatever on Sunday and homework when her mother reminded her. Oliver, however, was use to something completely different: wake up, work, lunch, work, dinner, sleep and occasional sudden beatings handed out by the mean old hand of Guntur. The smash of a whiskey bottle and a series of swear words and you knew you were done for. But it was different now, and the children knew that, they were never going to go back to their ordinary lives. Forward was the only way to go, forward to where though, they did not know.
But five minutes later, forward, they realised was the only direction. The corridor had not veered left or right at all. They had not come across any doorways or junctions. Their so-called "adventure" was taking them nowhere.
'Alex?' whispered Oliver.
'Yeah?'
'I do not understand. Back in my room, the same room that we are probably sleeping in right now, you told me that when the men came for your cousin, you were there also. The men took Glen but not you. Why? Around the fire, that beast told us two people were missing. I should have been there, I know that, he tried to take me-'
'In other words, if Marco had the chance to take me, why didn't he?' interrupted Alex, understanding Oliver's point. She had asked herself the same question many times.
'Yes!' Oliver continued. 'You are one of the Seven Children though, I am sure of it. You have powers, you turn like a ghost like me and that guy Richard, your father, he always talks about you. About us, the famous Seven Children. So why did that beast not take you as well?' Alex didn't know what to say, she didn't have an answer.
'I don't know, Oliver,' Alex whispered, 'but man I wish I did.' Oliver was confused.
'For a person whose power is to know things, you seem to not know a lot.' Alex couldn't help but grin, so this was the reason why Oliver kept on asking questions - because he truly believed Alex knew everything.
'I'm afraid it doesn't work like that,' she said, not know herself how exactly it worked.
Finally, up ahead the so-called endless corridor had split into two and the children had a decision to make: left or right? In the corner of Alex's eye, Alex saw Oliver looking at her with hope. Alex shook her head, it was no use. Maybe her power wasn't the sixth sense afterall...
An earsplitting scream filled with agony and frustrated pierced the air and Oliver immediately covered his ears. Alex lunged forward and immediately sprinted off into the corridor that veered right.
'Wait!' screamed Oliver. What if they can see us? What if we get caught?'
'Back in the forest, they couldn't see us then. Why should it change now?' Alex yelled behind her should. Oliver wanted to believe Alex, but he couldn't. He was scared, and despite everything, for the first time in living history, he wished he was back at the farm. 'What have we got to lose?' added Alex. Oliver took a deep breath, she was right. Even if he wanted too, he could never go back to that farm. Guntur would make sure of it, he had made that clear before he threw Oliver off his land.
Oliver nodded to himself and ran ahead with full speed. They were in this together, and if that meant pushing himself forward into situations which he didn't feel comfortable in, then so be it.
Up ahead, a figure stood in the middle of the corridor. He person looked tall and lean, too tall to be a child yet too short to be an adult - a teenager. Hope leapt through Alex's heart, was it Glen?
At the sound of Alex and Oliver's footsteps, the figure spun round and faced the children.
'Can you see me?' the person cried with desperation.
Alex and Oliver couldn't believe it. It was Thomas. One of the Seven Children. He was alive, although semi-transparent like Alex and Oliver but alive.
'Can you see me?' repeated Thomas, his Australian accent sounded clearly and it echoed in the gloomy corridor. He took a step forward and Alex and Oliver gasped. Blood, lots of it, flowed out of a cut on his left temple and trickled down his face. Bruises - black, purple and yellow ones - were painted across his body. A huge welt, bright red and deep was visible through his torn t-shirt. It looked as though someone had place a hot iron rod across his chest. Alex forced herself not to cry, why would that beast do that to him? Why would anybody kidnap, burn and then torture a sixteen year old boy? If this was what Thomas looked like, what about Glen? Was he even alive?
'Yes, I can see you,' said Alex and nodded too. Thomas didn't believe her though, how could he believe anyone after all what had happened? He didn't trust anyone.
'Can you see me?' Thomas asked Oliver, desperate for a second opinion to confirm that all was not lost. Oliver nodded also, then said yes to confirm it.
Alex and Oliver watched the hope, happiness and light return to Thomas's eyes. It pained Alex and Oliver to see Thomas like this, so desperate and needy. Alex stepped forward, she needed answers now.
'What happened to you?' she asked. 'We were there and watched you all burn in that fire but now you're here?' The boy stared back confused, wondering who these two children were. He looked into Alex's dark green forest eyes then it clicked into place.
'Alexandra?' he asked, 'the daughter of Sir Richard Ramsay?'
'Yes,' she answered, 'call me Alex.' Thomas turned to Oliver.
'And you must be the last of the Seven Children! Richard finally found you!' cried Thomas. Oliver nodded, a little disappointed that he was known as the "last" of the Seven Children.
'I'm Oliver.' Thomas turned away from Oliver, and looked back at Alex.
'We have to save my sister. All of them! Neo, Holly and Glen,' stated Thomas. Glen? Alex thought. It was true then! He was alive! That fire, that cruel fire had tricked them, had tricked all of them.
'But you're supposed to be dead. That beast killed you! Pushed you into that fire! We saw it!' interrupted Oliver confused. Thomas shook his head.
'The fire was magic, created by Marco. I'm asleep in my cell somewhere,' he explained, then realised, 'you don't have a clue where you are, do you?'
'The place where Marco came from?' Alex suggested. Thomas couldn't believe it! Five of the Seven Children were captured, leaving only two free, but Alex and Oliver didn't know anything about the magical community.
'We're in the Underground Palace! The Ruler of Evil's territory!' shouted Thomas fuming. How could he be saved from two clueless teenagers? They were doomed, worse than dead.
'Marco is a Ruler of Evil?' Alex asked, confused. It sounded ridiculous. It was the sort of thing to be written in fantasy books. Thomas gave a nervous laugh.
'Marco isn't just a Ruler of Evil, he's the Ruler of Evil! And you're father Alex? He's the Ruler of Good!'
'What?' Alex shouted. It couldn't be true! It was impossible. Thomas stepped forward, then hesitated.
'Do you even know about the Seven Children?' There was a pause filled with awkwardness. Oliver forced himself to answer.
'They were around that fire, we are them too,' Oliver explained. Thomas nodded, thankful, then asked one more thing that changed everything.
'Do you know about the prophecy?'
Alex and Oliver looked back at Thomas with blank faces - no. Thomas swore.
'That's it,' he said, 'we're done for.' Alex was angry, she had only just met this boy but already detested him. He spoke as though he had no respect for anyone who knew less than him.
'You can not say that!' Alex protested. 'My father, your so called Sir Richard, abandoned me when I was two years old! He didn't tell me anything about the magic, my powers, about the Seven Children. So how do you expect me to know all about this? And Oliver? He's been stuck on a farm against his will, forced to work under a cruel hand. He's only just realised that the Seven Children exist! So don't you dare judge! We may not understand what is going on right now but what we do know is that there are other children stuck in this place who will appreciate our help more than you will.'
'Come on,' she said to Oliver, 'let's go.' Together, Alex and Oliver turned their backs to Thomas and walked away. Thomas stepped forward, desperate.
'I'm sorry,' he yelled out and Alex and Oliver stopped. Thomas took a deep breath then continued, 'this place scares me. Richard promised me, all of us that we would be safe in his hands, but now look at me? Look at where I am!' Alex didn't know what to do, she didn't like Thomas, didn't like his attitude nor his personality, but she couldn't judge him, especially so when he was in this position. Suppose if she had been the one kidnapped and thrown into the Underground Palace, wouldn't she be too laughing at somebody who didn't have a clue what was happening but was willingly to put their life at risk? She faced Thomas.
'Okay,' said Alex, then quickly added, 'but if I hear one more degrading comment about our lack of knowledge you're on your own.' Alex turned away from Thomas and quickly glanced at Oliver.
'Ready to go on?' Oliver grinned.
'Ready.'
Together Alex and Oliver set off at a run, desperate to continue and find the other children before they wake up. Running, Alex realised, gave you a sense of freedom. Oliver had found this out years ago, kids back at the farm did it at least once a week. Danny had tried to escape fifty-three times but not once had he ever ran away for good. Guntur had this thing, it was like he was psychic or something, he always knew when one of his children was about to make a run for it. And once you got caught? The consequences were deadly.
Thomas raced forward, desperate to catch up with Alex and Oliver. He didn't want to be left behind, especially since he was in the Underground Palace. Who knew what was lurking around every corner? Thomas's bones and muscles ached and pleaded for a rest but Thomas forced himself forward, he couldn't stop, not now anyway.
Looking up, Alex saw the corridor about to split into two again, without a second thought she took the right corridor. She could hear the following footsteps of Thomas, and couldn't help but grimace every time she thought about one of his bruises or cuts. Where was Glen? What would he look like? Had he been beaten too? Tortured to a gruesome sight? No, Alex begged herself, think of something else.
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Do you think Alex will find Glen? Read on to find out!
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