We all stood in shock, reeling from High Trainer Globe's revelation. Suddenly, a loud beep came from Lila's watch.
"Sir, we only have ten minutes left before they light the flame." She said.
High Trainer Glob's face tightened briefly before running out of the room with Luke and Lila hot on his trail. We looked at each other and raced after them.
"With all due respect, G, what is going on?" Chris asked once we had caught up with them.
"After you guys went to save Sephora, Bill sensed the presence of Hunters and warned us about it. We didn't want to divert from the plan but we knew that if we stayed any longer, we would all be killed. So I made the decision to get the prisoners out and come back for you all later. Miranda's cloaking ability helped us to smuggle them out safely." High Trainer Globe said. He was about to continue when Caleb interrupted him.
"Wait, Miranda and Bill have abilities?!" Caleb asked incredulously.
"Yes and not just them. All the prisoners have some sort of power." Lila said excitedly.
"But how is that even possible?" Alex asked.
"We don't know yet but I believe the abilities are a product of the experiments. I think their bodies gained a resistance to the toxic formula after being repeatedly exposed to it and it eventually became a part of them and changed them." said High Trainer Globe.
I was seriously confused by the conversation.
"I am sorry but who are Miranda and Bill?" I asked.
High Trainer Globe held up his hand and led us into a dark hallway.
"We are meeting up with the others here. Caleb, catch Sephora up on what's been going on." He said.
Caleb gave me a quick summary of what had happened over the last two weeks while we waited for High Trainer Globe's other group.
A minute or so passed and I could tell that High Trainer Globe was getting worried. His face was pinched and kept looking at his watch then running his hands through his hair.
"They should be here by now." He muttered.
Suddenly, we heard commotion outside the hall. We all tensed, prepared to spring into action if needed.
The steps were getting louder and louder as they came closer to us. They finally stopped just outside the opening and an elderly couple popped into the hallway.
"I hope y'all weren't planning on leaving this poor old lady stranded? said the woman with a cheeky smile.
"We wouldn't dream of it Miranda." replied Caleb jokingly as he reached out to grab my hand.
Miranda looked confused for a second then her eyes lit up with excitement. She pushed past the other and scooped me up with the strength of a woman half her age.
"You're Caleb's Sephora. From the way he talked about you I knew you were pretty but I didn't imagine you could be this beautiful." She said rapidly.
Caleb's Sephora
I couldn't help but blush at her comments.
Miranda then came close to me and whispered in my ear.
"You're a little bit on the skinny side but a few of my special chicken pies will fix you right up."
I looked at her in shock, surprised she could be so blunt. Before I could say another word Miranda whipped around and stormed up to the man, who I assumed was Bill, was telling High Trainer Globe why their being late was Miranda's fault.
"IT WAS NOT MY FAULT!" Miranda whisper-shouted.
"WELL IT SURE AS HECK WASN'T MY FAULT." Bill replied angrily.
They carried on bickering for a few more seconds until High Trainer Globe cleared his throat loudly.
"We now have less than seven minutes to get across this building and as far away from this place before it is engulfed in flames. If you could manage to save your bickering for another time, it would be much appreciated." High Trainer Globe sent the old couple stern looks.
Miranda and Bill nodded at High Trainer Globe and turned to walk out of the room. We all followed behind them.
From where we were we could hear Miranda whispering to Bill.
"What's got his pants in a twist?"
*****
We got to the main hall of the castle with five minutes to spare. We had to use Miranda's cloaking ability more than one time, much to her delight. She joyfully pointed out that if she hadn't stayed a bit longer she would have never got enough profiles to mask all of us. Bill quickly killed that joy by reminding her that she'd been here for a long time and must have got hundreds of profiles. The look Miranda sent him could melt rocks.
I was so focused on their interaction that I didn't notice Caleb reach down and whisper in my ear.
"We're almost done with this place. How are you feeling? Are you happy?" He asked gently.
I thought about it for a few seconds before replying.
"I don't think happy is the right word. I feel relieved. This place is full of so many horrible memories. It feels like a dark cloud hovering over me. I am just so glad that this place is going to burn down, along with all the research they got from me."
"You're right, and they won't be able to hurt anyone else either." He said rubbing my arm.
His statement pulled me to a stop.
"Sephora, what's wrong?" Caleb asked. The concern in his voice made the others stop too.
I ignored his question and rapidly looked around the hall. My heart skipped a beat when I found what I was looking for.
Testing Laboratory
"High Trainer Globe, when you said you got all the prisoners out, did that include the test subjects?"
I saw High Trainer Globe send Caleb a worried look.
"Sephora, that place is heavily secured, even more so after you escaped. It is ludicrous to even-"
"With all due respect sir, did you or didn't you?" I asked testily.
High Trainer Globe refused to meet my eyes so I took that as his answer.
"I can't leave them. I don't expect anyone to follow me but I won't leave them to die after all they've been through. Jade is one of them and despite all she had done, she was with us when it counted." I finished my speech with a deep breath as I looked at each one of them. The silence was interrupted by the beeping of High Trainer Globe's watch signalling that we only have four minutes to get out.
"I'm with you."
I looked at Bill in surprise. I didn't expect him to be the first to agree.
"Well, don't look so surprised. The people in those rooms are my family and I would do anything for them." He stated plainly.
I really admired him for that. I would do anything for the people around me and I totally understood where he was coming from.
"Well, I can't let this beast run in by himself, so I'm in." Miranda said, slapping Bill across his arm.
Everyone agreed to the mission one after the other. Caleb had already whispered that he was with me from the beginning. There was just one person left to ask.
"Alex?" I asked tentatively but Alex wasn't focusing on me.
He was looking down at Des with such intensity that I already knew his answer.
He looked up from Des' unconscious form with sadness in his eyes.
"Sephora, I can't..." He started.
"Stop right there and go and get her some help." I said sternly.
Alex seemed to hesitate but when Des began to whimper his decision was set.
"Good luck guys. I WILL see you soon." He said transforming as he stepped out of the cloak. We watched them as they left the castle with no problems, straight to safety.
Beep!
We had three minutes left and we had to get moving or things were going to get bad quickly.
*****
We used Miranda's ability to cloak ourselves and get us into the Testing Laboratory but the place was swarming with Hunters so we had Lila and Chris distract the Hunters while Luke broke into the patient's room. Uncle Dan and High Trainer Globe barricaded the doors.
"So how are we going to get them out of here?" Uncle Dan grunted under the strain of the door.
"I have a plan but I need Lila and Luke." I said. Just as I said that, Lila and Chris popped into the room.
"We got them as far away as we could before they figured it out. You have about five more minutes before they gather enough troops to get in here." puffed Chris.
"That's more than enough. Lila, how many people can you transport at a time?" I asked.
"Three people max. I could take more but I don't think I could last very long with more than three." Lila said.
"Three at a time is fine. We have ten prisoners plus ourselves so that would be four trips. How long does each one take?"
"For a group of three, at least thirty seconds." She said.
The watch gave a loud beep signalling we only had two minutes left. There was no way we would make it. There had to be another way.
That's when it hit me.
"Chris, pick up as many prisoners as you can using your telekinesis." I said quickly.
Chris lifted eight prisoners up with little problem but I could see the strain it had on him.
"Move to Lila and touch her. Lila, get two other prisoners and transport."
"But Sephora, I can't take that many people." Lila said fearfully.
"Just trust me. Chris is taking most of the strain. You only have to transport him and the other two." I reassured her.
I could see the moment when it dawned on her because Lila smiled and disappeared.
We waited anxiously for them to return; worried they'd be too late.
The clock gave its final beep and Chris and Lila appeared.
"You cut it close, don't you?" Uncle Dan asked.
"Just keeping it exciting D." Chris replied.
"Erm, I don't know about any of you but I would like to get out of here." Luke grunted.
"So would I Luke. Chris, Lila if you don't mind?" I asked.
We waited for a few seconds but nothing happened.
"You guys can take us out of here anytime you want." Caleb said urgently.
"I can't use my powers!" Lil screamed fear laced in her voice.
I felt the blood rush out of my body and fear filled m heart.
Then we heard the sound of an intercom coming on.
"My dear daughter, for some reason it seems you are very hard to kill. I am quite surprised at this but nevertheless my Hunters are on the way to deal with you once and for all. Ta ta my dear, forever."
My father finished his speech with a flourish and the line went dead.
Oh no, oh no, oh no.
My father obviously didn't know about the fire because if he did he wouldn't have stayed in the castle.
"What the heck are we going to do?!" Chris bellowed.
"Thirty seconds left." Stated Bill.
I could feel everyone look at me but I was blank. I turned away from them, unable to bear their disappointed looks.
"Twenty seconds left." Bill said.
I could hear my heart beating with the seconds as they past. I leaned against the wall in shame, weighed down by the knowledge that I couldn't save my family.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to face Luke staring at me intently.
"First law of thermodynamics." He stated.
Energy cannot be created or destroyed but converted from one form to another.
I was confused as to why these were the thoughts Luke wanted me to die with.
Then it dawned on me.
I was energy
I quickly searched for the spark I felt earlier and used it to search for any energy in the room. I could feel the electricity moving behind the wall and began to convert it into my own energy.
"Ten seconds left!" Bill shouted.
I began to feed that energy into a protective surface around the room building it up layer by layer. It was starting to take shape but I was still weak and it wasn't going fast enough.
"Five seconds left!"
I screamed in pain as I pulled large amounts of energy into me.
4...
It wasn't going to be enough.
3...
Lightbulbs smashed open, glass sprayed onto the ground.
2...
There was a loud pop in the room and the haggard woman from the cell appeared and touched my shoulder pushing fountains of energy into me.
1...
There was a loud explosion and screams filled the castle. The door of the room melted down as a massive fireball flew through it. The ball hit the dome and flowed around it, like water on a rock.
I stood still and safe under a dome of fire with a woman's hand on my shoulder, feeding me with energy with skill far beyond my own.
This wasn't something any normal woman could do.
But she wasn't just any woman.
She was my mother.
A/N: My dear readers, we have made it to the final chapter of this book!!!!!! The epilogue will come tomorrow but this is it for Sephora and the group. The final stuff will come after the Epilogue but I just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to read this amateur's book. Thank you all so much. The real Acknowledgements are coming tomorrow. Don't forget to vote and comment!!! Love you all so much!!!!