I burst through the hallway door, the Butterfly's and my conversation still echoing in my head.
"This place will explode in two minutes."
I stared incredulously at him. Was he serious? Panic began to bubble up in this chest. "How? Why? You'll die too!"
The Butterfly smiled slightly. "Of course I'll die too."
"Why?" I demanded again.
"Just like you, I have unnatural abilities. We both need to be gone for things to be right."
I stared at him in horror. "You're wrong!"
"Am I?"
"If you didn't try to kill innocent people, there would be no problem," I told him, clenching my fists. "You could just keep your powers a secret!"
"Why should I have to do that?" the butterfly responded. "I should be able to live life the way I want with my powers. But since I have them, people always said I was weird. One person even tried to kill me."
He gestured to the scar over his eye.
"But... killing other innocent people... that's not how the world works!"
"I'm sick of this world," the Butterfly spat. "That's why I'm ending my life. And yours."
"But I'm not sick of this world!"
"It's better for people like us not to be here," the Butterfly responded simply. "I plan to accept death peacefully. You can run, but you still won't make it out of here alive."
I didn't waste another second.
And now I was lost. I clenched the glass bird in my hand, running frantically through endless hallways. How big was this place? I had two minutes to get out of this building, and one of them had definitely passed already. There was a door to my left and I stopped, yanking it open and sprinting down it.
The hallway was bare besides a long red carpet that stretched from the door I had entered in, to the door that was about one hundred meters away on the other side. I started towards the door in a rush. When I passed a window, I froze and turned towards it. Maybe I could escape from here!
I wrenched open the shutters and my eyes widened when they revealed a different room.
"What's going on here?" I muttered, sticking my head into the empty room.
There weren't any doors in it, so I didn't waste anytime checking it out. I sprinted down the rest of the hallway, winging open the door at the end of it.
I groaned when I noticed it was another hallway.
Just how big was this place?
This hallway was filled with pictures. I gave each one a quick glance as I went by. They were all abstract paintings. I pulled my attention away from them as I came to the end off the hall way, I opened up the door and ran in.
The room made my breathing catch for a moment. It was gigantic, long enough to fit two regulation size swimming pools into. The first section of the room had walls made entirely of windows. Relief flooded through me. I'd be able to escape.
I noticed a door on the other end of the room. The walls there were made of mirror. I sprinted for the door which would undoubtedly lead me to the outside. I didn't know how much time I had left until the place would blow up, but I wanted to guess only about half a minute.
I skidded to a halt when I came to the door, and yanked it open.
Brick met my eyes.
My arm fell limply to my side. I turned my head slightly, the mirror on the wall reflecting my facial expression.
A sudden, loud, booming noise filled my ears and the ground beneath my feet shook violently. I struggled to stay up, staggering my way back towards the windows.
"No," I whispered, shaking my head as tears began to form. "Let me out first!"
A second boom filled my ears, then a third. A violent tremor knocked me off my feet.
"No!" I screamed, something white falling into my eyes.
The next explosion was so loud I swore it popped my eardrums, but I didn't have enough time to check or not. Something heavy fell onto my back and soon after, another.
Before I knew it, my world had become dark.
~*~ Hudson's Point Of View ~*~
"Dammit!" I swore, kicking open another door. "How many rooms are in this place?"
I had been running around for at least the past fifteen minutes, looking for a way out. It was impossible! Each hallway led to the next, and each room led to a new hallway! My back was beginning to hurt, and I needed to get back to Emmery. I growled, continuing to sprint down the hall.
I shifted Matt, who was still unconscious on my back as I opened another door. There was a brick wall behind it.
"What the...?"
I scowled, turning away from the fake door and continued down the hallway, becoming increasingly frustrated.
Why were there doors that led to brick walls? And windows that led to a different room? How many times had this place been renovated? It reminded me of the Winchester house, except without any paranormal entities.
I continued to the end of the hall, pulling open the next door with a sigh.
I blinked in shock when a cool breeze met my face. It was the outside. A grin spread across my face.
I dug my hand into my pocket, pulling out my cell phone. When I saw a bar that meant service, I sighed deeply in relief. I walked a little ways away from the house, hoping to get a little bit stronger signal. My one bar jumped to three. Never again would I curse my phone for not having enough bars for service.
I quickly dialed 911, putting the phone to my ear. They picked up after two rings.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"My friend passed out," I told her quickly and calmly. "He's heavily injured, and my other friend--"
"Sir, where are you?"
I blanked at that. "Somewhere in... Vermont..."
"I'm sorry, but can you be more specific?"
"No! I don't know where we are! I just know my friend is injured and my other friend is inside with a crazy murderer!"
There was silence on the other side of the phone. "Can I request to track your cell phone so we can--"
"Yes," I said immediately.
"How many people are injured?"
'Three."
"Get as far away from the building as you can," she ordered. "Don't go back in."
"But Willow--"
"If there's a murderer, it's best to keep yourself and the person with you safe."
I scowled, growing more frustrated. "But--"
Suddenly there was a booming noise. I looked up in alert.
"Sir, what's wrong?"
Another noise followed that, followed by another. I turned around in confusion, looking to see what had made those noises. Suddenly there was a loud explosion and a wave of heat went over me, scalding my skin. I shouted out in surprise and pain as I looked to see the whole house went up in flames.
My jaw dropped as I stared at the scene in front of me. I could only think of one thing.
Emmery.
"Sir, what was that?" the cop on the phone said, sounding anxious.
"The house," I told her, my voice sounding oddly distant. "It... it exploded."
"I need you too--"
The phone slipped out of my shaking hand. I took a step towards the house, trying to process what was happening.
The house had exploded. Emmery was inside the house when it exploded.
A low groan came from below me and I looked down to realize Matt was on the ground. I didn't remember dropping him. He looked up at me with pain-filled eyes.
"What..." he trailed off when he caught sight of the house. His eyes went back to mine, and then around the area frantically. "Where's Emmery?"
He tried to sit up, but I quickly pushed him back down.
"Don't move," I ordered, my mouth dry.
Matt obeyed, and looked at me with wide eyes. "Hudson, your wound--"
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," I assured him.
"Where's Emmery?" he repeated, looking back at the burning building. "Hudson... don't tell me..."
I shook my head, not wanting to hear it. "No..."
"What happened? Hudson! Is she in there?" Matt demanded, his voice growing louder. "Tell me what happe--"
Matt started coughing violently, cutting off his speech. I watched him for a moment before turning back to the building.
"Stay here. The police and ambulances should be here soon," I ordered, rolling up my sleeves.
"Where are you going?" Matt asked. "Hudson, you can't go in."
"I have to!"
"No you don't! You'll just be putting yourself in danger!"
"Emmery's in there!" I shouted, glaring at him. "She used herself as a distraction so we could escape because you nearly died!"
Matt looked up at me in shock, then he scowled. "You let her go alone?"
"She didn't want you to die!"
"I would have managed!"
"You stopped breathing, Matt," I said harshly.
Matt went silent for a moment. "But... what if she's dea--"
"Don't say it," I interrupted immediately, glaring daggers at him. "She's not. I'm going in to find her. And when I do, we'll come back so make sure you're around."
"Hudson, the whole building is burning," Matt responded seriously. "Even if there was a chance she survived whatever happened... the fire sure would have done it."
I ignored him, narrowing my eyes. It wasn't possible. Emmery wasn't dead. She couldn't be. After all, I was the one who was supposed to die, not her.
Suddenly I felt dizzy and collapsed onto my knees. I groaned, leaning forwards on my hands. I hadn't realized how badly they were shaking until now. I could barely hold myself up.
"Hudson what's wrong?" Matt asked anxiously.
I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself. "I'm fine."
Dizziness swept over me again and I gritted my teeth. Now wasn't the time to pass out. Not when Emmery could be trapped inside the burning building.
I could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance. I relaxed slightly. That was good. Now Matt would get the medical attention he needed. All I had to do was find Emmery, and then I could get some too, and everything would be okay...
With great difficulty I pushed myself to my feet. My abdomen throbbed painfully, but it was something I could deal with. No knife wound could stop me.
"Hudson," Matt called out. "Don't do it."
"She's alive," I stated, glancing at Matt. "She has to be. And I will find her."
"You can barely walk!" he accused.
"I have to try..."
"Then I'm coming with you."
I turned around to see him beginning to get up. I walked over to him, and put my foot on his chest and pushed him back down. He hissed in pain and glared at me angrily.
"Stay here."
"I want to help too!"
"Then pray," I responded, rolling my eyes. "You'll only be a hindrance in the state you're in."
"You're not any better," he growled.
I ignored him, turning once more towards the burning building. "I'll be..."
A strange roaring sound filled the air. Matt looked at me curiously, and I returned his look with my own confused one.
Out of nowhere, the burning building in front of me started to collapse. I watched as the roof caved down, and destroyed the second floor. Then the second floor fell in. It only lasted for a few seconds, but when the collapsing was over, only a few walls remained up.
"Holy... shit," Matt commented, and I could hear the horror in his voice.
"Willow."
My legs gave out from under me and I hit the ground, my vision blurring. The last thing I heard before passing out was Matt shouting my name.
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This is a chapter were italics would have been nice...
Anyway... If not Hudson, why not Emmery? :3
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