*A/N: I just want to start off with saying I'm really surprised there are more than two (by two I meant my friends :|) people that are reading this!! I love you readers for sticking with me through this weird story! x
P.s. Ashton on the side ;)
I shook the shock of off me and sprinted towards the glass wall, banging on it, in the hope Ashton would hear it or anything. He didn't respond though and I bit my lip, inspecting the room he was in.
There didn't seem to be any doors or windows and it was all concrete. Except for the ceiling that was very high and made of some sort of metal. The glass wall in front of me reached till halfway the whole wall, which was about two floors, and the rest of the wall was made of, yes you can guess it, concrete. So in other words, there was no way you could get in or out that room.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" I exclaimed, pulling my hair in frustration, before starting to kick the glass wall furiously.
I eventually gave up, after kicking the wall once more, and let myself fall into a sitting position on the floor. I buried my face in my hands and tried to stop the tears from coming. This was not the time to cry. I had to figure out a way to get either into that room or break the impossibly strong glass wall or whatever way to get Ashton away from there. I really-
"Ally!" I looked up and saw Calum standing in another doorway as the one I had come from.
"Calum!" I jumped up and flew right at him, yanking him towards the glass wall.
"What's- Ashton!"
"He's... I think he's unconscious. Well, I hope."
Calum looked at me as he told me reassuringly, "He's fine, I'm sure. We just need to get him out of here. You never know what you walk into."
"The only problem is, it's like there's no way into that room..."
Calum frowned, looking at the room again and inspecting it like I had done earlier. "It seems that you're right. And how about this glass?"
"It's too thick, I can't seem to break it." Calum nodded as he looked around the room we were in.
"What's that?" He questioned, walking towards some sort of panel on the wall that was across from the door Calum had come from.
"I... I haven't seen it earlier. God, I'm so stupid."
"You're not Ally, you just didn't see it. It happens." We stood in front of the panel, looking at it to see if we could find out what it was. It was a rectangular flat thing, with a switch, a few buttons and a smaller rectangular panel that had numbers on it and a percent symbol next to it. The numbers seemed to decrease, but very slowly.
"What do the numbers stand for?" I asked Calum, not that he would know it, but maybe we could figure it out together.
"Holy shit." We both turned around, seeing Michael looking at the glass wall, with a small piece of white paper in his one hand. But that wasn't really what caught my attention, the scratches on his arm and his ripped clothes were.
"What the hell did you do?" I asked him, as I walked towards him to examine his ripped clothes.
"I... There was this thing and I was just in this room, looking at some papers and it tried to steal this one, but only this one, so I thought it was important and tried to get it back." He told us, speaking so fast I barely understood half of it.
"Okay, calm down, and say that again." Calum said, now standing next to me.
"I was in this room and there were some papers here and there. I was just looking through some of them, as this... Cat-like thing sneaks into the room, as if it didn't know I saw it, to take one of the papers, after it specifically seemed to have been looking for that one. I closed the door before it could escape and tried to get the paper from it, but obviously that didn't go without scratches..."
Micheal looked down at his arms and shirt, letting out a sigh.
"Well, you're save now." I told him, taking his free hand. He looked up at me and gave me a small smile, squeezing my hand reassuringly.
"What's on the paper?" Calum asked, holding out his hand for the paper. Michael gave it to him as he shrugged.
"A lot of numbers and it looks like some instructions here and there, but I didn't really get any of it."
Calum held the paper in front of him as I studied it as well.
"Isn't that the letter for Oxygen?" I said as I pointed to an capitalized O somewhere on the paper. Calum nodded and started to read the whole paper. His eyes widened as he read and suddenly he turned around to look at the panel behind us.
"Fuck."
"What?" Michael and I asked in unison as I started to feel anxious.
"The numbers on the panel indicate the percentage of Oxygen in that room," Calum told us as he pointed from the numbers on the panel to the glass wall, or the room behind it, "And it seems the numbers are decreasing, albeit slowly."
"That can only mean one thing." I said softly, as it all seemed to come to me.
"Eventually, Ashton won't be able to breath." Calum spoke my thoughts and my heart stopped beating again.
"We have to get into that room." I stated, even though there was no possibility to get into that room. Not an existing one anyway. I mean, I could imagine a door or some window that could open, but that wouldn't really help, since it wouldn't actually be there.
"Do you know when it's getting dangerous for him?" I asked, not sure if any of us even knew the answer.
"I read something along the lines of 19 percent. From that moment it becomes more and more dangerous." I rose my eyebrows as I looked at Michael.
"I thought you always slept through chemistry and biology and stuff?"
"Pssh. Not always." I rolled my eyes, before looking back at the room, feeling chills run down my spine as I thought what could happen if we didn't get Ashton out of there in time or at all.
"Well, then we should hurry up because I don't know how fast it will reach that 19, but it's on its way." I turned to the panel, seeing Calum was right and the numbers on the panel were still decreasing, a little faster it seemed, and were close to 19.
"And now?" I asked the boys, turning to them again.
"Maybe you could do what you did to the doors at school. But then this time open the glass or something."
"I just opened them!"
"But when I was in that room, the door you used had been locked as well! Ally, there is a reason why you could open those doors while we couldn't."
"Because you didn't try and open them at all?" I said, hoping he wouldn't say what I was thinking.
"I think your powers are showing up." They both had a very small smile on their faces, as I bit my lip. I was somewhere happy, I mean, my powers are finally showing, but if my powers were opening doors, I'd rather have no powers... Okay no. A power is always better than no power. Even if it meant I'd be good for opening doors.
'Oh hi Alaya, yeah I forgot my keys in the teachers' lounge, but could you open the classroom for me? Otherwise I'd have to run back and that would take time from the lesson you know?'
I can so see that happening.
"Why don't you just try it?" I looked up to Calum.
"I have no idea how I even opened those doors earlier. "
"Well, what did you think of?" Michael tried.
"I didn't think, I just... I assumed they were open." My eyebrows rose as I realized that. I had just assumed and my power had adapted to that and opened the doors. Well, easy enough, right?
"Just try. Please." Calum pleaded, looking rather anxious by now. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Okay. What do I do now? Just... I shouldn't think. I should only think about Ashton being save. No, I know that. Because you know, you can open the glass like some garage door. Of course, I didn't even try that! And because it only opens this way, it had no effect when I tried to kick it and open it that way. Maybe I should try it. I mean, it can't be that heavy. Okay. Enough thinking and knowing and all. I have a glass door to open.
I opened my eyes and walked towards the glass, squatting in front of it and putting my hands on the floor, with my palms up. I slit them underneath two small heightened parts of the glass and gripped the glass tight, before pulling.
Unfortunately, it was damn heavy.
I managed to get the glass to move a little, but not enough to crawl under it or anything.
"O my god Ally!" Calum exclaimed with a voice full of wonder.
"You have to help me." I managed to get out between gritted teeth as I continued to pull. Soon enough there was a pair of hands on either side of me, helping me move the glass.
It took a lot of effort, and pulling, but we managed to get the glass up far enough for one of us to crawl under it and get into the room.
"I'm going in, you guys keep this thing up. I'm not sure if it's needed, but I don't wanna be stuck in there. I can already feel the lack of oxygen in that room from here." The boys both nodded, positioning themselves so they could keep the glass 'door' opened.
"Take a deep breath Lays." Michael recommended, watching me as if he wanted to make sure I was and stayed safe. I nodded before taking a deep breath, like he had said, and crawling into the room behind the glass. You could feel the lack of oxygen, which was a real weird feeling.
I had to stop myself from breathing out and in again, as I don't think I would have much oxygen to breath in. I got up and reached Ashton fast enough. I then started pulling him towards the glass, which took quite some effort, before crawling into the other room again, breathing in and out some much needed oxygen, and pulling Ashton in that room as well. As soon as he was save in the room, I let myself fall next to him and let out a deep breath.
The boys left the glass, which immediately swung back in place, and came towards us.
"Are you okay Lays?" I nodded and sat up, letting out another deep breath. I never knew how much I loved oxygen until then.
"Fine. Let's get out of here. I don't like this place."
"Never did in the first place." Calum commented, trying to get Ashton up from the floor and draping one of his arms over his shoulder. "Mike, take the other side. Ally, you lead the way."
I watched how Michael took his place on the other side of Ashton, with an arm draped around his shoulder as well, before walking towards the door I had come from. I led the boys through the long hallway that went around the corner and suddenly the cat-beast that had attacked Michael popped into my mind, so I stopped, halfway the hallway, and turned around.
"Michael, how did it exactly end with that cat-beast that attacked you?" I saw him bite his lip.
"Well, I locked it in that room, but I don't think I did my best on that."
"It's more like, do you think we could come across it here?"
"I have no idea Lays."
"Let's just walk and see okay?" Calum suggested and I nodded, resuming to lead them through the hallway.
We reached the end of the hallway quick enough and I cautiously opened the door, not sure if the cat-beast was behind it or anywhere near it. Though when I looked into the large lobby behind it, I saw nothing and motioned the boys to keep following me.
I opened one of the big metal doors and kept it open as the boys carried Ashton through. I let it fall closed behind them, which caused a 'bang' that echoed through the building. I stayed were I was, listening for any sound, but was met with silence.
For a minute at least, because then I heard a very distant roar which caused shivers to run down my spine. I shook it off and ran after the boys, who were settling Ashton in the passenger seat by now.
"Don't forget the seatbelt." I told them as I got in the back. They buckled the seat belt before Michael got in in the back as well and Calum took the driver's seat again.
"Why did you actually put Ashton in front?" I wondered and the boys shrugged.
"The passenger seat was closer than the back?" Calum tried, starting the car.
"By a step or two." I retorted, rolling my eyes as the boys shrugged again and Calum drove away from the old and abandoned cement factory.
~*~
"Can you please sit still?" I asked, getting a little annoyed. I had been cleaning Michael's scratches (only the ones that could risk getting infected) and every time I put the cleaning stuff on it he squirmed in his seat.
"I'm sorry Lays, but it really stings." He told me through clenched teeth as I once again dabbed at one of his scratches.
"Sorry Mikey, but this needs to be done." I told him, as I was just done with the last one. "See, that was it."
He let out a deep breath and got up from his seat.
"Now go and put on a shirt." I told him, turning around to clean up the kitchen and put away everything I had used me.
Suddenly I felt a hot breath near my ear and the next thing I know I heard Michael whisper, "I know you like it."
I turned around and faked to almost faint. "Oh god, why do you do this to me?"
He stuck out his tongue and chuckled, before making his way out of the kitchen, his chuckling still heard until he reached his room.
I rolled my eyes and continued to clean up the kitchen, for so far needed.
Afterwards I made my way to the living room, were Calum was already sitting on the couch and Michael was just plopping down on it, with a shirt on of course.
"So, you guys are gonna watch a movie?" They both nodded, eyes already glued to the TV-screen. "Okay. I'm just gonna get a tattoo and then skydive. Or I'll skydive towards the tattoo parlour."
"Have fun." They responded, as I rolled my eyes once again and made my way towards Ashton's room. And I thought they would be more careful with al this... 'stuff' happening.
I silently opened and closed the door as I got into the room. It was quite dark, since the curtains were closed, even though it was getting dark outside already, and it was quiet. Almost in a scary way. Especially since Ashton and quiet didn't really go together. Not a lot at least.
I let out a sigh as I walked towards the bed, looking down at it for a moment, but looking away quickly. I grabbed his bureau chair and let myself fall into it, staring at the floor.
I don't know how long I've sat there, maybe it wasn't that long, but maybe it was. It probably felt longer than it actually had been...
The point is, it kind of scared me when you could suddenly hear a deep breath being taken. The next moment Ashton shot up as if he was scared something would happen if he didn't. I jumped up from my chair and sat on the side of the bed, grabbing his arm.
"Ashton. You're save. You're okay." I don't even know if he needed someone to say that or how he felt, but I just did. He turned to me with wide eyes and as soon as our eyes locked, he engulfed me in a tight hug.
"God... Laylay." He muttered, crushing me with his hug, not intentionally since he just couldn't control his power when he got emotional, but I didn't mind as I gave him a tight hug as well. We stayed like that for some time, crushing each other in hugs.
We then released each other slowly, as if we were afraid the other would disappear once we had let go completely.
"I'm so happy you're save." He whispered, looking at me with big eyes, filled with concern and relief.
"You are happy I am save?" I asked him, confused. "I was save all the time! It was you I was worried about!"
"I didn't know you were save. All I knew was that the four of us weren't quite save, but we would be okay. We can survive things like this."
"I was fine! No, I was not. I was an emotional wreck and I just really needed you. It was horrible to not have you here, you know that?" I confessed, feeling tears threatening to spill.
"We were fine. And you have others right? I mean-"
"Well I'm sorry if I say I need you! But I don't really care, because I'm not scared of love Ashton! I need you! These past days have been horrible! Sure I had Mikey mostly, but it isn't the same! Nobody knows me like you do!" I yelled at him, tears trailing over my cheeks.
He pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me. "I'm sorry Laylay. I didn't mean it like that." He whispered, swaying us back and forth gently. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too." I muttered, sniffling and burying my head in his chest.
"You don't have to be sorry. It's fine. The past days have been stressful, I'm sure."
I didn't answer him, I just enjoyed him being back and sitting like this. Have his arms around me to protect me and him being here for me. Everything would be alright now. We were with the four of us and the only one who we had to find was Luke. It shouldn't be that hard now.
I leaned back as I heard a loud grumbling noise.
"Was that what I think it was?" I asked Ashton, trying not to laugh until he confirmed it.
"I need food." He said with a sheepish grin, making me laugh.
"Okay. Let's feed you." I wiped my cheeks and eyes for any remaining tears, before getting up and helping Ashton get off the bed.
We walked out of the room and to the kitchen in complete silence, passing the now empty couch and turned off TV. Once in the kitchen I pulled some things out to start a dinner, which none of us had eaten yet, but I was soon stopped by a hand on my forearm.
"Save it Lay. We can order pizza." I looked up to Ashton, who had a small smile on his face.
"You'll have to wait until they deliver it, you know that right?" He shrugged and grabbed the home phone, dialling a number and putting the phone to his ear.
"What do you want Laylay?"
"I'll have my favourite."
"Of course you do. So that's a cheese pizza, or maybe two, Hawaiian for you and- wait, do you think the boys would like some pizza?"
"I'll go and ask." I said, before jogging from the kitchen to the living room, which was still empty.
"Mikey? Cal?" I yelled, not in the mood to go and look for them. It didn't take too long for them to emerge from the hallway that led to their rooms, with worried expressions.
"What's wrong?" Calum immediately asked.
"I was just wondering if you guys would like some pizza? Ashton's ordering and wondered if you wanted pizza too."
The two boys in front of me both raised their eyebrows, like they were processing what I just said, before Michael was the first one to shrug and answer, "Sure."
"What do you want?"
"I'll go for Pepperoni this time." I nodded and turned to Calum. "And you?"
"We'll share the pizza." He told me.
"No we're not!" Michael immediately told me. "I want my own pizza. Just order two Pepperoni or something."
I rolled my eyes as the boys started arguing about the pizza and went into the kitchen, where Ashton was talking on the phone. He looked at me in a way to tell him what the boys wanted. I held up two fingers as I mouthed 'Pepperoni', which he told the person on the phone. He thanked the person not much later and soon enough the phone was back in its place.
"So the pizza is coming. Shall we just sit in the living room?" I nodded as an answer, before walking into the living room, followed by Ashton, where the two boys were still arguing over the pizza.
"Shut up guys. Two Pepperoni's are ordered, whatever you don't eat will be eaten by us or will just be left-overs for tomorrow or something." They stopped talking and both let out a sigh, then I let myself fall on the couch and Ashton let himself fall next to me.
"So, since we have to wait for the pizza, what do we do?" Ashton asked no one in particular, as he looked from one to another.
"You guys could tell your stories. I mean, I've told mine to Lays already, but maybe we can make something from yours?" Michael suggested, sitting down on the armchair. I simply nodded, looking to Calum since I expected him to start.
He let out a sigh, before sitting down next to Ashton, on the other side of the couch than I was, and turning himself so he could look at all of us.
"Well. Eh, I remember that Ashton came home after we had been looking for him and we just did nothing. Until there was this knock on our door. I went to open it, since none of the other lazy people that were in the room were making a move to, and whatever it was that was out there, it scared the hell out of me because I've never seen a dog head on a bird body before. It was gruesome as well since it didn't look too healthy... Anyway, I had slammed the door shut and raced back in here, not sure what to say or even think since I had no idea what I just had seen." He paused for a moment, as if gathering everything to continue. "Then Luke went to open the door, I don't even know why, and I ran after him, trying to stop him but he had already opened the door and these beasts were streaming into our house. After that everything just went black. I didn't wake up until in the elevator. I have no idea what happened after that and before I woke up there, but I do know I won't ever take an elevator again and that I had a terrible headache." Calum finished his story and let out a deep breath, as if he was extremely happy he just finished a presentation in front of a thousand people.
"That's different than mine." Michael said, moving on the armchair to make himself more comfortable on it.
"Well, mine isn't the same either, but I don't think the same has happened to us all." Ashton said, looking to mostly Michael, who nodded as he answered, "That's true."
"So, Ashton, how about your story then? And... Maybe you can tell where you've been as well?" Calum asked, looking like he wasn't sure if Ashton wanted to share the last.
"I guess I'm going to tell you guys anyway, better now than later."
"You don't have to." Michael, who glanced my way shortly, told him.
"It's fine." Ashton assured him, making himself comfortable on the middle of the couch. "So, I eh, I was at Alaya's the day before, like I already told you guys. And I was there because, well, I just felt like she needed to be the first to know." He paused for a moment, looking at me and then looking at the ground as he told them, "I found out I was adopted."
There was a silence for a moment, as I still had no idea what to think about this, since I didn't even know how he thought about it. But soon enough Calum sat up a little straighter as he smiled sadly at Ashton. "It's going to be okay. The parents you have now are nice people, no matter what has happened."
Ashton nodded slowly, then gave Calum a very small smile, before turning to look at us all one by one again. "And then Laylay and I had a long talk about everything and nothing and eh, I told her I didn't feel the same about Victoria anymore, so the next day I went to her to talk and we eh, broke up."
My eyes widened slightly at that. I didn't know they had actually broken up. I knew he went to talk to her, but wow. But I should have seen it coming, right? I mean, he doesn't feel the same with her anymore, so I guess it was something that could have been logical to happen. Oh well.
"You guys broke up?" Michael asked him, his eyes slightly widened.
"Yeah." Ashton answered, looking like he was feeling kind of awkward.
"You guys seemed practically married." Calum muttered. Ashton shrugged and I put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me and gave me a sad smile, then looked to the door behind him as the doorbell rang. I wanted to get up, but Ashton was already up and on his way to the door.
It didn't take too long for Ashton to return, with five pizza's. He put them on the coffee table in front of us and took the upper one, which he opened and placed next to the stack of pizza's.
The smell of pizza immediately spread through the room, making me hungry as well. I got up and looked for my Hawaiian pizza in the stack, placing the opened box on the table after doing so and took a slice.
"So, Ash, you were at Alaya's and then came home and blah blah. But what happened with you those last four days?"
"Four days?!" Ashton asked Calum shocked, almost chocking on his pizza.
"Yeah, how long did you think you were gone...?" Michael asked him slowly, biting into his pizza after doing so.
"Four... I just. I dunno. But four days... That sounds like a lot you know."
"Well, it has been four days since you guys disappeared." I told him, biting my lip, which was a habit of nervousness.
"Wow. But wait, how about Luke?" Ashton looked at all of us and only now I thought of how weird it had been we had gone a day without a rescue mission, since Michael and Calum's had been the first and second day after they had disappeared.
"I don't know." I answered, not sure what else to say. I did hope he was okay. I mean, we all did. Who wouldn't?
"But, then how do you know how to help us?" Ashton asked me, curiosity clear in his voice, as well as concern.
"Well eh, I get a message with a tip or something and well, that's pretty much it."
He nodded and took another slice of his pizza.
"But, how about your story? What happened to you?" Michael asked Ashton, taking another slice of pizza as well.
"Hmm, I remember blacking out here and waking up in nothing but darkness. I really couldn't see a thing. It was cold and just... Dark. I don't know how long I was there and I don't even know what kind of room I was in exactly. I remember that suddenly a door or something opened and I was blinded by the light. Next thing that happens is someone pushing a needle into my arm and not long after I blacked out again. Then I woke up here..." I could hear it in his voice how hard it had been for him and I was happy I didn't have a slice of pizza in my hand, so I could hug him. I hugged him tightly. He gave me a small sideways hug, after which I released him and sat back, grabbing another slice of pizza.
After that we continued eating and just talked about random things to try and keep the mood light.
I don't exactly remember how, but suddenly we were at the subject of murder series, like you know, NCIS.
"Well, we're the NCIS team ourselves." I announced, quite randomly actually.
"Yeah! I'm DiNozzo." Calum said with a grin.
"Can I join?" Ashton asked happily.
"Why not? But I'm McGee already." Michael answered.
Ashton thought for a moment, before saying: "Well, then I'll be Gibbs."
"You can't. Lays is Gibbs." Michael told him, making him frown.
"But Gibbs is a guy."
"Sorry Ash." I said, patting his shoulder.
"Fine. Then I'll be the dude above Gibbs." He stated, crossing his arms.
"You do know he never really helps solving the case, right?" I told him. He sighed.
"I'll be an intern then. Irwin. Yeah, sounds good."
"Oh! You can be Castle!" I said, grinning.
"Who?" I heard three voices ask me.
"Castle. He's a writer and writes about police and murder and stuff. And to do that, he is a sort of intern by homicide and he helps solving murders."
"Oh, that's what you always watch on Saturdays, right?" Ashton asked me, as he seemed to be replaying a memory of me watching it once.
"Exactly. He's awesome."
"Well, I'm awesome too, so I'll be Castle." Ashton said with a grin.
"You do know he isn't exactly NCIS, right?" Calum mentioned. Ashton and I both shrugged.
"It's not like it matters. It's all the same idea." I said, before suddenly yawning.
"We should go to bed. It's been a long day." Ashton suggested, mostly for me. I just nodded and got up.
"Goodnight guys." I said, making my way to my room. Once there, I let myself fall on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately.
I woke up about a minute later due to someone making my bed dip on the other side of where I was laying. I opened my eyes a little and could vaguely see someone getting under my duvet.
"What are you doing?" I mumbled sleepily to whoever was now lying next to me and looking at me.
"I missed you." Ashton told me, pulling me into his chest and embracing me as if he wanted me to never leave.
"I missed you too." I mumbled, burying my face in his chest.
"You do know you can tell me if you need a loving hand, to help you fall asleep, like tonight, right?" He mumbled, sounding like he was falling asleep.
"I know." I told him, before I fell into a peaceful sleep.
*A/N (again, sorry): I just wanted to say I love Castle, yay <3 and I just had to put Ed's amazing lyric in there, Idunno. Bye!