November 6 M.D.

Fayliom Wang

I didn't even get a chance to scream before I hit bottom. And boy it hurts. The first thing I did was to check if I broke anything. Nothing felt too painful. Then I searched for my friends in the dark. After walking around like a zombie with my hands in front of me I felt someone. The person's fingers touched my glasses then my cheek and whispered: "Fayliom?"

"Matt!" I whispered back. His other hand found my arm and it felt like someone had shocked me. Even though he looked tall and strong his hands were gentle against mine. They were warm and I think I was blushing. Matt's hand traveled down my arm to my hand.

I didn't dare to move. I had the urge to kiss him but I didn't think it would be appropriate. Anyways, I don't think I'll be able to find his lips. I couldn't see a thing. A cold breeze came from behind me and I shivered. Matt must've felt me shiver because I felt him squeeze my hand. I had a feeling that if we weren't in a fantasy land with all these things happening to us we wouldn't be holding hands right now, nor would he be touching my cheek.

Don't go away. I thought. Stay right here and protect me. Inside I was really scared. Who knows what's lurking here right this moment.

"Fayliom!" I heard Matt's voice in my head. "You're doing it again. I can't move!"

"Sorry." I said and thought of his hand leaving mine. He unfroze but didn't take his had away from mine. "Come on." I told him and tugged on his hand.

You'd probably think that I could find them with my mind reading powers but no, I can't. I could only hear them but I can't locate where the voices are coming from. Actually, I can't even hear them right now. They must be in some other room.

"What would Aunt Lily think if she saw us right now? Two thirteen year olds, holding hands…"

"Actually I'm fourteen." Matt said.

"What? I thought you said…"

"Um, well. Today's kinda my birthday." He said it more like a question than a statement.

"You didn't tell me!" I slapped him in the arm, playfully.

"Hey, lovebirds!" A stream of flames burst out of nowhere and Alish appeared.

"Hey!" I let go of his hand and put it behind me.

"What're ya doin'?" Alish asked and winked.

"Stop stalking. We need to find everything else. And how did you keep your thoughts away? I couldn't hear you."

"Check this out." Alish extended her flame until I could see the whole room. Actually it was more of a long tunnel with a lot of forks. "I think it's a labyrinth. There's a lot of different rooms."

"Smartest thing you've said all day." I said. "Come on."

I led them down the hall, trying to hide my blush behind my bangs. Something glowed up front. Another cold breeze blew into me.

"Whoa!" I said as I took a step into a room.

"That is awesome!" Alish ran around the room like a little kid that got a new doll house.

"What's so cool…oh, wow!" Matt came into the room and took a big sweep of the room with his eyes. "That is one of the biggest forge I've seen in my life. I need to get a picture of this." He took out his phone and stupidly dropped it into one of the buckets nearby.

"Nice job, Zipline Boy." I murmured as his phone disappeared under a blanket of bubbles. "There goes an iPhone 5. I am not going to scream." Then the iPhone suddenly came back out with a popping sound and Matt catches it.

"What the…?" Alish asked. Music started blaring from his phone, loud ear-splitting music. Matt hurriedly pressed the volume down button.

Something weird happened as Matt pressed the button. His phone elongated and morphed into a blade three feet long. The blade was bronze and had a leather handle.

"Whoa!" Matt exclaimed.

"This is awesome!" Alish said. Now she was in the middle of the room and was working away at the fire.

I heard footsteps from the other side of the room where another doorway loomed.

"Someone's coming." I said. Matt and Alish looked up from their interesting gadgets.

A lady in full body armor of gold steps into the room. She had her dark sleek hair pinned up in a complicated bun in the back of her hair with many pins and clips. She had a black dagger in one hand. She had one eye on her forehead along with two more where they should be.

"Hello. I have been waiting for you, Fayliom Wang."

"You have been waiting for me?" I asked.

"Yes." The woman mused. "You see, there's this bounty and you look very familiar to the picture."

"I know you." Matt whispered.

"Don't be ridiculous." The lady scoffed.

"I really do. You're that lady that… no way!" Matt had a look of complete horror in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You were my aunt's friend. The one that killed her. You looked very like that lady. I used to think that that other eye was fake." He said like I wasn't here. "You hated me and left early every time I visited. I liked her…" His voice rose up on volume. "And you killed her!"

"Ah, her. She was very stupid, spending her money on men and parties. She was nice but very stupid."

"She wasn't stupid. And she didn't spend all her money on men. It just seemed like it. And she's about to be avenged." He raised his sword and charged.

Three-eyes raised her knife which elongated into a spear and deflected Matt's attack (I didn't know Matt could sword fight). But Matt kept coming at her and she kept deflecting his attacks. I was frozen to my spot, terrified, as I watched my boyfriend battle with a lady with three eyes.

Three-eyes spun her spear, making a shield. For a second Matt hesitated. But a second was all Three-eyes needed. She jabbed at Matt's leg and made a red gash in the side of his calf. Matt yelled and fell, his head hitting the ground with a painful sounding thud.

I unfroze and grabbed a sword on the wall. I have never tried sword fighting. The world fast forwarded as I strike and parried. All I knew was that she had hurt Matt and I hated her for that. Somehow I managed to hit Three-eye with the butt of the sword and she dropped her spear which turned back into a dagger. I picked it up and pointed both blades at the lady.

"Give up?" I asked.

"Not quite." Three eyes said. Things happened so fast. With a *pop* she disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room. She grabbed Alish by the wrist and they disappeared.

"No!" I screamed. Then I heard a groaning from behind me. I rushed over to Matt.

I examined the wound at the side of his leg. The gash looked deep. That was when I first noticed the green goo oozing out of the cut.

"Matt." I said and shook him.

His eyes opened. "Fayliom?"

"Can you heal it?" I asked. I noticed a lump forming on his forehead where he hit the concrete floor.

He moved his hand slowly down his leg and gently touched the cut. Nothing happened. "It feels like my leg's on fire." He gasped. His breath coming in short bursts. Then I remembered my pouch. I dug around in it, finding only some bandages. I set to work, wrapping the stuff around Matt's leg.

Then I heard footsteps. I got out my newly earned knife to find Zan standing in the doorway.

"Where's Alish?" He demanded. I told him what happened. "What? She's gone, just like that?" Then he noticed Matt lying on the ground.

"This place isn't safe." He said. "I found another room." He got down and grabbed matt's arms and lifted him up. Matt let out a groan but remained unconscious. "Help me carry him. It's not far."

I grabbed Matt's legs and we slowly made it to the room Zan was talking about. The room was circular with painted wall murals of lush green forest filled with animals all the way around. The floor was a blanket of grass with wild flowers growing from it. For a second I was puzzled of how the flowers and grass could survive when I saw the hole in the roof. Above me through the hole in the celling I could see millions of stars. This image brought back some painful memories of my past. I quickly pushed the memory aside and set Matt down.

"I'm going to go look for Alish." Zan disappeared before I could say anything. A cold breeze blew into the room. (So that's where the cold breezes were coming from earlier) Matt stirred and his eyes opened. Those beautiful green eyes searched around the room and found mine.

"Fayliom?"

"Right here." I said. He moved his legs and gasped. I took his hand in mine and he squeezed my hand. I could see he was trying to be brave but the pain was taking over. If I was the one with the wound I would have been crying like a kindergartner by now, probably screaming too. His hands were warmer than usual and I felt his forehead. Matt was burning up! He was also shivering. A fever! Great! I searched in my pouch and came up with some antiseptic. I let go of Matt's hand for a second to unscrew the lid.

"This is going to hurt." I told him, showing him the bottle. He nods and closed his eyes. I unwrapped his bandage and almost gagged. The wound was now greenish with sticky puss coming out of it. "Ready?" He nods again. I tipped the bottle over and poured some of it on his leg.

Matt's fingers dug into the dirt and his teeth clenched. His breathing was shallow. One of his hands searched for mine and I took it. The antiseptic foamed. I closed my eyes so I won't have to see Matt in pain but I could still hear him screaming in his thoughts. I almost sobbed for him. I opened my eyes as Matt's grip loosened a bit on my hand. The bubbling was subsiding. A tear trickled out of Matt's eyes from shutting it so tight and I wiped it away.

When the foaming stopped I wrapped the wound up and relaxed beside Matt. I found a pillow and a blanket in my pouch. I placed the pillow underneath Matt's head and wrapped the blanket around him. I hope that Zan finds Alish before anything bad happened to her.

With Matt steadily breathing beside me I closed my eyes, his hand still around mine as if the world would disappear without it. As I fell asleep I heard him say in his thoughts for the first time: "Fayliom, I love you."


November 6 M.D.

Alish Firehunter

Pain. That's the first thought that comes to me when I came to. Then I replaced that with another word. Burn

No way. I can't burn! My eyes open and I gasped. I was dangling over a pot of black fire. I wasn't exactly burning but it hurts.

"I see my little captive has finally woken up." Said a familiar voice. I looked up to see Three-eyes on the catwalk above me. "Feeling the burn?"

"I can't burn!" I tried to yell but I came out as a whimper. Scaredy cat! I tried again. "Fire can't hurt me!"

"Maybe you haven't tried Drakon fire." She grinned.

"Let me go!" I yelled and twisted around.

"Feisty, aren't you? I think I'll keep you as bait for your friends." Three-eyes laughed evilly and disappeared.

I did try to escape but nothing worked. I wanted to burn the ropes tying me to the catwalk but then I'll fall into the black fire and something bad might happen. Even if I did I don't think I could kill all the guards in the exits. That's when I saw the shape of a boy slowly making his way down the beams overhead toward me, staying in the shadows. He made it above me, pulled out a knife, and started to cut my bonds. I got a glimpse at his face.

"Zan!" I whispered. He put a finger on his lips and continued working away. Then he pulled me up. The catwalk was so narrow I had to stand so close to him I could feel his breath on my face.

"I know how to get out of here, follow me." The catwalk shook and I stumbled into him. Just then Zan leaned closer to me and I knew he was going to try to kiss me. His lips brushed against mine, they were soft and smooth. Then I heard a door clang and I turned away from Zan just in time to see bazooka man dragging in two body sized shapes. As he dragged the shapes closer to the torchlight I saw that they were Fayliom and Matt! At first I thought they were dead but then I saw the steady rise and fall of their chests and I knew they were alive. Thank the Gods! Then something random and unexpected happened at that moment.

"Die!" squealed Lucy and she hit bazooka man with a tennis racket and a mini hurricane swirled at her feet.

"Awww." Said bazooka man. He seemed unfazed by the tennis racket that was bouncing off his arm. At that moment blood spewed from his mouth and he fell forward and there stood Willes and Bianca. Bianca had a knife in her hand. Lucy squealed in delight and swatted bazooka man in the head repeatedly

"Yay! We killed evil baboon dude!"

"I believe you mean bazooka." Willes said.

"No! It's baboon. I know what I'm talking about." Lucy said when she clearly doesn't.

"Alish," Zan grabbed my arm and brought me back to reality. "Come on." We climbed down the ladder to join our friends and the dead "baboon dude".

Zan said, "But before we get too far we have unfinished business." He started to lean in but then I said, "Not to fast Fly-Boy. First let's get outta here"

He looked disappointed.

Someone groaned.

"Ugh." Fayliom rubbed her back and sat up.

"Are you awake, Sleeping Beauty?" I asked.

"Don't mock me!" she snapped. "Where's Matt?" She looked beside her just as Matt's eyes opened.

"What happened?" How long was I out?"

"Five hours." Fayliom answered, checking her watch. Then she gasped. "Five hours! It's almost the third sunset. Now we'll never escape."

"Wait." Zan said. "How long is it till sunset?"

"Two hours and thirty seven minutes." Fayliom answered.

"Then you still have hope. Come on."


November 6 M. D.

Matt Fiqqel

The world spun and I was confused. My leg throbbed and felt really hot. I vaguely remember battling with a lady with three eyes. Then Fayliom had held my hand as pain shot through my leg. Everything was freezing except her hands and somehow I fell asleep dreaming about Fayliom. Now it was a totally different scene.

Six faces loomed over me. Fayliom, Alish, Zan, Willes, Bianca, and Lucy.

"Hey, look," Willes picked up a giant, white envelope.

"What is it?" Alish asked.

"An envelope, dummy." Lucy said.

"I think you mean, what's in it?" I said.

"Who's going to open it?" Bianca asked.

"Well, Matt's the one who just survived dying slowly of poison." Fayliom said sarcastically. "Shouldn't he open it?"

Everyone nodded and Willes handed me the envelope. Everyone stared at me intently as I ripped the top open. Inside were a few sheets of paper. I took them out and started reading.

"Make sure the brats do not find the room. It's at the end of the hallway marked; Employees Only. There is a basket of yarn stolen from the Fates. Make sure the to switch the blue yarn with the green yarn. Those old hags can't see color. They'll cut the yarn and she'll be taken care of. I want revenge on that Chinese girl. Her past families have brought enough problems and sorrow in my life. Especially that Lily person. I want her to suffer!" I looked up at Fayliom. Her jaws had dropped and her eyes were filled with disbelief.

"She knew?!" She murmured.

"Didn't you say you called your aunt, Aunt Lily?" I asked.

She ignored me. "She wants revenge. On me?"

"But you're not going to die. These are instructions to make sure you die. And we're going to make sure that doesn't happen. Now where's the Employees Only hallway?" She looked around.

"There's more." I read. "Just make sure the basket's delivered to the right people. The yarn might be already switched…"

"I found it. Come on." Alish pointed down a long narrow hallway. I got up and stumbled. Fayliom encouraged me to put my arm around her for support. I did. But only because of my leg. Okay fine, I was kinda hoping for that. Just don't tell her.

"The door's locked." Willes said.

"Seriously?!" Alish moaned.

"There's a cat door for some reason." Bianca said. Everyone turned to Fayliom.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh great." She closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly I was free-falling into the wall. The black and white kitten mewed. I hope she was apologizing. I gave her the death glare for not warning me. She hissed in reply and bounded through the cat door. A few minutes later she came running out, almost jumping on me. After she calmed down she finally turned back into a human.

"What did I do?" Fayliom murmured to herself over and over again. She seemed like she was on the verge of tears.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I was switching the yarn and I heard footsteps. So in a hurry I put a golden roll of yarn in its place. But then I saw that the roll of yarn was yours. Matt, it was yours! You're going to get killed and it's going to be my fault!" She buried her face in her sleeves. Though I don't think she was crying. Maybe she was just upset.

"Maybe they won't cut his yarn. Maybe they might make a mistake and cut another one." Alish said. The others looked confused. I don't think they've read the Percy Jackson Series. I'm not crazy about it like Fayliom and Alish are but I know about it. The Fates are these old ladies that cut yarn to make someone die a horrible death. It's simple.

"Why didn't you switch it back?" Lucy asked.

"I didn't have time. I had to hide under the desk while he took the basket away."

"Who?" Bianca asked.

"I don't know. I didn't see." Fayliom answered. "I only saw two black boots."

"How do you even know it's a guy?" I asked.

"I don't know, I just guessed." She said.

"So it could be a woman…?" Alish wondered.

"The main thing is that Matt's gonna die and it's gonna be all my fault!"