Tori's eyes finally opened. She had been out for a while. She blinked a little and looked around the room, trying to remember what was happening.
Right, that was it. They stopped to sleep. She stretched, and noticed Lilac watching her with a smile.
"Morning, sleepyhead," she said. Tori returned the smile, and looked over at Shelly. She was staring at the door, almost unmoving, but glanced to the side when Lilac spoke. She muttered a greeting.
"Well!" Tori said, clapping her hands together. "Shall we?"
The others nodded, and they left the room. Lilac turned them left, and the three girls continued. Shelly made sure to cover their backs.
They were all ready for another long walk, but it wasn't long before they heard frantic footsteps coming their way. Tori looked around, but she couldn't see a room anywhere. She looked over at Shelly, who nodded and aimed her weapon down the hall as it began to charge.
To their surprise, the figure moving toward them was not an Octarian, but was actually Michael, who was carrying Pip on his back. Shelly's eyes widened, and she lowered her weapon.
He stopped in front of them, panting. "F… found you…"
Tori's mind had so many questions, they were fighting to get asked first. The one that came out first was "Where's Jake?"
"Easy…" he said. "Gimme a… wait, he's not with you?"
She shook her head. Lilac moved forward and took Pip from his arms.
"I thought… I thought he found you… and that's why he didn't come back. Anyway… it's good to see you."
The walk continued. Everyone took turns carrying Pip (except Shelly) as they caught each other up on what happened.
Tori chewed her lip. "That's not good."
"You can say that again," Michael said. "It looks like we can't leave just yet."
The walk continued, but with a sense of unease in the air now.
"We getting close, Pip?" Tori asked.
Pip nodded weakly in response. "Not too much farther…"
Lilac looked at her worriedly. "We need to get her something…"
Just then, they turned a corner and stared at the mess in front of them.
The hallway before them was covered in violent splashes of ink. There were giant spots of blue and purple all over the place. In addition, small cans and bottles were strewn about the hall.
Michael picked up one can by his feet. "I think it's food…" he said, barely audible to the others.
"Then…" Tori trailed off, staring at everything. "He was…"
Lilac tore open the can. "It's nothing too great, but it'll do," she said. She held it up to Pip, who scooped out a bit of fish and ate it.
Tori barely registered what she said. "They have him…"
Michael swore under his breath. Shelly stared straight ahead, apparently at nothing in particular.
A pair of purple footsteps led off in one direction, but stopped after a few steps. Tori set off in the direction they were facing.
"Tori…" Lilac warned.
"Got a better idea?" Tori shot back. She continued, and the others followed. Lilac stooped to pick up a few cans before going with them, and Pip kept eating. It looked like she was getting her strength back.
"That's the wrong way…" Pip protested.
"I don't care," Tori said solemnly. "Jake is our first priority."
"Be sensible," Lilac argued. "If we follow Pip's directions-"
"I'm not arguing with you!" Tori cried. "We're finding him, and that's final!"
"Dammit, Tori!" Lilac shouted. Pip flinched. "You're not thinking straight! We can come back for him later!
"He might not have a chance if we come back later!" Tori retorted. "I'm not leaving him behind! I can't!"
Lilac growled. "You've changed."
"You haven't. It's a shame." And she kept walking. The others followed, though Lilac seemed a bit slow.
This time, the scenery seemed to change. As the group got further into the facility, the walls started to look more deteriorated, with lots of rust and bent foundations. To top it off, the sound of twisted metal could occasionally be heard.
Michael shivered. "This is giving me the creeps."
Lilac stared at their surroundings. "I've never seen this place before…"
Shelly shot her a look, but said nothing.
Suddenly, an agonizing scream echoed down the corridor.
"Jake!" Tori yelled. She dashed forward. Luckily, this particular hall was straight, so there was only one place the sound could be coming from.
A big door was at the end of the hallway, and Tori reached it before anyone else. She desperately struggled to push it open, all while Jake's screams of pain were still filling her ears.
"Help!" she choked out. Michael and Lilac stepped forward, and the three of them pushed with all their might. It took a while, but the door eventually swung open.
Inside was a dim, dank cell. A flickering lightbulb hung from the ceiling, and there was a solid metal wall in front of them with a hole that divided the two halves of the room. The hole was about big enough that Tori could stick her hand through it.
She looked inside, and saw him. Jake was lying on the ground, curled up in a little ball and whimpering pathetically. His clothes were torn, and dozens of cuts were on his skin. There was a small dribble of blood coming out of his mouth.
"Jake!" Tori cried out. He looked up.
"T… Tori…?" he said in a hoarse voice. "You're… safe…?"
She nodded, tears starting to form in her eyes. "How can I help?" she asked.
He slowly got up, and took a few shaky steps toward her, leaning heavily on the stone wall next to him. "You gotta…" he began. That was all he got out before dropping to his knees and coughing violently. More blood came out of his mouth.
Before Tori could say anything, he rose again, and kept walking toward her. "Please…" he whispered. He held out one hand, and Tori did the same, hoping to soothe him however she could.
Her hand passed right through him, and he suddenly stopped moving. She blinked in surprise, and looked closer at the room he was in.
A small device with a shiny sphere on it lay in the middle of the room, projecting a thin cone of light. The image of Jake flickered and disappeared.
"Dammit!" Tori cried. She fell to her knees.
"Oh, no." The mocking voice of Lieutenant Alanis boomed through the speakers. "So close…"
She could no longer fight the tears, and Tori started crying uncontrollably as everyone watched.
"You'll never find him," Alanis said in a singsong tone. "You might come close, but I'll always keep him away."
"Tori, she's just trying to psyche you out," Michael said, trying to reassure her.
Alanis' voice sighed. "Am I?" she asked. There was a moment of feedback, and then another voice became clear.
"Guh…" it said. "Let her… go…"
Tori looked up. "Jake…?"
"You gotta… you gotta get outta here, Tori…" he pleaded. "Forget about me… I'm damn near gone… Please…"
"Aww, what a cute widdle hero we have here," Alanis said. "Trying to save his widdle friends. I intend to kill you no matter what, punk. If I can get more of them, then good for me."
There was a loud cracking sound, and then Jake let out another scream of pain. Tori cried out.
"I'll give you a hint," Alanis said. "Go back outside. Good luck." The cracking sound happened again, and Jake screamed once more before the sound cut off.
It took some time to recover from that stunning scene, but Tori eventually gathered herself and walked back through the small doorway. There was a new passage that wasn't there before, and it seemed to be even older.
"It's a trap," Shelly warned.
Tori shook her head, and set off.
