Hello readers! I've noticed that even though I've put this story on the back burner and haven't worked on it for a while and it still gets followers. Thank you to everyone that reads this story, even when it's clearly not the best. This was my very first fanfic after all. I'm kind of at a crossroads when it comes to this story. My original intention was to write it continuously and finish it. However, I have lost the drive to continue to write it. I know I made a promise to finish it and I would love to. If there's anyone that would like for me to get back on this story again please let me know! A part of the reason I lost touch with this story is that I didn't receive much feedback. Even if there's just one person it'll inspire me to finish this story.

Chapter Fifteen

We had made it inside the building, it was quite challenging considering that many humans were patrolling in and out of the monstrous place. But we made it in and were climbing up inside the walls trying to track down what was left of the first group. Once we found them we agreed the plan had altered and more precautions had to be taken. "The number of us that were originally going to be taken has changed. Half of group 2 will go join group 1; I feel like this will lessen our chances of having another accident." Justin announced to us. We all agreed and our group had been split. I was placed with the first group since I had the stone. My job was to watch everything happen and if something went wrong I would intervene. Justin was still part of the second group since he felt like he would be able to help out more that way. I watched them all go down to the nearest vent and push their way through. I held my breath as they scattered throughout the room where a nearby human was sitting in front of a glowing box and tapping on a long rectangle shaped pad with a bunch of buttons on the top of it. He didn't seem to pay any mind to anything, he must have been very focused. There was a loud snap and the human quickly looked away from the box. "What the…?" He then saw them and immediately stood up. "Hey!" He pulled out a big black rectangle from his white coat and talked into it. "Hey, we've got a few more in here!" A voice then came from the rectangle. "There's more? Christ almighty!" The human sighed. "Hurry up! I shouldn't have to do anyone else's job!" He then placed the object down and grabbed a nearby broom. My heart raced as I watched him approach them slowly. "Come here you little pieces of shit." He said it in a quiet sing-song voice. He then shoved the broom down and swept it across in one swift motion. I watched them run against the wall trying to get away from him. I covered my mouth to keep myself from gasping. It was horrible to watch and not be able to do anything about it. Another human appeared with a couple of cages in his hands. "Don't kill them! That defeats the purpose of calling me!" They both bickered at one another as they gathered all of them up. Of course, they cooperated that way there wasn't any need for any more violence. Once all of them were put away in the cages they were carried away. "Let's go!" Austin whispered to us and we followed them.

They then were placed into a room that required two different keys to get into. "Damn!" Austin said, startling me. "That's the room we can't access." I looked back and forth between him and the others down below. Panic then filled my stomach, something had to be done. "Can you get me as close as possible?" I asked hurriedly. He then led me through the walls with haste. "This is the best we could do but it's not enough." It was a vent but it had holes instead of the regular grooves. The holes were so small no one could squeeze through, almost like it was on purpose. We could see them being brought in where several cages were held filled with all different types of animals. We watched him empty the cages and shoved them into different ones. When he was done he locked everything up and left the room. I tried pulling on the metal but it wouldn't budge. "It's no use, it looks like they've sealed this in tight." I then had an idea. "I think I can get us in," I said to him. "How?" I then grabbed the stone around my neck and lifted it. "If I can get us down there will you be fast enough to round up everyone and let them out?" He thought for a moment. "Yes, but who knows how long we'll have before another human comes along." That was true. We talked with the others and had figured out a system to communicate if they heard anyone coming. Two whistles were the warning that would buy us ten seconds. I grabbed the stone and pulled it off of me. "I need your help," I spoke to it. I then imagined a sword cutting through the metal. Within seconds a bright red light appeared and the weight of the stone became heavier. There were a few gasps around me but I ignored them as I sliced through the thick metal with ease. I had cut a hole big enough for everyone to get through. The stone returned to its original state and I looped it around my neck. "Let's go!" Austin said aloud. A few of them went through and headed down to the floor. My heart raced as I watched them all go to the cages and try to unlock them.

I could then see Mr. Ages and I immediately felt better. He appeared to be fine, a little angry, but more or less fine. There were mice, rats, rabbits, ferrets, and birds. How could they do this? How could anyone do this? I watched them slowly but surely open the cages and set everyone free. They all were helped out and directed to travel up the wall. "Make room," I whispered to the couple others beside me. I saw a few coming our way and I knew I had to help them. I took off the stone and imagined a rope. Moments later a very long rope appeared and I lowered it down below for the others. I tied it to the exposed metal as tight as I could, that way it wouldn't fall. "Grab on!" I told them. One by one they made their way up and inside. I helped them in and gestured for them to go further down the vent. So many scared faces, it broke my heart. When Mr. Ages came up I couldn't help but hug him. "I'm quite alright, Dear! Please be professional." I apologized to him with a smile as I let go of him. Once everyone was out of there I untied the rope and the stone returned. I placed it around my neck and looked up at Justin, "You've done wonderfully!" He said as he patted my shoulder. "But unfortunately we're not done yet."

We helped the imprisoned animals out of the building and ensured them that Thorn Valley would welcome them with hospitality. Ace and Lily would be leading them there and eventually coming back. I wished them all good luck before they left. I turned back to Justin and Mr. Ages. "Where to now?" They both looked at each other grimly. "There's a room not too far from here that has all of the children. They're next." I nodded my head. "Let's go," I responded with. "I appreciate the enthusiasm but it's more complicated than what we've expected," Justin replied. I nodded my head, "I'm well aware." They both shook their heads. "The nursery room doesn't just have the children, it has the expecting mothers in there as well. We've been informed that tomorrow is the due date for a majority of the expecting mothers. They've orchestrated it in cycles, to make things easier." I hadn't even considered such a sinister thing. "We're not sure if we'll be able to get the mothers out. They may have to stay a bit longer." Mr. Ages whispered. Oh, what a horrible thing to even think about. "What will happen to them if they're the only ones left behind and the humans find them? They'll be slaughtered!" Mr. Ages tried to calm me down but I continued to panic. There wasn't an easy way out of this. "I'm sure we'll figure something out, but it won't be something everyone can agree on," Justin added. "This has further complicated things, we just might need to wait until tomorrow. I've been informed that after labor the mothers are sedated. We may have to grab the children and leave the mothers behind." Everything about this just seemed awful, there wasn't a way that made any of this easier. The entire group went back and forth for a few minutes.

"How about when you all grab the children, I'll take all of the mothers?" I asked. "How on earth would you do that?" Mr. Ages asked. I lifted the stone. "We can't just rely on it! We have to plan accordingly without it. It's simply our backup tool for now. We need a solid plan first before we can even consider the stone." I sighed knowing he was right, but I desperately wanted to help. "We're very limited on time so we need to take immediate action," Justin said sternly. Everyone became silent. "We'll grab the children and leave the expecting mothers behind for now. Until we can guarantee their safety for the passage I can't consider them a priority. Those kids need to be taken out of here as soon as possible." It was decided. First the kids then later we would figure out the rest. This mission was getting more complicated by the minute. I'm not sure how much more of this I can handle. Was I the right mouse chosen for this? Or did they all make a huge mistake?