Lincoln carefully made his way back to the hub. The villains were still nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from another entrance. But before he could do anything, Dot appeared with Abby and his sisters with them.
"Guys!" Cried Lincoln. Leni was the first to see him. "Lincoln!!" She cried. She ran to him and hugged him tightly. The rest of the sisters followed suit. Except Lori. She felt too bad to even look at him, knowing she let him get hurt. Meanwhile, the sisters were all talking at once. "Are you ok?" "Any broken bones?" "Does your head hurt?" "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Ok, that's enough!" Everyone turned and looked at Abby. "He's been through a lot. Just let him breathe." Lincoln smiled. "I've got something for you." He pulled his hand from behind his back and pulled out the Aqua Gem. Abby was thrilled! "You found it! Oh, thank you so much!" Cried Abby as she gave him a hug. "Of course Abby." Replied Lincoln. While Abby put the gem safely in her bag, Lincoln noticed Lori standing nearby. His smile faded. Her words still being heard in his head.
Lori immediately noticed this. She slowly began to approach him. "Lincoln, I...I..." Lori just couldn't find the right words. She thought no apology would ever make up for what she did to him. Lincoln turned away from Lori, still hurt from the night before. Abby looked Lincoln over. She was worried about the state of some of his wounds.
"Oh man, we're gonna have to get you to hospital sweetie. Does it it hurt?" "A little." Said Lincoln nervously. He wasn't a big fan of hospitals. "C'mon, we gotta get moving." Urged Lynn. Everyone agreed and started to walk back the way they came, when, "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!" Yelled a voice. They turned around and found Diane, Allen, and Boris standing across from them on the other end of the hub. "Gadzooks! They found us!" Cried Lisa. Diane looked right at Lincoln.
"There you are. We're still not finished yet freak." Abby moved Lincoln behind her. "Let me make this very clear to you. If you so much as touch this kid with one finger, I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your godforsaken life. We are leaving this wretched place, and then we're going to get you behind bars just like your ancestors!!"
Diane's blood boiled. The Louds sensed a coming eruption of anger. "Run for it!!" Cried Lynn. The gang bolted for the way back, but Boris whipped out a crossbow and shot an arrow at the roof support holding up the tunnel. The arrow hit the piece of wood dead on, and with the support rotted, it cracked on impact and buckled the boulders and rocks now crumbling down!
"The mine's collapsing!!" Shouted Luna. The older sisters grabbed the younger girls and ran to safety through the collapsing shaft. They made it, but found Abby and Lincoln had been cut off by the wall of rocks that now covered the ground! Abby quickly looked around and noticed a mine cart sitting in a siding in front of a dark shaft. She suddenly got an idea. "You girls find a way out!! We'll be right behind you!!" Cried Abby as the entrance became sealed by the rocks. "You heard her! Let's move!" Cried Lola. Dot's nose suddenly picked up a scent. She motioned the girls to follow her down the track leading to the right. "Gotta love that nose." Said Lori. And they followed the young fawn.
Back in the hub Lincoln and Abby were now alone with the three villains. "You two, find the girls and get rid of them any way you can, I'll deal with these little do-gooders." Instructed Diane as she ran towards Lincoln and Abby to start fighting. Abby bent down and threw a fistful of dirt into Diane's eyes! "Augh!" She cried. "Go! The mine cart! Go!" And the two friends ran as fast as they could.
Abby got to the cart and started pushing it out of the siding. Lincoln ran to help, but tripped! As he scrambled to his feet, he saw Diane had gotten her vision back and was running after him! "Get back here right now!!" She demanded. Lincoln screamed and ran even faster. By now, Abby had gotten the cart moving and had climbed in. "Lincoln! Hurry!" She cried. Lincoln ran and grabbed onto the back of the cart, but his legs were still running on the ground trying to catch up. Abby grabbed Lincoln's arm, and with all her strength, pulled Lincoln safely inside. "Thanks Abby." Panted Lincoln. The cart gathered more speed and rolled away down the track. Diane couldn't catch up to it now.
"Alright, three can play at this game." Diane found another cart and pushed across the points onto Abby and Lincoln'a track. She climbed in and rolled into the tunnel close behind.
Stay tuned for chapter 32!