Behold the power of the mighty review! It controls how quickly I update chapters, although I was probably gonna update today anyway…
mythica: The smart ones can almost always see where the story goes…keyword being 'almost.' Thanx, La---er, mythica.
Raya: You're right, Matthew did see an evil James, but sometimes what you see isn't what you get…
chyp: Thankfulness.
"Jimmy's behind that wall," Matthew said. "What more do you need to know. Listen, it looks like whatever meeting went on is over, so the next time someone comes out of there, freeze them and maybe it will keep the wall open long enough for us to get through."
"How will we get out?" Wesley asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Matthew answered.
"You've been around Jimmy too long," Wesley sighed, giving in to the idea.
Sure enough, it wasn't very long before the wall opened up again, allowing two more students to pass through. With a nudge from Matthew, Wesley flicked his hands and the two froze in motion. The two students were halfway out of the wall, so Matthew figured that it was still open. He pulled Wesley across the office to the wall, where he boldly stuck a hand in. To both his and Wesley's relief, nothing bad happened. He pushed Wesley through the wall before entering himself.
The two were standing in an elevator-like area. Before either of them could say anything, the area suddenly dropped at an amazing speed, catching them by surprise. Wesley had to cover his mouth with his hands, while Matthew only gasped. When it stopped, the doors opened and they walked out into a dimly lit chamber.
"I don't like this," Wesley said, looking around.
"Complain later," Matthew said. "We have more important things to do now."
Matthew and Wesley walked around, careful to hide when others would approach. A few times, Matthew had to grab Wesley's hand and phase them into the stone walls. After walking a bit more, they began to hear voices. One was definitely James', but who was the other?
"…and there's nothing to worry about," Matthew and Wesley heard the voice say. "Once you pass through the Demonic Flame, you will belong to me."
"That's gotta be Jimmy," Matthew said. "Let's go."
"But…" Wesley began to protest, but Matthew had already broken into a run towards the source of the voices. He sighed as he sprinted to catch up.
What they saw next was unbelievable. Some random people had James lifted above their heads and were carrying him toward a giant, crackling red fire. James was saying things, but they weren't easily discernable. He was obviously in pain, though, as could be determined from the freely flowing blood seeping from his back.
"Who are you?" Dr. Gilkeson asked, turning to address the two brothers. "You're not supposed to be here."
Wesley threw out his hands before Matthew could even suggest it. The students all froze at once, as did Dr. Gilkeson. Matthew quickly ran to where James was and heaved him onto his feet. He was bloody and beaten and had surely been in a fight. He hadn't gotten far, though, before Dr. Gilkeson began to regain motion.
"Matt!" Wesley cried. "Watch out!"
Matthew turned around to see Dr. Gilkeson fighting his way out of Wesley's freezing power. He was outraged to see what had happened and his eyes became completely black.
"I'm not finished with him yet," Dr. Gilkeson said.
He raised his hand, but soon fell to the ground. Matthew saw Wesley standing behind the professor, breathing heavily and clutching his fist. He walked over to his brothers and helped Matthew support James.
"Get…out…of…here," James mumbled. "Save…yourselves."
"If I'm willing to damn near break my hand trying to save you," Wesley said, "then I'm staying."
"Good shot, homeboy," Matthew congratulated. "Glad to see you're learning something."
"Well he's coming to," Wesley said, pointing at Dr. Gilkeson. "We gotta get out of here!"
"The only way out is that elevator," Matthew said. "Let's go."
Matthew and Wesley ran as quickly as they could to the place they came from, but with James in tow things went a little slower than usual. They had gotten pretty far when all of a sudden there was a faint flash of light and all three of them bounced off of some invisible force that threw them to the ground.
"I'm afraid you're not going anywhere," Dr. Gilkeson said. He was now fully free of Wesley's freeze. "I've invested my time and energy into recruiting a witch, so I'm going to recruit a witch. Three witches, on the other hand, would be quite a treat. First things first, though."
Dr. Gilkeson extended his hands in a "give it to me" fashion and James began to roll along the ground toward him. It happened so fast that neither Wesley nor Matthew had time to react and grab him. Wesley reached out his hand again to freeze Dr. Gilkeson, but this time there was hardly any effect. He laughed as he briskly shook off the effects of Wesley's powers.
"And for the next step," Dr. Gilkeson said.
He opened his palm and once again a small glass vial appeared, this time filled with a clear liquid. He threw it at his students and they immediately resumed movement. Without saying a word, he simply pointed at the two remaining brothers and they jumped into action, making a beeline for them. Wesley flicked his hands again, but as with Dr. Gilkeson, his powers were no longer effective.
"Matt!" Wesley yelled. "They're not freezing anymore!"
"I see that," Matthew said as Wesley hid behind him.
"What do we do?" Wesley asked.
"Fight," Matthew answered, "the old-fashioned way."
As Matthew said those last words, various weapons appeared in the hands of the students who were rushing them. Daggers and knives, bats and clubs, all kinds of gang associated offensive objects materialized from out of thin air. Wesley was scared out of his mind. They were still too far from the entrance to escape, and there were too many to fight. Besides, an invisible force field was preventing them from leaving anyway. The odds were too stacked against them, but Matthew was determined to stay and fight. He clenched his fists and prepared himself to fight. The demonic students drew ever closer. At the last minute, Wesley's panic peaked and he grabbed Matthew instinctively and the two of them glimmered out in a bunch of blue and white lights.