Imprisoned II: Sacrifice

Chapter 3

Yumi found her way to the cafeteria to meet up with her friends for lunch. She ran into Ulrich along the way. He was sitting on the steps outside the door and just glared at her when she walked up.

"What's the matter, Ulrich?" asked Yumi.

"Hmph," was Ulrich's reply.

"Oh, come on Ulrich! Nothing happened between me and William. Anyway, I turned him down." Ulrich perked up, his eyes wide.

"What? You mean—"

"Yes, he asked he out, and I told him no. Now, let's get something to eat. I'm starved!" Yumi grabbed Ulrich's hand and they went inside.

After they had finished preparing their lunches, Ulrich helped Yumi into her seat.

"Why, thank you, Ulrich," said Yumi with a smile.

Jeremie noticed this as he walked up to the table and asked,"What's going on, you two?"

"What?" said Ulrich. "Can't a guy demonstrate good manners in peace?"

Jeremie smirked. "Ulrich, you know as well as I do. That just isn't like you. What's really going on?"

"Oh, leave him alone, Jeremie," said Aelita firmly.

"Okay, okay," replied Jeremie, sitting down. "By the way, haven't you noticed that XANA has been quiet lately?

Odd jumped at the chance to make a joke. "Maybe he got fired!"

"Fired? Whatever do you mean, Odd?" said Ulrich, puzzled.

"Well, he has been sleeping on the job lately. His name is" Odd pretended to sleep. "'ZZZZZZZZZANA' isn't it?"

Aelita started to laugh and everyone joined in until Yumi interrupted.

"Has anyone seen William?"

William had been running for a long time, unsure of where he was going. Then he saw it. What the heck is that? he thought. He had come upon an old, abandoned factory. I wonder why I never noticed this before. I'm gonna check it out, they won't miss me at school. William walked cautiously across the bridge towards the factory doors. When he reached the factory's interior, he gasped. Wow, this place is huge! I wonder what used to be here. William began to explore his surroundings, taking a peek in every nook and cranny he could find. He noticed the elevator, but he figured that it didn't work, and that it was better not to try it. After some more exploring, William found a passageway that he hadn't noticed before. It led to a ladder that went down the wall through a hole in the floor. Curious, William decided that he absolutely had to check it out.

When lunch was over, everyone except for Yumi went to their class. Yumi didn't have a class this afternoon, so she walked around the grounds looking for William. She checked the track, the pool, the computer lab, the gym, anywhere on the grounds that she could think of. To her dismay, William was nowhere to be found. What have I done? she thought. It's my fault, he ran off because of me! Yumi tried hard not to cry as she sat down in a corner of the gym and covered her face with in her arms.