Chapter 6
Layla shot up in bed as a loud clap of thunder shook the only window in her room. As she panted, she turned her wide-eyed gaze to the window, watching as another flash of lightning cast eerie shadows around her room. Large raindrops could soon be seen hitting the glass, the sounds of their soft pattering almost as unnerving to her as the thunder was.
Her body trembled violently as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, finding herself unable to stop her heavy breathing. She gripped her knees, ignoring her sweaty palms and allowing her nails to dig into her skin.
She let out a short, fearful scream at the next clap of thunder, surging to her feet and running toward the door. Her vision was blurred by tears now, her body shaking so badly that she could barely get her fingers to close around the doorknob. She managed to turn the handle just as the next flash of lightning lit up her room, and she was out the door before the thunder came. She sprinted in the direction of Aelita's room as quickly as she could, hoping to beat the big boom. She was about halfway to her destination when the loud clap finally came, sending her to her knees. She was nearly hyperventilating, but she tried to sing in spite of this as she got to her feet and began running again.
"When a storm begins in the clouds, it sometimes may look frightening. You see a quick electrical spark. Flash goes the lightning," she sang quietly in her shaky voice. The little rhyme was set to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel, and the childishness of it just didn't sound right coming from her. Then again, her fear of storms didn't seem too fitting, either. "Long and thin and streaky and fast, its glow is oh so brightening. Watch for the electric spark. Flash goes the lightning." She hurriedly wiped her tears away as she neared Aelita's room, hating herself for having such a ridiculous fear. "When a storm begins in the clouds, it truly is a wonder. You hear a rumble loud in the sky. Clap goes the thunder." She forced herself to slow to a walk now that the door to the pink-haired girl's room was in view, also trying to control her breathing. "Lightning bolts are heating the air, over clouds and under. When the air expands enough. Clap goes the-" Another loud clap of thunder cut her off, causing her to end her song with a scream just before she burst into Aelita's room.
She stopped dead as soon as she was in the room, cocking her head at the lack of a lump under the covers of the bed. Another flash of lightning lit up the space, showing that the bed was unmade and empty.
Where could she have gone? the redhead wondered. She pondered the possible answers to her question until the next clap of thunder came, forcing her to squeak and take off out of the room. Without really think, she made her way to Jeremy's room, which was one of the explanations she had come up with for Aelita not being in her own room, and stopped to frantically beat on the door. The moment it opened, she clung to the person standing before her, not caring that she was shaking and crying and making herself look like a wimpy idiot...until she realized that pretty much everyone that she could call her friend was sitting in there, watching her.
She immediately released what she now realized was Ulrich, instantly dropping her gaze to the floor and mumbling an insincere-sounding, "Sorry."
The male merely frowned, keeping his eyes on her face. "Are you all right?" he asked, noticing the tears slowly flowing from her gray-blue eyes.
She nodded, but proved that she was lying by screaming and clinging to him again when the next clap of thunder came. If she had been more calm, she probably would've been glad that Yumi wasn't around to see her hanging all over the guy she obviously had a thing for.
Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita all watched silently as Ulrich awkwardly patted Layla's back. "It's...um...all right...I guess..."
"No, it's not. I'm afraid of thunder," Layla stated, shaking her head and refusing to let go of the poor guy. "That is not all right."
"Yeah, it is. Everyone's afraid of something," Odd said while laying back on Jeremy's bed, his arms behind his head. "You just happen to be afraid of a loud, harmless noise. No big deal."
Layla's fear abandoned her for just long enough to allow her to send Odd a glare. "Thanks a lot, Odd. I really needed to be told that I'm a complete sissy," she hissed. Then, more thunder sounded, causing her to shriek and hide behind Aelita, who was sitting beside Odd on Jeremy's bed.
"He's right, though," Jeremy decided to add as he watched her. "Thunder is virtually harmless. The lightning that precedes it should be what you're afraid of."
"Don't you think I know that?!" Layla snapped, now glaring at the blond male.
He let out a nervous laugh and said simply, "Yeah...Sorry."
There was silence until the next clap of thunder shook the windows, this one even louder than the ones before it. This time, Layla whimpered, unconsciously moving onto Jeremy's lap and throwing her arms around him. He had his chair facing away from his computer desk, so it was easy for her to move to such a position.
"U-um," he stammered, blushing lightly. Aelita sent her the slightest glare, but she stopped a second later and began feeling bad about it. The poor girl was incredibly scared, and she didn't deserve to be glared at for it.
The lights went out after the next flash of lightning, and Layla screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Geez. Calm down, Layla," Odd commanded. He let out a cry of his own a moment later, feeling someone's teeth in his upper arm. "Ow!"
"Geez. Calm down, Odd," the redhead mimicked him after letting go of his arm.
"You're me-" He stopped when Layla clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Sh," she hissed, not moving her hand. She listened hard, seeming to hear something that no one else noticed. No matter how hard they tried, they could hear nothing but the sound of raindrops hitting the windows.
"What is it?" Ulrich asked once a full minute had passed.
"I don't know...Something...Something just doesn't seem right," Layla replied, finally moving her hand away from Odd's mouth. Before she could clarify, more thunder came, forcing her to whimper again and bury her face in Odd's neck. He did just as Ulrich had, awkwardly patting her back. Her tears fell onto his throat and slid down, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.
Suddenly, the girl moved away from Odd, turning toward the window slowly. She went wide-eyed and said, "What the-" She was cut off by a huge tree branch bursting through the window, creating a shower of glass and leaves. Everyone turned away from the barrage of glass shards, and Jeremy was knocked out of his chair. He hit the floor right on a few pieces of the glass, crying out as they embedded themselves in his arm. The branch wrapped itself around the boy's other arm and started to drag him toward the window, but Layla and Odd immediately rushed to grab his legs. They pulled with all of their might, but it did no good. They were just being dragged along with the boy they were trying to save.
Layla growled and let go of the leg she was holding, reaching down her shirt and pulling a switchblade out of her bra. She flicked it open and went for the branch, hoping it felt pain. Luckily, the tree seemed to let out a monstrous cry when she stabbed the branch. After a few more quick stabs, the limb released Jeremy and went back out the broken window quickly, allowing the boy to hit the floor. Somehow, he managed to land in a glass-free area, saving him a bit of pain.
"Come on, Jeremy," Aelita said as she pulled Jeremy to his feet. They were the first two to leave the room, Ulrich and Odd following immediately. Layla stared at the window for a moment before deciding to follow as well.
As the group sprinted down the hall, they could hear screams and the sounds of breaking glass everywhere. It seemed that most people were able to leave their rooms and flee, though, so nothing too bad could possibly be happening yet.
A rumble of thunder made Layla scream, her legs immediately giving out and leaving her to lay helplessly on the floor. Ulrich was the one who noticed first, and he swiftly returned for her and helped her to her feet.
"Come on, Layla," he urged, keeping a firm hold on her arm as he ran down the hall after Odd and the others.
"I'm sorry," the redhead said as she did her best to keep up with Ulrich. The fact that she was once again almost hyperventilating wasn't exactly helping her.
"Don't be," was the male's simple reply.
Soon, they were all outside in the rain, the wind whipping wildly. The whole scene seemed to be like something from a horror movie of some sort. Trees were moving all over the place, their roots acting as legs and their branches acting as arms. They all had a single eye high up on their trunks, containing a familiar symbol.
"XANA," Jeremy said, glaring at one of the trees. He then looked back at his friends. "Some of us need to get to the factory, and someone needs to stay here to get everyone to a safe place. Who's going to stay?"
"I will," Ulrich answered.
"Want me to stay, too?" Layla asked, a bit of worry entering her blue-gray eyes as she looked over at him. More thunder boomed as a result of a recent flash of lightning, and the girl could do nothing but squeak and try to hide behind Aelita.
"No. You need to go somewhere where the thunder can't get to you," Ulrich told her simply.
Layla glared at him, stepping out from behind Aelita. "Screw that. I-" Another loud boom had her behind Aelita again, shaking.
"Just go," Ulrich ordered.
"Fine," the redhead growled, glaring at him once more.
"Good luck, Ulrich!" Odd said before he and the others headed toward the park.
Layla stayed behind to stare at Ulrich for a moment, then she handed him her switchblade. "Don't die," she said. Then, she went after Jeremy, Odd, and Aelita, forcing herself to avoid glancing back at the brunette they were all leaving behind.
-
The wind and dagger-like rain made running hard, but going through the tunnels was easy, so the Ulrich-less group reached the factory soon enough. Jeremy was left with his precious computer while everyone else went to be sent to Lyoko. They arrived in the virtual world quickly, and Layla greatly appreciated the lack of thunder there.
The red-haired girl simply followed Odd and Aelita through the Desert Sector as they all listened to Jeremy, who was currently telling them where to go. Layla didn't fully understand what he was talking about, so following the others was the best she could do.
Everything was completely fine until Jeremy said something about a group of Blocks heading their way. That was when Odd looked back at Layla with a smile and said, "Get ready."
Layla watched Aelita glance at the strange tower thing ahead of them, then hide behind a rock. "Get ready for what?" the redhead asked, looking at Odd. The male smirked and gestured to the four block things now blocking their path to that tower.
"That," he said simply. He then charged right at the things, dodging lasers while firing arrows from his gloves. One of the Blocks exploded a moment later, and the other three just continued to fire at Odd. Layla slid a few of her black-handled and -bladed daggers out of the sheathes in the belts around her waist, then she followed Odd, hoping her knife-throwing skills were as good in Lyoko as they were in the real world.
She threw one of her daggers at the Block in the center of the little line-up, but the weapon was quickly knocked aside by a laser. She tossed two more, and they met the same fate, but at least she'd managed to distract the monster for long enough to get closer to it. She leapt up into the air, landing on top of the Block and quickly leaning over, stabbing the last dagger she had in her hand into one of the thing's eyes. She then jumped back, getting off of the monster just in time to be missed by the debris from its explosion.
"Nice job, Layla," Odd praised the girl happily as he finished off another one of the Blocks. There was only one left now, and the female immediately pulled out a few more knives and went after it.
"Be careful with those," Jeremy told her as she threw a couple of the daggers, watching as they both got knocked aside by laser blasts. "You have a very limited supply of them."
"How limited are we talking?" she asked while tossing another one at the monster.
"About eight in each belt."
"Sixteen? That's not too limited." She was too distracted by talking to notice a laser heading directly for her, so she was unable to dodge it. It collided with her shoulder and knocked her on her ass, leaving her to sit there and wince for a moment. "How irritating," she growled, getting to her feet as she watched Odd take out the stupid thing while it was distracted by her.
"The coast is clear, Aelita. You can head for the tower," Jeremy said, ignoring poor Layla's pain.
Odd walked over to the redhead while the other girl ran to the tower, soon disappearing into it. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Layla answered before saying, "That was actually kinda fun."
He grinned. "It always is."
A moment after this had been said, Layla and Odd found themselves returning to the past, soon having to relive that normal, boring day with all of their friends.