This chapter is dedicated to 'dream-always85', who apparently has a birthday today! Happy birthday gurrrrllll! xD :*)

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

- Thomas A. Edison

Chapter Twelve

10:10 hours left, 8:50 PM

Fabian's POV

The impact of the explosive knocked me out for a few seconds, but I quickly got to my feet, ignoring the sudden aching pain in my back. Amber and I were the only two who had fallen over; the others were all coughing, coming carefully towards us.

Amber was soon standing up as well, her cheeks stained with tears. Alfie went and hugged her, and she cried on to his shoulder. Patricia didn't say anything, but continued to cough. We had to get out of here; or we were all going to die.

"Let's try to find a way out; the door is completely blocked by fire." I responded, hope draining from me as each lagging second passed. This guy was never going to let us win, never. Even if we got to Nina, who says he wasn't just going to kill all of us?

Though I was willing to take the chance, if it meant that there was a possibility of saving my girlfriend.

Alfie and Amber pulled apart, and we all separated off, trying to find a way out. The fire kept spreading, leaving it difficult to look around. I was also still looking for the clue; it had to be in here.

While I searched, I noticed a box sitting against the wall, the flames somehow not even close to it. It seemed suspicious, so I slowly made my way over. In big letters, the box was labeled with 'Nina' right on the front. This had to be the clue… But how would we get out, and take it with us?

It took me a moment to think about it, but when I pulled the box away from the wall, it revealed a small passageway. It had to be the way out; this was a part of his plan. He didn't want us dead, that's why he put it there. But what was the point of the explosion, when he wanted us out?

Did it have something to do with Nina? If he is trying to play with her emotions, he was dead. Though he was already going to be dead for all the other stuff he did.

"Guys! Over here!" I shouted, coughing as smoke escaped into my lungs. They all turned their heads towards me, and I gestured to the escape route. They all quickly ran over, all exiting one by one. I went last, dragging the box along with me. I was positive we needed it.

Luckily, we had been in there for only a couple minutes, so none of us were too needy for the fresh air. If we had been in there a while longer, we could have easily passed out, or even died.

Once everyone caught their breath, Amber came over to me, the box right next to me. She peeked over at the front of it, reading Nina's name off it. She simply shook her head, and went to open it. Alfie and Patricia joined us, worry filling their eyes.

The box was soon opened, and Amber brought her hands into the box. She then took out about twelve pictures out, and handed them to me.

I slowly looked through them, and cringed, a sick feeling growing upon me. They were pictures of Nina, my Nina, in a timeline sort of way, all the photos having dates. The first picture was in June 2002, and she had to have been only six years old. She was asleep on her mother's lap, on some sort of train ride. How did he manage to get these? He had to have taken them.

Despite the sick feeling continuing to get worse, I kept going through them. Each photo progressed by a year, showing some sort of moment in Nina's life. Nina with her friends, Nina playing soccer, Nina at the mall, Nina playing basketball. The one from 2011, before she turned sixteen, showed her adjusting her school uniform in her mirror, in Anubis. The guy followed her here, all the way from America!

The next photo was even worse, I was in it. We were talking in her room, nobody else in sight. He had seriously been in the room then? I thought we were alone, that's why I brought her up there…

The last one was the one that sent me running into the woods, making me drop all twelve photos, and upchucking whatever food was in my stomach. It was a picture from only a few days ago, when Nina and I were in the snow. He had been watching us even then.

The thought threw me into being sick once more, and my throat began to burn. The pain sent tears to my eyes, but I was able to blink them away. This was so sick; so cruel.

Mr. A had been stalking Nina for nearly eleven years.

I got up slowly, making sure to move so that I wouldn't upset my stomach. Along with my throat, it seemed to be burning as well. I made sure to take my time to return back over to Sibuna. I sat back down, ignoring all of their eyes. Patricia was the only one not focused on me; she now had the photos in her hands, seeming to be studying them. I'm sure I missed something, but I didn't want to look at them again.

"What clue is hidden in these? They're just pictures. No connections, no nothing." Patricia declared quietly, placing them carefully into the box. I shook my head, moving my eyes to my watch.

Nine hours and fifty minutes remained. And all we had were some photographs.

Well things are beginning to escalate quickly. Fabian losing his confidence in things, the rest of the group not being able to deal. Hardly any words. Just ooo. And good golly, Mr. A has been around for quite some time. Eleven years? Dayum.

Enter a review down below, tell me what you think of this escalating problem. My fairy assistant, Larry, will send you back a response, with a preview. I'll give you two previews if you can guess why my fairy's assistance name is Larry.

We got eighteen reviews for the last chapter; amazing! I just love getting reviews, and at this rate, we might actually make 200... I would die. I've been here for so long, and that has been a goal since I started. I just hope I reach it 3 But thank you if you have reviewed!

~JessIsTheBest~

Next update: August 15th, 2013

Early update: August 12, 2013

Reviews required: 157 reviews overall