Chapter 24

                                    

                                          
Day 8 in August 17, 2017
Time: Irrelevant
Sammy was pushing herself to the limit; her footsteps resounding, followed by the whisper of her breath-- both playing side by side as she paved her way in the hallways. Her eyes were constantly trailing James and the others, the angles swifly changing as she dashed through windows.
She was counting on James now and she was watching him step outside the building ready to aid Fei and Laine but then, she saw it. A blur of colors and muscles lunged at him and threw him by the sides. She could hear his yell from where she was and it took eveything in her not to jump down there and join the fight. Because he was right there! He was just a few steps away from Laine and Fei and they were already surrounded but he was just stopped there.
But no.
She shook her head, seeing him whip a fast slice at the monster. James could do it. She trust him that he could do it. The monster wasn't trying to kill him, it was just there, trying to stop him as if they were staying faithful to their mission and Sammy hoped-- prayed-- it stayed that way. She hoped that their willingness  to follow the rules stands and she hoped James, the best of them when it came to fighting, held up to his title because now was the time they needed it. 
For now, she needed to check on Mark. What he had in his hands was the biggest piece of the puzzle.
He was the catalyst.
What he'd do will spring everything into action, the escape plan would be immediately effective and a lot of monsters would be obliterated in that one full blast. All he had to do was lit a flame and everything would turn in  its gears and the tipping of the scales would be in their favor for once. 
She took one last turn and there was  nothing. There was no smoke, no orange light that signified even a small fire-- nothing. Only the smell of gasoline was permeating the air, it rushed through even more when she held the door and when she opened it, she saw Mark took a giant leap off the table and Sammy stood by the door, mouth hanging open. He was in the air in seconds and he twisted there, maneuvering his body against the goliath monster's claws, he raised a broken half of a scissor in midair and he brought it down hard on its head. The monster let out a scream of anguish but Mark refused to let go. He rode its back, wrap an arm around its neck and in a split second... he lit a fire.
Sammy choked and before she could even take a step back, it already happened. An explosion rocked the place and fire crossed the hallway, hot orange slithered right before her eyes and Mark was thrown out of the room, the door richoceting behind him. His back made a sickening crunch once it hit the wall. Suddenly, Sammy was in the air, too and when she fell on the floor she came face to face with Mark. His eyes were wide but he was looking pass her. Blood was trickling down his head, a puddle of red was making its way towards her and she froze when he smiled at her.
He was bloodied, scratched and burned and he was seeing things. But he was still smiling and he was now raising a hand towards her and she shook her head, whimpering as tears rushed down her face. Because whatever he was seeing-- it was not her. It was not her but he still ran a blisterd thumb against her cheek and cooed her to stop crying. It was not her but he still maintained his smile, let out a laugh and called her: "Fei."
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"Fei." He knew he uttered those words but he couldn't hear it. His ears were ringing and when the explosion came and go all he saw was white but it was now slowy toning down and he could make out little bit of colors and he saw someone laying next to him. She was wearing a girls' uniform and she was staring at him, and he couldn't quiet tell of she was crying or smiling but he still kept on running a hand on her face to swipe the tears he wasn't even sure was there.