Zane felt his body freeze in place unable to even utter a sound. He tried to move his limbs to run but only the hair on his head fluttered to the ominous wind. The older lady slowly stretched her hands towards Zane's face with a grin full of razor-sharp teeth. Everyone else watched in horror afraid to move.
They questioned if it was worth the risk since they weren't sure what the monstrosities before them were. They were like demons in human form. However, Layla knew she couldn't afford to stand by and let Zane be taken. She forced herself through the door with her gun steadied between her fists.
Regrettably, it wouldn't be so easy. Just as she was about to squeeze the trigger, the little girl before Zane stared into her smoky grey eyes. Layla was immediately frozen on the spot as a weird tune shot through her mind.
"La La La La Laaa La La La La Laaa"
Chills ran through her body like an electric shock. Her body felt like it was being hypnotized. The little girl's eyes seemed lifeless and completely black. It was hard to tell if this was another rank of the Apocrypha. Layla had never heard or seen anything like this before.
Unwillingly, her body began moving closer to the gate beyond her will. She wanted to scream to the others for help but no sound came from her mouth as if she was muted. She couldn't even turn her head or close her eyes to break the hypnosis.
Gunshots then rang through the air as Nick came in with his rifle letting loose a hoard of bullets. Two of the bullets slammed into the forehead and arm of the older-looking lady. It screamed and wailed like a horrible banshee as purple blood gushed from its head.
Its skin instantly began to melt away like lava revealing a white glowing figure with pitch-black eyes. Its hair danced above its head like free-flowing tentacles. It had very long black fingernails and dozens of eyeballs and teeth across its body. Its body hit the ground with a lifeless thud as the bullet pierced its brain. Fortunately, this moment of chaos freed both Zane and Layla from their hypnosis.
"Run!!!" shouted Noah signaling them to get inside.
Nick prepared to unload another round of bullets on the remaining young Apocrypha. But to his sickening surprise, it had already vanished as if it was never there, to begin with. To make things worse, he failed to notice that a stray bullet had hit the padlock on the gate. Anything was now free to wander into the yard.
"Nick! Come on!" Shouted Layla as she ran past him.
Nick didn't hesitate. He quickly dashed inside the house and shut the door behind them. He turned the lock on the door locking them all inside before the others barricaded for extra protection.
Noah began pacing through the house quickly closing curtains and windows, afraid to leave even the tiniest view open to the outside. A rush of tense anxiety filled the house. The gunfire on top of a dead Apocrypha at their gate was bound to attract attention. To make things worse, they failed to kill the younger Apocrypha who now knew their location and faces.
"What the hell was that..?!" Trembled Almarie.
"I... I don't know... I started hearing the voice of a little girl singing to me. When I looked at her I felt myself being pulled towards her against my own will..." Explained Zane frighteningly.
"Singing? I didn't hear any singing," mentioned Nick.
"Same here," supported Almarie.
Layla cleared her throat before she spoke. She believe she understood why no one else heard the little girl's singing aside from herself and Zane.
"It was the same for me until I met eyes with the little girl. I instantly began to hear her voice and lost control of my body... It was like some mystifying force was pulling me toward them!"
"Does that mean you become hypnotized when you look into their eyes?" Inquired Almarie.
"But I don't remember looking into their eyes. I started hearing her voice before I even saw the little girl!" Complained Zane.
Layla pondered. She didn't notice the girl's voice until she met eyes with her. She also froze the instant she looked at her. It had to be something to do with looking them directly in their eyes.
"Maybe it was when you threw the dead Apocrypha over the fence. You could have possibly made eye contact with one of them but didn't notice it. It was obvious they were already in the area. They didn't just appear out of thin air"
"Man why would they even take the form of such creepy looking figures anyway? That's my question, cause they're already very much creepy in their original form as it is!" noted Nick.
None of them knew why, but they couldn't expect to know instantly either. It was their first meeting with these new kind of Apocrypha. Rank three had been the most dangerous they've encountered so far. What rank were these new ones and what exactly were they capable of? It was a mystery that definitely needed solving if they hoped to survive.
"Come on everyone! We're not safe up here. We need to get down to the basement where my daughter is hiding!" cried Noah as he rushed into a room prompting the others to follow him.
No one dared to argue. They quickly rushed in and closed the door behind them. Noah then bent down and pushed his head under a bed. He seemingly grabbed onto something as a staircase leading underground opened up before them. Everyone quickly hurried themselves downwards as the staircase closed behind them.
They were lead down into a dimly lit passage way that had a few doors on either side extending to a three way intersection 50ft away. Their only source of light were the torches placed in light scones which aligned the dark passageway neatly.
"Noah... this place is almost just as creepy as what we just saw man. Can this even be considered a basement?" interrogated Nick as he held himself.
"Yes, just an extended basement with a few rooms." replied Noah with a nonchalant expression across his face.
"Follow me" he prompted.
They all followed Noah slowly through the dark passage way. The board under their feet creaked and cried as they walked as if it were really old. The air was partially dusty and smelled a bit moldy. The flames flickered fluctuating in brightness as they all passed them.
"Hey Noah... Do you own this house?" asked Zane in curiosity.
Noah sighed with a delayed answer, "Yeah, my wife and I did... Bought this house and built some parts of it. Too bad it's all for naught since the world is ending..."
"Your wife? I haven't heard you mention her... Did something happen?" inquired Almarie in a low-tone of voice.
"Yeah... the Apocrypha got her. It's a long story, but it's just me and my daughter at the moment."
"Sorry to hear..." sympathized Almarie, but Noah didn't answer as it obviously bothered him like a fresh wound.
Zane then looked over to Nick who was walking beside him, "Hey man, how did you end up here anyway?"
"Noah's a family friend. I actually came down here to Georgia to visit him a week ago. Been staying here ever since the Apocrypha attacked... Don't even know how my family is doing back in NYC..." he answered dimly.
Zane didn't want to upset him, so he refused to go any further with the conversation. He then heard Noah take a deep breath as they turned a corner to the left.
"Enough about us... What about you three? You said you had something important to tell us. What is it?"
Layla finally stepped forward stopping them all in their tracks. She began to lower her jacket below her neck revealing a dark purple spot.
"Don't freak out, but what I'm about to tell you is the truth and nothing but the truth. Zane can you show them your mark too?"
Zane stepped forward with hopes Nick and Noah wouldn't go out of their minds in a panic attack. He lowered his shirt below his neck revealing his dark purple marking as well.
"Wh-What are those?!" panicked Noah.
"A lot has transpired over the past four days. Two days ago, me and Zane got backed up at the Fort Lauderdale Airport by a hoard of Apocrypha. Amongst them was this chimera called Apollo. It could talk and was extremely intelligent... We thought we were as good as dead but that's when it gave us a deal..."
"A deal? With a talking chimera?" asked Nick with suspicion.
Layla and Zane exchanged a look between themselves signifying they should go into details. They explained what Apollo had said to them and how the game worked. Noah, Nick and even Almarie watched them attentively as they spoke. Not a single detail was left out leading up to their escape of the military base.
Nick and Noah were dumbfounded. They couldn't believe that they had such important people to protect amongst them. What if something had happened to them back at the gate with the strange looking Apocrypha? They would have lost the final hope of humanity without even knowing it. It was a scary thought indeed.
"So if you two die then humanities last hope of survival is as good as over..." grimly stated Noah.
"That must be some burden you're carrying on your shoulder..." added Nick
A silence drifted through the dark basement for a while before they all continued.
"Well let's go find your daughter and make sure she's okay..." prompted Zane trying to change the topic.
He didn't want to dive too deep into it since it stressed him out more than anything else. He realized just how frightening it could be being the main meal on the menu.
Noah then nodded in approval as they continued to walk in a narrow passage way until they were lead to a lone door. The door had beans of brigh light protruding from the edges. Noah knocked on the door and called out.
"Serenity, it's me... Open the door"
There was then a short silence before they heard the lock on the door click. The door then slowly opened revealing a 14yr old girl with long curly brown hair and glossy blue eyes. She looked extremely sweet with very innocent features. The room she was in was much brighter than the rest of the basement which forced to Zane squint his eyes.
"Dad is everything okay? I heard shots being fired up there..." complained Serenity.
"Everything's fine... We just got some new people to stay with us for the time being. They're very important guests."
They stepped forward all introducing themselves in order.
"I'm Almarie! Nice to meet you cutey"
"I'm Zane, Nice to meet you too Serenity."
"Hmm, I'm Layla..."
Serenity looked around on Almarie, Zane and Layla as if inspecting them. Layla noticed that this little girl was extremely observant. She was probably just as smart too. They then all slowly walked inside the small room and shut the door behind them.
"Where's Bob? Did he betray you like I told you he would?" she inquired observantly.
Layla's eyes flung open as she thought to herself in surprise.
"She's defintely smart"
"Well yeah... you were sorta right about Bob but he's outta the picture now! No need to worry about him again." answered Noah in guilt.
"What do you think about the three new guests? Any suspicion about them too Miss Sherlock Holmes?" Teased Nick.
"We'll I can tell they aren't bad persons but they all have some pros are cons. The white hair girl Almarie, looks like the type to abandon her friends if things get too tough for her. The guy Zane, seems like the type to do reckless things to try and help others which could potentially get himself hurt. Layla though, she seems smart and realistic. I'd say she's my favorite among the three..."
Layla smiled while Zane and Almarie felt extremely offended. They have never been made to feel so horrible about themselves in all their days.
Nick laughed, "You're defintely right about Zane if none of the others"
Layla nodded in approval making Zane feel even more awkward.
Noah then prompted eveyone to take a seat on the few couches and two beds available in the room. The room seemed packed since it wasn't very spacious and it was kind of hot, but no one complained as it was better than being in the stomach of an Apocrypha.
Just as they all went to sit down they heard a creaking down the hallway. It sounded extremely similar to when Noah had opened up the staircase. Zane felt his intuition kick him instantly alerting him that somethimg was wrong.
Chills were sent through everyone present in the room as they were sure the staircase had just opened up.
"Oh no! No! No! Did something just come down here!" panicked Almarie.
Layla instantly hushed her to be quiet. They couldn't afford giving away their positions now. Noah began to sweat heavily. It was hard to tell if it was from the heat or due to fear.
"Dad I think something just came down here..." cowered Serenity.
"I-I know..." he replied.
"We've got to do something before they find us..." stated Layla in a whispered shout.
Noah began to think. If it were more than one Apocrypha then they would be in trouble. He had no idea how they had found the secret staircase but he defintely couldn't afford them finding the room they were in. If they found the room with everyone inside it then it would be a massacre. He had to get their attention away from the basement before it was too late.
"Nick, grab your rifle and follow me. We're going to get their attention away from this room. I've got to protect my daughter and those two over there at all costs."
Nick was afraid but he didn't allow fear to dictate his actions. He got his gun out and stood beside Noah ready to go out.
"Ready Noah..."
"Dad please come back safe!" cried Serenity.
"I will Serenity... I promise."
Layla then stood up and got her gun from her waist. "Wait I'm coming too as extra back up. I've got experience with this stuff."
Noah shook his head, "We can't have you do that Layla... As much as I hate to say something like this, you and Zane's lives are more important than any of us here."
"I couldn't care less about that... I don't wanna stand back being protected from the Apocrypha. I have a score to settle with them and I intend to keep at it until they're all dead!"
Noah looked into her eyes seeing nothing but raw determination and vengeance. He then nodded in approval not wanting to start an unnecessary argument, "Okay fine, but you stay close to us no matter what"
The three then proceeded to exit through the door but Zane didn't like the fact he was going to allow them to all risk their lives like this. Especially when he looked at Layla. He got up and grabbed onto her hand.
"Wait... I'll go instead of Layla"
Layla looked back at him with a puzzled face as if he was crazy.
"Zane no! Stay here until we're back... You have an injured leg, besides you don't really have the right personality for this kind of stuff anyway."
Zane clenched his teeth as he felt weak and pathetic but he still wasn't about to let Layla leave just like that. He refused to release her hand.
"Layla no! You stay here and I'll go! I mean it!"
Layla swatted his hand off of her in defiance, "No Zane just stop! I said I'll go and that's it!"
Zane felt guilty as he watched Layla walk away. The memories back at the Military Base flooded his mind. He remembered how Layla came mere inches away from death just because he didn't muster up enough courage to stop her. He didn't want a repeat of such a scary situation. Zane quickly grabbed back onto Layla's arm and flung her backwards into one of the beds.
Layla looked up at him in shock. Zane's eyes burned like an inferno. He seemed kind of intimidating just for a moment.
"I said stay here! I'll go and that's final Layla. Keep Almarie and Serenity safe until we're back."
Layla wanted to complain but seeing how Zane had just forced himself up to Alpha level just for a short moment made her keep her lips sealed. Zane knew he was the male and that the male was the one who should primarily take lead. He wasn't going to risk Layla getting hurt again while he waited around on his butt peacefully.
He removed his gun from his waist and walked in front of Noah and Nick who were shining with impression.
"Let's go" Zane signaled.
Layla watched them all walk through the door with a seriousness to their posture. She bit her lip as she watched Zane close the door behind him.
"Zane" she called softly.
Zane looked back at her calmly, "Yeah?"
She stared him into his sea blue eyes and paused for a moment before speaking.
"Be careful"
Zane didn't respond but his attitude said everything. He intended to make it back alive no matter what. The door closed behind the three males as they disappeared into the unknown.