The control center emptied. Sariah stumbled forward. She moaned and looked down at the back of her shoe that dangled off her heel.
"Wait for me," Sariah whimpered.
"Shhhh," came a simultaneous hiss from the others.
Sariah clapped the shoe back over her heel. She pumped her arms and jogged. Ozla lingered until Sariah had joined the others.
The last of the passengers had pushed through the exit when the realization hit. Stillness and total silence enveloped them. Ozla placed her trembling hand on her blaster.
"Stay close, kids," she whispered as she eyed the exit.
"I hope it's not too late," Hunley said.
A rapid noise disturbed the anxious silence. Ozla twisted in that direction and readied her blaster.
"What is it?" Skyla whispered.
It continued, and it remained in ambiguity. After an intense, angsty moment, footsteps scurried inside a chamber.
"Who's in there?" Ozla demanded.
And a tiny, slender figure with jet black hair, wide eyes, and pale skin emerged from a chamber. She turned her head, revealing a heart-shaped brown spot on her cheek.
"Saige," Skyla whispered.
And the four girls embraced. Ozla kept watch on the exit.
"Aha!" A sneer came from down the hall.
The kids clustered around Ozla as a bald, tattooed creature wearing a gown advanced. She wielded a flame red plasma sword. The sword absorbed a blast from Ozla. Ozla approached the creature. The blasts continued. So did the absorption.
Behind Ozla, the triplets and Saige huddled.
"Let's split," Rhea said. "Go past the creature with the sword."
They ducked low, and scrambled around the battle. The Dialorians swiveled, and swung her sword. Ozla fired, and the blast penetrated the creature's ribcage. Ozla used her blaster to indicate the door.
"Hurry," she instructed the kids.