A/N: Inspiration on the inside of the Center :D

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BAM! BAM! BAM!

Zoe jolted and opened the door for the kid. To her surprise, the girl instantly hugged her leg. She could feel her every muscle shook, justified by her cry that could rival a banshee. She gently patted her yellow-green hair. She was tempted to join her, to sit in the corner and bawl together. But she knew better.

Was that called being an adult?

The hallway behind them was in chaos. Screams were the only sound she could distinguish. It contained the dark shadows of their fear, stained by the crimson work of panic, yet enlightened by the names of their loved ones. It was both contagious and unnerving.

With all her training from the noise of the market, Zoe found herself on a new height. There was a huge difference between the two noises, and although distraction was their common factor, the distress and fright of other people affected her more than the loud voices of vendors. She thought she was prepared, yet here she was, panicking and couldn't focus.

Her mind debated whether to follow Dilinjer or not. Her guts kept telling her that something wrong was about to happen. Still, she couldn't just abandon the little girl. And even though she managed to follow her Sensei, she had no idea how she could be of any help.

Probably throwing some deadly vegetables, she thought.

Zoe gently pulled the kid away from her leg and crouched, meeting her eyes. She held her small face between her hands, wiping her pinkish cheeks with her thumbs.

"We need to find your parents," Zoe shouted with a controlled tone.

The girl opened her mouth but Zoe didn't catch what she said. She leaned closer and listened to the girl's whisper.

"C- can we look for my g- grandma first?" She hiccuped and sniffed. "She's old a- and has a hard time walking."

Zo moved and spoke softly to her ear. "Is she a patient here--"

"Airene?" an old woman said, approaching their direction. "Airene, is that you?"

They turned to the old woman in the aisle, her white gown brushed the tiled floor. Her back was hunched slightly, allowing her gray hair to drape on her shoulders. One of her hand supported her back, while the other one was outstretched in front of her as though she had an invisible guide.

"Grandma!" the kid shouted with glee, quickly running her way.

That was fast, she thought with relief.

BOOM!

The glass behind Zoe shattered as a chain shoot past her, missing her head just a few centimeters. She slammed herself into the wall, raising her arms to cover the side of her face.

Screams erupted, but the most prominent was the voice of a small girl.

"Grandma!"

She slowly peered, her sight landing at the deep red blossoming in the old woman's gown. Zoe gasped and felt her eyes stung. The chain hit the old woman straight in the chest, leaving her face in bewilderment and pain.

Suddenly, her milky, white eyes drifted to her direction, as though asking her why such fate befall her. And like a ghostly image that would haunt her forever, the body of the old woman slowly changed into orbs of white light, but instead of being carried upwards, it was absorbed by the chain.

The metal retracted, its spearhead coated with blood. Even though Zoe wanted to linger there and mourn, she chose to save the little girl. She lifted her, surprised at how light she was despite her somewhat large build. She dashed for the entrance where the other patients and visitors were pushing through the queue for the only portal. The huge circle in front of the door illuminated the hallway in ghastly green. 

The little girl struggled in her arms, but she tightened her grasp, biting her lower lip as she forced her tears away. She wasn't sure how, but she was quite certain that the attack was meant for her, and because she didn't listen to Dilinjer, someone paid the price for her.

"Everyone, please calm down," a woman shouted, and Zoe assumed she was an employee judging on her yellow uniform. "Please line up properly, everyone will get the chance to evacuate. Mister Dilinjer has already killed whatever that monster is and he's currently hunting down the others as we speak. Everything is going to be fine."

However, the crowd was in an uproar.

"-- How can you tell that? Can you see the future?"

"-- We will all die here! The Juggernauts are coming!"

"-- What are you talking about? That was a Tracker! It must be leading the bigger monsters!"

"-- What do they even want from our small village?"

"-- They should make another portal! This is absurd!"

"-- We should just run to the village square."

"-- There are no guards posted there, traveling through the portal is much safer!"

Zoe tried her best not to listen to the conversations, they only intensified her own fears. Even so, a bug kept murmuring inside her brain, persuading her to do something stupid. Her intuition told her that Dilinjer went after her pursuer. The person powerful enough to send trackers to the other realm.

In that moment, she wanted to leave the little girl to the employee, but guilt was stopping her. She owed that old woman. She needed to make sure that her granddaughter survived this. Zoe tiptoed, trying to see what was taking the line so long, but her height wasn't cooperating.

BOOM!

The back door exploded and unhinged itself as five chains shoot towards them. The crowd scattered like ants. Some fell on the ground while the others stepped on them, desperate to get to the portal.

One of the chains pierced through the portal, and like a tragic story, the portal froze. The green light from the enchantments was sipped by the chain, turning the circle into a slab of stone.

The people panicked and tried to bring down the former portal, but it simply wouldn't budge. Through the small gaps, Zoe witnessed as dozens and dozens of chains enveloped the building, trapping them like rats that were soon to be butchered.

Zoe swerved away from the mayhem, yet she found herself pressed on the wall. People crashed into her, stepped on her boots, and a lot knocked her from both sides that she didn't have the luxury to lie on the floor.

More chains appeared from the back door, which was now covered in a cluster of metals.

Zoe ducked as one shot above her. She waited for a chance to run as the metals retracted again. The employees helped the patients back into the rooms, while the others struggled to bring down the portal. In the middle of the commotion, there were those that tried to protect them. A group of adult visitors that pushed a huge cabinet of medical supplies and blocked the back door.

It would be much safer to stay with the crowd; however, her guts was urging her to follow Dilinjer. But in order to do that, she needed to make sure that the little girl was far from danger. Her attention was caught by the stairs, and when she saw an opening, Zoe charged for it.

BOOM!

The kid shrieked and Zoe dived to the floor, a single chain grazed her shoulder. More metal shot through the cabinet and walls, destroying everything on its way. She coughed and gritted her teeth from the impact. Before she could recover, the symphony of cries echoed in the air.

She glanced to the hole that used to be the exit and instantly covered the kid's eyes. She was thankful that the little girl saw it coming, if not, they or mostly she would be joining the people skewered by the chains.

In that instance, the hallway turned brighter as orbs of white light floated in the air. Yet they immediately vanished after the chains consumed them.

The metals retracted again and this time, left a traumatized crowd and a hallway smeared with blood. Zoe got on her feet, filling her lungs with the acrid odor of iron and sweat. Her body shook with the fear of death and with such experience she never fathomed of experiencing. She wanted to yell for help, but she knew that she was on her own.

Zoe continued towards the stairs, careful not to slip. They began to ascend the steps when she heard the next wave of chains. The crystal-like lights crashed on the tiled floor as if adding a missing tune to the music of pandemonium.

Some tried to follow her example, yet none made it like they did.

When the two got to the second floor, Zoe tightened her embrace on the crying kid, trying to wash away the foul odor with the scent of detergent and floral cologne on her blouse.

She leaned on the wall and slowly slid down, drowning herself on how incapable she was. She could have done something if only she studied the path of swords. She could have saved them or at least tried. But here she was, only capable of hiding her presence and herself.

What should she do now?

She looked out into the window, the afternoon sun still beaming at her. And just like the sun, all she could do was watch; forever carrying the image of their deaths.

If the metal chains were attacking them, then what happened to Dilinjer?

She locked the negative thoughts away and studied the empty hallway. The doors were left ajar while papers, clothes, food containers and other materials were scattered on the floor. It looked almost like the first floor, but the rooms were larger and the other side ran with murky glass windows.

The wails suddenly changed into a different tone. She peered from the corner and almost dropped the kid on the stairs. Down there, three Cookie Monsters devoured one person after another. Some tried to fight them but did no harm on the creatures. The others were simply stunned as their greatest nightmare stood before them.

Her stomach churned and teased her to vomit. All the stress flooded her like an avenging sea and her body surrendered to it. She retched but was able to shut her lips and covered them with her hands. However, one of the In Betweens caught the noise and looked up to their direction.

Zoe hid and tried to calm the girl in her arms, yet she could hear the loud thumping of her own heart.

"Hey, hey," Zoe started, irritated by the distress in her voice. The young girl regarded her with reddened brown eyes. "I need you to work this with me."

"Grandma," she croaked.

"I know it hurts and it's hard, but you need to stay strong and survive this or your grandma will be sad."

"B- But I want t- to be with her."

"I know that you love her, but isn't it much better if you could tell her a lot of your adventures when you meet her again?"

The little girl stopped crying; and for a moment, she remained silent. To her relief, the kid nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her hands.

Zoe looked back at the stairs.

And met the dark eyes of Cookie Monster just a few inches from her face.

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Dedicated to Oradilicious

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XOXO