Chapter XXXIII

"DAVID WHAT DID YOU find?" Michelle asked, jogging to his side.

Brianna's sobs echoed loudly throughout the narrow corridor he had shown the others, and his thoughts were scattered as the vivid image of Chase's death plagued his memory. His heart raced and his mouth felt dry as he tried to answer, but he stuttered, "Uh ... I-I-I uh ..." He glanced at the ground trying to get his thoughts together and his tongue to cooperate. At the same time, his hand ran against Ella's head; he hadn't realized she had been clinging to his frozen body.

Firm hands grasped his shoulders and his head jerked up. "David, I really need you to focus right now," Michelle said, sternly. Her face was barely visible in the dark as Alex was at the back of the group, a ball of fire in one hand and he clung to Jenny's side. "Chase's death won't be the last one you'll ever see."

"You make it sound like his death means nothing," Brianna whimpered with a glare. "Like you don't even care that your friend, my cousin, is dead!"

Michelle's shoulders slumped as her hands dropped down to her side. "Of course I care, Brianna. You know I do."

Brianna boldly approached Michelle, her head high and anger beaming in her eyes. "It was your choice to stay here, Michelle, despite Lucinda's warning," she spat. Gritting her teeth, she continued, "I hope his death haunts you." She swung herself around and stormed off.

David saw a hint of sorrow and pain in Michelle's face, but the leader quickly replaced it with urgency as she looked back at him. "Show me what you found."

David swallowed and looked past her shoulder into the darkness ahead. "A door," he answered softly. Michelle's brows pulled together in disbelief. "I think. Maybe it's our way out."

Through the dim light, he watched her lips press together and she nodded. "Then lead us to it."

Lucinda sluggishly strode up to Michelle, holding her bandaged arm with her free hand. "You can't ... seriously think ... that this is the exit, can you?" she hissed. Michelle shot her a puzzled look, and Lucinda leaned against the wall for support as she panted. "I've seen the exit, and this ..." She gestured around her. "Isn't it."

"You've seen the exit?" Kathleen practically screamed.

"Then why are we still stuck in here?" Heather followed, aggressively.

"Because she doesn't know where it is," Michelle replied, crossing her arms. "You can't believe anything she says."

Lucinda held her head up, trying to act like she wasn't offended. "Seriously, Lucinda? You've seen the exit?" She looked over as Jacob looked at her with an expression filled with bafflement and hatred. "We were living in the center all this time for nothing?"

"We were protected in the center," Lucinda argued, and she paused to catch her breath. "I kept us safe."

Evangeline snickered. "The pelirk? Doesn't seem very safe to me."

"That was an unfortunate accident—"

"That didn't have to happen if you had lead us out of here like you promised!" Jacob interrupted in a burst of anger.

Evangeline gripped his tricep and pulled him along. "Let's find this door," she said, aiming her words at Michelle.

Michelle smirked as her eyes shifted to Lucinda. "Looks like there went the only friends you had ... again."

Lucinda snarled. "And if you ... had listened to me earlier ... you may not have lost ... a friend either."

"If we had gone straight through the night David would never have found this door," Michelle fired back. "Yes, Chase may still be alive, but ..." She paused and glanced back. "But how many other lives could have been lost to Agcorp's monster if we continued?" David's heart lurched. "It wasn't safe to travel, and I didn't see you using any of your magic back there to save us or Chase from the Pikulo."

Lucinda scoffed as a burst of adrenaline gave her enough boost to shout, "If someone hadn't shot me I might not have been too weak to fight back!"

David rolled his eyes, annoyed at their bickering. He looked back to find Alex, but his eyes made their way to Thomas and Bellamy who were conversing at the back of the group, Thomas cradling a hand. His heart sank at the sight of Joey's drenched form in Bellamy's grasp. In all the panic, he had forgotten about her and extreme guilt settled in his stomach.

He arched a brow when Bellamy placed Joey gently on the ground. His lips moved as he conversed with Thomas, and Thomas nodded in agreement. Bellamy then placed a hand on Thomas's shoulder, and a second later, his body began to pixilate and yellow particles sunk into Thomas's body. David's eyes widened when the hand Thomas cradled suddenly glowed, and a few seconds later, the same particles exited his body and fused back together to form Bellamy. Thomas smiled as he rotated his once wounded wrist that now seemed to be fine.

Blinking, he looked away puzzled at what he had seen. It was a question for another time. He continued his search until he eyed Alex. When Pyro made eye contact, he rushed to David as he gestured for him to come closer. Now having a light source, he patted Ella on the shoulder before moving forward, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground until he found the scuff marks in the dirt a little ways up ahead. He looked at the wall seeing it a darker shade from the rest, and he placed a hand on the wall.

"What is it?" Pyro asked.

"The exit!" David replied, excitedly.

Michelle pushed past the boys and placed both palms on the wall to feel around. "There's definitely something here." Pulling her elbows up, she pushed.

David leaned one shoulder against the wall as he arched a brow and grinned. "I think it actually swings open."

Michelle huffed and lowered her hands. "Then please." She gestured at the wall. "Give it a try."

David ran his hands over the surface of the door, feeling for the creases in the wall he had found earlier. He pushed his fingers through the dirt until he was able to grip the rock, but his fingers only reached through to his first knuckle. He scaled the crease trying to find a good grip hold when his finger ran up against something hard. He creased his brow, noticing how it didn't feel like rock, and pushed it like a button. He, Michelle, and Alex stepped away as the door unlatched and popped open.

"Could that really be it?" Brutus asked, limping forward with his twin brother at his side. "Can we really go home?"

"Do you think it'll be that easy?" Jacob spat in his gruff voice. "That we'll find some secret door and escape?" He snarled, and whipped his blonde hair over his shoulder. "Claire isn't letting us out." He held up two fingers. "There are two more Domes we have to fight our way through, and even if we can survive, we won't be free. Going through the Domes just brings us that much closer to having the blood drained from our bodies."

"I just lost my cousin." Brianna shrugged Nathan's hand off her shoulder, and stomped forward. "I'm getting out of here, and when I do ..." She twisted towards Michelle. "Claire better watch her back." She marched towards the door, but Michelle swung her arm out halting her.

"Hold on, Brianna," she said. "Something doesn't feel right. The door should've been bolted shut, or tripped an alarm system or something when it opened."

Rufus shrugged. "Why does it matter? It's a door that leads us away from man-eating fish. I'll take it."

Brutus jabbed Rufus with his elbow. "We just lost Chase to those monsters," he whispered harshly. "A little respect, man."

Michelle slowly lowered her arm. "I tend to agree with Jacob on this one." She looked up from eyeing the young twins at the many perplexed faces. "We'll find our way out of the Dome, but I don't think this is it."

Slowly, she pried the door open, and a small amount of white light emanated into the cave. David was forced to squint from the light and raised a hand to block his eyes. Michelle glanced behind her before cautiously stepping through the threshold followed closely by the others.

David's heart pounded as he blinked to adjust to the light. He hadn't been in the Dome for very long but he had gotten accustomed to the landscape. The sight of a narrow hallway felt foreign to him after being in a vast open land. His eyes made a circular motion as he studied the metal walls, concrete floor, and pipes that lined the hallway on both sides and ceiling. Single light bulbs dangled overhead, swaying back and forth producing a faint light that flickered on and off.

"I think I prefer the Dome if this is the real world," Evangeline whispered.

"We should go back," Jacob suggested.

Michelle shook her head. "Back to those beasts? I know Pikulo. Their hearing is just as impeccable, if not more so, then mine. They'll hear us return and come back."

"Have you seen Pikulo before without us?" Brutus asked, furrowing his brow. "'Cause I've only heard of them."

"Yeah, that was a first for me," Rufus chimed.

She turned her head down to face him. "Brianna and I found a Pikulo's cavern once before when we first arrived." She rolled her eyes and averted her gaze, "I should've known the lake was connected. I should've listened to the warning."

"What warning?" Ella asked, peeping her head out from between David and Heather.

"Mine, of course," Lucinda chided arrogantly. She stumbled through the door and collapsed against the wall. "But no one ... ever listens to me." She pushed herself off the wall. "We should go before we're caught by Agcorp."

Narrowing her eyes, Michelle drew an arrow from her quiver and set it against her bow before guardedly continuing. "After all we've been through, a human would be easier than the monsters in the Dome."

David's heart lurched as Michelle's crew withdrew their weapons, and Alex's fire grew brighter in the same shock. David raised his shaking hands, and realized they had begun to crystalize. A small hand gripped his forearm, and he looked over to find his little sister staring up at him with a gentle grin. Closing his eyes, he calmed himself down and the crystal slowly melted. He looked back down at Ella and returned the smile. It was almost hard for him to believe that a girl, as tiny as her, was more fearless then him. Michelle and the others pressed on, and he let out a quick breath before traversing steadily behind the leader down the frightening hall.

"What are we supposed to do now?" David's ears perked when he heard Kathleen's soft whisper. "If she dies, how are we going to find the actual exit to the Domes?"

"We need the poems," Alex answered, matching her whisper. A pause came before he continued. "It's this piece of paper with clues to the exit. It's probably in her pocket."

"Then just grab it from her and leave her corpse," Heather huffed.

"Heather!" Jenny reprimanded sharply.

David felt fire kindling in his chest. He clenched his hands into fists as a vast amount of condensation poured off his shoulders and his body grew even colder. In a fit of rage, he swung around and shouted, "We aren't just going to leave her because she's not going to die!" His words were aimed at the three who spoke poorly of Joey, but the whole group turned and looked at him.

"I don't like the situation anymore than you, David, but you have to be realistic!" Heather snapped. "She's only slowing us down—"

"No!" He glared between the faces staring back at him. "We will find a way to save her, and then she can get us out of here. Anyone who wants to leave does so on their own." His eyes drifted between Kathleen, Alex, and Heather. "Without the poems!"

David's head, along with the others, jerked forward as a suddenly hard bang against the wall vibrated the metal pipes he brushed against. He squinted through the dim light to notice the twins ramming the wall up ahead with their shoulders.

"What are you two morons doing?" Michelle scolded, jogging to their side.

Rufus placed his hands on his knees and panted. "W-we ... found another ... door." Brutus barged against the door once again before he pulled back, rubbing his shoulder and bitting his bottom lip.

"Do I need to do it myself?" Michelle asked placing her hands on her hips.

Rufus swallowed as he stood straight, and Brutus replied, "No, I think ... we almost got it," as Rufus charged the door again. Together, the twins backed up and rammed into the door a final time, and the door burst open, falling off its rusty hinges. The twins followed suit and collapsed on top of the metal door as it smacked the ground. They rolled to the side off the door onto their backs, gritted their teeth, and rubbed their shoulders in a mirror image.

"You guys okay?" David asked, stepping through the threshold, extending a hand to Brutus, the closest twin to his side, and Brutus graciously accepted his hand with a grimace as he struggled to regain his feet.

David looked around in shock, disappointment, and anger seeing how the hallway hadn't lead them any closer to their destination. Tall oak trees stood around in a lush forest, and flowers sprouted amongst the grass. This definitely wasn't home. Trees, grass, and sunshine were all a fairy tale to him in Walser.

"Trees?" Ella whimpered dishearten, stepping through the door. "More ... trees?" She dropped to her knees, balled her hands into fists, and pounded the grass with a shout.

"I would've never guessed I'd actually get sick of 'em," David said in a dragged tone. He gazed around at the different shades of greens and let out a slow sigh taking in their beauty for what seemed like the first time. "At least they're pretty."

"But I just want to go home," Ella sniffled.

He frowned. "I know, sis. Me too. But—"

"But we're never going home," Jacob interrupted, crossing his arms with an annoyed expression.

Lucinda snorted with a roll of her eyes as she emerged throughout the doorway. "See what you've gotten us into?" David arched a brow confused. "You shouldn't have given people false hope, boy."

"Oh, leave him alone, you witch!" Kathleen fired, balling her hands. "He was only trying to help, unlike you. He didn't know where the door would lead."

Lucinda smirked and raised a brow. "Are you going to kill me like you did the man who murdered your parents, orphan?"

Kathleen's mouth fell agape as her confidence wavered. "How do you even know about that?" Lucinda winked and tapped her temple. Kathleen growled and her arm lengthened and tightened into a point, but Alex gripped her opposite arm holding her back.

"You can't. We still need her," he said deadpan before shooting Lucinda a glare.

David's attention was drawn to Michelle, who shoved Lucinda forward, and the witch cried out in pain from the slap to her wound. "Now that we're out of harms ways for the time being, you're going to save Joey." Lucinda's mouth dropped open to argue, but in a blink Michelle grabbed Lucinda by the throat causing David to jump from the action. Michelle leaned in inches from Lucinda's face. "If I don't see improvement in an hour ... I'm going to kill you. And there will be no one to save you this time."