Gwenith pulled the straps around her head, tightening the small cotton air filter around her nose and mouth. Quietly, she crept forward to the room where the spies had been. She peeked in, seeing that they were all still there, asleep now. She silently placed a small black hose under the door, pushing it in a few inches. She turned back to the canister and unscrewed the metal handle. After a few minutes she closed the valve and pulled the hose back. She smiled slightly, then opened the door. She stepped in quietly taking a syringe out of her coat. She stepped over to the little boy’s cot and gently tided a gag around his mouth, just in case. With that, she rolled back his sleeve and injected him. Collin’s eyes opened momentarily, but they were dull and sleepy, with a slightly glazed look, no doubt an effect of the gas she had filled the room with. His eyes closed again as Gwenith pulled the needle out. She carefully lifted him up onto her shoulder, and made her way out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. The gas would diffuse in a few hours, leaving no trace of itself. She smiled and walked down the halls.

 

 

Collin opened his eyes blearily and moaned. He was cold. Really cold. He shivered, realizing that he was standing… sort of. He had been slumped sideways against some kind of glass wall. He straitened slightly, realizing that the glass wall was really a large tube, and he was inside of it. He also realized that he was standing in his underwear. He looked widely around, pressing his hands against the glass, beating on it. What was this? Some kind of twisted dream? But no, his head hurt too much for this to be a dream.

A woman stood across the room, behind some kind of large desk thing. She glanced over at him, not really seeming to be interested that he was awake. She leaned over, pressing buttons and writing things on a pad of paper. Collin shivered again and began to hyperventilate. He tried screaming, but the glass seemed to be sound proof. There was a loud clicking noise overhead and some kind of white heavy gas began to pour down into the tube from above Collin’s head. He tried to stop hyperventilating, but found the harder he tried the more panicked he got.

What do I do? He screamed in his mind. He pounded harder on the glass, but nothing happened. He whimpered in fear and tried to think strait.

Wait! Demus! He said he could hear really loud thoughts! I just have to think, really loud! Loud enough to wake him up! Yessss…. Collin blinked, and held his head. His body was getting very heavy all of a sudden and everything was moving slowly. His mind faltered, becoming sluggish as he tried to remember what he had been doing.

L…Loud… Loud… he yawned and slumped to the side, Loud… Thoughts… Loud…

 

 

Abbey sat in her office, working at her computer. She was tiredly typing a report. She sighed and looked down at her notes. As she did a small red light, in the bottom left hand side of the screen caught her eye. Abbey frowned at it, recognizing the light as an indicator of air impurity within the building. They used filters with alarms to make sure air from the outside didn’t get in… But it was the middle of the night. She clicked the light, and immediately menus popped up. She clicked through a few options, getting it to display the exact coordinates of the impurity.

“East Wing, 705 to 401” she frowned. That was near the supply wing where she had left Collin and his group.

“Are they…” she jumped up, saving her report and switching her computer off. With a few quick steps, she was out of the office, and running down the dark halls, toward the supply wing.

 

                As Abbey passed through one of the halls she stopped and sniffed the air. Something smelled funny, though it was a rather pleasant smell. She paused, moving cautiously. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t outside air, this was… The smell grew stronger as she moved forward. Gasping Abbey ran, realizing it was coming from the room she had left Collin and his group in.

                “What are you guys doing?!” she muttered high pitched and frightened. She swung the door open and nearly gagged. The gas was strong in here. The people within lay, unconscious, breathing shallowly. Abbey covered her mouth and nose and bent down, grabbing the nearest person, Will, and pulled him out into the lab. She stepped quickly back in, and pulled Tella out next. Her arms were aching, but it wasn’t from strain alone. The gas was getting to her, and despite all of her efforts, she couldn’t seem to find Collin. Thinking quickly Abbey ran over to one of the lab counters.

                The gas had to be some kind of halogenated hydrocarbon…Halothane probably… It was an anesthetic they used for surgery, but it was very unstable and to be used like this… She shook her head, hoping they hadn’t had a long exposure to it.

                Abbey opened a small box and flipped a black switch. There was a sound from the room behind her as the fan turned on, sucking the gas out of the room, and outside, into the night. She sighed and after a few minutes, flipped the switch back, turning off the fan and shutting the door panel on the outside wall. Abbey wearily walked back over to the people she had drug out and looked down on them. She bent over Will and shook his shoulders.

                “Hello? Wake up.” She said shaking him harder. He groaned and pushed her weakly away. “Are you alright?” Abbey asked. Will opened his eyes, and coughed, groaning again.

                “My head…” he warbled. Abbey nodded. Will pulled himself up but stopped, feeling his stomach churn. There was another moan as Tella awoke, blinking. She looked sick.

                “What happened?” she asked.

                “There was gas, someone gassed your room.” Abbey said seriously. Tella’s eyes widened.

                “What?” she asked. Abbey stood up, walking in the room. Demus and the wanderer had also awakened and were holding their throbbing heads. Abbey shook her head. It was just as she had feared.

                Collin was nowhere to be found.

 

                They were running down the halls, looking into labs as they passed.

                “This is terrible…” Abbey said as they checked another empty lab. “This means someone knows you’re here, and not only that, they have Collin…”

                “And they gassed us to get him.” Demus growled. Abbey nodded.

                “It must have been one of my students. One that has access to the gas closet… And I think I know which one.” Gwenith Foxworth had been acting very strangely this evening, and now Abbey knew why. But where had she gone? And what was she doing, kidnapping Collin like that?

                “What was that gas? It made me sick.” Will said.

                “Its called Halothane. We use it to put test subject to sleep but we never use it like that. I can’t believe someone like Gwenith would do something so stupid.” Abbey said. “It has to be given in very small dosages and we always use a fume hood or some other kind of anesthetics machine… As you saw, it will make you sick and irritate your skin, if not used correctly. It can also lead to reproductive problems.”

                “What?!” Will said, flinching. “You mean-”

                “Calm down.” Abbey said glancing at him. “It affects women mostly.” Will sighed in relief while Tella glared at him. The wanderer fidgeted nervously.

                “We need to find Collin.” Demus said. “This place is huge! Collin could be anywhere!”

                “I don’t know of any way to find him.” Abbey said. Demus paused. Abbey noticed his blank look and stopped, staring at him.

                “What is it?” she asked.

                “Give me a minute.” He said softly and closed his eyes, leaning against the wall. He focused his ears to a frequency above normal sound. The heart beats and breaths of his friends faded out, replaced by silence. Demus was now essentially deaf, but only temporarily. He concentrated, focusing his mind, trying to find any thought signature emanating from Collin. He had no doubt that Collin would be panicked wherever he was and thus he would not be hard to find… Demus frowned. That apparently was not the case, however. He heard nothing from Collin. Demus opened his mouth and began speaking though he could not hear himself.

                “Abbey, is it possible that Collin could be knocked out the way we were?” he asked in a loud voice. Abbey nodded, speaking, but Demus couldn’t hear her. All he had needed was the nod. He raised a finger to his lips, silencing her as he adjusted his hearing back to sound frequency. He could hear his friend’s bodies working, mainly the dominant heartbeat and their muffled fidgeting. He extended his hearing out, beyond them, stretching it down the halls. He could hear the faint slowed heartbeats of many people, probably Abbey’s students, sleeping… and beyond them… He strained, barely making out a steady normal heartbeat. But this one didn’t belong to a child. It was a full-grown person… Female? Yes… Demus listened harder. Collin might be near. As he dropped lower into concentration he blurred out the woman’s heart beat and stopped himself from breathing.

                Yes. It was there. The heartbeat of a child, stilled and very faint. He’s unconscious, Demus thought and began to rapidly pull himself back to his friends. He gasped for breath realizing just how long he had gone without air.

                “Demus?” the wanderer asked in a concerned voice. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

                “This way, come on!” he shouted and bolted down the hall.

 

 

Gwenith held her breath as a large metal tube slowly moved down the length of the glass tube that the boy was in. The scan would be complete in… She glanced down at the readings on her screen.

“Two minutes.” She said. Two minute and she would have a full body scan of this boy. She had already taken DNA samples. This scan would show her everything she needed to see for a full examination. Hopefully she could find some kind of abnormality in his body, which would account for his ability to channel magic like that. She had also noticed his strange coloration.

“White hair. White eyes. Pale…” she frowned thinking. Could it have any connection? Was there a reason he had no pigmentation in his skin and hair?

Gwenith jumped as a small alarm went off. She looked widely down at her screen seeing one, two… five? Yes, five dots moving quickly along a corridor.

“Oh no…” she said softly. Someone was coming. If anyone came into the lab the scan would be disrupted! That was the reason they had those sensors in the surrounding hallways. Gwenith flipped through options, finding the door locks and bolting them down. She smiled.

 

 

Demus blinked, wondering if his head was fogging up again. The ceiling seemed to be coming down.

“Run! Someone’s bolted down this quadrant!” Abbey shouted. “We have to get under that door or we’ll be locked out! They ran faster, Demus and Abbey in the lead, followed by Will, Tella and the wanderer. The door was coming down fast.

“We aren’t going to make it!” the wanderer shouted. With a grunt, Demus dove under the door, sliding along the tile and making it under. Abbey dove down as well, getting through, just as the door hit the floor. Tella stopped, looking widely over the door. She cursed, pounding on it angrily.

“Come on!” Will said tugging her away, “Maybe we can find another way in.”

“Lets go!” the wanderer called, running back down the hall. Tella nodded and followed them.

 

 

Gwenith frowned, watching two of the dots move past the main lock down door. She jerked back frowning. Well, it didn’t really matter. The lab door was locked. No sooner had she thought that then a large metal spike crashed though the door. Gwenith screamed as it sliced upward, the door sagging and falling away. A figure pulled itself through the opening. Demus glared at the woman and held his sword before him, aiming it at her. Behind him, Abbey made her way through the remains of the door. Gwenith was speechless as she backed away.

“Don’t move.” Demus said dangerously in Arean. Gwenith stopped and glanced over at her experiment. Demus must have seen her, for he looked too and flinched upon seeing Collin, trapped in a large glass tube, slumped against the side, unconscious.

“Gwenith!” Abbey shouted angrily. “What do you think your doing?”

“Ms. Abbey…” Gwenith started.

“Get him out of there!” Demus told her. Gwenith frowned.

“I can’t do that.” She said. Abbey growled, striding over to her, furiously.

“You can and will. Do not forget who I am.” She said. Gwenith stared at her in silence.

“So you’re with them Ms. Abbey? You’re protecting them? I know their spies or something by just looking at them. If you protect them you’ll be fired and maybe killed. Do you want that?” she asked.

“Move.” Abbey said through clinched teeth.

“The scanning wasn’t done and I’m sure you’ve both ruined it by barging in here!” Gwenith said as Abbey pushed her aside. Abbey bent over the controls and typed furiously. Gwenith smiled.

“You won’t get him out without my password.” She said. Abbey froze and turned slowly to glare at Gwenith. She was right. Without Gwenith’s log on password, no major commands could be placed into the machine.

“Give it to me.” Abbey ordered her. Gwenith shook her head.

“Ms. Abbey, I may be on to the greatest scientific discovery ever! This boy can channel magic through his body! I’m convinced there is a physiological explanation. Just think of what we could do with that!”

“You’ll do nothing of the sort! This boy is not a specimen, Gwenith.” Abbey said. Gwenith frowned.

“If you tamper with my experiment any further I will report your Ms. Abbey. I should, I really should anyway, but I would be willing to stay quiet, if you’ll let me have this boy.”

“You can report me if you want.” Abbey said darkly. “Just give me the password.” Gwenith shook her head. Demus growled and strode over to Gwenith, raising his sword to her neck.

“Give her the password.” He said. Gwenith narrowed her eyes in anger and spit into Demus’s face.

“Don’t you dare threaten me Hailian.” She said, “I really don’t care if you kill me. There is enough data in the records to test my theories. I put it on the network, so now everyone will know what kind of thing this child is.”

 “Thing…?” Demus asked angrily. He pulled his sword down to keep himself from striking her.

“Gwenith for the last time!” Abbey shouted angrily. “Let him out, then we’ll talk.” Demus strode over to the glass tube and looked at Collin. Collin’s eyes were open partially, but were glazed looking. Demus lifted his hand and knocked o the glass, trying to get a reaction out of Collin. Collin blinked and flinched. Demus smiled, encouraged and knocked on the glass again. This time Collin looked up at him, his eyes clearing form their haze. He straitened his body and mouthed ‘Demus?’

In the background Abbey and Gwenith were still arguing, neither one noticing that Collin had awaken. Collin was now looking around, wildly trying to find a way out.

“Collin, can you hear me?” Demus asked loudly. Collin blinked, watching Demus’s mouth move. He frowned and shook his head, pointing to the glass.

“What are you doing?” Gwenith asked, looking over at Demus and Collin.

“Collin?” Abbey asked. Demus frowned slightly, looking at Collin.

Can you hear me? He asked again, this time, directing his thoughts to Collin. Collin’s eyes widened.

Yes. He thought. They stared at each other silently for a few more moments, silent message passing back and forth. Demus nodded and drew his sword. Abbey frowned.

“Demus?” she asked. But Demus wasn’t listening. He raised it up and pulled back, aiming for Collin.

“Hey!” Gwenith yelled, running forward. Abbey caught her, holder her back and watched Demus. He swung, putting all his weight into the swing. Abbey screamed as the glass shattered.

“Collin!” she shouted fearfully. She began to move forward, but stopped, staring wide-eyed. Collin looked back at her a soft glow surrounding his body.

He put up a shield. She thought. He put up a shield so the sword and glass wouldn’t hit him…

Collin blinked, his body moving weakly as the soft glow around him died. Demus caught his arm and pulled him up over the glass shards, setting him down where it was safe. Collin shivered and clung to Demus looking out at the two women.

 

 

Will, Tella and the wanderer ran through the halls thoroughly lost.

“This was your idea.” Tella growled at Will. He glared back but didn’t say anything.

“Maybe we should go back.” The wanderer said.

“Yeah if we knew where, ‘back’ was.” Tella answered. They were coming to a turn in the hall. As they approached it a solitary figure stepped out from around the corner. They all stopped and stared.

It was Mahito.