CHAPTER SIXTEEN: IN THE VENTS

Apollo wasted no time in starting the next chapter. First, he flipped through the pages, frowning. "This one is a bit shorter than the others." He said.

     Then, he brushed it off, and began to read.

     Layla couldn't believe what had happened, but she was glad that it did. She was one step closer to going home.

However, guilt was building up in her stomach. All this time she had been thinking about going home, a small part of her was breaking down. She would have to leave the boys. They were her family, too. How could she leave her family?

     People in the theatre began to frown as well. It was a lot to ask of Layla—to make a choice like that. If it was her choice. She'd been through a lot with both the demigods and the Gladers, and picking one or the other could break her.

     Nico felt guilty for wanting her to come back to him more, but he had already lost one sister. He couldn't lose another.

Layla jumped—the sudden sound of metal creaking from beneath her bed caused her to go completely silent. She stopped breathing and listened.

     The demigods leaned forward, worried.

"Psst!" Layla furrowed her brows as someone spoke from below her, "hey! It's Thomas, don't worry. You can trust me."

     "Gods, Thomas." Thalia breathed out in relief. Everyone relaxed in their seats.

Layla let out a breath before she slowly peaked underneath her bed, coming face-to-face with Thomas who was in the vent. She almost laughed at how ridiculous it was. Of course Thomas would do some shit like this in the middle of the night.

     As Apollo read, Thomas' face flashed on the screen. A few others laughed as it flickered between him, and Layla peaking over the edge of the bed to stare at him in disbelief.

Then, she glanced at the boy behind him. "Who's that?" Layla frowned softly as he wasn't alone. Thomas glanced at the boy behind him before turning back to her.

"That's Aris. He said he had something to show me." Thomas whispered softly, "and I said I'm not going without you."

     The demigods, and a few gods, smiled at this.

     Drew, of all people, grinned. "Awwwww!" She mumbled under her breath. If Thomas had a number one fan, it would be her.

     "Okay," Piper said, "that is really sweet. He's a good friend."

Layla smiled softly. She was glad she could count on Thomas. Despite his impulsive and stupid decisions, he always seemed to come out on top.

     "Snow lands on top." Stefan muttered.

     "Have you seen the new movie? Is it good?" Damon asked.

     "So good. You should—"

     (For my Hunger Games fans.)

     Maybe it was because he was one of the only ones willing to do something, and make the hard choices.

He was unlike Layla in that sense. Sure, she'd do what she needed to, but she would think things through more, sometimes causing her to hesitate. The two of them together seemed to be the way to go. They balanced each other out. It just... worked.

     The thought of making Layla leave the boys seemed worse, all of the sudden.

"Come on, this way." Thomas waved Layla into the vent as him and Aris quickly made room for her.

As they crawled through the vents, Layla's hands and knees began to ache from the constant moving, without any breaks. "Hurry, this way." Aris waved them over, not making any more to stop. Layla knew it was the right thing to do. They had to be quick—she just hoped it wasn't a waste of time. "Come on."

Thomas stopped for a moment. It seemed he was trying to figure out if trusting Aris was the right move. Just as Layla thought, he didn't think things through.

     "No way." Leo muttered sarcastically, causing the seven and co. to snicker under their breaths.

But they had already made it so far, so Layla sighed before crawling ahead of Thomas, quickly taking a turn in the vents. "Ladies first, I guess." She muttered. The sound of Thomas jokingly scoffing was heard a few feet behind her.

     They laughed at Layla's joke, but the funniest part was the look on Thomas' face being displayed on the screen. His eyes were narrowed, and his brows were furrowed, but he was clearly hiding a smile.

After countless turns through the vents, Thomas finally spoke up. "Hey," Aris turned to face him. "Wait a second. What the hell are we doing?"

     "Whoa, hold up." Percy held a hand up, "he didn't ask Aris beforehand? I mean, even I would do that."

     Annabeth laughed, "I assumed he did, too. Guess not."

Aris wasted no time in waving them over once more, an impatient look on his face. "Come on, we're gonna miss it." Layla groaned softly as he began to crawl away even faster, before she started crawling after him.

Layla could hear Thomas sigh in annoyance as he began to follow her. "What the hell am I doing?" He whispered to himself, causing the girl to hum. I've been thinking the exact same thing, she thought.

Once they made it to another turn in the vents, they quickly noticed Aris hunched over a vent cover. "What are we doing?" Thomas asked once more, causing Aris to shush him with a finger over his lips.

"Come here." He waved them over, again. Thomas and Layla sighed, but ended up doing as told. "Watch." Aris spoke in a louder tone, but still quiet enough to keep them from getting caught. The three of them looked down through the vent cover, watching as a familiar doctor walked by before glanced behind herself.

"That doesn't look suspicious at all."

It was the same doctor that was helping Teresa. Layla squinted her eyes, leaning forward.

A few more doctors walked by, and Thomas and Layla could do nothing but stare in shock as they held onto a bed with—what looked to be—a body on top. It was covered in a blanket, with a device overtop that was meant to read their vitals.

Everyone leaned forward, alarmed. The picture flashing across the screen of what Layla was seeing was not comforting in the slightest, because she was exactly right. Frank slowly leaned back in his seat, gripping Hazel's hand. The girl in question had a shocked hand over her mouth.

As they were wheeled by the vent, a strange feeling washed over Layla. It was frighteningly similar to the feeling of death, but... not quite. It was as if they were stuck in an in between. As if they could die at any moment.

It felt wrong.

Hazel and Nico glanced at each other, as if having a conversation with their eyes. It was obvious that what Layla had described was far from good.

Thomas leaned down to get a closer look as the first doctor swiped a card on a keypad. She moved out of the way from the door she stood in front of to let the other doctors wheel the body in first.

Much to Layla's surprise, more bodies were wheeled in behind the first. That strange feeling was getting stronger, and Layla had never wanted to leave a place more—but she did not move.

Hazel was horrified, "there's so many."

"Where are they taking them?"

When the last of them made it inside the room, the doors slid closed with a loud bang.

Layla didn't realize her mouth was hanging open until she went to speak. "Aris, what did we just see?"

Aris turned to look at her and Thomas, his face being lit from the lights below them. "They bring in new ones every night like clockwork." He sighed softly. A chill ran down Layla's spine.

"Every night?"

Thomas furrowed his brows, "you know what they do with them?"

Aris quickly shook his head with a defeated expression on his face. "I don't know. This is as far as I've ever gotten." He admitted. "The vents don't even go into that section. But once they go through that door, they don't come back out." Layla listened intently as the boy spoke, "I don't think anybody ever really leaves this place."

It was silent for a few moments as Thomas and Layla processed what they were told. Still, Layla wasn't surprised by the news. Of course they were still unsafe—she had already known that. It all seemed too good to be true. The beds, the showers, the food. It was all too... perfect.

Thank gods Layla didn't trust people easily, or she would've never seen this. (And thank gods she put her trust in Thomas.)

She could only feel horrified at the thought of what those doctors could be doing to those kids that they had taken.

Will didn't like the use of the word 'doctor'. No doctor would do that. What did the Fates call them again? Scientists? That felt slightly more fitting.

Still, he had a few choice words he'd much rather use.

"Come on." Aris spoke up, "we've gotta go before somebody notices we're gone."

Thomas quickly stopped the boy before he could lead the way back, "why'd you show us this?"

Aris stopped before turning to the boy. "Because maybe the others will listen to you." He then turned to Layla and grimaced, "and if I'm being honest, you're only here because he wanted you here." He pursed his lips, "sorry."

Leo smiled in amusement. "That's comforting."

Layla would've been offended if she didn't find his comment so funny. Despite what she had seen, she laughed softly. "Don't worry about it."

A few demigods laughed at that.

Aris smiled before continuing, "there's something weird going on here. And I know you think so too." Then, he began to crawl back, but Thomas being Thomas, stopped him once more.

"Hey, wait." He called out, causing Aris to look at him with a raised brow. "Thanks." He mumbled softly.

Aris nodded, "no problem."

Apollo folded the corner of the page, before placing the book on the table. "Very good." He said. "Who's next?"

When no one volunteered, too busy thinking about what they had just learned, Apollo began scanning the audience like a teacher looking to call on a student. He grinned, "Dionysus, come on up!"

Mr. D glanced up with a look of loathing. "What?"

"It's your turn to read."

Dionysus glared at him, but Apollo's grin was unwavering. With a sigh, the purple fire in Dionysus' eyes dimmed, and he got to his feet. "All right, but don't expect enthusiasm."

Apollo's grin somehow widened. "Of course."

—————
lizzie speaks...

FINALLY GOT THE APP TO STOP CRASHING EVERYBODY CHEER!!!!

now all i need is for my laptop to connect to wifi bc for some reason it won't and i refuse to use no ad blocker❗️ i'll figure something out never fear :)

Layla when Thomas shows up under her bed:

the original (I assume it was a tweet) has been saved in my phone for 4 years. absolutely love it