"Levi? Is anything wrong?" Brandon asked as Addison and I caught up with them on the eleventh floor. We skipped the tenth and under as they were open to the public- STARKON probably wouldn't think to hide any prisoners there.

"No," I replied shortly, my mind still thinking about what I had seen inside the containers. "Nothing's wrong, Brandon."

I glanced at the large number '11' on the door that we were standing in front of and paused. If we were going to exit the fire escape on this floor, would it alert anyone still inside? It had taken more time and effort than I had originally thought to apprehend a simple delivery guy, which would imply that someone who worked in the actual facility would surely be a lot harder to bring down. The best choice would be to exercise caution; but easier said than done, right?

Slowly, I cracked open the door, using the mirrored toe of my boot to reflect the view of the corridor to me. The reflection distorted my surroundings, but thankfully it told me that the coast was clear. I nodded to Brandon who was behind me and gestured for them to go through first. Darting around the corner when they had all entered the building, I let the door swing shut behind me with a soft click.

"So..." Started Brandon, causing all of us to glare at him for breaking the silence. Apparently, he didn't notice because he continued, "We're in, what now?"

"We go find my father," I hissed, and annoyed was an understatement. How could he forget what we came here for!?

"No," Brandon turned and scratched his head. "I meant, how. This is one big building with, what? How many storeys?"

I shrugged, knowing he was right. There had been eighty or so storeys in the blueprint that I had found when I hacked into the - what I now knew to be - fake server around a week ago, but who knew how many there actually were? I glanced around, looking for anything that could answer my question, spotting a lift a little down the hallway.

Of course! The lift would have all the levels in the huge facility numbered on the buttons!

"The lift would have all the levels right? We could probably use that to decide which level to start on." I gestured toward the doors, turning around and raising my eyebrows in question.

"Oh yeah, they even have a description of what's in each level," replied Brandon, elaborating when we stared at him in surprise. "I went here with my dad last holidays..."

"You got to go into the facility?!" exclaimed Addison, sounding a little jealous, and so was I - just not of the same thing. I wondered how many more days would have to pass before I could see my dad again, and then slapped myself mentally. I had dragged my friends away from their families and brought them into harm's way. I was in no position to get jealous of them.

Brandon only nodded, an unsure expression flitting over his face. Unsure of what, I was not certain. I could only hope that it was not of the information he had just presented us; that would not be to our advantage. Only one way to find out, I guess.

"Well," I said, cutting through the silence that had descended through the air. "That's even better then. We can go directly to the level that we need."

Glancing left and right, I darted toward the elevator and reached for the button. I jumped as there was a 'ding' and hurriedly returned back to the little niche in the shadows. A white-robed figure stepped out of the elevator, staring at a clipboard in his hand.

I held my breath as he walked past, praying that he didn't notice the four of us, squeezed in such a small alcove. The tap of his shoes on the marble floor echoed down the empty hallway, getting closer and closer to where we were hiding. Suddenly, he paused in the middle of the hallway, and if he turned his head to the right, he would spot us. Freezing in place, I felt my heart thud in my chest as I held my breath.

Don't see us. Go on. Keep walking. Don't notice us.

The man frowned, as if in deep thought before shrugging and continuing down the hallway. I let out a tense breath. After waiting a few more tense seconds, I darted back towards the elevator, pressing the button just as the door closed.

There was a second, before it opened again; thankfully empty. I turned and motioned to Addison who had stuck her head around the corner that the coast was clear, before stepping into the elevator. A glance at the elevator buttons made my eyes widen.

Thirty-eight storeys?!

I scanned through the labels next to the buttons.

12... Training Ring #5... 18... Neuro Labs... 27... Central Control Room...

There! We had to go to level 27; the central control room, and I could then hack into their system and find where they had kept my dad. I pressed 27, keeping a finger on the doors open button. Briefly, I glanced through the rest of the labels as I waited for my friends to fill in after me. My eyes bugged out when one in particular caught my eye.

38... Change elevators here for levels 39-61.

There were still more levels?!

"So level 27 then?" Came a voice over my shoulder making me jump. I hadn't realised when he had gotten there.

I turned around to see Brandon, a smirk quirking his lips. He had seen me jump, apparently.

"Don't scare me like that!" I scolded, before turning back to the labels. "Apparently there are more than 60 levels in this thing."

"Yeah..." he trailed off. "Seems like it."

I turned to see that the twins had already stepped inside and let go of the button. The elevator doors promptly slid closed, seemingly with a certain finality. Suddenly, a shiver of apprehension ran down my spine. I had a bad feeling about this.

The elevator slowly started moving down, and I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe my feeling was off...

Wait. Down?!

We were on level 11, and we needed to head to 27, so wouldn't the elevator go up?! Did that mean someone else in a level below had pressed the button to go up?

"Wait, Levi. You pressed 27 right? Why are we going down?" Brandon said, confusion painting his voice.

"Yes..." I replied slowly, still trying to figure out what to do. The elevator was so small; there would be nowhere to hide and with four of us?! It'd be impossible. "I think someone below us pressed the bu-"

My words caught in my throat as the elevator floor suddenly dropped at an alarming speed. I stumbled, catching the handrail for support.

"W-wha..." Addison stumbled, crashing into her twin, while Brandon placed a hand on the wall as if trying to righten himself.

"What's happening?" I finished for her. There was a crackle of an intercom and a low, gravelly, distortion of a voice came through the elevator speakers.

"My, my Leviathan. How nice of you to drop by."

My eyes widened.

"Who are you?! How do you know my name? "

"Oh, I know you very well, but we can talk all we want later. Now..."

There was a pause, and my heart leapt into my throat as I steeled myself for whatever was coming next. There was a hissing sound, causing my eyes to dart around the elevator in search of the noise.

"Levi!" Aiden hissed, the urgency in his voice causing me to glance at him abruptly. "There!"

He pointed to the upper right of the square box of an elevator and I gasped. A white mist was slowly making its way down from a hidden vent, and it would reach us within seconds.

I turned back to the speaker, glaring, although whoever it was probably wouldn't be able to see me.

"Why are you doing this? What have we done? Where is my father?!" I spat, feeling an anger consume me. This man, woman, whoever was probably the person who had taken the last living member of my family away from me.

"Let us go!"

There was a distorted chuckle, creating a dissonance in the elevator and causing me to shiver.

"Oh yes your father." He laughed again, as if the mere thought of my father filled him with mirth. "I know where he is alright. Don't worry; he's not dead... yet."

"What do you mean yet?! Tell me where my FATHER IS!"

I took in a deep breath, intending to say more, but suddenly I couldn't think. A feeling of sleepiness washed over me making my eyelids droop, and I could see Addison already slumped against the edge of the elevator.

"It's the gas, Levi," I thought I heard Brandon's voice say. "Fight it... Maybe..."

"N...no... My father..." I trailed off, feeling my consciousness slip. What was I thinking about again? My father? Who was that?

"Sleep now Levi. Sleep."

And then everything faded to black.

***

I groaned. How many times had I passed out now? My limbs ached and my mouth tasted like sandpaper. Maybe this was something I had to get used to.

A piece of hair fell over my face and I tried to lift a hand to brush it away but a tugging sensation made me stop and glance down. Now that I thought about it, there was a strange pressure on my chest, almost as if it was constricted...

I baulked as I saw the clean, white straightjacket I was currently donning, restricting my arms and my movement. A straightjacket...?

I thought back to the strange dream I had, all those nights ago, but then shook it off. I wasn't in a deserted town and there was no way a wolf was going to come out of nowhere and try to bite my head off. No way...

Jumping as the hairs on the back of my neck prickled, I whipped my head around and faced a pair of glowing eyes.

"W-wha...?!" I croaked, voice still dry. "W...wolf!"

The eyes moved closer to the flickering light and I blinked. It wasn't a wolf, it was a boy.

He looked around the same age as I was, and had sandy brown hair. I could feel my heart rate slow down and I took a deep breath.

"Scared you, did I?" The boy spoke, white teeth flashing as he smiled. "Caleb."

He held out his hand between the bars and it was now that I realised I was locked in some sort of barred cell. I strained my eyes through the dim lighting, trying to catch sight of Brandon or the twins, but we were alone.

I hesitated. Who was this guy? Why was he here?

But he's the only one that could help you right now, taunted my inner conscious.

I sighed, and raised my eyebrows at my currently immobile arms.

"Oh, sorry," he laughed sheepishly and withdrew his hand.

"Do you know what happened? I need to find my friends and get out of here... wherever this is." I glanced down at the straitjacket, frowning. "And do you have any idea how I can get out of this thing?!"

He grinned that teeth-flashing smile again and glanced around the cell.

"Oh, I dunno. What's it to me?"

I glanced at him incredulously. Was this guy being serious? I glared at his unchanging smile and weighed my options.

I opened my mouth, about to reply when there was a loud clang, making us both jump.

"Oi, quiet in there, roach!" said a buff-looking man. From a glance at his uniform, I summarised that he was probably the unlucky fellow who had the job of looking after the inmates.

He huffed when we gave no answer, turning around and disappearing back around the corner he appeared from.

I waited a few more moments before I was sure he was out of earshot. Just to be safe, I lowered my voice to a whisper.

"Fine. Tell me what I want to know, and we'll help you escape."

There was a pause and I could tell he was rolling the idea around his head.

He smiled, a genuine one this time.

"You've got yourself a deal."

a.n

:o 1999 words!!

And what do you guys think of this new character?? :)

Also image is a rough sketch that I did of the twins (I did one of Levi and Brandon too, but I didn't really like them...) might digitise them and feature them in my Anime Doodles and drawings book :P

SpiderPrincess

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