Gaines's POV:

The old man, looking absolutely horrified, stood in stunned silence as the sound of guards rushing toward us filled the air. I acted like I was trying to pull away from Eris's tight grip, so she would focus on holding onto me. While I was struggling, though, I decided one thing. I wasn't going to fight the guards.

What would be the point?

I had just been brainwashed, supposedly. I could stick with Eris now, and act like I was merely confused. Once the guards came to interrogate me, I could tell them that I wasn't sure what to do, but that I knew that following the old man wasn't the right thing to do. 

I did trust him, whoever he was, but I couldn't let these people know that. 

As Eris's attention was on me, the old man suddenly yanked his wrist away from her and took off in a run. She lunged toward him, as if she was going to follow him, but I stood firmly on the floor. She let out a yell of fury and frustration as the man disappeared around a corner, heading who knows where. 

"Who's there?" a guard, his voice slightly muffled, called. "Who needs help?"

"It's Eris," she answered, now holding onto my arm with both of her hands. "Spark escaped! He's headed for the main entrance! But I have Gaines with me."

"Gaines?" another guard yelled, shocked. He sped out of one of the hallways next to us and faced us, horror written all over his face. "He left?"

"I was..." I began, but I was cut off by the burst of yelling coming from the nearby guards. 

"Where did Spark go?" one of them asked, holding his gun at the ready. Eris pointed, and a lump formed in my throat as the guard, much younger and more agile than Spark, hurried in the indicated direction. 

"What should I do?" Eris said nervously, her dark eyes darting back and forth. 

"We'll take Gaines, alright?" one of the guards said, gripping my arm and leading me away. "Go with my friend here. He can help you."

She nodded and followed one of the guards away. I was yanked away from her and toward my room, and I forced myself to remain completely calmed as I was dragged across the tile floor, the guard's enormous fingers curled tightly around my wrist. 

I was shoved into the room, and I nearly collapsed onto the floor. "Explain yourself!" the guard barked, reaching for his gun. 

I swallowed the panic rising in my throat and forced a tiny grin. "Do you happen to know where my memories are, sir? I heard something about my memories being taken, which explains why I couldn't remember anything."

"Didn't we tell you not to leave your room?" he hissed, his narrow eyes bulging with rage. "Did you... defy an order? Defy Galena?"

"Not at all!" I gasped. "I went to Eris, who's also a member of Galena. I guess you trust her, don't you? She told me to follow her. And then this old man comes out of nowhere, jumps out at us."

"And you tried to run away with him, did you?" the guard sneered. 

I shrugged, acting like his furious tone and threatening acts didn't bother me. "He said he knew where my memories were. I didn't know what he meant by the other stuff, something about people lying. I didn't quite catch it. I just wanted to remember something, and all you guys told me was my name."

He stared at me for a long time, and I stared back up at him with wide eyes, mimicking a childlike innocence. I held my breath, practically, as I waited for him to tell me whether or not he believed me. 

"What an idiot." The guard rolled his eyes and slammed the wall with his fist as he turned to exit the room. 

"Excuse me?" I asked, acting like I hadn't heard him properly. 

"I'm leaving, and locking the door behind me," he snarled. "You better stay put, okay boy? That's an order. Next time, we won't be so kind."

"Got it!" I called as the door shut behind him, and, to my dismay, the sound of a lock clicking into place was heard. 

Spark's POV:

I was old, and frail, and on the run from quite a few young, very fit guards who were trained to hurt people. For the first time in years, I missed the spell Ianite had put on me that had made it so I was permanently in my twenties. I liked being my own age, sure, but I missed moving with such ease.

"Which way did the old man go?" one of them yelled, a sharp and deadly tone to his words. Thankfully, he didn't sound too close, but he could catch up easily. There might even be a shortcut to where I was, one that I was painfully unaware of. These were new hallways to me, but ones that these people explored day after day. 

"Just head for the main entrance," another snapped. "Where else could he be heading?"

Now that they had said that, I wanted to make a dive for a side exit. The problem was that I had absolutely no clue where the nearest side exit was, and I didn't want to get myself cornered or to run into another guard or scientist. I knew the general direction of the main exit, so I needed to go that way. 

Once I was out, they couldn't shoot me. I could explain what had happened, with me being kidnapped, and the others could testify for the fact that I was definitely not at the visitation center, or anywhere near it, during Safire's attack. They could also testify that I had just arrived here, and just learned who Safire was, so I couldn't have possibly aided her attack in any way. 

Finally, I reached an enormous side that read "Front Desk". Breathing an enormous sigh of relief, I slowed down to a walk and calmly exited the laboratory with my hands in my pockets. The person working at the desk glanced up, but looked back down a second later. 

I was free. 

I pushed the doors open, preparing to run as fast as I could over to the apartments, when I faced two furious people holding incredibly deadly-looking weapons. 

And they were pointed right at my face. 

"Dad?" one of them gasped. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I saw the face of Martha, her long indigo hair flowing out of a long jacket. Next to her was Waglington, his hood pulled over most of his face as usual. 

"Oh, you're safe," the wizard sighed, sounding relieved. "I guess we didn't have to do much."

"Gaines isn't," I answered, bending over from the pain of running so far. "And I'm pretty much wanted by everyone in that laboratory. They almost killed me once, and they'd gladly try again."

"Are they after you right now?" Martha cried, shoving her sword out of sight. "We have to go. Now."

"Cypress is dead, too," I told her as we hurried away, the weight of those words striking me now for the first time. 

"I know," she answered, her voice covered in sorrow as well. "Ambrosia told me."

"How does Ambrosia know?" I asked sharply. Hadn't Gaines and I been the only ones there? Had she been... following us? Stayed in the shadows while we were being attacked? Watched as her brother was shot, as I was dragged into the laboratory where I would inevitably die as well?

But, before she could reply, we heard the cry of one of the guards back near the laboratory. They were far enough away from us, thankfully, but what they said wasn't at all what we expected to hear. 

"The door to the visitation center is open! Spark is escaping to Chrysoberyl!"

There may be a slight lack of chapters this week, as I've been super busy lately and feeling kind of unmotivated. Sorry :(

It may have to do with the fact that I started watching Supernatural and am already addicted

Oops