How much longer can I keep him talking? If I don't manage to hold him here, Kayla might not be able to get everyone out!

This was one of the many thougts running through Hazel's mind as she attempted to stall Mark for even longer. If she could just find a way to break the glass wall, she was sure that they could use it to escape. Right now however, even if she did manage to break the glass, there was no way to make sure that she wasn't caught or her friends would escape. For all Hazel knew, there could be tons more guards roaming the halls and she didn't like her odds. As Mark began to explain the purpose of another odd whirring contraption, there were a few muffled shouts, curses, and insults as a certain group of gamers tumbled out from a branching hallway. Mark gasped, and Hazel froze, forgetting the glass.

"SECURITY!!!" Mark yelled, but Adam tackled him to the ground.

"No you don't! You're not going anywhere after what you did!" He yelled in Mark's face, seething with anger.

To their dismay, three people had heard Mark and were racing down the opposite hallway. As they came, Hazel stopped watching what was going on, turning her attention back to the swirling glass pane.

She ran towards it, slamming a fist in hard with all her might. Hazel tried again and again, her hand starting to throb, but she didn't care. All that matered now, was getting her friends out alive. Continuing to slam the glass, she was oblivious to the continuing battle behind her.

Claire and Kayla were working together to keep one man on he ground, his eyes were closed but he was struggling, trying to fight back. Another man ran around the corner, and took Parker hard to the ground. He struggled under the wait of the larger person, but this time it was Tom who came to his aid. As soon as Parker was free, Tom shoved the man to the ground and kept him down just like Claire and Kayla were. Adam had punched Mark a couple times, causing his nose to start bleeding. Mark seemed almost blind as he struggled to hit Adam and escape. He was out of luck though, as the boy still wanted more payback.

Hazel slammed into the glass once more, but still never managed to leave a dent. She went to try again, but her hair caught on something. Looking down to see what it was stuck on, she noticed that the purple lock had fallen into one of her coat pockets. Reaching in a hand to pull it out, Hazel's hand felt the tip of a very familiar blade. After all this time, her knife was still in her pocket.

By this time, the third man had come around the corner and was hurtling towards Adam, who was still on top of Mark. As he did so, Skye threw herself into the man, taking him to the ground. Parker tried to help her, but she waved him away and he slumped against a nearby wall, obviously still pretty hurt.

Must break the glass. I have to break it. The only thing that matters is breaking this glass! Hazel told herself, raising the knife and slamming into it hard with the blade. There was a loud cracking sound as the glass seemed to form a spiderweb of sharp lines. It was small, but it brought the attention of everyone in the room.

Tom was distracted for just long enough that the man he was fighting managed to charge past him. He headed straight for Hazel, his hands outstretched. But his face was met with floor as Adam reached out a tripping foot.

With effort, Parker lifted himself off the ground and headed towards Hazel. "What if it kills all of us?!" He called out, struggling to reach the other side of the room quickly.

"If death is worse than what happened to you, I won't break it. I won't take what might be our only chance to escape." Hazel replied, her eyes still fixed on the glass. Parker stopped in his tracks, closing his eyes tightly.

"Never." He said, not moving from where he was.

"Well then." Hazel said, taking a step back and pulling away the knife.

"I guess that's just a risk we'll have to take!"

The knife was stabbed hard into the glass once more, and the once small spiderweb became a network of mirroring cracks that slowly fell away  while the glass shattered. Mark cried out loudly as it fell away, the swirling fog rushing into the room. It enveloped Hazel as she dropped to her knees, and then she vanished from everyone's sights just before the dark...