Human One

30. Cages and Awkward Questions

All at once, the Kinlings rush at Dalton in a flurry of white t-shirts and cargo pants.

I feel the air leave my lungs, which confuses me for a second, before I realize in the split second it took the Kinlings to attack Dalton, Zero had swung around and grabbed me, throwing me over his left shoulder while hoisitng the unconsious Malia up onto his right.

I inahle sharply, trying to get back the lost oxygen from being thrown like a sack of potatoes, but Zero doesnt give me a chance to recover before we're in front of Malia's doors that are thrown open with one powerful kick from Zero.

I'm able to lift my head and meet eyes with Dalton for a millisecond through the flurry of Kinlings. In that millisecond his eyes narrow and a spear of darkness shoots out from the open space to come soaring at me only to clash against a blue barrier emanating from my necklace.

Phew.

Next thing I know we're zooming down the hallway, Zero running as fast as he can while trying not to majorly hurt the luggae he's carrying, although I can already feel brusies forming from the violent jostles. 

"W-wait, Zero!" I wheeze out, sounding incredibly attractive at the moment....not. "We.....ha-have to....go back.....FOR BECKY!" And Iris and Max, I want to add on, but a very large jostle had me yelling the last part and not being able to continue. 

"Don't worry about them." I manage to just barely hear Zero through the wind rushing past us as he sprints through the Villa. "Aella's got them."

He sure seems to put a lot of trust in his fiance, an ugly, bitter part of me thinks in spite.

"A-aren't you.....worried about your people?" I recover my voice enough to ask more smoothly this time.

He's silent for a few seconds and then I hear a faint "Yes."

That causes me to go quiet and instead start praying with all I have that all of the innocent Kinlings manage to get away from Dalton alive and unharmed.

I want to ask Zero where exactly he's planning on taking Malia and , but decide not to emabrass myself anymore by speaking while being jostled around and just stay quiet.

It would be so much easier if the bond between Zero and I was still there and we could use telepathy again, a voice in the back of my brain whispers and I instantly shut that voice down.

I decide to then try and focus on the surroundings as zoom by, and even though pretty much all of the Villa is similar with it's same white marbling and creme pillars, after spending some time here I have a vague sense of where we are and where we're headed....which seems to be outside.

Based on what i saw in the cave it looks like Zero has control over the elements, so maybe outside would be a safe place to go, but then again the outisde means soil, and soil means if I spill even a drop of blood Dalton gets more powerful, which makes us an easier target for Dalton.

The further away we get from Malia's room the slower Zero gets until he's not full on sprinting but still going fast by running with long strides. At least it's not as painful when it comes to the jostles, and also the environment isn't as blurry as before.

We turn down a hallway I have to yet towalk through, and I lift my head as we pass by an open doorway just in time to see a flash of orange.

"Stop!" I suddenly shout, and this startles Zero enough to halt. "Set me down please."

Zero shakes his head, "We have to go Ashley, who knows when Dalton is going to come after us again."

"I think I just saw the culprit behind Malia's poisoning." I explain in a rushed tone. "I spoke tot he Core, and he said if we apprehend them, Malia can recover and help Core to seal away Dalton again."