Hollow {STARTLED -- BOOK 2}

Chapter 4: We Need To Leave

The form was limp, hanging just above the ground. Sweat poured down his face and arms as he fought. Though yet again, it was to no avail.

Seto's POV

Mitch stood across from him, arms crossed and Jerome was looking at the door Adam had just gone through. Meanwhile everyone else just stood around, glancing at each other uneasily.

"So..." Taylor was the first to speak. "What should we do?" Seto glanced over at him before biting his lip.

"We can't go after them. It's to dangerous. Jerome's arm is just finished recovering, and Mitch still has his limp. Plus, I don't think any of us are really prepared to go to literal Hell." Ian pointed out.

"True, but shouldn't we at least try to go after them?" Everyone was silent for a few moments after Taylor spoke again.

Justin and Toxic gave each other uneasy looks before they began to inch away in the direction of the lake. Seto sighed.

"Ian's right. We can't right now. If they're still okay now, after two months, I'm sure they can survive a week or two." Even as he said it, Seto felt a little guilty for not going after them. He could see it in his friends eyes as well and he glanced down.

"I'm going to go make sure Adam's alright. I'll be back out." He turned and opened the door.

He barely had time to step into the house when before he noticed Adam on the floor. He rushed over and kneeled beside him. The brunettes breathing was shallow and he was sweating like crazy.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Seto growled to himself as he moved Adam onto his back. He reached over to shake his shoulders and wake him up when Adam's eyes shot open. For a moment he seemed to stare directly at Seto, face pale, before his eyes dulled again and he began to tremble slightly.

"Adam are you alright!?" Mitch had limped into the house, Jerome close behind.

Adam forced himself to sit up, Seto helping him up most of the way. He began to move to get to his feet when Seto stopped him.

"L-Let me up... We have to go..." Adam attempted to stand again and Seto let him.

"What do you mean Adam? We can't go after them right now." Seto had barely finished his sentence before Adam spoke again.

"They need our help. We can't delay any longer." That's a weird way to word that sentence. We just found out where they are today. Seto raised an eyebrow.

"Adam... If they survived two months, they can survive another week or two." Seto repeated what he had said outside. Adam glared at him, brows furrowed. Seto felt unsettled by his dull golden eyes.

"Surviving? Seto they're almost dead! We have to go." Adam trembled a little as he spoke. Mitch narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Why are you talking as though you've seen them?" He asked, leaning against Jerome for support. For a moment, Seto felt guilty again. Not about the fact he was leaving his friends in the Nether, but because he and Quentin had lied to Mitch. After two months, Seto assumed Mitch had figured out that his leg wasn't going to get any better. He could still walk, but not without his limp. Had Seto been able to attend to it right after it happened, things would be different, but he hadn't.

"What are you talking about?" Mitch blinked in surprise, and Seto realized he had blanked out of the conversation and missed Adam's reply.

"I-I saw them. Skybrine visited me..." Jerome suddenly snorted.

"Of course he did. Right when you want to do something, Skybrine's here." Jerome growled.

"Jerome." Seto finally spoke, glaring at Jerome for a moment before turning back to Adam. "So Adam. Can you tell me what Skybrine said?"