Unearthly Battles

8.

If anybody reading this knows someone who is good at drawing, I'm looking to find an artist to help me with some portraits of the characters. So if you find anyone who might be interested, have them message me, please  :)

There's also a possibility of major spelling or grammar mistakes, this is completely unedited.

Unsurprisingly, that was the night that everything would change.

Marley was startled awake by the sound of a muffled scream that lasted hardly a second before being cut off. She couldn't tell where exactly it had come from, but she had a feeling that it had been Jayla, in the room directly across from her. She stayed completely still for a moment, straining to hear something else, maybe the girl was just having a nightmare.

She slid her feet out from under the sheets and landed softly on the floor as she moved herself into a sitting position. She stood, tip-toeing over to the door and carefully turning the knob, pulling the door open.

The hallway was entirely empty, and the only abnormality was that Jayla's bedroom door was slightly open.

Marley stepped over to it, pushing it open a little bit more and looking in. Standing there was Skyler, who had a mildly panicked look on her face. The younger girl was surprised enough by Skyler's presence that she didn't even notice the ink covering her arms. She immediately whipped around, going to grab at whoever intruded, but stopping when she only saw Marley.

"Do you know where she is?"

Marley was taken aback by Skyler's question; "What do you mean? You were in here first, I just came over because I thought I heard her scream."

Skyler shook her head; "No, I heard her scream too, well, either you or her. I knew it wasn't Addison because she was still in my room. But when I came in here, she was nowhere to be found."

Marley felt a hollow feeling take over her body, "Do you think someone...took her?" She whispered.

Skyler didn't answer, only continued looking around the room as if Jayla would pop out of a hiding spot to yell, "Surprise!" That didn't happen though, she was only met with messy bed sheets and an unpainted canvas. The bathroom was empty too, she knew, she had already checked it. Wherever Jayla was, it wasn't in her room.

She turned back to look at Marley, only to realize that she was no longer standing in the doorway. Skyler tensed, she hadn't heard Marley move at all, wouldn't she have at least said something? Her steps towards the door were careful, making sure to place her feet as lightly as she could. If someone was taking them, she had to get back to Addison.

The gun and knife she had on her yesterday were on the bathroom counter from when she had undressed for her shower the night before, leaving her currently unarmed. She mentally slapped herself for leaving them there. They were in an unknown place with suspicious people, she really should have kept the weapons on her person. Her feet carried her down the hallway to her own room, and she pushed the door in.

Skyler was already angry that Jayla was missing because she found herself being particularly fond of the girl yesterday. Not to mention Marley, who Skyler appreciated because of her wit. But it was seeing that Addison was no longer curled up on her bed that made her body heat up with fury. She stepped back, slamming the door to Addison's room open as well, just to make sure she wasn't in there.

As she turned back to the hallway, there was a sudden stinging sensation right below her ear. Her limbs immediately started to weaken, but she forced herself to turn and kick her attacker in the knee before everything gave out and she collapsed on the floor. She tried to keep her eyes pried open, but even then, her brain couldn't place the faces of the two women standing above her. She was then lifted up by Agents Sarn and Forjek, and carried out of the room.