Through the hobbit door

Chapter 5

COREY

We didn't have a plan. We spent all day trying to think one up but we had no idea what to expect. Did Wade tell them what we knew? We decided to play it cool until we were threatened we just needed to get in, get Wade, and leave. At seven sharp the door opened and we walk into HelmsGuard. The normally bright sky was now almost black. There were no stars or lights and we could barely see a foot in front of our face. "What happened here?" Sicily whispers. "Link hands." Rana whispered. "I'd rather not." Lily says. I roll my eyes. "Do you want to get grabbed?" I huff. I then feel Lily's hand slip into mine. And I can't help laugh. Bronwen who was at the front of our chain takes out her phone and shines it against the silver path. We walk down until we reach the bridge where a nervous looking Madelyn stood with a lantern. I hadn't seen much of her since the first day but here she stood waiting for us. "Thank goodness you're here. My brother has locked Wade in the cellar. Gideon thought you wouldn't come but I knew you wouldn't leave a friend." Madelyn says in a rushed whisper. "Why should we trust you?" Bronwen asks.

Madelyn smiles at Bronwen. "Edmond has told me of his love for you. At the beginning I was on board with switching places with you too but after he spoke so passionately about you Bronwen I couldn't bring myself to hurt you. Any of you." Madelyn says. Bronwen's jaw ticks. She didn't trust Madelyn. Smart. "Do you know where Wade is?" Sicily asks. "Yes, please follow me." She says. Lily squeezes my hand. I know this wasn't the ideal path she wanted to follow. "We should go." Rana says. I know for sure that Rana didn't trust this girl but I also knew we all wanted to get out of here. "Alright lead the way." Bronwen says. She leads us down the path and towards the house. Except the house wasn't there anymore. In its place was a large silver castle. "What happened?" Sicily whispers again. "My brother's mind has deteriorated into turmoil. It's been going that way for a while but when he found out you guys weren't coming back he snapped. He destroyed the house and constructed this monstrosity. He's been rambling ever since about how he'd lure more women here once he got out so that he could free us all." Madelyn says. She leads us into the castle it's dark and echoey. There are no open spaces and the entire interior is like a cramped maze with high ceilings. There was only dim lighting and small windows.

"She's in the basement." Madelyn whispers. She leads us down a hallway to a large wooden door. There was a large ring of keys next to it that she used to open the door. On the other side of the threshold was a staircase. She leads us down them to to a place full of cages that all sat a foot above the ground on some sort of stilts. She leads us to one on the very far end of the basement. Inside this cage was Wade. Her hair was a mess and she looked dirty. "It's only been a day." Rana whispers. "What are you guys doing with her." Wade asks pushing herself against the bars of her cage. A chain attached to her jingles as she moves. "She's helping." Sicily says. But Wade shakes her head and backs away. "She's one of them. The enemy." Wade babbles. Madelyn unlocks the cage but Wade won't let her get close enough to do her leg chain. "One of you will have to unlock her. She doesn't trust me not that I blame her." Madelyn says handing Bronwen the keys. Bronwen climbs into the cage and unlocks Wade's Chain. "I'm so glad you guys came back for me. " Wade says. "We have to get out of here. Madelyn..." Lily starts.

We look around and and notice Madelyn's gone. "Goddamn." Rana says. Wade starts laughing hysterically. We look at her and her hair starts to tame itself. The dirt falls away and she's now wearing a ball gown. I wanted to scream was she serious? "You guys are idiots" She says. Her laugh getting more manic as she disappears. "It seems we've been duped again." I say angrily. "We need to get to the door." Lily says seriously. We all rush to the door which was obviously sealed shut. "Shit, what do we do?" Lily asks. We all exchange a look and start screaming like lunatics. We do that for a solid five minutes to no avail. We scream so long that my throat is sore when we stop. "Wait wait wait." Rana says. "Corey, you're an old blood just open the door." She adds her voice was scratchy from the screaming.