Songbird

20, in which we run.

     I swear, the halls were twisting together while we ran. Matthew had the notes on where to go, but we kept needing to double back at times. I had taken up my usual spot on Nate's shoulder, tucked near the collar of his over shirt for a bit more security.

     Both of them froze when something revved in the distance. Nate pulled Matthew into a closet nearby, and we all waited in the dark, breath held. Cackling echoed just beyond the door, a familiar sound in the tone making my chest hurt. I glanced over at Matthew, catching his eye. He winced, confirming my suspicions.

     "But what's he doing here?" I breathed, barely able to comprehend what his evil duplicate must be like.

     "We led him here as a distraction."

     I stared at Nate a bit dumbfounded.

     Matthew shrugged. "Sounded like a good idea at the time."

     "You had how long to plan this and that's what you came up with?"

     "Not even a week."

     I jolted a little at Nate's tone. He sounded... not offended, not quite hurt, maybe a bit angry. I watched his jawline tense as he cracked open the door. "We weren't going to wait any longer than we had to."

      I had slept a lot these past few days, it seemed.

     "He's gone. Let's go."

     "Nate--"

     I was cut off as he took off running through the halls again, Matthew just behind us. We came up to another hallway, and something pricked the back of my neck. A haunted feeling, dread that made my heart skip a beat. I started to recognize the walls, the light around me shifted as if through glass--

     I shook off the memories as I heard Matthew tell Nate to head left.

     "Wait, no!"

     Both managed to skid to a stop before the corner at my shout. Before either could question me, an explosion shook the hallway. We shouted various curses as the ceiling cracked.

     "Right!" I screamed over the noise.

     Nate bolted and the ceiling collapsed. I clung on for dear life as he stumbled, crashing hard into the ground. His hand just managed to catch me before I was dragged under. There was an eerie silence that followed. Even the coughs felt dead in the air.

     "Matt?" Nate called through the rubble.

     "Mostly okay," came a muffled reply. "Keep going, I'll loop back around."

     I struggled to pull myself further up his shoulder before Nate just scooped me up into his palm.

     "What the hell did he put you in?"

     I struggled with the skirt for a bit before taking down my hair. "Whatever he wanted. We need to keep moving, this is not a good area to be in."

     "Why?" he asked as he started to walk quickly.

     "This is the bed chambers," I noted, stomach twisting at the thought. "I could never keep these straight, I swear he had more hidden doors than actual doors."

     "So why did we go this way instead of right?"

     "Because his bedroom would have been a dead end."

     I almost fell off Nate's hand when he stopped. I looked back to find him staring at me, baffled.

     "How do you know--" His jaw locked as the realization crossed his mind. All I could do was shrug helplessly. He lifted his hand to his shoulder again, but I shook my head.

     "Pocket, don't have to worry about balance."

     He seemed a little hesitant, but obliged. Once I was settled, he took off running.

     I had half a mind to just take off the damn dress when I realized how big of a hassle it was to have there. I finally managed to pull myself over the top of his breast pocket to look out into the hallway. I got another chill down my spine.

     "Nate--!"

     We were sent careening backwards when the Phantom's cane connected to Nate's face.