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making! It was simply amazing to think that Zeph was able
to keep it secret that long. But, it didn’t really matter now did
it. He wouldn’t be a part of it. He was being shipped off to Arche
in the morning.
    “ It’s getting late.” Al
whispered into his thoughts.
    “ Yeah,” Sky nodded,
feeling the retching pain of remorse begin to crawl its way into
his belly, “Let’s go.”
    The two boys slipped out
of their seats, unnoticed by Ruth whose attention was too invested
in Professor Blank’s words. Sky gave her one last look, knowing he
would never see her again.
    A shuffling off stage left
caught his eye just before he was able to make it out the door. The
tall kid from before silently made his way out from behind the side
curtain with his shoulders hunched, as if trying to become smaller
than he was and stopped at Zeph. He leaned over cautiously and
whispered a message that made Zeph’s inattentive eyes suddenly snap
wide open.
    Sky reached to stop Al,
but he had already noticed. They stood there, lost in the shadows
as Zeph stood quickly and swiftly exited the stage. Although he
couldn’t make out his face, the way Zeph moved told Sky that
something was most definitely wrong.
    Al pulled on his arm and dragged him through
the open door into the glaring lights and reflective white walls of
the hallway.
    “Ahhh, I wish we didn’t
have to go, it was just getting good.” Al pouted and blinked hard,
trying to let his eyes adjust.
    “Yeah, but you’re right.
They might start to worry, and you got curfew.” And Sky would feel
terrible if he made Al late again.
    They started off down the hallway, but
neither took the lead.
    “ I have no idea how to get
out of this place. Did we come from the left or right?” Al stopped
at the junction and looked quizzically up and down the
corridor.
    “ I was hoping you knew…“
Sky shrugged, Al was usually the one with a more reliable
memory.
    Al closed his eyes and
thought for a moment. “I think we came in one level up. Remember?
We walked down to
our seats.” He opened his eyes, “But really, I don’t think that
matters since every stupid hallway looks exactly the
same.”
    “ Ruth wasn’t kidding when
she said it was like a maze, eh?” He tried to chuckle and lighten
the mood, but it died in his throat and ended up as a
snarl.
    With everyone at the lecture the hallways
were deserted. “We’re going to die here aren’t we? No food, no
water…no windows.”
    Sky hadn‘t really heard him, his mind still
back at the lecture. “What do you think made Zeph rush off like
that? You don’t think something happened, do you?”
    As they rounded another corner; the hallway
predictably looked identical to the last. “Not sure. That Isaac kid
that came to relay the message looked pretty freaked out
though.”
    Sky put his hand out and
stopped Al in his tracks, “Shhh…” He tilted his head to the side
and listened. “Did you hear that?”
    “ What?” Al whispered back
with a tone that verged on irritation.
    “ I heard something.” Sky
kept his hand up.
    “ It could be my
stomach.”
    Sky took off running; he
knew he heard something, if it was people, then that meant someone
who could point the way out.
    “ What’s up, eh?” Al
shouted as he chased after Sky.
    “This way, I hear—” Sky
ran around a corner and collided straight into a solid body. He
flew backwards, but a hand grabbed him before he could hit the
ground and he found himself faced with Zeph. His moment of relief
was cut short when he was spun around and slammed into the wall,
Zeph’s hand closing around his throat so tight the air that had
already been knocked out of him had no chance to return.
    Sky’s utter shock at
Zeph’s actions was soon outweighed by the look of total fear in his
eyes. He had never seen Zeph, or anyone for that matter, look the
way he did in that instant.
    “ Master Zeph, sir?” Al’s
voice cut through the moment.
    In a literal blink of an
eye Zeph’s demeanor