The Fifth Element

I stared Shirley down from my place on the bed. What were those words that had just come out of her mouth? Vivian and my father were going to be executed? No, it couldn’t be, I had sacrificed myself so that they could get away. They couldn’t be in some holding cell awaiting execution, could they?

Shirley tilted her head to the side and gave me a look of curiosity, “What? You don’t believe me?”

I scoffed, “Of course not!”

There was no way they could’ve been captured. They were both ways too strong.

“Then how do you think Henry is walking around here like a free man? Greta doesn’t take too kindly to those who come back empty-handed.”

I felt the color drain from my face, “No.”

“Oh yes,” Shirley said, leaning back on the bed. She looked up at the ceiling. When she looked back at me she was smirking, “But however did he manage to capture a former member of the Big Four and a man who once took out an entire army by himself? I wonder.”

Something clicked in my head then, but I did my best not to let it show on my face. Wow, how could I really be that dumb? I just hoped that Shirley was dumber than me, and was just speculating and hadn’t caught on yet, but with my crumby luck she probably already had.

“I don’t know?” I said, shrugging my shoulders “Maybe he was that evil presence you felt following us.”

Shirley smiled at me, but it was a closed mouth smile. She stood from the bed. “Well, I better get going now. Stay out of trouble, and stay alive.”

She turned to leave.

“Wait!” I yelled. Shirley turned around, her eyes full of excitement. “Are you Vivian’s friend? Why would you tell me about the execution scheduled for today? Was it to get me to talk?”

Shirley shook her head, “Neither, I just didn’t want her to die before I could kill her.” She opened a hole in the wall, and a couple of seconds later she was gone.

I stared at the section of wall she had just used as her exit. Well okay then... I wasn’t even going to ask, but why were things getting more complicated by the second!?

I shook my head and stood from the bed. I had to get out of here and find Danny somehow.

“Danny?” I said into my head. ”I’m not sure if you can hear me, but I need to get out of this room they are holding me in like now. They are going to execute my father and a friend of mine today, and we need to rescue them. Please answer me if you can hear this.”

Minutes ticked by without a response. ”Danny?” I tried again.

“Violet?” His voice echoed inside my head. He almost sounded like he was talking to me from somewhere deep within a cave.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness you can hear me! That was honestly a shot in the dark just now. Anyways, do you think you can get me out of here?”

“The thing is I don’t know where here is. I’ve been trying to get to you for over an hour now and haven’t been able to.... Are you okay? I felt like you were in pain not so long ago, and it worried me.”

I felt my heart sink, ”Then you can’t come get me,” I said into my head. “Oh and I’m okay... kind of.”

" Good and no, but if you can get out of where ever they are keeping you, then I think I can.”

I breathed in deeply. “Alright, I’ll try. I have to umm go now, see you soon.”

“Definitely, ” he replied and then he was gone.

After that I stood there for a second, weighing my options, but in the end, the best option was the one I dreaded the most. I had to learn to go through the wall, and there was only one person who could teach me that, unfortunately.

“Lacy, where are you? I kind of need you now. Lacy!?” I whispered reluctantly into the empty room.

“Hmm, are you ready to stop being such a whiner now?” Lacy’s voice floated through the air, a second before she came floating through one of the walls. She had a smug look on her face, and I knew right there and then that I was going to have to beg.

I took a couple of deep breaths, in preparation for what I was about to do. “Yes, I’m done umm whining. Come on, please just help me! I was stupid and lazy earlier, but now that I’ve had some food I’m ready!”

“Mmmmhhhh.” Lacy floated across the room. ” I do say you’re a terrible ass kisser. Do some more and better ass kissing, and I might reconsider being your teacher.”

Why that little- Breathe Violet, breathe! Vivian and your father’s life depend on this. Swallow your pride for once, and start kissing some ghost butt.

“I’m a loser, and I don’t know when to shut up.”

“Go on,” Lacy said, amusement filling her voice.

“I’m ugly and...”

“Oh! Add on the part about you being a two timing slut. Don’t think I didn’t see you leave in that other guy’s arms the day you escaped.”

“And I’m a two timing slut,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Bravo! Bravo!” Lacy clapped her hands together. “My rear has officially been kissed. Now tell me, how do you feel now that you’ve officially kissed my behind?”

“Like I want you to experience death for the second time,” I said, balling my hands into a fist.

“Aww, as rude as ever,” Lacy mocked. “Now press your hands against the wall-”

“-and feel the life within! No! No!! No!!! That does not work, teach me another way!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Lacy scowled at me, “There is no other way. You can either learn my way, or you don’t learn at all. What’s with the attitude? You were just begging me for my helpless than a minute ago.”

“Less than a minute ago I thought you could help me, but now I see you can’t, and I just don’t know what to do anymore! Vivian and my dad are going to die because I’m incompetent!” I stormed over to the wall. “Why can’t I make a hole is this stupid ugly wall!”

I went to slap the black stones, but instead of feeling the sting of rock against my hands, I felt nothing at all. I fell forward with nothing to support me and landed flat on my face.

“Ow Ow.” I moaned, using my hands to push myself off the ground. I sat up and looked around me. I was in a hallway lit dimly by floating glass balls, which hovered up by the ceiling.

It took me a second to process where I was, but when I did, I felt like doing front flips to celebrate. I, Violet Silver, had done it! I had gone through the wall.

I stood to dust myself off, and that’s when I heard a noise behind me. It sounded like a mix between a cough and a gasp. I turned to investigate it and got a very unpleasant surprise. The evil twins were standing against the wall I had just come through. Both of them wore identical expressions of shock on their faces.

I stared back at them with my own expression of shock, before slowly edging away from them. I need to get away from them while I still had the element of surprise.

The twins’ expressions of shock became ones brimming with killing intent when they realized I was trying to escape. They began moving towards me, their spears glowing a sickly green color in the dim lighting of the hallway.

“Lacy!” I screeched and took off running down the hallway. I could hear two pairs of footsteps following me. Lacy materialized beside me.

“Wow, I’ve never seen someone open an entrance in the wall by insulting it. Congratulations, I’m impressed.”

“Yeah great, I don’t care right now. Just show me a way to go so that I won’t run into a dead end,” I said, breathing hard.

“That’s not part of my bargain. Remember? I was just going to help you get through the wall, and the rest was up to you,” Lacy said.

“Well I won’t be much help to you if I’m dead,” I said, pointing out the obvious.

Lacy’s silence told me she was considering that fact, “Well tell you what. I’ll think about,” she finally said. “I may or may not lead you to a dead end. ”

We neared a section in the hallway were it no longer went straight but divided into a left and right. “Go left,” she instructed.

I listen to her and veered left. I didn’t have much of choice. I had to trust her.

“Danny!” I screamed into my head, “I’m out, and I need you like right now.”

I squealed when something flew past my head and exploded right in front of me, causing me to grind to a halt. In the ground in front of me, a huge smoking crater had appeared. I looked at me just in time to a ball of green energy hurtling towards me. I threw myself against the wall, barely managing to avoid it.

The instant my skin met the wall I felt something that gave me hope, and at the same time gross me out. There were bodies inside these walls, and they were responding to me. I didn’t know how to feel about that just now. Well, beggars, couldn’t be choosers.

I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated, and to my delight and horror, the walls themselves began moving.