(72)

Another couple of seconds passed and no one got the nerve to speak a single word.

When I noticed something, deafening silence prevailed. There were only six of us.

Lily, Camilla, Chren, Francine, Macey, And I.

"Uh, guys..." Where's Abi?" I asked.

At once, we looked at each other again. Both lips are sad and frowning. I turned my gaze to Francine, who suddenly covered her mouth. "Oh my, we were running away from the shadow when I suddenly lost track of her." she said.

I was about to react when Chren took the chance to speak.

"The heck? Abi was with me the whole time. We just have to part ways when we reach the end of the hallway," he said.

Confusion was written all over his face.

"What? No, Abi was waiting for me outside the room. The moment I stepped outside to continue looking for a signal, she was with me. "

Francine fired back.

"Wait. Wait. What on earth are you guys talking about? Do you mean you both have an 'Abi' with you at the same time?" I asked.

They nodded.

I heard Camilla utter a curse. "What the fuck?" she whispered under her breath.

I saw how Chren and Francine's foreheads knit. Whoever they're referring to, there's only one I'm sure of. One of the two Abi's they were with was just pretending to be Abi.

My heart skipped a beat.

I suddenly got creeped out.

There was silence between us, and suddenly we heard a shrill shout again.

Without hesitation, I took the lead in running towards the direction where the shout was coming from.

At the entrance of the house,

Little by little, I tried to speed up my steps.

There was only one thing on my mind: Abi probably did that. Especially since he's the only one we're not with.

I was almost paralyzed when I didn't immediately notice a small piece of wood next to it.

Chren kept up with my pace. Francine was just behind him. While Camilla and Lily were holding Macey, like me, it was obvious that the two also had difficulty running because of their bruises and wounds.

I looked at my arms and hands.

I already have a few bruises that I'm sure are from when Lily and I fell down the stairs.

When we reached the first floor, we did not find Abi. No one was there, and we were just as shocked by what we saw.

The door

The barriers are gone.

And now the openness is wide.

I heard a series of murmurs from my companions. I could also feel their shock and fear, even when they didn't say it.

Soon, a strong, cold wind blew in front of us. "Did you guys feel that?" Lily stammered, which was confirmed by our simultaneous nods.

We clung to each other when we felt another gust of cold wind. This is surprising because the sun is still very straight. I also looked around to be on the lookout for anything or anyone who would show up somewhere to attack us.

At the very least, we could be prepared.