Part VI: Twins Chapter 24
As the elevator came to a halt on the final floor, the doors opened to reveal a hallway adorned with nine doors—four on each side, and one at the end. Thomas, Kathrine, and Niall stepped out, and the elevator vanished, leaving them on the last floor.
"So, what's the plan?" Niall asked as he approached the doors.
"We'll look into each of these doors and see what's inside," Thomas replied with a smile.
Kathrine noticed words on the doors as she walked to the one closest to her. "This door says (FIRE)."
"And this one says (SEA)," Niall announced, walking toward another door.
Observing all eight doors, Thomas noted, "Each door represents one of the eight elements."
"If we find the light element," Kathrine suggested with a smile, "Carlyle might be in that room."
"He might, or he might not," Thomas added, cautioning optimism.
"Then let's look for the light door," Niall proposed with enthusiasm.
As they approached the last three doors at the end of the hallway, Niall and Kathrine each chose one, leaving the last door alone.
"I have (DARK)," Niall declared.
"This one is (LIGHT)," Kathrine revealed. Turning the doorknob, Kathrine opened the door and stepped inside. The room housed a bed against one wall, a sink, and a toilet on the other.
"Carlyle, are you in here?" Kathrine called out.
"I'm here; you need to shut the door to see me," Carlyle responded. "Victor put a spell on the room."
"What do you mean?" Thomas inquired as he entered the room, with Niall following closely.
"He put a spell where you can't see me unless the door is closed, and I can't leave the room," Carlyle explained.
"So, you're saying he placed a magical veil over the room," Thomas remarked with a smile. "What an old trick."
"Yes, how do you know what it is?" Carlyle asked, shocked.
"Because I know Victor and his old magic tricks," Thomas replied.
"Can you get me out of here?" Carlyle questioned.
"Yes, I can," Thomas answered confidently. "Niall, shut the door so I can see Carlyle and remove this veil."
"Okay," Niall complied, closing the door. The room transformed into a slightly different version upon reopening it. The bed was messy, and the floor was scattered with papers and random items.
"You did it!" Carlyle exclaimed with a smile.
"Yep," Thomas laughed. "I told you I could."
"I was a little worried, I admit," Carlyle confessed.
"How long have you been in that room?" Niall inquired.
"I've been in the room ever since I can remember," Carlyle revealed. "I don't even know who my parents are."
"We'll help you remember," Kathrine assured with a smile. "I promise."
"Now that we have Carlyle," Thomas suggested, "let's get to the second floor and find the others."
"There's more of you guys?" Carlyle asked.
"Yes, there is," Kathrine replied with a smile. "My mom and two of my friends are up there looking for you."
"Then we need to hurry before Victor knows," Carlyle urged.
"Let's see if the elevator will appear," Niall proposed, approaching the wall without a door. However, nothing happened when he placed his hand on it.
"It's not working," Niall reported.
"Let me try," Thomas said, joining Niall. A voice responded, "SORRY, CAN'T APPLY TO SCAN."
"Fuck, it's broken," Thomas exclaimed, punching the wall.
"Now what?" Kathrine asked, looking around.
"I don't know," Thomas admitted, walking back to Kathrine and Carlyle. "Why not try the last door?"
"Why not," Thomas agreed, approaching them. "Let's see."
When Kathrine opened the door, she found a room with stairs at the back.
"I see some stairs," Kathrine noted as she walked into the room.
"So, what should we do?" Courtney asked as she walked around the room.
"Why not look through the three doors?" Tierney suggested, walking over to the left-side door.
"It has words on the door," Kristen pointed out as she walked over. "It says (FILE ROOM)."
"What does the other door say?" Tierney asked, looking behind her.
"Let me see," Courtney replied, running to the door behind them. "It says (MAGIC LIBRARY)."
"And the third door?" Tierney inquired as she walked over.
"What's it say?" Kristen asked, joining Tierney.
"It says (RESEARCH LAB)," Tierney reported. "So which one should we go into, then?"
"We should look in the file room and see if we can get info on what he is planning on doing," Tierney suggested with a smile. "I assume that Thomas and the others found Carlyle."
"How do you know that?" Courtney asked.
"Because there is only a library, a file room, and a research lab," Tierney explained. "I doubt he would be in these three rooms."
"Okay, let's see what we can find," Kristen said as she opened the door to the file room.
Inside, they found filing cabinets on each side, with a table and chairs in the middle.
"Okay, this is going to be fun," Courtney remarked sarcastically when she saw the filing cabinets.
"Let's get started then," Selena said as she walked into the room.
"First, let's see what the cabinets are labeled," Kristen suggested, walking to the first one. "This one says (MAGIC)."
"What about the next one?" Tierney asked, walking over to the cabinets on the other side.
"The next one says (MAGIC #2)," Kristen reported, walking to the next. "And the next one says (Angels)."
"What should we be looking for?" Courtney inquired as she walked over to the table.
"We need to be looking for..." Tierney stopped as she reached the last filing cabinet on her side. "This is what we need."
"What is that?" Kristen asked, walking over to Tierney.
"This is labeled (ELEMENTS)," Tierney explained as she opened the first drawer of the cabinet.