Jamie and Syelina 11

Some time was spent debating on who should go in and tell the two dark ones to get outside and escape, but it was decided quite quickly that it would be Annik, Nai and Sebastian. Liera and Extreme were placed on guard duty outside of the door.

Annik led the way, as she knew the lay of the building slightly more than the others. Nai and Sebastian were close on her heels, and kept a sharp eye out for any of the zombie menaces.

As they approached the door, the voices that streamed out had softened compared to what Annik had heard earlier. No more bickering or things being smashed.

Slowly, inch-by-inch, the trio poked their heads through the doorway. The two dark ones seemed to be in deep conversation, but it didn’t look serious, which was surprising for the Puppets.

‘They almost look like they’re having fun,’ thought Annik, and chuckled quietly.

<If we’re going to tell them, we can’t be very subtle> whispered Lang. Although Annik hated to break in, she knew Lang was right.

“Sorry to interrupt, but you have to get out of here if you don’t want to be captured again,” she said and stepped into the room. Jamie and Syelina’s heads snapped up at her sudden arrival. They looked too surprised to do anything to her.

“Um, you see the Organization, or at least one of its sections, is waiting to ambush right now, and we thought you’d like a warning,” ventured Annik, and hoped she wouldn’t be killed.

“How do we know you’re not lying?” hisses Syelina as she stood up briskly, accidentally knocking over her chair. “All we know is that you could just be waiting to do something to us!”

Annik’s nerves turned into anger. “We’re only Puppets! Do you really think we’d be stupid enough to take you on? We’re trying to save both of you for crying out loud!”

“And the more time we spend talking, the less time we’ll have to escape,” added Nai. Her voice was calm, but her body language betrayed the wrath she was trying to hide. Flames ignited and sputtered around her. “So get going, or to hell with you.”

Annik could see the calculations being made behind their eyes. After what seemed like hours, Jamie stood up and put a hand on Syelina’s shoulder.

“Let’s go,” he said quietly. “I can feel something’s not right out there. My servants haven’t responded in awhile.”

“Probably getting a second death from the Organization,” muttered Nai.

Syelina looked surprisingly anxious as she clasped her hands. She nodded her assent.

Everything went like clockwork from there. The King of the Dead collected all his most important possessions while Syelina helped him. Annik went over the books and selected the few that would probably be helpful along the way. Nai found things that she would be able to pawn off for large amounts of money to be used on their journeys. Sebastian cloaked the entrance, so you wouldn’t be able to see what was going on inside the room unless you were peering closely.

When they were finally finished, Annik turned to Sebastian and said, “Make an illusion of these two as realistic as possible.”

Since school is starting tomorrow, there's going to be a bit of a dry spell on Puppetmaster. But don't worry, we'll write when we can!