Imprisoned by the devil 3

Chapter 15

I followed Roen as he eventually shifted to his dog form and started to sniff around the hall as we walked. The hallway was a bit brighter, due to the open windows that stretched to the length of it. I look around the hallway, then peeked behind me to make sure no one was following. I walked with my arms crossed and my hands against them, making sure they were cold enough to fight. I kept on looking around the hallway, hoping we didn't get caught by anyone. There were no pictures on the walls, but the walls were painted orange with a white trim framing it. Little gold lights hung from the ceiling, looking like they were caging the bulb that they contained. The carpet matched the rest of the building, looking like it never changed. Roen walked in front of me, sniffing the floor then the air as he patted along. I followed him silently, not wanting to be in the way. I knew he was trying to pick up Aaron's scent and was struggling to find it. I kept looking down hallways and out windows, thinking of the possible places that he'd be in. I wanted to help Roen as much as possible, but I didn't know how to. The only thing I could do at the moment was to be on the lookout and follow in silence.

I looked at Roen as he stopped, his head high and his tail not wagging anymore. I stopped behind him as I studied him, confused about what he was doing. Roen stood still as he looked down the hallway in an alert. I looked around for anything approaching, then studied him again. Without making a sound, he switched back into his human form. "That's weird," he said, as I looked at him. "What is?" I asked, trying to keep my voice low. Roen turned to me, looking like he was lost himself. "I just had Aaron's scent. Then all of a sudden, it was gone. Shiki must be hiding it from me," he said, as I looked at him. "So, should we turn around until you pick it back up again?" I asked as Roen looked up.

He studied me with a worried face. "I don't know," he said, then took a deep breath. "I know you're gonna hate me for this, but we should get out of here for the night. I'll hide you somewhere safe, then I'll come back for Aaron," he said as I looked at him in shock. "But you said," I started to say, as Roen started to growl at me. I instantly stopped talking so he knew I was listening. Roen took a deep breath. "I know I said we'd find Aaron before we left, but it's really not safe for you to be roaming. We should probably leave for the night," he said, as I stood there in thought. I wasn't ignoring Roen, but there was no way the two of us could leave Aaron behind. I kept calm, trying to fight the feeling of just yelling out in frustration.

I went to nod, but a thought came to mind. "What if we split up? You go find Aaron and I'll try to distract the rest of the committee?" I brought up, knowing it was a dumb idea. Roen shook his head. "That wouldn't be good. If they found you," he said, as I stood tall. "If they found me, they would be an ice sculpture. I'll freeze them in an instant," I said, knowing I wasn't giving up. Roen shook his head. "Ella, it's still not a good idea. I really think we should leave," he stated again. I took a deep breath, feeling my arms getting colder. "Roen, I think we should help Aaron," I said, still keeping my original thoughts.

Roen went to speak again, but the sound of footsteps approached. He shot his head up as if it would help him hear better. I clenched my fists as I felt the ice starting to creep up my arms. Roen swung around, extending his claws and preparing a fight. I stared into the hallway, seeing a figure that looked quite similar. The sound of claws clipping on the floor became louder by the second. The being inched closer as Roen and I started to calm down. I took a deep breath as I relaxed my arms, feeling them becoming warm like before.

Walking into the light, I saw tall legs and small paws. It was a large dog, a German Shepard which was mostly black but had light tan markings all over it. Dark red eyes glowed at me, then at Roen. I shook in fear of the dog, having a million thoughts run through my head. Roen cocked his head in confusion. "Colt, what are you doing here?" he asked, as I looked at him. I looked back at the dog as it changed into a human form. Colt shrugged as he walked completely into the light. "Just roaming," he said, as he walked up behind me. "Why hello there, Ella," he said, in a creepy tone. He went to wrap me up in a hug, but I walked out of his arms before he could finish. "Hello," I said, in a bit of a shaky tone. Roen stayed silent as he watched the scene. Once again, he didn't say anything to stop him. Roen sighed. "Is your brother and sister with you?" he asked as Colt stood up. "No. I don't know where Tim is. Eden's at home. I just tracked down sweet little Ella's scent and ended up here," he said, as he inched forward towards me. I backed up as my hands became colder.

"Colt. This isn't the time or the place to start flirting with Ella. I need to find Aaron and then we're getting out of here," he said, as he started to look around. Roen looked in the hallway as he took a deep sigh like he was thinking of changing plans. I turned towards him as I stayed silent, ready to be told what to do next. Roen took a deep breath. "Ella, I still think you should get out of here. Before the committee finds out. Or your brother," he said, as I looked at him. "I want to help find Aaron," I said, as Roen looked at me. "Ella. It isn't safe. Let me take care of things here," he said, as I sighed, knowing I couldn't win. "Alright. If you think it's better. I trust you," I said, as Roen nodded, then looked at his son. "Colt. Help Ella escape and don't hurt her," he ordered. I jolted in shock as I studied him better, trying to make sure I heard everything clearly. Instantly, my body started to shake as I became cold. Colt nodded as Roen turned into his dog form and the little pomeranian started to walk down the hallway. I studied him as he disappeared down the dark hallway.

I jolted when Colt turned to study me. "So, it's just you and me I guess. Come on, this place gives me the creeps," he said, as he started to walk the way he came. I looked behind me to try and see Roen, but he already left before anything changed. I held my arms, feeling a little layer of ice forming over where I held. "Come on. Don't make me carry you," Colt snapped as I shot a look at him. "Sorry. Coming," I said, as I ran to catch up. I ran up to him as he turned back around and the two of us started to walk back down the hallway. Colt looked up ahead, with his hands in his pocket. I quietly followed behind, feeling awkward about the situation. I looked around the hallway, then ahead of us. An awkward feeling kept rushing through me, making me feel uncomfortable. Was it because I was afraid to see what was happening or was I just afraid of Colt.

I watched as we both turned to go down an even darker hallway, with only a very dim light above a dark brown door. The door was made of wood like it was part of a castle from a very long time ago. There were no handles on the door from what I could see, which made me wonder if we ended up at a dead end. Or if Colt was secretly working for my dad and no one knew about it. The sound of sniffing entered the air as Colt walked closer to the door, pulling me along with him. My eyes widened as I shook more, scared to see what was gonna happen. I watched as he walked up to the door. He extended a nail as he started to pick at the door. "Um," I said, as Colt looked at me. "Trust me. This is a safe route out. Tim and I hide in there all the time," he said, as he popped the door open. He looked around as to find a light, but then I realized he was just smelling the air.

When he was done, he turned around. "Alright, follow me and be silent," he said, as he started to inch down into the darkness. I walked up to the doorway as I noticed a stone stairway that dipped into a dark tunnel. I studied the staircase as I cocked my head to the side. "Um, you sure this is the safest way?" I asked as Colt turned around. "Come on, Ella. It's just a basement. You must've had one in the immortal world," he said, sounding angry about my curiosity. I took a deep breath as I followed down. "Um, I never grew up in the immortal world. I grew up here," I said, as he turned to me. "Here? With humans?" he asked, then continued down the stairway. I nodded. "Yeah. To be honest, I never even knew I had a brother until now," I explained. Colt stopped at a lower step and turned around. "You never been in the immortal world?" he asked. I shook my head. "No, I grew up with the Tachibana's. I never knew my real parents until the committee started to work here," I explained. Colt studied me like he didn't believe anything I was saying. "Really?" he asked, sounding unconvinced. I nodded. "I also thought I was human. I just started using my powers a few years ago," I said, as Colt looked up ahead. Then he turned around again. I looked at him as I felt my arms become cold from the fear.

He was silent as he studied me. I stood there, wondering if I said something that would offend him. "Is something wrong?" I asked as he continued to watch me. "You're saying the truth?" he asked as I nodded. "Yep. One hundred percent," I said, chipper but low. Colt didn't move at all. "And you never knew until a few years ago?" he asked as I nodded. "That's correct." Colt took a deep breath as he continued down the staircase. "Must be different for your type," he said, as we started to move on. I followed silently as we walked down the stairs more. I kept my eyes on Colt as he stopped. I almost slipped as I fell on the steps. "What was that?" I asked him as he sighed. "There's a dip in the staircase. It's like they destroyed half of it," he said as I looked past him. There was a gap and the rest of the staircase lied on the ground underneath us. Colt took a deep breath. "We have to jump," he said, as he jumped off the step. I jolted in shock as I looked down, seeing him fall on the ground. He dusted himself off as he looked up. "Alright, your next," he said, as I looked at the jump. I felt my arms become cold as ice starting to form like it was repacing the rest of the staircase. I stood up as I started to walk down the steps as I got next to him. Colt took a deep breath as he continued on. "I should've asked you to do that in the beginning," he said, as we continued to walk down the dark tunnel in silence.