The Null research facility had a quiet, lonely atmosphere, but Maya still felt like there was something, or someone watching her. She took a flashlight from her backpack and shined the light towards the spot she had seen the shadow in. There was nothing. She continued walking cautiously, lighting the dark hallways with the beam of the flashlight.
At the same time, Remy's group was suffering in the cottage. The fire was eating up their space and air, until they finally found an openable window from the living room.
Althea helped the others out one by one, but when Remy, Aatos, Hazel and Ocean were out, she realized one was missing. Aurora was still somewhere inside the cottage. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if any of the kids were hurt in the dangerous situation.
She got up and ran through the rooms the smoke hadn't reached as fast as she could, looking for Aurora.
She found her alive, but she was stuck under a fallen piece of wood in the kitchen. Althea quickly lifted the heavy plank off Aurora and helped her up.
But the fire had other plans. It broke right thought the door to enter the room and climbed up the walls unnaturally fast, igniting their surrondings.
Althea took Aurora's hand and led her to the living room, the fire following them like it smelled them and wanted to feast. It caught on Althea's leg like a leech, burning her.
Althea let go of Aurora's hand. She couldn't move. She was slowly getting consumed by the fire. "Run.. Run and don't look back!" she said with her last breath, before collapsing to the ground, her body left to burn to ashes.
Aurora didn't have time to mourn her. She had to leave this place. She zoomed to the window as fast as she could, stepping out of the house.
The others were waiting outside. Aurora bursted out crying, but they didn't have time to question it. The fire was after them. All of them ran deeper into the woods, hoping the fire wouldn't find them.
Meanwhile, Maya had found her way to the room where the Nullfire was kept. The candle.. It has fallen over. Maya put it back in place, making it stand again.
She looked around, shining the light on a nearby table. She glanced at the odd, dull candle again. The flame seemed like it was waching her, observing every single one of her moves.
In the meantime, Hexa managed to get herself restricted in her cell. She will now have to wear handcuffs, even inside the cell. Eating in the canteen with the others also became forbidden for her. Food is going to be delivered to her cell, which she isn't allowed to leave unless the guards tell her to. Her bag wasn't taken away, just the dead phone. And the worst part? She'll have to spend the next 5 years in this hellhole.
Hexa was cuffed and led back to her cell by two guards. The door clicked closed and Hexa saw the red outlines of the guards leaving.
She sat down on the low bed, or pretty much just a plank hanging on the wall. Her vision stayed black. She felt an unbearable rage within her, the darkness slowly starting to turn red.
Somewhere, deep in the forest where a cottage was supposed to be, was now just a black patch of coal and ash. It seemed like it was never even there. Eveything burned, and the Nullfire took it's sacrifise.
On the forest floor, the fire had formed a burned symbol, waiting to be found by anyone passing by. Burns in the shape of an eye, a white flame burning forever on the ground where the pupil of the was supposed to be.