“Perri, I need your help.” Noah knelt down in front of Lenia. “This woman, she needs medical attention. She has been exposed to hallucinations for so long that her soul and body are shaking. Once she’s healed…”

Noah cut herself off. The joy that rose at Perri’s appearance briefly weighed on her, but now she could sense that something was off.

“Hold on for a second…”

Noah’s voice was much clearer. Up until a few minutes ago, the surrounding area had been so loud that she couldn’t hear Pecker who was standing right beside her. However, the machine noises had all stopped, leaving nothing but a deathly silence.

She felt goosebumps on her back and all along her arms. When she looked back over her shoulder, she saw the process, which had been running incessantly until a few seconds ago, coming to a complete stop.

“Pecker, who did you say was the only one who can control that automation process?”

Noah didn’t need to hear the answer. Pecker’s blanched face gave her all she needed. But that was impossible. The only other person who could control the machinery had disappeared, and she had not seen him at all during her travels. 

Dread began to set in Noah’s stomach as soon as it became clear that she had overlooked something big. All this time, she had assumed that Adrian Rossinell’s real body was in Tezeba and the replica was here in Harrell.

No one had said that there was only one replica in the first place.

She quickly scanned the surroundings but didn’t see one strand of blond hair.

“Perri… We have to hurry.”  

Perri, urged on by Noah’s words, gently landed on Lenia’s head. Her body then dissolved into a shower of yellow sparkles that slowly permeated into Lenia. With Perri’s magic, in combination with Noah’s will, Lenia’s irregular breathing gradually subsided. Less than a minute later, the strong smell of lavender from Lenia faded away. She stared blankly and shook her head.

“What is this? What is going on?”

“Are you alright, Lenia? Can you move?” Noah said, pulling Lenia to her feet. When Lenia refused to move, Noah crouched down and grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a fierce shake. Lenia merely tried to push her away, though she had little strength in which to do so. 

“Who are you?” She asked, weakly grabbing at Noah’s hands. Noah responded by giving her another firm shake. 

“How on Earth were you able to steal a dragon egg like this?! I asked you a simple question: can you walk or not?!” She screamed into Lenia’s face, which seemed to snap her out of her lull. 

“Yes! I can move!” Lenia pulled Noah’s hands away and pushed herself up. Noah sighed, getting to her feet and grabbing Lenia by the wrist. She had to get  to a place where Adrian wouldn’t look. Lenia would die this time if Adrian were to get his hands on her.

The remaining experiments were still heavy on her mind, but there was nothing she could do for now. She could only hope that Adrian doesn’t go crazy and blast the process. Using both hands to pull Lenia and Pecker, she clambered back onto the path she had taken.

“Pecker, what are you doing? Manipulate the path now! We have to get out of here!”

Before Pecker could do anything, an ominous noise and a faint vibration filled the area. Noah glanced up to see something falling from the ceiling at a frightening speed. It was the giant tong that was assembling the replica bodies. It slammed into the ground, generating a shockwave that shook everyone to the core. 

“This place is going to collapse!” Noah screamed over the rumbling sounds. “I don’t care which way we go, just go to the hallway that connects to the balcony!”

Outside the central window was a ladder that ran along the outside of the building. One which, Noah hoped, ran the full length down to the ground floor. All they needed to was get to that window.

Pecker, his hands trembling, pressed down on  his control panel. Mostly due to the added pressure, he guided the path so that it did not stop at the door they’d come in earlier. Instead, it came to halt in front of the curved hallway on the fifth floor.

Noah, not caring where it landed so long as it was high up, scrambled up the path. Pecker and Lenia followed close behind, and soon all three of them were safe outside the hallway. Thankfully, off in the distance, they could see the window leading out and the balcony beyond. But as Noah stared at the window, she could feel a strange presence coming from behind her.