Eilene's POV

They've been meeting dead ends every tunnel they go to and it's making them more exhausted and frustrated.

John muttered, "If we meet another dead i'm going to-"

Just when they turned the corner, they stopped and groaned as they met another dead end.

"Okay, I quit," John sighed.

Before she had time to think, she replied, "Not expecting for you to say that, oh great son of Lord Gaundor."

John looked at her in surprise. Even Eilene herself was surprised she said that. Why did I just say that?

"I never thought I would say this but I kinda missed that nickname," John admitted, looking away, faintly embarrassed.

"I don't know what's more unexpected," Zoron spoke up, "John saying that he likes that nickname or Eilene saying that nickname."

"It's Lin not Eilene," she muttered.

"Is it really Lin?" John asked, "Because I still see the Eilene we all knew before you betrayed us."

"It was all an act," Eilene said, "So the Eilene you knew isn't even the real Eilene."

"Why don't I believe you?" John said.

"Because you said so yourself," Eilene snapped, "You said you were never going to believe me or trust me ever again. It was all an act so everything I told you is all a lie."

John flinched and Eilene wish she could take that back but she shook her head. There's no more Eilene, it's just Lin now. Just then, there were some scuttling that were coming closer and closer. It was coming from the way they were. Whatever it was, she knew that it wasn't good and once it finds them, they'll be trapped.

"What's that?" George asked.

Before anyone could say anything, a figure came into view. They all stepped back in terror. The figure looked so pale and ghastly, its head bald, but that wasn't what made Eilene freeze in terror. It's the fact that there was a black, twisting spiral on its forehead, the eyes were so empty and blank.

"L-Lin?" Hope stuttered in fear, "W-What is that?"

But she could barely hear Hope's voice, anyone's voice. She just stared at the creature, frozen in pure terror. She couldn't think clearly. All she could think was the black, twisting spiral on its forehead, the parasite, the Wyrm. She only read about it in the book but seeing it for real was terrifying. She realized that John had been saying her name.

"Eilene, snap out of it," John exclaimed, "What are we supposed to do?"

"R-Right," Eilene stuttered, she rarely stutters.

Think, Lin, think, she thought.

Just then, more of those ghastly creatures came into view and they scowled at them. Then they surged forward. The team summoned their Spirit Animals and started fighting them. Lin felt strength run through her as she fought along side her Spirit Animal, Ursa. She started using her new battle moves that Shane thought her since the war. As she fought one off, two more kept coming. She knew that they were badly outnumbered and soon, they'll be too exhausted.

Just then, a blinding light filled her vision. She closed her eyes and he heard the others were in pain as well but she realized that the ghastly creatures were affected the most.

"Quick, climb up," Eilene heard a voice say.

"Who are you?" John asked.

"I'm here to help you," the voice sounded from a female, "They're not going to stay stunned for long, you need to climb now."

Eilene spotted a rope and she looked up, shielding her eyes to see the bright light and a figure. They got their Spirit Animals into passive and climbed up the rope. John was the last to get up and they pulled the rope back up just as the light disappeared. She could hear the frustrated screams of the creatures, making her shudder.

"Are you okay?" the mysterious girl said.

Eilene finally got a good look at her and gasped. She was like a beautiful version of the creatures below because of the pale skin. She had very white hair, pale skin, and a skinny frame. Only, she didn't have the black spiral on her forehead.

"W-We're fine," Zoron stammered.

"You're lucky you guys survived," the girl said in a foreign accent Eilene has never heard of, "Or else you would be one of them, one of the Many."

"The Many?" George asked.

"Those people down there," said the girl, "They used to be our people but when the Wyrm spread, it has infected our people, thus becoming the Many."

"Who are you?" John asked.

"Oh right, sorry I forgot to introduce myself," the girl said, "My name is Haley and i'm from Sadre."

Eilene's eyes widened. This must be the Sadreans. The ones who went down to tend the Evertree's roots.

"Who are you?" Haley asked, with a smile.

"Let me start," John said, "My name is John, this is my brother George. These are our friends, Zoron and Hope. And this is our...guide, Lin."

"Guide?" Haley asked, confused.

"Well, i'm not exactly a guide," Eilene replied, "We came from Erdas and we went here because of something that had happened."

"Erdas," Haley echoed as if it was the most fascinating thing, "You're from Erdas. You came from Erdas. Three people came to Erdas to my city a couple of days ago."

"Three?" Hope asked.

"One had the mighty ape warrior, Kovo," Haley said, "The other two had Briggan the Wolf and Jhi the Panda."

"Conor, Meilin, and Takoda are here?" Zoron asked, "I thought they're supposed to be inspecting the door."

"They must've gotten trapped," John said, "We should go look for them."

"I'm not sure that's possible," Haley said, her voice growing sad, "The Many had attacked Phos Astos, probably the last city of Sadre. I don't know if anyone had survived, I barely escaped myself."

"They must've survived," John insisted, "If anything, they would probably be going straight towards the Evertree."

"Haley, which way is the Evertree?" Eilene asked.

She pointed to a direction and Eilene looked at her compass. The compass was pointing at the same direction to where the Evertree was.

So guys, how's this book going so far? If you're enjoying this story you might enjoy the other stories that I've written so check it out. Please vote and leave a comment on what you guys think. Stay tuned for the next chapters!