Alexander was sitting exactly where I had left him. He looked up at me as I entered. My stomach twisted once again, looking at the blood that had been splattered across the floor.

  "I'm going to ask you a question. You are going to answer it. Then I'm going to ask you another one. You will answer my questions and your answers will decide if you live or die," I began. He was getting up now. There was real fear in his eyes. "If I were you, I would answer very carefully." He couldn't lie to me. Not this time. I placed my hand on his shoulder. His thoughts dripped with fear and panic. Not again! He was thinking. I frowned. I had no idea what that meant. How is she doing this? wasn't I supposed to push her! His mind went on.

  "Can you create your own Adamantine?" was my first question. He shook his head. His mind relaxed. He must be telling the truth. The overwhelming levels of fear in his mind were distracting me now. Why? Why now, why like this! He was thinking I have done everything in my power to keep this from happening! Images were appearing in his mind now. Images that I myself had seen before. Suddenly a memory hit me. It hit me with such force that I stumbled back. It was a faint and blurry memory, from long ago. But now it filled my mind once again.

  "It won't happen again!" A voice was yelling. My eyes opened. I was looking up at a bright light. My eyelids felt as if they were over a hundred pounds. My legs and arms felt stiff and heavy. Voices filled the dry air around me.

  "It better not happen again!" I didn't know these voices. Where was Mr. Alexander? "This is too much power for one person. If you can't control her, we're going to have to hand her over to someone else's care!"

  "I can control her!" That was Mr. Alexander's voice. I wanted to call out to him and ask him what was going on. But my mouth wouldn't open no matter how hard I tried.

  "This never would have happened if you hadn't messed up! Remember, she is capable of everything and anything imaginable! She just doesn't know it yet. If she figures that out, think of the damage that would be done!"

  "I'm aware of that."

  "Then do better!" I could hear that the voices were growing closer now. "We'll lose all our power if she figures that out. The Adamantine is dependent on its owners mental and emotional state. Once she knows she's unstoppable, she will be impossible to work with!"

  "I understand that! What are you saying I should do?"

  "Break her. It's simple. Make her think that she is completely helpless. Make her depend on you fully." Finally, I forced my mouth open. But all that came out was a sharp whisper. Mr. Alexander couldn't hear me over the yelling of this man. The voices were very close to me now. They were in the same room as me. "How hard can it be to control one little girl?" My heart was racing now. Had I hurt something? I don't think I had. I would have remembered, right.

  My heart was racing now. It was the only thing in my whole body that moved with ease. What had I done that had messed things up? Had I gotten Mr. Alexander in trouble again? No!

  "Remember, we are the good guys in her eyes. She needs us, she needs you. She can't do anything alone. We need her to think that. She came far too close to discovering S.T.O.N.E.'s secret. We can't have that happen!" What were they talking about? What was going on? Where was I?

  "Hey!" My voice had returned to me at last. "W-what is this place? Who are these people? W-what are you talking about?" My own voice sounded like a faint whisper to me, but they seemed to hear it this time. Three blurry shadows loomed above me. Cold eyes glared down at me.

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  "Not again," one of the faces was saying. "We can't talk about this here. She keeps waking up."

  "Alright," Alexander said in agreement.

  "A-Alexander, what's happening?" I sobbed. But he didn't answer me.

  "I'm going to have to wipe her memory again," he was saying. What? No! Could he even do that? What was happening?

  "What?" I gasped. "What are you talking about? I-I thought you were my friend!" Once again he didn't answer me. It was as if I hadn't said a word.

  The figures stepped back as a loud ringing filled the air around me. What was happening to me? Was he really wiping my memory? Had he done this before? If so, how many times, and what memories had I lost? I screamed and cried as the room filled with a hundred differently colored fumes.

  I stumbled to the ground. The force of the memory felt like a shock wave. But I was back now. I was facing Alexander. Now I understood. I had broken down the door, I had made it so far, I had been able to do the unthinkable. The crazy thing was that I had been able to do these things all along. My Adamantine could make me totally and utterly unstoppable if I just let it. I smiled. Tyla had given me that power. She had given me a reason to fight. She had made me stronger because I needed to be strong for her. I knew the truth now. Alexander wasn't going to take my memories, my strength, or any of the people I loved. I got to my feet. He shrank back as I stood up

  "What is S.T.O.N.E.?" I demanded. He didn't answer me. Rage and fear melted together on his face. "Answer me!" I placed my hand on his shoulder again. But there was nothing but a blood- red rage filling his mind. I couldn't get a clear answer from his thoughts.

  "How dare you threaten me?" he demanded. A strange look had come into his eyes. His voice was a strained whisper. "After everything I've done for you! You'd just be a worthless little fool without me!"

  "Answer my question if you want to live," I said more firmly.

  "Your sister is going to die. She'll bleed out and it will be pure agony for her!" He was screaming now. His eyes glowed with rage. He wasn't even looking at me now. He was looking through me, past me. "She'll die just like Connie did! Everyone will die and you'll be here alone!" What was happening to him? Was he finally snapping? "I should have killed you when you were still a child, you spoiled brat!" The knife that he had used to carve up Tyla's face was still lying on the table. I picked it up and turned back to Alexander. Maybe I would be doing him a favor. What was he now? He had turned into nothing more than a madman, living in a self-made cage. We were both prisoners.

  "Your family, friends, everyone will be gone! I'd kill each and every single one of them myself if I could! They'll all die just like Ross!" I shoved him back to the ground. Something seemed to snap inside him. His gaze became more focused.

  "I don't think that they're the ones who will die today," I told him.

  "Are you going to make it slow? Painful?" he asked me. I paused. That wasn't the question I had been expecting. I looked at him one last time. I could almost feel a flicker of pity. He had torn himself to shreds. It was truly a sad thing to behold.

  "No." I slit his throat in one motion. He wasn't worth the time. A deep stillness had fallen over the halls. I felt it with every step that I took. Just a few minutes ago everything had been so loud and busy. Now, the world seemed to be at peace. Beverly met me at the door.

  "How is Tyla doing?" I asked her.

  "She's going to live, that's for sure. But the scars are very deep... I'm afraid she's going to have them with her for the rest of her life," Beverly answered.

  "Thank you. Alexander's dead," I added. For a moment Beverly's eyes went wide, but she didn't ask me any questions.

  "She's awake now if you want to talk to her," Beverly said. I nodded. I slipped into the room.

  "Tyla? Do you feel okay?" I asked. Her eyes stayed closed, but a smile appeared on her lips.

  "I-I'm better," she said softly. "But everything is all fluffy now," she added. "Can I go home now?"

  "No, not just yet. But you'll be able to see Mama and Papa soon," I said.

  "Really?" Her eyes opened. To my delight, they were gleaming with hope.

  "Oh! Before I forget... there's something I need to tell you," Tyla said sleepily.

  "Hm? What is it?"

  "Connie says hi," she mumbled.

  "What?"

  "She told me to tell you that she says hi. Oh, also she's very proud of you because she says you've been being very brave," Tyla said. Had she been dreaming about Connie? How sweet. I smiled.

  "If you see her again, tell her I said hi. Also tell her how much I miss and love her," I said. Tyla nodded

  "I will," she said with a yawn. I paused in the doorway. Tyla's face was torn up, but there was an aura of peace surrounding her. I didn't want to leave her again. But there was so much work to be done. We still needed to save Mama and Papa and Roy. But I wasn't afraid. I had a reason to fight and a reason to live thanks to my sister. So long as I knew that, I couldn't be stopped.