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Our parents had always tried to teach us self-defense when we were younger, but for Ash it never stuck. Well, I went to taekwondo classes a few times, so I kind of know some. If it wasn't related to dancing, it was hard for her to have enough motivation to try. They managed to get her to learn a little kickboxing, because it could help her perform better in dance class, while i went to my own classes. Her interest in it didn't last long enough for her to learn anything long-term though, but i stayed a little longer, so something stuck to me. So to say they were excited when we told them we were going to join in on the self-defense classes is an understatement.

Well more like Ashlyn said she will join in, Rylee just wanted to watch, so that's how she ended up agreeing on going, but in the end, they forced her to join too.



"Wait really?! No take backs!

"You aren't messing with us?!"

As for the others- Everyone got permission for our parents to teach them. It took some convincing with Aiden and Ben's parents due to Ben's past with violence, though once dad explained that self-defense can help Ben learn to protect himself and others in a more controlled manner, they were less reluctant. For Logan, his grandparent's had to meet mom and dad in person first. And the twins weren't all that complicated, they just went home and the next day said it was okay.

So now, here we are-

KICK.

"Ugh!"

"You suck." The others cringed as they watched the younger girl kick the boys leg out from under him. With a laugh, she put a hand out for the poor boy sitting on the floor, who was Tyler. He rolled his eyes, but took the girls hand as she helped him up.

-Still getting the snot kicked out of us after a month. Well, not Rylee anways, she was the one doing the kicking.

Now having finally helped Tyler get up, the girl crossed her arms. "You need to keep your legs in check, or you will keep falling on your ass." Tyler just scoffed at this, and walked away to sit down. Rylee rolled her eyes at his childish behavior of getting fed up because he couldnt beat the girl, but seemed to shrug it off after. The boy walked up to the older sister, while the younger went to get herself a drink. "Your sister is brutal." He put his hand on the back of his head as he spoke. At this, the redhead only eyed him. "No one in the real world would take it easy on us, so she, mom and dad wouldn't either. Trust me, she can be much worse."

THUD.

"Actually..." His voice went quieter as he sweatdropped. "..I might be more scared of your mom."

"Did you see how I did that, Taylor?"

"Y-Yeah."

Ben sat on the ground, possibly dizzy. The brunette girl walked back to the others, as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead, standing next to the group. Aiden and Taylor were next to Ben, checking if he was okay, while Logan and Tyler dusted themselves off, and the sisters just stood silently. "Okay, how about we stop here for today?" Their mother asked as she stretched her arms.

Logan let out a sigh of relief. "Safe.."

SNATCH.

"Don't let your guard down."

Ouch.. The brunette girl cringed as she watched her father hold the poor boy in a chokelock. Now Ben was standing up, next to him was Taylor, then Aiden who was sitting. Next to him was Ashlyn sitting on a crate, and infront of her sat her sister on the ground, then Tyler, and Logan still in their fathers chokehold. Poor dude.. "You kids want to come in and play some board games? I'll make sandwiches."

They all deadpanned as they locked eyes with eachother, before Taylor answered. "We can't.. We have to study for midterms." Oh yeah... "...Ah sorry to hear that. We'll just.. Uh- Bring the sandwiches to you then."

"Study hard!"

"Haha, that midterms joke was great."

"It wasn't a joke you idiot. They're next week."

CLANK.

The two sisters paused as they glanced at eachother, noticing that both of them heard the sound. The redhead unplugged her earplugs, and started listening closely to what she and her sister heard.

STEP.

The two girls once again looked at eachother, gave a nod, and shot out of their seats. "Huh- Ashlyn? Ry-" The two girls peeked over the side of a bus, only to see.. Nothing. There was nothing, only a crow. "What's up? Did ya guys hear something again?" Aiden asked as he and Tyler walked up behind the two girls. "I thought we did- It's just a bird though."

'A bird couldn't possibly make footstep sounds.' The younger girl narrowed her eyes as she looked around. There was nothing. Nothing that seemed a little off, shrugging her shoulders, she turned back to the others. "You got worked up over a crow?"

"It didn't sound like a crow, I thought it was a footstep."

"Maybe you guys just got it mixed up with your parents walking away?"

"Nevermind, let's just finish setting up the traps."



"We're finally done."

The lights arrived a week ago, along with these suits Aiden bought on a whim.

"So this is why you asked for our sizes?"

We've been steadily putting the lights up at night while Aiden keeps them charging around his house. Then the charge transfers over into the phantom dimension even though they aren't in the same place. There's a slight problem though...

Dozens of phantoms stood below them, their eyes on the group as they tried not to step into light.

Yeah. That.

It's true that the phantoms try to avoid the light. That's how we kept them away while we worked on the wall. However, the lights have turned into a neon sign pointing out that we're here. Not only that, but light doesn't actually kill the phantoms. It seems to just make them lose whatever form they're holding onto, which is why I think they avoid it.

Are we gonna be able to deal with that? Most of them will be distracted by the traps we set up.

Rylee swung her legs at the egde off the wall as she watched her sister get up. Ashlyn spent a while planning every little detail out. And we've run simulations of the plan a million times. The jeep is the first step to getting us out of this place and we're so close. After we've worked this hard...

No way we'll let you scare us away.



Rylee stood with her arms crossed as they waited for everyone to get off from the wall. Taylor held the lader so it wouldn't fall, while Tyler and Rylee stood next to eachother, with the boy holding a weapon over his shoulder. "Alright, let's get over the plan one more time."

"...Um- Are we uh- Are we sure we want to do this?"

The redheads and the brunette girls eyes widened. "...What?"

"I mean- Y'know, m-maybe just staying in the graveyard every night wouldn't be.. So bad, right? Especially with the lights up... Couldn't we just hide in here? Till the seven hours are up?"

"I- I like that idea.."

Her sister looked dumbfounded. "Are you serious..?" Aiden let out an 'oop' sound, before the brunette girl smacked his head, making him whine. "I thought you guys wanted out of here? And now you're saying you don't mind being trapped here for the rest of our lives? And you- Why are you being so quiet?"

". . ."

"You're the one who pitched a fit wanting to go to Savannah, so why are you passive about it now?" Tyler seemed to flinch at the redheads word, as he looked to his side where the brunette girl stood, only to see she was no longer there. The girl walked up next to her sister, putting a hand on her shoulder. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the boy snapped back. "That was before we knew about the lights and before there was a horde of those things right outside the door! I'm not saying we should stop trying to find a way out- Just maybe not with this particular plan. We don't even really need guns anymore, right?"

"And you chose now to bring this up? Now?" He snapped his focus on the young girl, who narrowed her eyes at the boy. "After all the prepping, the training, the sneaking around placing traps, and right before we actually do something, you want to back out? C'mon Tyler, I thought you weren't a puss-"

"There's too many right now!" He yelled back at the brunette girl, who was clenching her fists by her sides, glaring at the boy. "That's why we have the traps!-"

"No."

"No!"

"I'm getting that jeep!" The sudden yelling of her sister made her flinch, as she turned back to her, placing her hand back on her shoulder. "Even if we decide we don't need guns, eventually we'll need to go out there and learn how this place works so we can find a way out! That was what we agreed on!"

"Hey, Ash.. Maybe you should-" The blonde started, but a glare from the brunette was enough to make him shut up. "If you hadn't been so persisten in bothering us, we never would have gone to Savannah and none of this would have ever happened!" Ouch, Ash.. That was kinda harsh.. "You keep pushing my boundaries and I'm tired of it!"



"Why are you so worked up?!"

"Because we're ready now, but if something goes wrong in the future because I let us wait and not take an initiative, it'd be my fault as the leader!"

"Yeah well no one said you had to be the 'leader', you did that on your own!"

"Who else was going to do it?! Me and Rylee have been hearing those monsters all our life so apparently we have some weird connection to this place! This all happened when the monster grabbed my sister, and we didn't say anything about it." Oh yeah.. The brunette girl put a hand on her arm, where the wound was. She still felt it, but it was barely noticeable. "I don't think it's entirely our fault, we're just as confuaed as you all are. But I'm the best suited out of me and my sister to take 'responsibility' for what's happening, right?! To try and find a way out of this mess and protect you guys at the same time!"

A frown crossed the lips of the young girl as she watched her sister yell. She never liked when Ash was angry, or when she yelled, which was really rare from her. She put her arms around herself, and kept silent. The redhead clenched her fist by her sides, her head hanging low.

"I'm sorry."

The two sisters head snapped up as they faced Taylor. "I... Didn't realize you were taking on so much pressure on your own. And you're right.. I don't want to be here for the rest of my life." A small smile appeared on her face as she listened to the girl. "The phantoms are just a fact of this place.. No matter how many different plans we come up with, how long we put it off, or how many monsters there are, we'll still have to deal with the, and get our hands dirtx if we want out. The sooner we face and accept that, the faster we'll get our normal lives back." She scratched the back of her neck nervously. "So forget what I said earlier. I just got a little overwhelmed for a moment."

"I still think there's too many out there."

That ass-

"But.. I suppose you aren't entirely wrong that right now could be our best chance."

Nevermind Tyler, you do have a brain.

"I'm sure those things will just keep growing in number rather thin down anyway."

"Right?? And Ben and Aiden don't seem opposed of the plan either!" Their focus went to the two boys side by side, as Ben just held up thumbs-up. which made the brunette chuckle, and the boy turned his head away with a small smile. "Honestly if you guys don't hurry up and continue, I'm going to jump the wall on my own."

"Oh! I wanna jump too!"

"Not yet, Ry. Chill down." The redhead shook her head at her younger sister, before she turned back towards the group.

"See Ashlyn, we're okay now! Things are back on track. So you don't have to worry about coming up with a new plan or feeling guilty for something that would have been our own choice."

"Oh, and!" The brown eyed sister turned to her sister, and placed both hands on her shoulder to turn the redhead to face her.

"I'm glad you took lead of the group."

The green eyed sisters eyes widened as she looked at her younger sibling. Her soft, reassuring look, and that small smile. Taylor walked up to the two girls, and she too, put a hand on the redheads shoulder, making her look at Tay. "Me too. You've always been rational, and your plans have already helped us a lot. Just don't forget to trust us with your thoughts, okay?"

"If we had all talked about how we've been feeling up to this point, then maybe we could've avoided getting overwhelmed on our own. We all have to trust and support each ohter, because that's how teams work, whether you're the 'leader' or not."



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A/N) holy hell

I dont think ill be able to publish another part today. Schools been stressing me out, and I have to study cuz my next week is full of tests. Ill try to post more on the weekend tho, hopefully. 😭