But suddenly, the beast let out a loud cry of anguish and started jerking around as if in agony. "What, what's...!?" Tracy asked out loud.

"He's too late," Max was grinning, gesturing with his head at the sun rising over the horizon behind him, "The offering wasn't made in time. Bastor's through on earth-just look," he pointed downwards, where the teens' bodies were now solidifying again back to normal, "He's lost his power to..."

"What was that!?" Holly asked out loud as a loud bang and crack rang out behind them. They turned to see a large hole opening in the floor not more than a hundred yards away. "Uh oh, I was afraid of this," Travis gulped, stumbling to his feet once he and his friends were completely back to normal, "Looks like the whole building's going to be destroyed too in the...!"

He let out a shriek as the room suddenly started spinning-literally spinning, as if it had suddenly become the edge of a whirlpool, with the now widening hole as the center of circulation. And in the depths of the hole, a burning hot fire could be seen. "Now what!?" Tracy cried, grabbing at the nearest wall as the room started tilting as well.

"I don't know, I don't know...wait, we can still reach the doors if we...JUMP!" Travis took her hand and leaped over Avor-Bastor, who was leaping towards the four of them in a rage, passing so close to them that the full horror of his facial burn damage could be seen by them. "Grasp for the the handles!" he cried out, looking worried himself, for the hallway was now at an almost ninety degree angle over the swirling, fiery hole. "Got it!" Holly had to shout to be heard over the roar, holding desperately onto one of the door handles with one hand and Max's hand with the other, "I don't...!"

Max cried out again, for Avor-Bastor had grabbed his and Tracy's legs and was starting to pull them-and by extension Holly and Travis, down. "You will not escape!" he shouted in a mixture of rage and fear, "You ruined me, but I will take you with me to the far beyond, forever prisoners in my world...!"

But fortunately, it was then that the force of the whirlpool effect shattered the doors' glass, which cascaded into the man-demon's face, blinding him and distracting him enough to release his grip on the teens' legs. Before he could recover, the whirlpool effect dragging him away from them, screaming at the top of his lungs, down into the hole. The building started collapsing and tumbling into the hole, accompanied by the screams of the cultists elsewhere in the former asylums and their creatures, who had no hope of escaping the maelstrom. "Just...have...to get...outside...I hope...!" Travis strained to lift Tracy's hands up to the cusp of the doorway, as did Holly with Max's hands. Straining with all their might, they just managed to pull themselves over the edge and crawled desperately away from the whirpool as quickly as they could, ducking the remaining living vines, which were being pulled into the vortex as well. Finally, they reached the safety of the gate and barrelled through it, not stopping until they were a good five hundred feet away. Stopping to catch their breaths, they turned and watched solemnly as the asylum collapsed spectacularly into the hole, which slid shut behind it, denying that anything had ever been there. "It's over," Max breathed a deep sigh of relief, "They're gone for good. We're free," he shook Travis's hand enthusiastically.

"Yeah, free. It never felt so good," Travis exhaled, relieved himself. "I did it, Mom; I survived," he mumbled to the brightening morning sky, "I hope you're proud I made it."

"Oh I know she's proud, Travis," Tracy squeezed his hand with a warm smile, "As am I."

"Tracy..." he pulled her close into another deep kiss. Max did the same with Holly. "Well, Tracy, we didn't quite get the big story-at least no story anyone would believe-but I think we got something even better out of this," the brown-haired girl sighed happily to her friend once they finally broke the kiss about a minute later. Still kissing Travis, Tracy merely flashed Holly a thumbs-up...

...but then broke it herself with a stunned expression. "Hey, they managed to escape; they're getting away!" she exclaimed, pointing down the road toward the direction of the farmhouse she and Holly had been held prisoner in earlier. For the thieves had managed to escape the building and were running towards the woods. "Hey, stop!" Max roared, rushing after them...

...only to be blindsided by another figure leaping out of the bush who had managed to escape the disaster. "You ruined everything, boy!" Max uncle roared, drawing a huge knife, "Everything I worked for, the man and being I've given my life to, destroyed, and it's all you and your filthy friend's fault-stay back!" he warned the other teens when they started forward, holding the blade to his nephew's neck, "I'm finishing him, and you can't stop it, and then I'll...!"

But he stopped at the sound of sirens coming up Terrell Mountain Road. Gulping, the now former Imperio dropped the knife and took off running, but it was too late; three state highway patrol cruisers zoomed over the hill. "There, there!" Max pointed to the lead cruiser, gesturing at his uncle, barrelling after the thieves into the woods.

"Hold it right there!" several state troopers poured out of the cruisers and gave chase to the fugitives. "What happened up here?" another rushed up to the teens, "We got reports of explosions going on up here..."

"Um,..." Max exchanged glances with his friends, "It's a long story..."

"But the long and short is, we were all kidnapped," Holly chimed in for him, nodding in satisfaction to see the other troopers catch up with the fugitives and wrestle them to the ground, "Those men are the people who've been pulling off the robberies all over the county; they grabbed Tracy and me and held us prisoner in that farmhouse there-and wait, my camera should still be on the ground over there," she pointed emphatically towards the farmhouse in question, "That and the latest stolen goods in the farmhouse; that should be enough to convict."

"Travis and Max were kidnapped too, by the people the thieves were working with," Tracy chimed in, "They were going to kill all of us..."

"Don't listen to anything those kids say; they're lying their heads off!" Noxen roared as he and his associates were dragged, handcuffed back towards the cruisers, "It's all a...!"

"Oh shut up, it's over!" Norman growled at his boss. "I'll tell you everything," he told the trooper holding his arm, "I want no part of what they've done anymore."

Growling in fury, Noxen kicked at Norman as they and Moose were loaded into one of the cruisers. The former Imperio managed only a furious glare at his nephew and his friends as he was loaded in as well. "Hey Cap," one of the troopers came up to the apparent leader of the police, "There's a whole lot jewelry bags in that farnhouse; looks like everything that was stolen from Beitzel's Jewelry Store the other day. Looks like these kids are on the level."

"Go look for a camera lying around outside, then," the captain directed him. "Wasn't there the remains of the old asylum back here...?" he glanced confusedly at the now empty space behind the crumpled asylum gates.

"It's kind of another long story, sir," Travis told him gently.

"Well come on along with us and tell us everything, kids," he gestured them towards the open door of an unoccupied cruiser. Nodding, the teens climbed into the back seat and breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief. "We're going home," Holly exhaled happily, leaning her head into Max's chest.

"Home," he agreed, pulling her into an outright hug, "It never felt so good to go there."

"Yep," Tracy agreed, hugging Travis as well, "All's well that ends well...especially with the most wonderful boy in the world by my side..."

She leaned up again as the troopers climbed into the front seat and started the engine. "OK kids," the one in the front passenger seat turned to them as the cruiser started forward down the mountain, away from the now-gone horrible building, "Tell me exactly what happened..."

THE END...?