Alnwick Chronicles

Eleven

~2 months later~

Caelyn

I feel myself being tied to a pole of some sort. It's made of cool metal, which sends shivers down my spine. Not that I wasn't shivering out of fear already.

I can't see anything because of being blindfolded, but I strain my ears to try and pick up on the whispers of my captors. Hopefully it'll give me an idea of where I am, or with who I am.

"He spe-"

"SHHH!"

Great, just when I'd started to discern something. I curse under my breath, but it just fills my mouth with the rotten taste of the dirty cloth that has been stuffed inside.

The murmurings continue for a minute before I hear footsteps receding. I think I'm alone now.

My entire body is aching, and I'm sure I'll get an infection from the wad of cloth in my mouth. But none of that even compares to the nerve-chilling dread I can feel increasing in me with every passing second.

Maybe they'll come to save me, Nate and the others. Desperate, useless musings, I know. They don't even know I've been abducted, much less where I am.

18 months ago, they had come to me and offered to let me join them, 'The Aberrants'. I didn't, though. I had tried to detach myself completely from Cold Hollow and everything related to it. I'd worked hard to attain at least some sense of normalcy in my life in the 6 months before that. I wasn't going to give it up just like that.

Besides, I can't be around him.

No. I brush that thought away. It isn't true. The past is in the past.

But how did I get involved in this shady business again? In spite of trying my best to put it behind me?

My brooding is interrupted by the sound of more footsteps. These seem heavier and slower, and are getting too close to me.

I feel the sting of a cool blade on my throat.

"Now," says an amused voice. "Who do we have here?"

Aerith

I pull the hood of my jacket lower over my face as I make my way through the streets of Metropola. This is the first time I've been assigned a solo field operation, and I'm not going to mess it up by being recognised.

Who might recognise me, you ask?

Cold Hollow spies. They have been on the lookout for us ever since our little run-in with them two whole months ago. It is justified, of course. We can potentially disclose the location of their secret headquarters to anyone at all. And silencing some kids is a way easier option than shifting an entire weaponized base.

I reach the building that houses Heath's apartment, and climb all the way over to the sixth floor. I pick the lock on his door and enter inside.

I'm in a minimalistically, yet classily decorated living room. On the face of it, everything seems normal. But I'm not fooled. On closer observation, I spot blood stains on a curtain. On a shelf are three identical, painted ceramic vases that are three different sizes. But the smallest vase looks way too small beside the second vase, which is not the case with the second and biggest vases. Clearly, there was a fourth vase. Which was probably damaged during a scuffle.

I kneel down and look under the chenille fabric sofa. I can't see anything properly, so I run my hand on the ground underneath it. It comes upon a sharp shard of glass that gives me a bleeding cut. I wipe the blood on my cargo pants as I slide the glass piece towards myself. There's definitely more where that came from.

Suddenly, I hear a low thump from further inside the house.

I become tense. There wasn't supposed to be anyone here, which is the only reason I was allowed to come alone in the first place. But, I can't deny a sudden surge of nervous excitement in me. I can turn this into a chance to prove myself to the others, those who don't think I'm trained enough to handle proper action yet. But I'm positive I can take down whoever is in there.

I keep my hand on the hilt of the dagger strapped to my waist as I proceed towards the corridor that joins the living room with the bedrooms on soft feet.

"I think we're done here," a low male voice says from a room. Wait, who is he talking to? How many people are in there?

I unstrap my dagger and grip it tightly as I keep moving forward with slow, careful steps.

Don't do this, something inside me says. It sounds like my brother. I ignore it.

I reach the door and sneak a peek inside. There are two men in a modest bedroom with a lone open window. It seems like they just finished cleaning up a messy room. Makes sense, considering the condition of the living room. But it must have been some fight, to have carried along the entire house.

I weigh my options. I could either back off and be out of here before they even know about me, or I could hide in a closet or something till they go away. Or I could attack. That way I'll have the element of surprise.

Adalyn says I'm too impulsive, but that might just be what saves me today.

Before I can overthink it, I jump out from my hiding spot and drive one of my knives deep into the neck of the man with his back to me. I don't know if I've killed him, but he has been injured enough to crumple to the floor.

The other one is shocked. "YOU KILLED HIM!" he yells. Huh. Maybe I did. But Man #2 recovers his wits quickly and lunges at me with his bare hands. Or so I think.

He's actually holding a jagged piece of glass that he tries to slash my face with. I bend to my right to dodge the attack and clutch his forearm and hold it in place, to prevent him from attacking again. Using my other hand, I dig my knife into his palm, drawing blood, and his grips loosens. He'll drop the glass shard any second now.

I'm so focused on his weaponised hand that I don't notice his other one picking up a night lamp from the bedside table. He smashes it on my head with full force, causing me to release my grip on him and stumble. Flaring pain erupts in my skull and my vision dizzies.

Taking advantage of the situation, he tries to snatch my blade. But I turn so that my shoulder blocks him. I won't be able to keep him away for long, though. I steal a glance towards the window, through which is visible a grey sky. Then, before he's able to predict what I'm about to do, I toss my knife out the window. He definitely would've taken it from me if I hadn't, because I'm still weak from the blow. Better none of us is armed instead of just him.

That reminds me of the piece of glass he had with him a minute ago. It now lies discarded on the floor at his feet. I kick it under the bed.

He launches a hand-to-hand assault on me. I can't do anything other than defend myself. My head still hurts and there are spots forming in my vision now.

Suddenly, he jumps, turns a full 180 degree in the air, and in one swift motion, plants a firm kick to the side of my head. What was that?!

I barely have time to form another coherent thought before I crash to the floor, clutching my head, and black out.