Winter

Chapter 8: Wolf

We headed in the direction of the palace, it's tall spires cutting the sky. It was the easiest thing to spot that can lead us to the capital, and my home.

"Artemisia," Cress said, "So that's where your parents live, huh?"

"Yeah, it's where I grew up," I said, with no emotion. I never really thought of my past. All I remember was the brutal training she put me through. The training, it does something to you. You can see the change in their nature, from boy, to monster, as they grew up. We walked on in silence. Eventually, we made it towards the edge of the capital.

"Keep your heads down. No doubt Levana has this whole place plastered with wanted signs with our names on them," I whispered to them. "And stay in the shadows," I added.

"Do you think your parents will be glad to see you?" Cress asked feebly. I stopped, then turned around to look at her. It didn't cross my mind on how my parents will react.

What will they see? What will they think? Will they look at me like I'm a monster, like everyone else does? I decided to put it in the simplest way possible. "I think they'll just be glad I'm alright. My parents, they..." I left my sentence hanging, because I saw a distant figure scurry away from Artemisia. It was heading in our direction.

"You think he's having one of those flashbacks, like in the movies?" I heard Thorne whisper to Cress. But I ignored him.

"Do you see that figure over there?" I said, pointing with my finger. They walked a few steps closer to me and looked in the direction I was pointing.

"Yeah," Cress said.

"So?" Thorne said, giving me a questioning look.

"Don't you find it suspicious that he's running away from Artemisia?" I wondered. We all stared at the figure darting in and out of craters, looking around, as if looking for something. I looked around. "C'mon," I gestured toward a crater deep enough to keep us hidden, in case the figure spots us.

I swung one of my legs over the lip of the crater, searching for a groove with my foot. After finding one, I swung the rest of my body into the crater, keeping my eyes level with the ground. Cress quickly followed my movements. Thorne had trouble finding a groove. He cursed. "Just suck it up, and get in here already!" I whispered loudly to him. He gave me a cold look, but managed to lower himself into the crater. I started tapping my fingers on the lip of the crater.

By then, the figure got closer, and we could see him looking around like a field mouse. He reached a big rock, and pushed it. He gave one last look across the horizon and lowered himself into the spot where the rock had once been. We saw his hand reach up and slide the rock back into place, leaving any trace of his whereabouts hidden.

We stood, staring at the place where the mysterious figure had once been. None of us had the urge to move, after what we'd just seen. Eventually, we climbed out. We just stared at each other, with expressions of confusion and shock plastered on our faces.

"Maybe...that guy just works...in the...sewer systems?" Thorne suggested, not wanting to say the truth aloud. Neither of us argued.

"Lets just go to your parent's and ask them if we can use their space. And pretend that none of this has happened, lets just put this behind us," Cress stated. I nodded. Cress and Thorne walked toward Artemisia.

I lingered behind, looking one last time at the rock that seemed to lead to a hidden passageway. I made a mental note of the rock's location. Then, I turned and ran to catch up to Cress and Thorne.
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We had to travel through a lava tube, which was the only way inside. We arrived at my parents' home. My home. My home, before Levana came and took me away from everything I loved. I looked at the dome that covers everything in the city. Everything was so familiar.

"Hey, you gonna knock or what?" Thorne said impatiently. I slowly raised my fist and rapped my knuckles on the regolith door. We waited on the doorsteps. Minutes passed, and still no answer. I knocked on the door again.

"Wolf, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think they're home," Cress said feebly.

"No," I said. I hadn't realized that I was actually looking forward to meeting my parents again. "My mother never leaves the house. She-"

"Yeah," Cress interrupted, "But things change. For all we know, they could've moved." Her tone was caring, but her words were like knives at my heart. I didn't want to accept the fact I might not see my parents again. Finally, I gave in. I turned slowly away from the only home I had. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow pass over the curtain through the window. Cress and Thorne have noticed too.

Cress walked up to the door and spoke through the door. "You can open the door. We mean no harm. We're just hear to ask you something," she coaxed. "Please?" she added. Like Thorne, Cress had a charm, and it worked with whoever was behind that door.

The door slowly creeped open, wide enough for the person behind the door to get a firm look at us. Suddenly, the door swung open, and before I knew it I was standing before my very own mother. She's changed. I could see her hair starting to gray, and her face was lined with few wrinkles. She had a curtain rod in her hands and kept her distance from me.

It took a while, but a look of recognition dawned on her face. Before I knew it, I was locked in her embrace. I hugged her back. We stood there, held in each other's arms.

My mother pulled back. "Ze'ev? Is that really you?"

"Yes, mom," I answered. I saw tears starting to well up in her eyes. "Where's dad?"

"He's...somewhere else."

Then, I heard Thorne cough. I averted my attention to him. I knew what he was trying to say. Hurry up.

"Mom, we came here to ask you something," I said.

"And what is that?" she asked.

I hesitated. Will she understand? I took a chance. "We need to use your hangar. You still have it, right?"

"Of course we do. But why do you need it so badly?"

I looked at Cress and Thorne, wondering if I should tell her the truth. If she ever got caught helping us, she can be used against us. Cress nodded, but Thorne shook his head. I decided to tell her part of the truth.

"We need it to dock our ship. We have nowhere else to go, so we're going to be staying here for a while." She stood there, pondering, looking into my eyes. Reluctantly, she nodded her head. My mother went back inside the house, and returned with a ring of keys in her hand.

"Follow me. I'll take you to our hangar."

"Mom," I looked back at my friends, "We need the key." I knew that if she ever saw Cinder she'll freak out. I needed to protect both of them.

"Ze'ev," she said suspiciously, "What's going on?"

"Something big." And with that, I snatched the keys from her hand and ran as fast as I could. Cress and Thorne quickly ran to catch up. I looked back one last time at my mother, on her knees, sobbing. I didn't care if I ever saw her again, all I wanted to know was if she was alright. Once again, I found myself running from my past.
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WOAH!!! THIS CHAPTER WAS WAY TOO MUCH!!! AND I MEAN WAY TOO MUCH!!! I DIDNT EVEN BOTHER EDITING IT!!! So if you're wondering, "WOAH!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?!!" then you're absolutely right. When this story reached 3K (AND THANK YOU!!!) something hit me. Like a voice in my head told me, "NO MORE MESSING AROUND!!! THESE PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT YOU FOR A DECENT STORY, AND YOU GIVE THEM THIS?!!" So I realized I had to up my game. And this is what happened. I deleted this chapter, and rewrote it even better than it was before. Which is why it took like two weeks for this chapter to come out. AND ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THERE WAS SO MUCH BRAIN SWEAT!!! LIKE MY BRAIN WAS TRAINED ON THIS STORY 24/7!!! I KEPT ON CHANGING THE PLOT AND ALL OF THAT STUFF!!! And people have been asking me, "What happened to the seven dwarves?" And all I have to say is that there are---POKER FACE IS ON!!! AND THANK YOU FOR 3K!!! I CANT TELL YOU HOW THANKFUL I AM!!! TO BE HONEST, I CANT BELIEVE THAT IM STILL GETTING READS!!! YOU GUYS REALLY DESERVE EVERYTHING!!! YOU GUYS MAKE ME SO HAPPY!!! SO THANK YOU!!! And that's all I have to say, and looking back at this I just realized that basically everything was in all-caps.

Be prepared for the revolution,
FanGirlfortheLC

P. S. THANK YOU!!!

P. P. S. I might be rewriting the other chapters so....