Flames of Fury

Chapter 12

Magnolia

Griffin bursts into the room panting and panicked. He looks first at me and then quickly to Ember.

"It's time. Right now! Let's go!"

Understanding registers on Embers face which only serves to worry me more.

My head whips between the two of them, but neither of them say another word or give me any indication on where we're going in such a rush. Ember grabs a backpack from inside one of the locked medical cabinets while Griffin monitors the hallway.

"What is going on? What's happening?" I implore either one of them to fill me in on what the urgency is about.

Ember places her hands on my shoulders and looks at me intently. "We're leaving. Follow Griffin, do not look back no matter what. You. Keep. Going."

My mouth flounders open and closed, not yet processing what is happening.

As if reading my thoughts before I could even articulate them, Ember reassures me. "I'll be right behind you. Stay in the shadows just in case. Together now, let's go!"

"Alright girls stay close and keep moving."

It's Griffin's one and only warning before he enters the hallway and begins leading us to freedom.

We follow him silently through the winding and curving hallways. Nothing seems out of place, the hallways are no more guarded than usual, there's no flurry of activity or state of alarm.

The calmness of the cave is a jarring juxtaposition to the anxiety and unease wafting off of Griffin and Ember. I'm trying to keep my own nerves at bay. We're not sure exactly when I'll have the twins but I know that stress doesn't help, and the last thing we need now is for me to go into labor in the middle of our escape.

I've imagined this moment for months now — the moment I broke out of this hell hole. I imagined more blood and carnage, more obstacles, a fight for survival. I didn't imagine cloaking myself in shadows and just walking out the front door, which is what this feels like. It makes me slightly angry that we couldn't do this sooner. If this was Griffin's plan all along then why did he wait so long, why did he keep me here knowing how Ian tortured me, knowing what Ian intended to do with me and my babies?

I don't notice that Griffin has stopped, so when I keep on walking I bump into him with a loud "oomph."

"Don't move," he mouths to us, pausing at a juncture where two bridges intersect. We wait silently as two guards march across one of the bridges perpendicular to the one we need to cross. Once the guards step foot off the bridge and into an alcove, Griffin motions for us to hurry along after him across the bridge.

We duck into a tunnel I'm not familiar with, I've never seen this section of the Hollow. It seems like we're going further into the lion's den rather than away from it.

"Where are you taking us?" I whisper to him in the tunnel, demanding answers before I take another step.

He turns sharply around to face me, he stares straight into my eyes even though he shouldn't be able to see me shielded by shadows — but somehow he knows exactly where I stand.

"Do you trust me?"

That's the million dollar question isn't it? Do I trust him? He's been nothing but kind to me, he's cared for me and brought me comfort when I needed it, and most importantly he was single handedly responsible for helping my father and uncle escape knowing Ian had no intentions of making good on his promise to me.

So do I trust him?

Yes, I do. Without question.

I'm literally placing my life and the lives of my babies in his hands, and trusting blindly in his word that he's leading us to safety.