-HIATUS- ᴏɴᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇᴍ - ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀᴡᴛʜᴏʀɴᴇ ʟᴇɢᴀᴄʏ (ꜱᴇQᴜᴇʟ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ɢʀᴀᴍʙꜱ?) -HIATUS-

Chapter 26

After hours of walking True North finally came into view. I was so close. Had the brothers made it home yet? Oren and Mike held flashlights as did I as we walked in the darkness. Oren kept telling me he knew it was a bad idea to stay close. I didn't care. I was thinking the whole time.

I was almost there now. Almost at the house. I was cold and tired. I needed to show them. I take out the papers from my pocket and hold them tightly. The door was right there. As I approached I felt even more tired. My body knew that I could rest once I was there. My body was starting to shut down.

I gently open the backdoor and walk in. No one is there. But in the next room? The light was on. I heard my name and the word idiot. Were they calling me an idiot? I shush Oren and Mike and creep toward the door. Not making a single sound. I wanted to scare them.

I slam open the door. "BOO" I shout and find everyone sitting there. Jameson and Grayson are in terrible condition. Everyone in the room jumps. Libby shrieks and holds onto Nash for dear life. I put a large smile on my face and walk in proud of what I had accomplished. The only one that hadn't jumped? Nash.

"AMBER!" Libby groans letting go of Nash and stepping towards me. "What was that for?"

"What did I scare y'all?" I sneer looking at everyone in the room. 

"Amy Bear... Hawthornes don't get scared." Xander smiled and he looked at the paper in my hands. He frowns "What is that?" Avery stands up and walks to me. She hugs me and I frown. Was she that worried? Did she think I was lost?

"Avery... Were you worried about me?! And, this?" I hold it out for everyone to see. "You can look at it if you want but I don't think it is part of the puzzle. It is for Zara and Skye. A photo and a letter. I looked at it maybe there is invisible ink but I don't know. You can barely see anything when you're in a rush." Avery pulls back from the hug and I hand her the letter. I slump onto the floor and lie down. A bent leg on top of another. My arms folded under my head as a pillow. I wanted to sleep.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I am doing? Just read."

"For Zara and Skye..." She reads the letter and looks down at me. I hand her the photo next. "Zara, Skye, and Toby. They're kids in this picture."

"Yup. I was going to give it to Zara or something." I look at the people in the room. They were all looking at me on the floor and at the paper. 

"Where did you go? Where would you find such a thing?" Xander started but I held up a hand to stop him.

"The cabin?" Jameson asks eying me. I raise an eyebrow. There was a cabin.

"The cabin is too dangerous and abandoned. What would you be doing there kid? If you even were there?" Nash asks from the door.

"I wasn't at the cabin."

"Where were you then?" Avery asks me.

"I was walking remember? Cars are... I just like walking" Cars were too tight. Accidents could happen. I would never forget Drake trying to run us off the road. Walking? That was exercise and it was fun.

"So where was it?" Grayson said in his low voice he was at the door with his brother. Wasn't Nash back at the house? What was Libby doing here? Was Grayson talking to his brother? About what we had found?

"Some huge tree on the trail or off-trail. I couldn't tell where the trail was honestly. I just walked in the direction I thought to be True North" I thought about it for a moment. Had I followed a trail? I had taken pictures of the plaque and the area. "I took photos." I take my phone out and remove my gloves to unlock it. I place it in the middle of the table where everyone was sitting around.