Orbs

Chapter Seven

Relia pulled out her notepad and flipped it open. She had several notes scribbled down already. One in particular stated what time would be best to sneak into the old asylum. She tapped her pen on it.

"So the asylum is closed today, but odds are, there will be security guards." 

" There were the last time I came. They patrol the outside, but the inside is completely empty of them."

"How long ago was it that you broke in?" Relia asked in a hushed voice. They had stopped at a diner less than fifteen minutes away from Pennhurst. The red head had barely nibbled on her burger while Emeric poked at his pasta.

"Ok well first, I didn't break in like you said. Let's get that right. The window was already busted open. Second, it was about a year ago, so I'm sure the pane was fixed by now." He lifted his pink lemonade to his lips. " That also means they'd have hired more guards. If they were smart at least."

Relia spun the ice in her water. Getting into the asylum would be difficult. Even more so because it was broad daylight. At least if they came at night, they could blend in with the shadows; but that would never work, not for Relia. The moment her mother noticed she was gone without a warning, the police would be called. Even though she is and adult, and legally aloud to leave whenever, right now she was planning to break a law. Having police would be the entire opposite of necessity. It had to be during daylight. Somehow they'd make it work.

The two were back inside Emeric's Camaro. In the process of preparation, the long dreaded man decided to print out the asylum's blueprints. He laid out the paper between them and plucked Relia's pen from her hand. Pulling the cap off with his teeth, he then circled a small bolded dash.

"That is the window I used last time." He started, words slightly jumbled do to the piece of plastic between his teeth. " The guards I saw were here, here, here and here...Also, have to keep in mind that just getting to the building is a challenge itself. It's wide open." Relia took her pen back and circled several buildings.

" I've learned enough about Pennhurst history to know these buildings have underground tunnels. If we can use the tunnels and get to this building" Relia tapped the pen on the building named Hershey Hall. "We can make it to the hospital."

Emeric sat back in his seat, finally removing the plastic cap from his mouth. He tossed it in his hand, mulling over the plan he heard. It wasn't terrible. It certainly lacked the important details but the building Relia chose to enter from was the Assembly building. One of the less known about. He stopped playing with the cap and turned to Relia.

" Are you positive that we need to get in there? I told you I'll help you but not if it's going to risk your future. We are seriously doing illegal sh-"

"What about yours?" The red head asked without lifting her head from the map. Emeric blinked slowly.

"What?"

" You said not if it's going to risk your future." She finally looked up. "But what about your future?"

"I'm not worried about what happens with me. You're the newbie here."

" I've broken my share of rules Emeric."

" I'm not- ughh..." Emeric slumped foreward, his head hitting his steering wheel, dreads fallig around his face. "I'm not saying you haven't but Relia, this is is something that will put you in jail if caught. Is it worth the risk?"

"Yes."

"Are YOU willing to risk you freedom for it?"

"I am. "

" Damn it. Damn it! fine!" Emeric lifted his head so fast, the wind threatened to move the paper in Relia's hand. " What I say goes. You stay by my side and listen to what I say, when I say it. No questions. Got it?"

Relia sat there speechless. She stared into dark blue eyes, looking for any hint of humor. She was met with one of calm, stern and protection. Relia swallowed around the lump in her throat. She quickly glanced back to the map, then back up. Emeric was still staring, waiting. 

"....Yes."

"Good. Now buckle up. "

Roughly twenty minutes later, the Camaro parked off the side of the road. They were far enough away from the building to not seem suspicious. Emeric turned off the car and unbuckled his seat belt. Relia unsnapped hers a well before;

"Stay in the car for a moment. Wait for me to come back."

"Wait what? Emeric what are you-"

"Trust me." he said, giving her a sincere look. Relia slowly sat back down and nodded. The driver's side door shut behind him. There was a loud click, indicating the vehicle had been locked. Relia grumbled to herself, wondering what was going through her friend's head. She took her phone out, thinking she'd ask him over text when she remembered she had a different message to send.

Donna's phone chirped with a new message. She grabbed it instantly, unlocking the screen and clicking the notification. She saw what she was waiting for. A single text from her daughter.

"Hey we just made it. Everything is all good."

"Phew..." Donna sighed in relief. Behind her, Nana shook her head.

"You coddle her too much, she's not a baby."

"Mom, she's still MY baby. She's my only girl. I just want her to be safe....Maybe i should have asked one of the boys to keep an eye on her."

"Don't you dare!"

With crisis adverted, Relia leaned back in the seat. She defiantly didn't want to deal with her mother's over bearing fury. She was still surprised her mother folded so easily. Emeric had a way with words like she's never seen before.

As if on cue, the driver side door unlocked and opened. Emeric poked his head down.

"Ok get your bag and follow me." He ordered. With out a second to spare, Relia did as told. She followed him across a faded green lawn and crouched beside him. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to ask what they were planning, but she remembered he said not to ask questions. Knowing nothing about sneaking into places, she decided to stay quiet. She felt something grab her wrist.

"Huh..." Looking down, she noticed Emeric's hand had grabbed her's. He kept a firm grip, but didn't squeeze. Relia's eyes dashed from hands to his face. It was watching their surroundings carefully. 

"Ok...I've figured out the guards patterns. I was right, they hired more, but they kept the same rotations as last time. In less than two minutes, a police car will drive past. Once he's roughly 900 yards away, we have four minutes to get to the assembly building." Emeric looked at his partner and smirked. "You sure you're ready?"

Relia was stunned. She didn't know how Emeric could be any more amazing. When all of this was over, she may have to learn more about him. She shook her head and focused of the most important thing right now. 

" Hell yeah."