Jamais Vu

Chapter 11

It took an entire day, but the group was now looking at three vials full of blue liquid.

"So, we're just going mostly blind into this, right?" Sebastian asked. He glanced at Ominis. "No offense."

"None taken," Ominis said dismissively.

Samantha waved to the vials. "They should be a perfect antidote to the vitamins," she said. "All we can do now is hope we can put it into vitamins before they're already made for the day."

"If we show our faces, we'll be hunted down too," Anne softly said.

"One chance at it," Poppy mumbled.

Estelle met each of their eyes. "Thank you all for helping," she told them. "And...I of course won't expect all of you to be part of the next phase."

Imelda shrugged. "It doesn't matter either way, does it?" she asked back. "We can't keep hiding, so we have to act first. Garreth is sad to miss the excitement, but he thought he could try to continue running the bar until we're all wanted."

"Here's hoping that doesn't happen," Ominis muttered. He looked up at Estelle. "I'm the next best person to know the layout of Black Tower. I'm coming."

"I will come too," Poppy firmly spoke up.

Sebastian grinned at Estelle. "You know that I'm always up for an adventure."

Imelda crossed her arms. "Well, I'm of course coming too. Someone needs to watch all of your backs."

"My sentiments exactly," Anne added with a grin like her brother's.

Samantha and Amit smiled at Estelle. "We'll do our best to cover you here as well."

Estelle smiled at them. "Thank you," she whispered. She took a deep breath. "Now we need to decide who should have a vial."

"I'll take one," Ominis volunteered at the same time as Sebastian.

Estelle sighed, knowing they were willing to do the riskiest part. "I'll take the last one." The three of them grabbed a vial each, stowing them away in a pocket. Everyone put in an earpiece, so they could communicate with each other, and it was untraceable like other devices Amit worked with.

Before they headed out, Imelda made sure each of them was armed with a gun of some sort. Sebastian and Anne handled theirs with relative ease, used to having a firearm. Poppy still had hers, and she looked at it nervously. Estelle had one, and she held it as if it were a natural attachment to herself.

"And, Ominis, here you go," Imelda said, shoving a handgun of sorts into his hands.

He held it away from himself. "I...I don't know how to fire a gun," he confessed.

"It's easy." She demonstrated on her own gun. "Slide back the barrel, make sure the safety is off, and then pull the trigger. Keep in mind where your hands are. Use both hands on the grip if need be." She held up to his eye-level. "That notch at the end? That's your front sight. Where you want to target, you point the notch so it's directly below it."

He swallowed, trying to remember it all, and hoping he didn't have to put it to the test. "Okay. You think they'll try to kill us?"

"One way or another," she muttered. "Either by shooting us dead, or by making us forget everything."

He felt his stomach churn at the predicament, but he knew she was right. The moment they stormed Black Tower, there was no going back. A resolve came to him, though. He was going to do all he could to make sure his aunt didn't die in vain.

Ominis checked the safety before putting it away in his coat's inside pocket. Poppy walked over to him, and she reached out, holding his hand. That comforting warmth was back again, and it helped him relax as always.