Fallen

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Mia

Jess and I limped down the hallway carrying Ashton. Gosh, I don't remember him being so heavy. I'd have to complain to him later.

Earlier I made the ultimate decision to just start walking. I figured eventually we would find our way out. And I tried to follow the air currents to see if that would lead us out. So far, no good, though.

I couldn't keep myself from glancing over at Jess. She had this weird expression on her face, like she knew something I didn't. We had to have been walking for about fifteen minutes when Jess finally speaks up.

"You have no idea where you are going, do you?"

I look over at her with my eyebrows quirked.  Then I purse my lips.  "No," I admit.

She smiles as we continue to make our way down the hallway.  "I figured just as much considering the fact that you have made about three wrong turns the past three turns."

"You're telling me you know how to get out of here?"

"Why do you think I got put in here?"

For the first time I smile genuinely at her. "Then lead the way."

She leads us down several different hallways, all looking the same.  I couldn't help but wonder how she kept them all in track.  Eventually we came across a dead end.  I wanted to turn to her and scream "I told you so," but before I could she left Ashton with me and approached the wall.

"If I'm right, there's a secret exit here.  All I have to do is press here," she best quiet as she pushes in on a brick and the rest seem to melt away.  It was breath taking. 

Jess turns back to me with a huge smile on her face, and then she sees Ashton.  "Oh, right," she says quickly as she rushes back over to me to help him through the door.  It led to another hallway, but I could smell the ocean.  Eventually, I could feel my toes in the sand.  And then I saw my family rushing towards me and I feel my knees buckle in happiness.

My mother hugs me, while Ryder goes to Ashton's side and gets to work. Neither of them seem to even notice Jess.

"We need to get Ashton back to the house, I have more supplies their." Ryder says already draping Ashton over one of his shoulders. "Mia can you help?" I nod and make my way over to help him. That's when my mother seems to notice Jess. Her eyes seem to soften when she realizes what Ashton did.

She smiles, "Hi, sweetie, I'm Olivia. I'm Mia's mom."

Jess still looks kind of in shock by it all. "You're all Hunters."

"Fifth Generation."

"Wow," she grins. "I'm Jess."

We all head back to the house, slowly, Ryder and I, but steadily. During this time Jess explained to my mother officially how she ended up in the cell.  And for the first time I really learned too.  I keep glancing at Ryder to see if he is listening, but he just has a slack look on his face. 

When we get back to my house we lay Ashton on the couch and I watch as Ryder gets to work.  It amazed me how grown up he had become in the past week.  It was like he was a completely different person.  My mother seemed fascinated by his work.  I guess she never had really seen him do what he does because for the past two years we have been using him as our go-to doctor when one of us got hurt.  He'd gotten good.  And all my mom ever knew was that he was fascinated in the medical field.

"So," my mother begins, "do you want to tell me how much you know?"

I sigh, figuring she would ask me this eventually.  "A lot."

She sighs after me.  "That's what I thought.  How did you even end up there?"

"We wanted to help Hayden."

"What's wrong with Hayden?"

"She got taken by them and we figured two of us weren't good enough to go against a whole army of Fallen Angels.  We, I, thought they would help, but they didn't."  I can't help but side glance at Ashton, feeling horrible.

"Oh sweetie."  My mom wraps her arm around me, strands of her dark auburn hair falling in my face.  "There is so much you don't know about them, about us.  Your uncle isn't the reason I decided to stop hunting."

"Then why did you?"

She smiles, "When I was younger I wanted so badly to become a member of the Council.  To the point where when your uncle trusted me with the secret that he was seeing Dabria, my first instinct was to tell our parents.  But for the longest time I fought that instinct until finally it won out.  It felt amazing to tell them, like I was winning the lottery.  I thought I was going the right thing, I thought.  You should have seen his face when our parents came down on him, it was heartbreaking.  I could see the betrayal in his eyes, but it didn't bother me.  I had done the right thing.  Then he left with her and I was heartbroken.  That was exactly what I had been trying to prevent in a way.

"He cut off all communications with my family and his friends.  My parents had no idea where he went and neither did I.  You should have seen Grandpa's face, he was furious.  After a while I started seeing your father and eventually we got married.  I was about seven months pregnant with you when I get this mysterious message from him.  He told me about Dabria being pregnant with a Hunter-Fallen hybrid.  It read that I was responsible for the baby if anything were to happen to him.  I had no idea what to do with this information so I went to your father and he recommended we take this information to the Council.  So we did.  I watched your father get lashed 30 times for not preventing the two from getting together.  Your father took my blame and took the lashes for me."

My mother starts to cry so I pull her close into a hug, trying to comfort her.  I could feel Jess's eyes on us, but I didn't care.  I understood now.

"That was I realized how corrupt they actually were.  They didn't even try to find your Uncle and Dabria, they just used us as scapegoats.  They saw a problem that could be temporarily fixed by punishing an innocent.  It's what they do.  They look for the easy way out."

I pull my mother closer.  I understood now why my mom stopped.  Why we never reported my father's death.  Why Ashton was punished.  The Council couldn't be trusted.

But then who could?