Chasing Shadows

Chapter 14: Zack

Zack's POV

Rose had been out of sight for a while and my worry grew. Without a word I walked up hill toward the forest shed walked to earlier.

I stopped at the edge of the trees to find Rose sitting in the show on her knees, her head hung and her body was shaking.

I walked close and knelt beside her.

"What happened?" I asked. I wrapped an arm around her before she turned and burried her face in my chest.

"We have to go." She said, shakily.

"What about Rowan?" I asked.

"If we go now, we'll be okay. We need to get to Arcadia before he loses control."

"What so you mean, loses control." I looked down at her but she didn't meet my eyes.

"The virus will activate soon, we have to go." She pulled away from me and tears glazed over her eyes.

"What virus, Rose?"

"Ash's dad put a virus in Rowan. A human one. Robotic." She sobbed. "It activates when he sees me. It slowly eats at his brain until it kills him. It'll make him kill me and anyone who gets in his way." She rubbed her hands over her face. "He's not okay, Zack. I saw it in his eyes. He's not okay. He's trying to hold back, but he can't stop it forever. He's in so much pain, Zack. I've never seen him in so much pain." She stood up and took a deep shaky breath. "We have to go." She urged, fighting back tears. I stood up and just wrapped my arms around her. She pushed me but I didn't let her go.

She stopped fighting me and burried her face in my chest. I hugged her right and she shook.

"What do you think we should do?" She asked.

"I don't know. You're the only one who knows what we're up against. What do you want to so?" I rested my chin on her head and sighed. "My opinion doesn't count here."

"Will Nathaniel be able to help us?" She looked up at me.

"Only one way to find out, but it's out of our way. Rowan's probably halfway to the other side of the realm by now. If we go to Arcadia from here, we'll be getting further away from him."

"Won't we be able to find him? I mean, someone will know where he's been or where he's going, right?" I sighed and met her eyes.

"That's the thing about Rowan... If he doesn't want to be found. He won't be." I pulled away from her and brushed my hand through my hair. "But. If the bug activates like you say it will, Rowan will find us, before we find him."

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"I guess we could ask your dad and see if he can do anything." I turned and walked toward the other until Rose caught up to me. She laced he left fingers around mine and squeezed it right. I looked down at her.

"It'll be okay." I assured her.

She nodded and we walked out of the forest and down the hill to the others.

Daniel took one look at Rose and rushed to her.

"What happened?" His eyes flicked to me.

"Don't look at me, blame Ashlynn." He ignored me and brushed read away from Rose's eyes.

My posture changed and my heart sank. I didn't even realize she was still crying. I knew she was hurt but I didn't even notice.

"We have to go to Arcadia." She told him, choking on tears.

"What about Rowan?" He asked, brushing hair away from her face.

"We need Nathaniel's help." She looked at him then at me. Her green eyes pleading for us to just do something. Daniel gave in and agreed.