The Terrors In The Night

Chapter Sixteen

"Oswell, I'm starving!" I complained, holding my stomach to try and stop in gurgling. We hadn't had breakfast or lunch after we left, we just hit the road and now it was four and my insides were protesting.

"We're only an hour away," he argued.

"But we'll have to deal with Rikard, and who knows how long that will take," I whined.
"We? I'm the one the interview is about, I'm taking the blame," Oswell stated and I sat up, my stomach forgotten now.
"We were both there. I could have demanded we go somewhere else, but I allowed you to take us there. We're sharing the blame," I demanded.

"We'll talk about this when we get there. Arguing with you will only distract me from the road. Not to mention that dress," he mumbled and I smiled.
"You bought it for me," I countered. "And when we get there, you'll just go off to him without me. You can't fool me. I'm going with you, we're both taking the blame. End of story," I finished and he sighed.
"Fine," he agreed and I smiled, crossing my arms in victory. I looked out the window and saw that we had just started to hit the outskirts of Bendigo.
"Home," I muttered. With Oswell's expert driving abilities and the fact that all I could focus on from that point on was my stomach, the drive was over quickly. We both jumped out, grabbed our bags and walked inside. My bag was now very heavy with all of the new clothes and shoes in it. We walked up the stairs, to have Avyanna standing there, waiting.
"He's in his office. Good luck," he told us and from the tone of her voice, things were not going to go well. We quickly dropped our stuff off at our rooms, me taking off my hat and sunglasses, then Oswell led me to his office. He knocked on the door and we waited. The door was flung open and Rikard was standing there, looking absolutely pissed off.
"Inside. Now," he grated and we walked in. There was only one chair in the room and it was his, along with a desk, filing cabinets and a door on the right, probably leading to his room. I leant against the wall near the door, while Oswell stood in front of the desk.
"Sir, I know you're probably mad," Oswell started as Rikard sat down in his seat.
"Mad? I'm furious. You went back to your home town, not thinking someone could possibly notice you. Not to mention dragging our newest recruit into it," Rikard interrupted and I moved to beside Oswell.
"I wasn't dragged, I went willingly. Yes, I thought there was the chance he could be recognized, but I went on my own accord," I argued and he looked at me.
"I take it you were the girl with him at the restaurant? Wearing a brown wig?" he questioned and I nodded.

"The whole point of this group is being a part of the darkness and killing people, not being a super-secret organization that never sees the light of day because they are too afraid of being found out. People here have jobs, go out. They live normal lives. You can't keep us inside like caged animals. You may be the leader, but you are not our parent," I stated and both Oswell and Rikard looked at me in surprise.
"You still should've been more careful," he accused and we both nodded.
"That was my fault. I've been before and nothing has happened so I got over confident. I should've stayed alert and been more cautious," Oswell admitted and Rikard nodded.
"Well, neither of you can go out now, not until this dies down. There were reports after the other one, that people were spotting you. Apparently the police were going to come and talk to you tomorrow, though that isn't going to happen anymore. You can go," Rikard ended and we both walked out. I sighed and walked back to my room, finding Avyanna inside.

"So what was your punishment?" she questioned.

"We can't go out until the whole thing dies down. Day or night," Oswell answered from behind me. I hadn't realized he'd followed me, simply assuming that he'd gone back to his own room. Avyanna nodded, then smiled at me.
"Oswell, I have something I need to tell Malise, so out. Now," she stated, but she was almost bursting with excitement. I turned to Oswell and he looked at me, asking if I should. I nodded, knowing as soon as Avyanna was gone, he'd come back. He walked out shutting the door and I turned back around to face Avyanna.
"Okay, what is it?" I smiled. She was practically jumping up and down.