The Long Way Home | ORIGINAL

One

       Third Person POV

       Adair woke with a start. The rain was dripping down outside, the same as it had been for the last two or three weeks. She shouldn't have expected anything else, it was, after all, Seattle. The constant rainstorms hadn't changed, so at first, she wasn't sure exactly what had woken her. Then she saw it. The tall shadow in the corner of her room, moving slightly. Just as she was about to scream, the shadow stepped into the light and she let out a breath slowly.

       "Louis Jonathan I swear I will kill you!" Louis chuckled and shook his head of messy sandy brown hair. He loved her reaction when he scared her. It got better every time. Her blue eyes would widen innocently, and her hands would clench involuntarily.

       "Adair. Calm down. You should have known it was me. Who else would sneak into your room at 3 AM?" His nonchalant manner made Adair want to punch him.

       "I don't know, maybe one of the few thousand people that want to kill me?" She stated bluntly, giving him a knowing look.

       "Ah, no. You know I wouldn't let them kill you." Adair raised her eyebrows, then he finished. "You're too much fun to tease." She rolled her eyes at him and pulled herself out of bed.

       "So. What do you need?" She asked, clearly irritated with him. "There had better be a good reason for you waking me up this early." He nodded, his amused grin turning down into a grimace.

       "They came." He whispered, and Adair reacted immediately, slipping her shoes onto her feet and running over next to him. Together, they clambered out the window smoothly. Louis jumped the distance to the ground, tucking and rolling just to be safe.

       Adair was next, hoisting herself off the ledge of the tiled surface, right into Louis's grasp. His arms lingered around her waist, and he stared into her eyes for a couple seconds longer before letting her go.

       "What's up with you, Lover Boy?" She teased, raising a single eyebrow and grinning smugly.

       "Nothing." He laughed and continued down their well-worn path to the forest. The tree house they had built together in the summer of 3rd grade hung suspended in the maple tree pitifully. Adair gave it a short glance before continuing on after Louis.

       "So...where are they?" Adair asked suspiciously. He ignored her, gesturing for her to go in front of him, holding some branches out of the way. She complied reluctantly and sighed, looking into his eyes for answers. She couldn't figure anything out, so she gave up.

       They had stepped into a small clearing, and Adair could hear voices in the distance. Soon enough, she could see a small fire and a gathering. In the dim firelight, she could make out the shapes of Cam and Lizzie. They were leaning casually against a tree, the rest of the Nightmen surrounding them. Louis bristled noticeably, and Adair gave him a quick look before he nodded.

       "Up and over." She whispered, and again, he nodded. They climbed up a couple of the trees with adept ability, then peered over into the clearing. Louis pushed something cold into Adair's hands, and she clasped her palms around it like it was her lifeline. Which, in this case, it pretty much was.

       It was a small knife, with an elegantly carved handle and small jewels embedded near the blade. Adair held it lightly in one hand, balancing her other hand on the thick branch beneath her. She ran a hand nervously through her long blonde hair and chewed on her lip thoughtfully, a habit she had developed over the years from countless scenarios of panic.

       "Don't do anything stupid," She whispered to Louis as she dropped to the ground nearest to the fire, without being seen. Louis slipped down from the tree gently a few seconds later. They got closer to the area where Lizzie and Cam were standing, each wrapping an arm around their shoulders from the back and holding blades to their necks. Each squirmed noticeably, but Adair whispered gently, calming Lizzie immediately.

       "Shh, it's me Liz. It's okay." Lizzie stilled and Adair let her go. She stumbled a bit, but regained her balance easily. She grasped Adair in a tight hug and laughed in relief. Adair couldn't help but smile; she had to admit, she missed Lizzie.

       "Come on, we gotta go." Louis whispered into the midnight atmosphere, and we all followed him out of the clearing, back to where our treehouse was.

       "So what's your news?" Adair asked as soon as they had all been seated inside the moderately sized house. Lizzie and Cam were their spies for the other team. They were, of course, on the same side as Adair, since she was cousins with them, but they were double agents. This meant that Louis and Adair always knew when and how to act against the Nightmen.

       "They'll be moving on in a week. Saturday. I mean, considering they still haven't figured out that we left, I think they'll be pretty oblivious when we start tracking them and going after them." She smiled, and winked at Louis. He blushed, and Adair froze, looking them over suspiciously.

       "Wait. We're leaving? Going after them?" Adair asked, while trying not to panic again.

       "Yep. In a week, when they leave, we're following. No questions asked. You better get packed. Don't tell your parents. It'll make things easier, if you don't..." Lizzie didn't finish her sentence, but she didn't have to. Adair knew what she meant. If they didn't come back. If they died out on a mission.

       "Don't want them blaming themselves for our deaths." Louis stated matter-of-factly, shaking his head. "Not that I have parents to care." It was true. His parents had died in a car crash when he was four, and Adair's parents had pretty much taken him in as their own child. Although, he still didn't live with them. He lived with his uncle, but he was over at Adair's so often that his uncle didn't even care anymore.

       "Louis, it's fine. You know my parents would take the blame just the same." He nodded, but he seemed unsure. "They love you like their son. I love you like-like my brother." Adair choked halfway through on a sob. Louis gave her a look, but she shook him off and stood up abruptly.

       "We should go," She stated with a manner of finality. Louis looked up at her, slightly confused, but didn't say anything.

       Adair climbed down the ladder slowly, thinking about how hard it was to be friends with Louis. How hard it was to watch her cousin and him flirting. He was like a brother to her, but right now, she was confused about how everything was going.

       Louis followed quickly behind, and that was when Adair saw it. Something that scared her more than usual. A small note, tacked at eye-level to the tree that their treehouse was in.

                   We have your sister. Come quickly and quietly and no one gets hurt. Except her.

WELL YAY FIRST CHAPTER UP ALREADY!!

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BYE LOVES

Alli<3