The Above || Completed

15 Obstacles

I was on my own now. The night suddenly seemed much darker, the gardens much broader. I couldn't waste time thinking of that, though. I had to move quickly to avoid getting caught. I peered through the branches of one of the trees and saw that the coast was clear. Robertson and Stadler must have gone the other way. I was worried for Aeron. He was taking the bigger risks out of the both of us. But because I was in a safer situation, our success could depend largely on me. So, I emerged stealthily from the shadows and sprinted toward the east end of the council headquarters, staying out of direct light. Which was difficult, considering the stars were so much brighter in the Above. And don't even get me started on the moon.

I crept behind a tool shed and caught my breath. Then I checked again for any people. I saw nothing but the silhouette of another dome-shaped building. From what I could tell, there was no one there, so I stayed close to the walls of the main building as I made my way across the lawn. As I came round to the meeting point, I checked over my shoulders, my heart beginning to race. What would be my explanation if I got caught? And how could Aeron be doing? I took a deep breath as I made to open the door and stepped into the room. It was more spacious than I thought it would be. There were chairs stacked on top of one another on either side of the hall, where the lights, unilluminated, lined the walls. The walls were painted beige and so was the floor. In the centre of the room, stood an old, wooden desk stacked with paper. Bingo. I made sure the door was shut behind me. I took a torch that sat on the table and started looking through the papers. I found a schedule among the first few pages and folded it neatly to place in my pockets.

A sound from outside startled me, causing me to drop all the papers. I almost panicked but despite that I stayed attentive and heard voices approaching. I cautiously dimmed the light of the torch and placed it on the table. Having no time to put the papers in order again, I dashed behind a towering stack of chairs towards a darker corner of the dome. Immediately, I heard the door creak open and the lights flicker on.
Robertson's voice echoed through the room first, "Get him a chair, Stadler."
Him?
I heard Stadler struggling with the chairs on the far side of the room, pressing myself closer to the wall. Once they had "him" settled down, Robertson spoke again.
"Clean up that mess over there too, Stadler. People don't have the decency to clean up after themselves," he said.
I rolled my eyes.
Stadler must have felt the same. "I'm not going to be the one to do it then."

I heard Robertson sigh in exasperation. "So, tell us, why were you running around instead of making your way inside like everyone else?"
My eyes grew round. They couldn't have Aeron, could they?
"I already told you, the council themselves sent me down to the main gate to get some info," Aeron's voice responded.
At this, I drew in a sharp breath. This situation was fragile and I was fearful of Aeron's attitude toward it.
"And why would you be sneaking around to do that?" Stadler's higher-pitched voice inquired.
Aeron gave a dry chuckle. "Obviously because you idiots aren't important enough for the council to constantly send you orders. You're too far below them."
"They expected us to believe you?" Robertson said in distaste.
"Doesn't that just make everything easier?" Aeron said, his tone tainted with bemusement and feigned approval.
I almost laughed.

Stadler spoke up once more, "I suppose you wouldn't mind us calling the council directly then?"
I gritted my teeth heavily. Aeron's response had to be good.
Nonchalantly, Aeron replied, "Oh, I wouldn't mind at all, however, I don't think you guys really want to wake them up right now, do you? I mean they already think you're pathetic but just imagine what they'll think after you make such a pitiful call?"
Again, I fought off the urge to laugh.
"We'll go to them personally in the morning then," Stadler said, attempting to sound determined. The only thing he accomplished was sounding feebly discouraged.
I could sense Robertson waving it off. "Scratch that, Stadler. We'll just punish him right here, right now."
I almost lurched out of my hiding spot. I wouldn't let them hurt Aeron.
"Well, since you wanted to avoid the dorm so much, how about you sleep in here tonight?" Stadler suggested.
Robertson yawned. "Not a bad idea since I can't think of anything. But we're not done asking questions, kid."
"I'm nineteen; kid isn't a healthy term dude," Aeron commented, inevitably making me smile.
"Shut up, will you?" Robertson snapped.
"Right, tell us, do you know where the other candidate is? The girl," Stadler said, using his best interrogative voice.
"Her name's Maddison," Robertson prompted.

There was a long, intense silence that followed, tempting me to peer out at them.
But then Robertson growled, "Well? Answer the question."
"Why aren't you talking?" Stadler demanded. "Speak!"
"Now, now, boys..." Aeron said, ridicule making its way into his words, "this is all too confusing. Didn't you want me to shut up?"
I almost snorted into my hand. Aeron needed to get caught more often. Then there was a bang on the wooden table that made me give a small gasp.
"Enough, answer the question or so help me, I will blast a bullet through your brain," Robertson thundered.
Aeron gave a submissive grunt. "Fine, I don't know where she is. Did the council send her to run errands too? Oh, wait... You wouldn't know..."

Okay, enough was enough. Aeron needed to stop provoking these men. But he couldn't seem to get enough. He loved defying them. And perhaps that's what led them to do this.
Stadler grumbled, "Come on, Robertson. Lock him up here and let's go look for Maddison."
Aeron sounded a little more alarmed when he said, "Lock me up?"
"Yeah, you don't have anywhere to be, do you?" Robertson chortled.
He did. We were supposed to meet at the tree. He probably knew I could get caught and our plans would be ruined. I had to let him know I was there.
"Does it have to be here? I mean, this place is even better than the dorm," Aeron said, trying to disguise the panic in his voice.
There was silence until Stadler said, "We'll discuss that. You sit there and shut your mouth."

I heard Robertson and Stadler move away toward the door and once they stopped moving, I took a risk and peered at Aeron. Luckily for me, Robertson and Stadler had their backs turned toward me. I could step out a little. I looked down at the papers still scattered across the floor and had the idea to use them to my advantage. Quickly, I got down flat on my stomach and blew hard at the pages. It was a success. About five of the pages slid across the floor and ended up at Aeron's feet. He looked down at them with a start and slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder. His brown hair was disheveled in all the right ways. And his deep blue eyes gazed disbelievingly into my own. I noticed a vindictive, cocky little smile tugging on his delectable lips.

^^^
!!Author's Note!!

OMG this story is almost at 100 reads Yaay!😱🙌🏼😊 I'm so happy. Writing has been my dream for years and I'm glad to be putting myself out there.

Anyway, I'm sure this update is long enough so I'll make this short.

1) This is the last time I'll be able to update in quite a while because exams are starting around here so I've got to place my concentration there for now. But I'll be back with a lot more updates toward mid-June.

2) In my spare time, I'm going to be looking back on my previous chapters in this book and changing a few things concerning the setting. Nothing will happen to the plot but don't be surprised if u see changes in setting in the next few chapters.

THANKS SO MUCH!!
Vote and let me know what you think in the comments❤️