Apocalypse

Chapter Eight ~ Leaving Again

I can't recall how long I sat there. But the cold of the stone walls and floor had settled in my bones and the sky had already gone to sleep. My head was turned to the side, eyes glued to the door, to see if Wes would return. He never did.

My watched vibrated on my hand and I glanced down at it. 19:00 flashed on the display and I sighed. Wes hadn't even returned to drag me to guard duty. A dull pain in my chest stayed with me the rest of that night.

I pulled myself off the floor, joints popping and my muscles tensing uncomfortably from my uninterrupted hours of sitting there. I moved around the dark room with ease, avoiding the sparse furniture despite not seeing it. The second of the two rooms of the cottage held a bed, a small worktable and a modest wardrobe.

I stood before the wardrobe, debating whether I should go or not, but I didn't want to worry my brother, so I sucked it up and opened the wooden doors. The space was big enough for two people to stand shoulder to shoulder but was rather short. I didn't hit my head because I was just 5"2, however Wes always did as the wardrobe stood at 5"5 whereas he was 5"9. Shaking my head free of Wes, I shut the doors and knelt down my fingers searching the floor of the wardrobe. Finally, my fingernails hooked in a small ridge at the other end of the floor and I pulled, revealing a tunnel.

I carefully slipped into it, closing the hatch above me. I crawled quickly through the narrow space, ignoring the tingles down my spine that may or may not be spiders. I popped up behind some hedges in the royal gardens, shaking myself free of soil and little bugs, chills running down my spine from the thought of their little legs running up and down my body.

Head down, I hurried to the side entrance I used earlier that morning to get to the carriage wreckage with Wes, slipping silently into the castle. I used the servants' passages throughout the castle to pass undetected to my rooms, where I quickly exchanged my current attire for for my hunting clothes.

A loose, long sleeved top, jeans, combat boots and my hooded trench coat. My entire getup was black as a starless night, which allowed me to blend into shadows and pass unseen through the night to all but those with extremely heightened senses.

Two minutes later, I was in the weapons room, gear strapped across my body, armed to the teeth with weapons seen and unseen. I joined my brother and Wes in the planning room. About fifty other guards stood solemnly in the room, awaiting orders. Since only the seasoned warriors had night priveleges, that eliminated at least 150 other guards from hunting duty.

Captain Darth stood around a table with a holographic, topographic map of the areas surrounding the walls.

"-and Echo will take the south and scout a 10 mile radius, reporting hourly on your status. Standby guards stick to the walls and provide assistance for teams. You have your orders! Dismissed!"

Various teams left the room while others returned to the castle, most likely their shifts were for another day. I turned to Alexander, conscious of Wes at his other side.

"What's our orders?" I signed to him.

"Scout northeast, follow the leads you found last time," Alex seemed preoccupied, glancing at his watch frequently. "Alpha team is splitting up today. I'm heading north with Snake. Stay with Wolf and report at 0200 at the northern entrance. Copy?"

I nodded slowly, frowning at his preoccupation. I turned to Wes who was ignoring me, busily double and triple checking his gear although it was perfectly attached. I sighed inwardly and started walking out, knowing he would follow me.

I continued walking until we were out of the confines of the city, and then until we were a little more than a while away from the walls before I stopped suddenly.

Wes, ever aware, stopped before he ran me over and just stared at me.

"Wes-"

"I'm sorry. I was too harsh earlier."

I paused, my jaw unhinged, gaping at him. He didn't do anything wrong...

"I shouldn't have told you that I-"

"Wait, Wes, stop." I held up my hand. "It was my fault. I should've stuck to the story. But he caught me off guard. I just got confused for a bit and I just chattered mindlessly. I'm sorry."

He looked at me, sadness flashing across his eyes for a split second before he sighed.

"Please," his voice barely more than a whisper, "be careful. I have a bad feeling about him. And I would not forgive myself if you got hurt."

I took his hand in both of mine and squeezed it reassuringly. "I have the same feeling. I promise I'll be careful. And I won't avoid you anymore. Okay cousin?" I grinned at him.

He rolled his eyes and looked at me. "Really? Cousin?"

"Hey. I told you. I was confused. It just slipped out."

"Ah, whatever. I can pass off as being with you all the time given the fact that I am your last remaining relative in that story."

I looked at him carefully, trying to gauge whether he was still upset and slowly said, "Sooooo are you good?"

He sighed and looked at me, surveying my face carefully. He then rolled his eyes and groaned. "I can't stay angry at you."

I grinned and poked him in his flat, muscular stomach. "I know you can't. It's cuz you love me too much." I stuck my tongue out at him and he muttered something under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing, let's go. We gotta check that lead out."

This time he turned around and started walking away. I ran to catch up with him, relieved that we were back to normal. At the back of my mind, Koren Agard's strange behaviour popped up, but I just swept it away, focusing on the task at hand.