Liber De Morte

Chapter Four

By the next morning, I was preparing myself to leave my cabin, and go to what the called their training facility, they called, "Intrepidus Headquarters".

As I began to pack my clothes, only three words came to mind; Jacob is alive.

How? Do they know about the man that took away my brother? They probably do. Maybe he's their enemy, and they managed to get Jacob from the danger of that man's hands. So many 'what if?'s swarmed in my head like bees in a hive. So many questions urged to flow out of my mouth, but I managed to hold them back. I would have plenty of time to figure out once as I got to Intrepidus.

I heard a knock echo from the door. "Alana? We're gonna get going in fifteen minutes." It was Annabelle. "Yeah," I reply, "I'll be out in a moment."

I finished packing, tucking the Liber De Morte into my bag. taking a photograph of my family--My mother, father, and Jacob-- slid on my jacket in a swift tug, and rested my fingers on the door knob. Taking a deep breath, I turned the knob and pulled the door open. Annabelle, Aaron, and Ethan were waiting outside. Ethan was having an arm wrestling match with Aaron, Annabelle was peacefully reading a book, the letters were in what seemed to be ancient Greek, which I couldn't read. The title on the cover said, "ατρόμητος".

"Great, she's here!" Aaron called, slamming Ethan's arm on the railing. Ethan let out a quiet cry and winced, his cocky grin reappearing. Annabelle stuffed the book back into her bag, beginning to walk. "Let's get moving." She called from behind her. In an instant, Ethan and Aaron followed her. I stayed a few feet behind him, marching out of the forest.

~

Of course, they didn't walk here. Annabelle explained that the Headquarters were miles away, and they drove a truck. Aaron drove the car, Annabelle in the passenger seat. Leaving me and Ethan in the back. "Ever rode in a truck before?" Ethan asked. I shook my head. I haven't even been in a car before. I hoped that it would be an amazing experience.

I was wrong.

The truck tossed and turned on the bumpy, rough road, which made me sick to my stomach by the time it had been one hour of sitting there, being tossed around like a ragdoll. Grasping onto my stomach and keeping my mouth shut, we rode in silence.

I had counted two hours and seventeen minutes until the truck came to a complete stop. "We're here." Annabelle called out in joy, opening her car door and jumping out. I opened my door, climbing out of the car, dazed and dizzy. "I don't want to ride a car or truck ever again," I managed to murmur, rubbing my head. "It's over now!" Ethan called with a grin as he slammed the car door shut.

I studied the horizon. Nothing. It was just a plain field of grass and wheat. There was a barbed wire fence that seperated the cemented ground from the grassy field. "Well?" I asked. "Where's your headquarters?" I crossed my arms in confusion, staring out at the field. Annabelle opened up a gate in the fence with a key, motioning us inside the field. We began walking again.

Stomping through the jungle of wheat, Aaron called, "The Headquarters aren't far from here."

Finally, we reached the edge of the field, overseeing a forest. Not far behind it was a body of water. "There's nothing here." I said. Ethan gave me a cocky grin. "That's because it's camouflaged." Ethan tapped the mid air. Clank! Clank! Clank!

"Pretty cool, huh?" Ethan called. Annabelle was digging at the ground. "Where is it..." She muttered under her breath, her hands furiously digging around. "Ah." She brushed off dirt and grass, uncovering a metal door in the ground. She stuffed her key in the lock, and it opened with a click.

I was the first to climb down. The ladder and space to climb down was narrow, and it took quite a few minutes to get to the bottom.

When I reached the bottom, what surrounded me was a room swarming with people in uniforms. Some wore a white shirt with a symbol on the front shoulder. Some had a black flaming skull, others had a leaf or a balance. They all wore blackpants. Some wore combat boots, others wore dress shoes or flats. The room itself was beautiful. The walls were golden, black symbols swirling around. The floor was in the shape of a circle, in the center was a large circle-- a symbol, split into three. The flaming skull, the leaf, and the balance. Nine marble statues surrounded the symbol.

More questions began to flow into my head, the more I marveled at what was around me.

"Welcome to the Intrepidus Headquarters," Annabelle called as she stepped down from the ladder.