The Savior of Souls ✔

Part Eleven

Walking the next day was fairly quiet. Usually Shane and I would talk, or Shane and Abby, Tyler and me, Abby and Anthony. Something like that. Today, Tyler, Shane, and I have kept out of any conversation. Shane only talked when we asked him a question regarding where we were going.

Abby and Anthony seemed to notice something was off, even if they hadn't witnessed anything last night. They stayed to themselves, leaving the rest of us in utter silence.

That being said, I had a lot of time to think to myself. I decided that I didn't mind being vampire, it wasn't so bad, it's just that something is missing. That one piece that made us all human, it was missing.

"Okay," Abby stated as we came to a halt. "We're underneath the human city that holds the key and The Well of Souls."

"Wait," Anthony said suddenly, bringing us all to a halt. "What key?" I mirrored his surprise, Shane hadn't told us anything about needing a key. I just figured we could walk up to The Well of Souls, do what we needed to do, and get out of there.

"Yeah," Shane replied, rubbing his neck as if he felt guilty for not mentioning it sooner. "It' not a huge deal," he said, trying to act like it was nothing.

"It kind of is," Abby said, looking at Shane. "The Savior of Souls will need it in order to cross the barrier, and if Anthony tries to pick it up and he's not The Savior, his hand could be burned off!"

"You're exaggerating, right?" Anthony asked, raising his hand for attention.

"No, I'm not," Abby said, giving Anthony a stern look.

"But," Shane started, "I'm fairly certain it is you. You shouldn't worry too much." Abby rolled her eyes at Shane, and Anthony lost all the color in his face, almost matching the pale complexion of us vampires.

Abby gave Anthony a very detailed description of where to look in order to find the key, as well a potential warning signs that he wasn't The Savior. "The key can only be found during the day. Nobody knows what it looks like, but you should find yourself drawn to it," Abby continued to explain. "Only you, The Savior, can pass the barrier, and you can only pass if you're holding the key."

"Okay," Anthony said as we started slowing. The stairs weren't too far. The sun would be rising anytime soon, and Anthony would be up there, alone on the surface, searching for something that has the potential to burn his hand off.

"Good luck," I told him as we waited at the bottom of the stairs.

"I would go with you, but it's kind of dangerous for me to be up there during the day," Tyler told him, giving Anthony a pat on the shoulder.

Anthony smiled, "You're finally going to be human again." Before he took a step further he gave us all a hug. "Okay, I'm getting the key. When I get it I'll meet you down here."

He started to run up the stairs, occasionally tripping over his own two feet. When he made it to the surface I asked the group, "what will happen if he's not The Savior of Souls?"

"He'd be really disappointed in himself," Tyler answered. "He wouldn't regret the journey, but he'd be disappointed he couldn't help us."

"We should stay positive, the odds are great that he is The Savior," Abby said, leaning against the wall. "It might take a while, so get comfy."

For the longest time, there was little to no talking. I kept finding myself looking to Abby, her full head of curly black hair taunting me, she looked like the polar opposite of me. Maybe that's what Tyler was unconsciously aiming for, someone who wasn't me.

"You know what's weird?" Shane asked, without warning.

"What?" I responded, trying to ignore any lingering feelings for him. My attention being drawn to him reminded me of the differences between Tyler and Shane. There had also been too many to count.

"It seems like my grandma knew about the key, since she insisted Anthony stayed human. All she's ever told me is that prophecy," he said, looking at the ground. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought, his hair falling forward as he did.

"Maybe she did the same research you did, she just didn't feel up to the job of making sure The Savior got to The Well of Souls," Abby suggested.

"Do you think Anthony's safe?" I asked, all I was able to really think of was a bad human getting ahold of Anthony. I didn't want him hurt just because a bunch of vampires, including me, needed him. It didn't matter if he wanted to do it for us, if he got hurt, I would never forgive myself. I didn't need to carry an extra burden.

"He's pretty smart, I think he's safe," Tyler said, finally looking me in the eye. I fought the urge to look away, I didn't want to let it show that he'd hurt me. The only person here I'd be able to fool was Abby, the other two could feel it in me. Just like I knew Tyler was hurting just as bad. He wanted to still be with me, but he was scared. He was scared he would give me a second chance, and I'd break his trust again.

"I guess," I said, finally looking away. Shane just sat awkwardly.

"I'm sorry you guys... fought," Shane told me though the bond.

"Don't be," I replied. "I brought it on myself."

Shane looked at me, "he didn't have to be so rude about it."

Tears had begun to form, but I fought against them. Tyler looked between Shane and I, obviously knowing we'd communicated. I wondered how it felt to feel like two people are talking right in front of you, but not be able to hear them. It probably didn't feel too good.

"Hey, I didn't mean that to hurt your feelings," Shane told me. I looked back to his face again, and knew he really didn't. I shook my head, unable to find words. He got the point and stopped talking.

I was able to calm myself, and have small conversations with the group as the time passed. Things were kind of normal again, Shane failed to acknowledge Tyler, Tyler talked to Abby, I passed time with Shane. It seemed like the whole day had gone by before Anthony trotted down the stairs with a yellow sun in his hands.

"I think this is it! It has to be!" he yelled, holding the sun out for us to see. I flinched backwards, remembering if I touched it I would suffer severe burns. "Oh, sorry," he said, pulling it towards himself. "I forgot."

"A sun. Nice," Abby commented, looking at it with admiration. "It will be night soon, we can get you something to eat while we wait.

We proceeded to take care of Anthony even though we were beginning to be sleep deprived. Anthony seemed fine, he was vibrant as ever, he was a little sun burnt but didn't seem to mind. We checked out a room, took a nap, and when the sun went down an alarm woke us up. Anthony clung to his sun as we all got around and he said, "It's finally the time we've been waiting for."

A/N Thanks for sticking around this long! The italics on full pieces of dialogue are for when people are speaking through the bond. When I go through this the second time around, I'll be making that change for the beginning too. I think there's two chapters left, and I meant this to be fast paced so it's all good.