Changed

Chapter 3: The Hunt Begins

~Vikk’s POV~

I cuddled closely to Lachlan as we stared at the fire. After Syndicate had told us Jordan and Team Crafted had been kidnapped, no one felt like talking. Preston and Rob sat right next to us, both having somber looks on their faces.

“What are we supposed to do?” Preston spoke out loud to no one in particular.

“I don’t know Preston. For now, we shall wait until everyone arrives.” Wag said from his seat on a log.

“Who else is coming besides us?” I asked, my eyes never leaving the brightness of the fire.

“Well, we have the closest friends of Jordan and the Team coming. Plus a few others who helped in the fight last year. Like Stampy and Squid. They’re coming to help.” Sonja said.

“Is anyone like, really close to anyone on the Team?” Lachlan asked.

“Umm. Two. Their boyfriends were on the Team. Their names are Brice Solace and Tyler Brotato. Vikk should remember Tyler from last year.” Sonja answered.

I nodded my head.

“Yeah. I remember him.” I said. I turned my head to Sonja. “Who else is there?” I asked.

“Another one of Sky’s friends. Her name is Aphmau, another assassin leader. She leads the Phoenix Drop Alliance. The members include Aph, Aaron, Garroth, Vylad, Katelyn, Kawaii~Chan, Travis, Dante, and Laurance. Only Kawaii~Chan won’t be coming.” She answered.

“I remember Mitch telling me about them when we first entered Torona. I even got to see Garroth and Dante.” Rob said, leaning forward on his knees.

“When do you think everyone will get here?” Tom asked Wag; talking for the first time that evening.

“Aphmau and her group should get here soon. As for the others, I have no…”

“WHERE THE HECK IS MY BOYFRIEND?!” Wag was caught off by someone yelling.

“I guess that answers that question.” Ant said, standing at attention.

A rustling sound was heard nearby, causing everyone's heads to snap to it’s source. Six figures walked out of the shrubbery; the fire illuminating their faces. Squid and Stampy were one of them, small smiles on their faces. Next to them, a sad looking blonde and a very angry looking Tyler walked into the clearing. The last two, were both females. One of the females had purple hair pulled back into a ponytail and light blue eyes. She wore a light brown shirt and dark brown shorts. A brown backpack hung on her shoulder, the strap going across her chest. Brown snow boots encased her feet and bracelets covered both wrists. The last female wore a schoolgirl uniform and had a small black hat on the back of her head. She had light pink hair and dark blue eyes that held guilt once they found Lachlan’s eyes.

“Now before you say anything Lachlan, anything she did in the past wasn’t her.” The purple haired girl said. “Ever heard of squis who can morph? Well, now you know.”

Lachlan held a shocked expression before he shook it off.

“Okay. But first, who are you? And second, care to explain more?” Lachlan asked.

“My name is Tiffany Cake. I met Preston at the Choosing Ceremony last year. I’m an Enderman hybrid. And I think Lizzie should explain what happened.” Tiffany said, motioning for Lizzie to step forward.

“Listen Lach, I just want to say I’m sorry. That day on the lake, after we had set off, me and Stacy were attacked. The squids had somehow gotten upstream and had set up a base underwater. I remember tentacles shooting out of the water; grabbing us and making it so we couldn’t scream. They dragged us underwater, replacing us with squids who could morph into perfect look alikes of a human. Ever since that day, me and Stacy were forced to be their slaves. Everytime we didn’t do something right or rebelled, they would hit us with their tentacles; making suctions marks on our skin. Stacy got the worst of it because she felt compelled to keep me safe. But sometimes, she just wasn’t there to protect me. We were also forced to watch as our squid look alikes hurt you; and it killed us to think we might lose our best friend. Only last week did we escape; thanks to Stampy and his crew.” Lizzie explained, pulling up her sleeves to show red suction marks all up her arm.