Midnight Rose (completed)

Chapter 26

The thumping of the car woke me. I put my seat up and looked around. We were driving through another forest, the cedars replaced with Douglas firs.

"Good nap?" my dad asked carefully.

"Yeah. Where are we?"

"Washington. Colville National Forest, to be exact."

"Another hiking adventure?" If only. My heart dipped in my chest thinking about Wes. I knew it was possible that I was merely infatuated with him, being so young, but it hurt just the same.

"Afraid not, Peanut." He looked over remorsefully.

"I didn't figure as much." The road was unmarked, but looked to be heavily traveled over the years. It curved around mountains, teetering on narrow cliffs, finally dropping us off into a valley that was covered in miles of lush greenery. There was so much beauty in the world, and I had only seen a tiny fraction of it. I hoped one day to change that.

The road ended suddenly, right in front of a lake. I looked around, confused. "I hate to break it to you, Dad, but there's nothing here."

He laughed loudly. "You didn't actually think The Order would be assessable by road, did you?"

I sank back in my seat. "I guess not. So you lied when you said no more hiking."

"This is more like a short walk." He winked and then got out of the car.

I grabbed my duffel from the back of the car and slung it over my shoulder, grateful it wasn't too heavy because I hadn't planned on walking through a forest. I had to give credit to my dad, though. We weren't even there yet, and I already felt like I was in paradise. As we followed the lake, laughter became louder. Once we got around a mountain-sized boulder, I saw a group of boys and girls that looked to be close to my age, playing a game of volleyball in the water. I stopped to watch for a moment, the carefree nature of the moment drawing me in.

"They belong to The Order," my dad informed me.

I was surprised, to say the least. Again, I had imagined hard running paths and structured activities. This looked anything but rigid. They actually looked like they were having fun.

"Starting to see why it was so hard for me to leave?"

Yeah, I mentally replied.

As we continued, a massive compound came into view, and it wasn't concrete walls and barbed wire. It was a large white stucco building behind a matching white stucco wall with at least a fifteen-foot-tall, ornate black wrought iron gate. It opened automatically upon our arrival. I looked up and saw a surveillance camera pointing toward us. Two armed guards dressed in black, much like the Elite unit that came to my rescue, stood on either side of the gate. They nodded as we passed by.

"This is the main building. There are more spread out over a hundred acres."

The tall stucco wall expanded out of sight. The grounds in front of the building were expertly manicured with flower planters and water fountains. Kids were strewn about the green lawns, reading under shade trees, while others were grouped together playing music or doing yoga.

"Is this what college looks like?"

My dad laughed again. "Yes, it kind of does."

We followed the flat rock path to a set of large, inviting glass doors to the building. Butterflies scattered throughout my stomach.