The Fall of Hope

Chapter 14

            “Alexandria? Can I speak with you?” Isabelle asked as she walked into the lab where the four thirteen year olds were working.

            Alex nodded and gave Isabelle a smile, “Sure, just give us a minute,” she said as Chase tossed her a powercell and a screwdriver.

            “Just you, Alexandria,” Isabelle said.

            Alex, Nick, Chase and Blake looked up in shock, “What?” Nick growled.

            “I would like to speak with Alexandria, just Alexandria,” Isabelle said.

            “Why?” Chase asked.

            “Because I would like to speak with Alexandria, I don't understand why you have to there when I do,” Isabelle said with a tight smile.

            “Well, that's how it works,” Blake said. “You want one, you get four.”

            Isabelle sighed, “Well then, I guess I'm not talking to you alone.”

            “You guess right,” Alex said, rolling her eyes. ”What did you want to talk about?”

            “I believe you spend too much time with these boys. I also wanted to point out how improper it is for you to be attached to these boys in the way that you are,” Isabelle said.

            “Would you like us to be attached in another way?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

            Nick, Chase and Blake laughed as Isabelle turned bright red and stormed out of the lab.

            “Admit it,” Denzel said after Isabelle slammed the door shut.

            “Admit what?” Isabelle asked.

            “You walked right into that,” Denzel said.

* * *

            As soon as Alex woke up, she knew something was wrong. The ground under her was cold as she shifted and her head was throbbing. She closed her eyes and groaned before she sat straight up and looked around, “Crap!” she said as she got up, walked over to Nick and started to shake him and slap his cheeks. “Nick. Nick, wake up. Nick. Nick, they’ve got Cal. Nick.”

            Nick groaned and started to move, “Why does my head hurt?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

            “They’ve got Cal,” Alex said, moving over to Chase and shaking him. “The Nameless took him.”

            Nick swore as he walked over to Blake and started to shake him, “Why didn’t they grab you too?” he asked.

            Alex shook her head as Chase started to wake up, “I don’t know,” she said. “We need to get back.”

            “They took him,” Chase mumbled before he sat straight up. “They’ve-“

            “Got Caleb. We know,” Nick said. “Blake, you need to wake up.”

            Blake stirred and looked around as Alex started to pack up the camp, “Is it time to go?” he asked.

            Nick shook his head, “They took Caleb.”

            Blake quickly sat up and looked around, “What? When?”

            “The Monsters knocked us out,” Nick said. “They took him while we were unconscious.”

            Chase stood and started to help Alex pack, “We should hurry.” He looked at Alex and started picking up the pillows and blankets. “We need to get back home and tell Denzel.”

            Alex looked up at Chase in shock, “Why are we going back there?” she asked. “We need to get to Teracon Industries.”

            Nick helped Blake stand then walked over to Alex, “We have to go back,” he said. “We need to get back up. We can’t just go in blind without help it would be suicide.”

            Alex glared at Nick, “I can’t just leave my brother with those… those things,” she said. “They’ll kill him.”

            Nick sighed, “They’ll kill you if you aren’t careful.”

            “I want my brother back,” Alex said, pushing Nick. “I don’t care.”

            Nick grabbed Alex’s wrists and shook her, “We care!” he said. “You can’t help Caleb if you’re dead!”

            Alex pulled her wrists out of Nick’s grip and glared at him for a moment before she walked over to the car and started shoving bags into the trunk.