White Rabbit

Chapter 27: Nothing and Everything

JACE

Shit. This isn't good.

I sprint out of the bathroom, not knowing exactly where I'm going, but my legs carry me towards the exit of the building.

"Hey!" Asylum shouts from his room as he sees me running down the hall, away from where I was supposed to go, "Where are you going?!"

"Who knows," I overhear Aether offhandedly comment and I can picture him shrugging with an expression that says he couldn't care any less.

If I'm right, Clattonia is coming here in order to get Aether, which is unlike her usual logical, calm, analytical, tactical, thought-out thinking process. Doesn't she realize how dangerous it would be for her to set foot on this property? Or maybe she does realize and she doesn't care, but shouldn't she be looking at the bigger picture? Even if she does take out Aether, she'll be captured and won't be able to continue her work in the rebellion.

I burst through the doors of the building and stand outside on the platform before the stairs, scanning my surroundings hastily and noticing how everything seems louder and more acute than normal as if my senses were heightened as adrenaline pumps through my veins and I can almost hear the blood pounding in my head and through my veins.

"Where is she?" I mutter aloud to myself, "Where could she be?"

I jog down the stairs as I continue to look around and see where Clattonia could possibly be coming from, hell, if Aeryn is with her, she could be anywhere by now, but I think that she went alone from the sound of it. My eyes widen whenever I spot the familiar, magenta haired girl sprinting down the street at inhuman speeds, streaks of red energy trailing through the air at her sides as she holds a glowing red, silver katana in each of her hands. Could I even stop her at the speed she's running? I may not be able to, but I'm sure as hell going to try.

"Clattonia!" I shout and race towards her, her eyes narrowing slightly as I approach her, "Stop!"

My eyes pinpoint the area that she goes to run in order to get around me and I quickly leap over in her line of running, her eyes widening slightly as she skids to a halt and slides sideways in order to avoid running me over.

"You can't stop me, Jace," Clattonia says firmly, "Now let me through. I could plow over you if I wanted to, but I'm asking you nicely to let me through."

"No," I shake my head and notice that she goes to take off, so I quickly entrap her in my embrace with my arms, holding her back against my chest as she writhes around.

"Let me go!" She snaps and continues to struggle in my hold, but my arms tighten around her and she squeaks in surprise.

"I may not be able to stop you, but if you take off running, I'll be dragged along with you," I say calmly, "And you wouldn't want that, would you?"

"Tsk," Clattonia huffs in annoyance and glances off to the side.

"Why are you acting so out of character?" I ask quietly, "Normally you think things through before acting, and we both know how stupid and reckless you'd be to enter that building and do what you're about to do."

"Sometimes I act on impulse too, Jace," Clattonia says after a short while, "Not very often, but whenever I do, I'm practically unstoppable."

"You're a force to be reckoned with, Clattonia, everybody knows that. And I know that what you want most right now is to rush in there and lay waste to Aether, trust me, I've never thought of something that would be as satisfying as wiping that smirk off of his face and bringing him down, but you have to wait for the chance to appear," I say.

"We make our own chances," Clattonia says and turns around in my arms so that she's facing me, "We calculate, analyze, assess, and take risks. Certain things may be left up to fate and chance, but we can always counter those and make our own fate, our own destinies, and our own chances."