The Orb And The Onslaught {COMPLETE}

Age And Experience

    Florence didn't see them until it was too late, she'd been too distracted walking with the cats to notice how far down the hill she'd gone. It wasn't until the cats tails fluffed out and their backs raised that she even knew anyone was there. They appeared from behind the trees, or around the hills nearby, twenty brown cloaked figures now surrounded her. 

    She was glad she hadn't brought Quentin down with her, he was safe at the cart and she wanted to keep him that way. Their decision to take a break in this place had sounded good at the time, but Florence was starting to regret it now. 

    She tried to call the cats back but they stood their ground, they didn't hiss but they didn't appear accepting of the strangers either. This only heightened Florence's concerns and she gripped her walking stick, watching as many of them as she could, ready for their next move.

    The strangers however, did not move an inch, a light gust blew their cloaks but otherwise they remained still. Florence couldn't make out their faces due to their hoods, she couldn't even be sure they were human from where she was. She could imagine how strange the scene might look to any passersby but she knew there wouldn't be any, they'd picked this location for a reason; it was off the grid, far enough from prying eyes. 

   "Oh come on, make your move, we haven't got all day!"

Florence was growing impatient, they needed to get to whatever they had planned and then she could figure out what to do about it. 

    They still didn't move, they didn't speak or fidget, they just stood there facing her on all sides. The minutes ticked by and Florence was getting tired of this game they were playing, was it some kind of test? Some way to see what this little old lady could do? Because if that was the case they'd have a shock if they tried anything funny. 

     Just when she was about to attempt a quickly plotted escape back to the cart, the strangers began to part like a river around a boulder. They moved with no sound, Florence noticed while she watched their strange behaviour; there was no scuffling noise between their feet and the rough ground beneath them. Florence's attention was diverted back when two figures walked through the gap, they were carrying something between them. 

     Florence felt her anger begin to bubble when she saw that it was an unconscious Quentin. They held him up and stopped a few feet in front of her; his head was lowered and the rest of his body draped behind him. Another figure appeared from behind the newcomers and stepped toward Florence. 

     She gripped her walking stick tightly, readying herself in case they tried to do to her what they'd done to Quentin. 

"What have you mongrels done to him?" She growled, loud enough for every one of them to hear.

    She'd had just about enough now, she was done with the games, done with not knowing what was really going on in her life, and if they had anything to do with it then she'd be happy to give them what for. 

"Mrs James, it's an honour to meet you. Might I say, you are everything we imagined and so much more." 

    Florence couldn't tell which one of them had spoken, none had moved but she suspected it was the one closest to her. Her suspicions were confirmed when the stranger in the front of her lowered their hood, causing a ripple effect for the other figures to do the same.

   The two strangers holding Quentin were the only ones who didn't move to drop their hoods. Whether that was because they didn't want to drop him or for a different reason, Florence didn't know.

     The woman who lowered her hood first, who Florence guessed was the leader of this absurd group, was watching her closely. She had an intelligent gaze and a kind face, but Florence knew very well that appearances could be deceiving. Until she knew more, Florence wasn't about to let her guard down- not again. She needed answers and she needed a strategy for hers and Quentin's eventual escape.