Escape

Chapter 17

After a bunch of hand scans, password punches and conversations passed between Will and the guards, we were finally let into the safehouse. Chewing on my lip, I looked around at the boring metal walls as we journeyed through the labyrinth of hallways.

Will walked by my side, and from time to time I saw him glance down at me.

Looking down at my feet, I sighed, "So, where's Erebos?"

"He's fine." Will said, and I waited for him to continue. But he didn't.

I gulped, "But, like, where is he? Can I see him?"

Will's eyes were locked on the twisting hallways in front of us, a muscle set hard in his jaw. "All I know is that he is being taken to a secure part of the safehouse. My best guess is that you probably won't be seeing much of him for a while, unless Bastien has a sudden change of heart for his little escapee."

As we entered the main dining hall, my eyes scanned the room. I immediately saw Briseas and Leora, who rushed over to me with similar looks of relief and happiness. I looked away, realizing that what I had been looking for was Erebos.

Leora came first, stretching her arms out wide and pulling me into a graceful hug. "I'm so glad your back, Ariey." I smiled at her and stepped away, towards Briseas.

He gave me a big, toothy grin and wrapped his arms around me in a full-on bear hug. Leaning his head down, he gently whispered in my ear, "I've missed you, kid."

I smiled, my face pressed against his firm chest. "I missed you too," I said genuinely. "But I'm not a kid."

Briseas loosened his hold in me, ruffling my hair. "That's damn right."

My eyes shot down, a flush dispersing across my face. It was obvious he was talking about everything that had happened; me running off with Erebos to venture out into the mortal world.

"Yeah, well...it's good to see you guys." I said, and walked off towards the large buffet of food. I scanned the dishes; from cheeseburgers to chocolate chip cookies. My brows furrowed as I realized that I'd probably never get to taste mortal food again, even if it was the same thing.

___________________

I woke up the next morning with an odd feeling in my gut. And only when Marshall came to talk to me an hour later did I realize what that feeling was about.

Apparently, the whole 'Erebos taking me and us fleeing into the mortal world' didn't look too good to Bastien and the officials, and a council meeting was set for four o'clock to determine the situation. Whatever that meant.

But besides the whole council meeting thing, Marshall was genuinely glad to have me back, and I'm not gonna lie, I kinda missed the old guy.

After we caught up, Marshall left me so I could shower, get dressed and eat.

And I did shower. And I did get dressed into my usual garments: green-patterned tank and black training pants.

And when I got to the cafeteria, I ate.

And as each hour passed, I found myself thinking more and more about that night in Beach Haven.

All I do is rant about how I should be allowed to go off on my own, and I don't need protecting. But I did nothing that night when the monsters attacked. Nothing.

Will had saved me. He had saved everyone there. All while I was being smacked around like a rag doll.

"Some dominant protector I am." I muttered. I sat in the training room, watching Briseas and Leora spar against each other. I was not allowed to train that day, and there really wasn't anything else to do besides sitting and watching.

I guess that's all I'll ever do.

Sit and watch.

A tap on my shoulder released me from my thoughts. I spun around to see Briseas grinning down at me.

"Oh," I said, standing up, "I didn't see you guys finish."

"You were staring in our direction the whole time, Aria." He said, running a hair through his hair. Sweat soaked his blue-patterned shirt, one that matched mine.

I shrugged, "I was lost in my thoughts, I guess."

Briseas took a sip from his water bottle, then trained his eyes on me. "Are you okay? You seem a bit...out of it today."

I bit down on my lip. "I'm fine."

Briseas nodded, eyeing me.

I forced a smile, "You guys looked good up there."

Briseas grinned. "We look good everywhere. We're hot."

I rolled my eyes, a real smiled pushing it's way through. "That's not what I meant."

Briseas chuckled and walked off. I followed closely behind.

"No, seriously though. You guys look so awesome with your powers and everything." I skipped ahead to walk beside Briseas, who slung an arm over my shoulder.

"You know," he said, tipping his water bottle down to me, "I heard about what happened at Beach Haven."

I gulped.

"And from the way the guards described it, you seemed pretty awesome with your powers and everything. Sounds like you completely cut them off with a flick of the wrist. Wish I got to see that."

I gave a small smile, "Yeah, I guess it was cool...right up to when Will saved my sorry ass."

Briseas chuckled and pulled me closer, "I heard about that too. But, hey, it could have been worse."

I pushed it out of my mind. "Yeah, whatever."

We came to the large double doors of the training room which emptied out into the mess of hallways. Above the doors was a small clock, which read 4:05.

Wait, what?

I did a double take, then gasped, pulling away from Briseas. "Oh, holy hell balls!"

Briseas glanced up at the clock, then back down at me. "What?"

I ran off, calling behind me, "The council meeting!"

Might as well put me in that straight jacket now.

~~*~~...~~*~~...~~*~~...~~*~~

Dammnnn she best run! :0

(sorry the chapter is short, I'll write more tonight, maybe update again)

This is my first author note, and I would like to say

1) Thanks to all my current readers!

2) I hope you like the story :)

3) If there's anything you'd like to see more of or less of, just comment!

I'd love to hear your opinionssss

Thank you very much if they are good,

and if they are bad...well...

My assassin doesn't work on weekdays, so you're in luck :P

Keep reading, my little protectors!

Okay bye-bye for now!

~KT

(usually pronounced "kay-TEE")