BROKEN

CH.42-the war

*KARA'S POV*

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

I felt like I was going to puke and the closer we got to the VHA, the more the unseemly mass of bile rose in my throat. I agreed to go in. I made a big fuss about going in, and now that I'm here I'm not sure that I can stomach it.

We had packed up everything in the morning and stuck it all in Cora's van and some of the other vehicles that we had formed. The forests were chock-full of vampires and werewolves, agreeing to fight with one another for the sake of the freedom of non-human creatures. Cora was telekinetic like Cloud, so she was afraid to eat in his head, sending that he may know about it, but it seemed like he was unaware of the warriors lurking in the woods.

"I'm gonna be sick," I mumbled to no one in particular. Ace and I had barely gotten out of the house this morning with my mother there, but my dad eventually convinced her to let us go. It wasn't easy, but I wasn't going to cry. Not yet. We hadn't won yet.

"You'll be okay," Ace whispered, holding my hand. I nodded and smoothed out my jacket. Cora has the stuff to change into in the truck, by I'm not sure how comfortable I feel dressing up to go into war. Of course, we have to look at this from Cloud's perspective. He's expecting guests, and guests would come dressed up to the nines. He's expecting a private meeting with Ace: something civilized. I wasn't sure who all was riding with who, but I knew that Cora was in her truck and Ace and I were in my parents car, and I was surprised that Aragon was being as quiet as he was because he wouldn't shut up yesterday. He was probably saving energy.

I kept focusing on my breathing and tried to stay relaxed as Ace and I slowly made our way down a winding road.

"We're getting close," Ace said and I nodded. My grip tightened on his hand. He held mine up to his mouth and kissed the tips of my fingers. "We'll be okay, Angel," he whispered, and I touched the tip of one of his fangs. He smiled at me.

"I know."

We drove for only a few more minutes when I saw it in front of us. It was huge and dark and dead-looking.

And it was an exact replica of the place that I had seen in my nightmares for months. The same windows, the same arching gateway, the same structure and and of itself. It was only missing two things: a whole horse of bodies on its lawn and a raging fire. We parked the cars and everyone took their turn climbing into Cora's truck changing into their designated outfits. I climbed into the truck and quickly slipped my clothes off, opening the black bag to reveal the dress that I was to be wearing. Except I'd already worn it.

Man, many times. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach as I slipped the dress on. I could almost hear the crackling of flames and smell the ash as it hugged my body in all of the wrong ways. I slipped my jacket on over top of it and climbed out of the truck. I didn't care how I looked. I just wanted to go home. I wanted to end this now and go home and run away and raise a little boy named Andy some day and be happy, but I couldn't. I was in too deep now. What I wanted didn't matter. What mattered was what I had to do to protect the people I loved.

"Lookin' good, Kara," Seven complimented as I stepped out of the truck, barely landing on my own two feet.

"Thanks, Sev," I mumbled as I caught myself on the truck. Ace seemed to notice that I was undergoing sensory overload as he came to put his arms around my waist from behind, resting his head on my shoulder. I relaxed knowing he was there and tried to focus on the matter at hand. I looked around me to see everyone was dressed and ready to go. The troops weren't visible from here, but I knew they were there. This place had a sickening aura to it. Amity, Cora, and Danalrie looked beautiful, all in short dresses for easy movement. The guys, Ace, Seven, and Owen, looked fantastic as well, although they were wearing proper clothing underneath. Ace was using cerebrammunication to keep in touch with Weston and some of the secondary leaders of some of the groups. Everyone was ready.