New World

Chapter 10

There were shouts behind them. Paelen and Katy were half supporting Charlotte, who was in more pain than she let on. It was light, and the sun was above their heads. It must have been almost 24 hours since they had been gone. They ran onto a dusty track road. The area was covered in fields, so there was no cover for them to hide. Katy's phone had been taken, so they would not be able to call the police either.

"We need to get off the road." Katy gasped. "They could catch us with a car."

They veered into the field next to them. The grass was long, which slowed down their escape. Just as Katy had predicted, a car was heard approaching behind them. Paelen stole a backwards glance. It was a dark green 4x4, and, considering their luck so far, he could guess who was driving. "I'll distract them, you run!" Paelen told Katy. He was met with a glare, "You are not leaving us! You'll get hurt, or worse! Plus, I'm not strong enough to help Charlotte by my self." Paelen bit his lip and kept running. His chest hurt and his legs burnt. Charlotte was starting to slow down. Her eyes were shut tight, sweat beaded her forehead and tears were running down her cheeks.

Katy looked behind her. "Paelen! They're coming!" Indeed, the car was driving towards them on the grass. The man opened the car door and stepped out, holding a gun. Paelen had been shot before. It was not a pleasant experience. "Katy, we need to stop." Katy eyed the gun and stopped running. They turned around and looked at the man. Paelen could feel his heart hammer against his chest.

The man sneered, looking at Paelen "Who are you, little boy? How did you escape the locked room?" When Paelen remained silent, he continued, "It would be in your best interest to answer, boy. I am armed, you are not." His gun was aimed at Paelen's chest.

"Paelen..." Katy murmured quietly.

"Paelen." The man repeated. "What a unique little name. Catchy. Tell me, how would you like a job. A young man like you would be very useful. How did you learn to fight like that?" His tone had drastically changed. He was trying to recruit him into the evil organization he was in.

"Never." Paelen replied.

Without a warning, the gun went off, and Paelen felt a stabbing agony by his heart. "Paelen!" Katy shouted as the man reloaded his gun. Katy moved in front of him and held his shoulders. "Paelen! Can you here me?" He could feel his knees weaken, but forced himself to stay standing. He looked back up the man who stared back at him in disbelief. "But-"

Suddenly, a blur of white and gold blanketed his view. He thought for a moment that he was passing out, but it was not that. A beautiful, pure white winged stallion stood over the body of the man who had caused them so much pain. On his back was a young woman and man. Emily and Joel. He was overjoyed. He grinned and tried to make his way towards them, but the pain in his chest told him to do otherwise."

"Paelen!" He heard Joel shout. By Jupiter he missed this guy. His best friend jumped off Pegasus' back and jogged to Paelen. He engulfed him with a hug. His ribs felt crushed by Joel's metal arm, and did not ease the pain of his bullet wound. "Ow...ribs...ow...Joel..." He started. When Joel realised this, het let go and took hold of his shoulders. "You okay?" Paelen grinned at his friend, "Indeed. Am I not always being shot?" Joel chuckled slightly.

"What were you thinking?" He heard an angry voice from behind him. Emily was marching towards Paelen. Her new look made her look more threatening. "Going to Earth without saying anything! You have no idea what you're doing! We thought you'd died! How could you..." She grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. Paelen didn't say anything until she pulled away. "Explain." She said commandingly.

Paelen sighed. "You were spending a lot of time with Joel, alone, well, all the time, with Pegasus. The Olympians still regard me as a thief, and I do not want that. And...she was still on my mind." Emily looked both shocked and sad, and pulled him into a hug again. With a softer tone, she said, "Oh, Paelen, my sweet Paelen. You should have said something. When you come back to Olympus, I'll make sure you're treated better."

They pulled away again. Paelen glanced at Katy, who looked both awed and surprised. He didn't want to leave earth, or Katy. He felt, for the first time in his life, that he fit in somewhere. He had friends, a family, and he loved it. "Emily, I'm not going back."

"No! You are!" Emily said with tears in her eyes. "You don't belong here! You don't know anything about this place. It's too dangerous. Look at you! You've been shot in the chest already! Please, come back."

Paelen placed a hand on her arm. "No. I do not belong on Olympus. I have friends here, and a life."

"You have friends on Olympus too! Me, Joel, Pegs, Diana!"

"Emily, please-"

"Paelen," Katy was at his side. "We should do something about Charlotte." Charlotte was sitting on the ground, rocking back and fourth.

"Emily, this can wait. We must get Charlotte to a hospital." Paelen looked at Paegasus, "Do you have the room for all of us?"

Pegasus whinnied, "Yes, but it will be tight."

Paelen knelt down to Charlotte and said softly, "I am going to help you onto Pegasus and we will get you to a doctor." She nodded, not looking at him. Paelen helped her up and lifted her onto Pegasus' back. The rest of them squeezed in on Pegasus' back. Paelen found himself on the very back, holding on tightly to Katy so he that wouldn't fall.

He was glad his friends were back, but he was scared they would make him go back to Olympus.