Embers

Chapter 18

Jackie was the first to get picked up by her mom. She glanced back at me pleadingly as her mom angrily led her away. I gave her a sympathetic smile, knowing that, besides school, I probably wouldn't see her for a long time.

You alright? Erin asked.

I glanced towards her. I'll be alright when The Raven's finally in his place.

It was another half an hour before Solstice and Sparrow arrived to pick the rest of us up. Monica gave us all a good luck smile as we went our separate ways.

Solstice unlocked the car and everyone climbed in. They drove home in silence. Solstice's lack of words was worse than anything he couldn't have said.

I could've apologized, said I was sorry, but it didn't matter now. Nothing any of us said would've changed the situation.

When we arrived, Solstice hung up his coat and walked into the kitchen. "Go to bed. We'll discuss this in the morning." He said, his fatigue coming through in his voice.

Erin and Marco left as they were told, but I stayed.

"Nathan, I'm sorry." I finally said.

He turned to face me. "Don't lie to me Natalie." Maybe it was because he was tired, but he didn't seem angry, more just disappointed. "What you did tonight was illegal. Because Yasmin and I work for the government, we were able to let you get off with little more than a warning. But what would've happened if we hadn't done that? You can't go running off late at night and break into a government building. We're superheroes, but we're not immune to the law. That's the reason we're nationally recognized, because the government supports us. They wouldn't do that if we were running around breaking into G.L.A.S.S. buildings on a regular basis."

"I know where Connor is." I said, reaching into my pocket as I pulled out the flash drive. "His location, any information on him we're missing, it's all here."

Solstice sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"What?" I said. "This is a success, regardless of the law."

"We can discuss this in the morning. Just try to get some sleep, alright?" Before I could respond, Solstice was already walking down the hall towards the bathroom.

I sighed and headed into my room. Erin was already fast asleep, her body curled in a heap on her bed.

I was still in my outfit from the heist, but I couldn't be bothered to change.

I slumped down on my bed, the exhaustion I had been fighting all night finally washing over me. I closed my eyes and almost instantly drifted to sleep.

I had a dream that night. I was standing on the Brooklyn Bridge, staring out onto the water. It was the same spot I had been standing next to Connor just weeks before. The wind was rustling through my hair, trying to pull me closer to the water, but I fought against it.

"Natalie!" Someone called.

I turned towards the sound of the voice, but the wind was still blowing, pushing me closer towards the railing.

It was Solstice that was calling out to me. I tried to run towards him, gripping onto the railing to fight the wind, but the railing turned to ash.

I screamed as I fell, shock spreading through my body as I hit the water, slowly sinking beneath the surface. No matter how hard I swam, no matter how hard I struggled, I continued to sink.

When I hit the bottom, I heard yet another voice calling my name.

"Natalie," It spoke calmly, echoing through the depths of the waters.