THAT NIGHT I couldn’t fall asleep again. Charles’s alarm had been set for one o’clock. Annie had only packed a backpack but we could go shopping on the other side. I was worried and dead tired all at the same time, but just couldn’t fall asleep. I hugged my pillow as Blake’s gentle snoring filled the room. Though it was hardly a snore, it was more like a soft vibration in his throat.
I kept staring at the moon and wondered what the future held. To go back without him.
To not know if he was going to be safe.
That familiar feeling of not seeing him again filled my gut. I hated it.
I tried to think about the time what it was like without him, when I thought he was dead. Then I pushed it to the back of my mind.
I finally fell asleep and it felt like ten minutes had passed before the buzzer went off.
Blake got up first and I just lay there.
He tapped me softly. “Wake up, Elena.”
“I hardly slept,” I complained.
“You couldn’t sleep?” I heard the smile in his tone.
“Something I really struggle with this side.” I turned on my back and wiped my eyes. I opened them. “Something you don’t seem to have a problem with.”
He chuckled. “Did I snore?”
“I wouldn’t call it a snore,” I said and moved off the bed.
He stepped into his jeans, pulled them over his boxers and pulled on a sweater with a hoody over his shirt.
He took the rest of his clothes out but I couldn’t look as I was worried sick about leaving him this side. It wasn’t the right thing to do.
Once he was done putting his clothes into one of the drawers, he walked to the door. “Get dressed.”
I FOUND CHARLES, Marcus, Gertrude and Luke with Tom and Blake sitting in the kitchen as I entered with my backpack over my shoulder.
“Ready to go?” Charles said.
“No, not really, but I guess I have no choice.” Blake didn’t look at me as I said that. “Where is Annie?”
“She’s just saying goodbye to Daisy.” Gertrude’s tone was soft.
We waited for Annie for about five minutes and then we heard their final goodbye being spoken right in front of Daisy’s room.
“Don’t forget about us, please.”
“Never. You are like a sister to me. You and Cassy. I love you so much. I feel like a dog leaving you here.”
“Shhh, you know we have no choice. Just bring those people with those things that can change into us so we can get out of this hell hole.”
My eyes caught on Blake, who was staring at the ceiling; he was listening as well.
Annie rushed down the steps, and all the men got up. We followed them out the door and the way we’d come through the cornfields back to the Creepers.
This walk felt so fast now.
“You can do this, Elena.”
“It’s not why I’m scared Blake.”
“Why then?” He squinted.
“You know why. This wasn’t part of the plan. You make me so furious. You should never have come.”
“Elena, I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah, whatever.” I grunted and walked faster to walk next to Annie.
“You and Plucky fighting again?”
“Yeah, well Plucky is as stubborn as an ox. He wasn’t even supposed to come with and now…” I didn’t want to talk about it. It was his choice. I shouldn’t even care.
“He’s the Rubicon.”
“Why do you think I’m worried, Annie? If Goran finds him.”
“Still here, Elena,” Blake said from the back.
“Then tune out.”
We reached the Creepers and they hardly moved. It was as if they were asleep.
Everyone kept their distance from them, including me.
“You ready Jumble-Bean? Ready to see your mom?”
“No.” Annie smiled. “Not really, but I can’t wait to live a normal life again.”
He hugged her again. “Just come back with us, please.”
“No, Annie. Elle needs to learn that I have other responsibilities too.”
“Dumb idiot, it’s not like that. You of all people should know that.” I sounded angry.
“Stop enjoying that.” Annie punched him.
“Ow,” Blake said. “And I’m not enjoying that.”
“It doesn’t look like that.”
“Just take care, Annie.”
“See you soon.”
“Of course.”
She said goodbye to August and Tom next. Then Charles.
“Keep a spot for us that side, Annie.”
“You bet I will.” She hugged him tighter.
Luke was last and then Annie came over to me. “You are not going to say goodbye?”
“No, all the people I say goodbye to end up dead, so no goodbyes.”
“Then a see you later, Elena. You never know what –”
“See.” I looked at Blake. “This is why.” Tears started to well in my eyes and I stopped and looked away. “Just forget it. Let’s go, Annie.” I grabbed her arm and started to walk toward the creepers. She was hesitant.
“Elena,” Blake called me and I could see the idiot walking over to us. We were not within reach yet.
Annie stopped, she refused to walk a step further, and nodded toward him.
“Fine, what?”
“You know it’s not like that. I’ll be fine, and you will see me again.”
“Will I? What if they come tomorrow, unannounced? What if there isn’t a week? What then? I can’t free these people alone. I can’t kill the Saadedine alone. You are being an idiot, and that is why I’m upset. I have so many things to carry, and you know what, I keep feeling that I will have to always carry them alone.”
“Elena?” He understood what I was saying.
“Don’t. I just thought that maybe, just maybe things might finally be really different this time.” I looked away and grabbed Annie’s arm again. “Let’s go. Just try to stay out of trouble please.”
He didn’t say anything back, and I pushed Annie in front of me as the Creepers started to move.
Her body trembled slightly.
“Keep your eyes closed, you’ll be fine.”
She must have done it, but her breathing was still loud and she was still scared.
I closed my eyes too as another Creeper ventured too close. I could hear the men gasp.
“They’ll be fine.” Blake spoke softly. He sounded disappointed. I didn’t care anymore. I was just so tired of showing up alone, without my dragon. They were never going to see us as an alliance and they would never follow us into this thing if they believed we couldn’t even get together on our own terms. Be a team.
The loud hissing started to fade and a small buzzing noise filled our ears. It was slightly warmer and I opened my eyes.
“Open your eyes, Annie.”
A gasp left her mouth. “Who would’ve known that inside something so deadly was this?”
“Tell me about it.”
“So I take it Plucky wasn’t over exaggerating when he said you two didn’t always get along.”
“Nope, we only recently made peace, that was how bad it was.”
“Elle, I don’t know what his dark side was like, but that, that is the dragon I remember.”
“It slightly differs from the one I knew, it’s hard to trust it.”
“What do you mean hard?”
“He despised me, even after I discovered I was his rider. I could’ve sworn there were times he actually wanted to kill me. Kept begging me to set him free.”
“What?” There was pure horror in her tone.
“It doesn’t matter.” I sighed as I realized she was his cousin. She only remembered great things about him and that he’d healed her freaking eye. What kind of person did that?
“Was he really as dark as Quitto?”
“I didn’t know how dark Quitto really was. So I can’t tell you. But he was quite deep, almost took me with him.”
“You almost became dark?”
“Yes, it’s seriously freaky shit how we are connected to one another. There are even times when I miss his voice in my head, can you believe that? But –” I sighed. “It’s not like that between us, he has a girlfriend back at the academy.”
“What?” she asked.
I smiled. “It’s fine, he doesn’t want me like that. It’s like a brother and sisterhood bond we share.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Are you blind, we keep on fighting over stupid stuff?”
“My mom and dad used to fight over stupid stuff too, it’s normal.”
“You’ll see what I mean. It’s not like that, and I don’t think it will ever be.”
“Then he sure is an idiot. You are the best and bravest girl I’ve ever known.”
I snickered as the Creeper’s noises started to grow louder again and light started to seep through.
“It is really daylight on the other side, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“It’s a good thing,” she said.
“I hope so,” I said. “Now close your eyes.”
She did, and I walked into the opening and picked up my pace again as they hissed behind me.
There was yellow masking tape everywhere and small tents had been set up. One was really big and it reminded me of a royal tent, the other two were not so large.
“Where is the lodge?” Annie asked.
“It’s about a few miles from here, on that road,” I said without taking my eyes off the tents.
“What is it?” Annie saw them as well.
“They weren’t here when we entered.”
