Review Replies:

mozzi-girl: Thanks so much! And examples? Well…that's a long list. But in just the past few months we've had a cow escape in the school, a Llama escape in the school, a kid escape the preschool room, an unexpected fire drill in the middle of preschool, a random ACTUAL fire in the school, a lesson on how to give subcutaneous injections to cattle and swine…and this is just in two of my classes O.o Yeah…not a lot catches me off guard anymore.

Oryt: Thanks so much! And you'll probably find out what Eliora knows about Locke in the next chapter :D Anyways, the hair thing was kinda on-the-spot. I was wracking my brain for something else she could have tucked in it, but in the end I couldn't think of anything and and just ended up going with random hair due to lack of creativity O.o


Natara Williams

I was going downhill fast. I thought I had at least a week, but at this point I was happy to make it one hour to the next. I was shivering violently, as if my blood had turned to ice. But my skin was hot, so much so I was almost surprised that I couldn't see the heat coming off of my body. I was curled up on the floor, slightly propped up from my last attempt to get up. My mouth was so dry, and I had tried several times to get up and get a drink. But every time I did so the room would spin, and I could barely keep myself from falling as I gave up and got back on the ground. I had to wonder what was taking Eliora so long. Shouldn't she have come back by now? The sun through my small window was dimming, she's been gone for hours.

That's when I hear a thump from upstairs. It was Gabriel, I knew it.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

He was knocking on the front door, expecting Eliora to let him in so he doesn't have to take out his key. I heard someone yelling, and I knew he was yelling for Eliora to let him in.

Crash!

This normally would have made me jump, but I already slipping away, and barely noticed the noise. I was never so aware of how my heart beat, or how much effort it took to fill my lungs with air. All my senses seemed to sharpen except for my hearing, which was now almost non-existent. I never noticed the slightly sour smell of old flour. Or how sandpaper-like the cement floor was. I was dying, but I had never felt so alive. I barely registered the sound of steps on the stairs, and didn't even respond when I heard the doorknob move.

Surely Gabriel was looking for his wife, suspecting she was here with me. He was going to see she was gone, and was going to take his anger out on me.

But after a moment the door came down with a deafening crunch, and it took me a moment to get my eyes to focus on who was entering.

It was not Gabriel. It wasn't even Eliora. It was, in every way, impossible. But somehow, Mal was standing in the doorway. He said my name I think, but I wasn't sure. His words were muffled, as if I was underwater. The next thing I knew he was trying to help me, trying to get me up so he can get me to safety. But I had already learned to associate touch with pain, and I instinctually flinched at his touch. I regretted it immediately, I could see the fear in his gaze. I heard someone, Locke I suspected, yell. In the background I saw one man being tackled down the steps by the other, and from Mal's lack of reaction I know the one being pushed wasn't his ally. With all this going on it was overwhelming. It was too much, too much to take in. My head hurt too much and my eyes were so heavy, I couldn't help it when they began to close. But Mal was shaking me, gently, as I'd trying to wake me. He was calling my name, but I could barely hear him. He was so far away…

I felt him push something into my hand, something small and metal. The world came back in a rush, and I could finally hear what was going on around me. My eyes snapped open, and it felt like I was seeing for the first time.

The man, Locke I think, had Gabriel pinned down. Both were panting, but Locke still managed to scream at Gabriel like a madman. "Do you know who I am?".

Gabriel didn't respond, and I could hear Locke throwing insults at him in both English and Hebrew. "Look at me and tell me you do not recognize me!".

I looked up to see Mal's saying something to me, but I was so fixated on the world around me that I didn't notice.

"Nat, are there more?" I finally heard him ask loudly. I had to say 'no' several times for him to hear me.

"Get her out of here!" I heard Locke yell. Before I knew it Mal grabbed me just below my shoulders and under my knees, holding my in a way that a groom might carry a bride. His wrist was digging into the injury in my shoulder, but I barely felt it. The only thing I felt was how awkwardly my right arm was pressed into my chest, my palm forced into my collar bone. Entrapped in my palm was the little piece of metal Mal forced into my hand. The tiny metal feathers were pressed into my skin, and for a moment this was the only thing I had left in the world. I could feel the world slipping away, and my last thought was that maybe the tiny silver wings of the locket would open up and allow me to fly away. But as soon as I form this thought I shut my eyes, and the world seemed to disappear with my sight.