FIRE! Great, now that I have your attention, I would like to acknowledge my 2 AWESOMEST FANS EVER: hawaiiangrl and jmads! :D Seriously, they are the only two that has been reviewing for me. THX GUYS! *hint*
Chapter 10: An Invitation
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Simon drove them back to the Institute. By the time they got back, it was nearly 7 p.m.
Jace opened the front door and went inside, the others followed right behind him. Awkwardly, they all sat together in the living room. This morning seemed like any other morning, but after all of the strange and horrifying events that day, Clary wondered if she could ever feel the same. Clary looked around the room. Everyone looked tired and glum. Even Jace sat quietly on the couch.
Clary's stomach was desperate for something to eat. She can't say that she wanted to eat after all of that gore, but she needed it.
"I can't believe this." Isabelle rubbed her face with her hands. Clary couldn't believe it either. There's going to be some kind of zombie invasion in New York?
Jace sighed and put his hands on his knees. "We can't stay here."
Isabelle didn't like that idea. "Of course we can. The Institute can-"
"That's not what I meant." He closed his eyes and put his head down. "I meant we can stay here. As in New York. Especially not in the city. This disease will spread quickest in crowded cities like Manhattan." Clary picked her head up from the arm of the couch. She couldn't even imagine leaving New York. It was her home. The only home she had ever known.
"Jace, we don't have to leave. We could stay in here, they can't find us." Clary was trying to convince him to remain here.
"We can't just sit and wait here, Clary. One way or another we'll have to go out and get food or they can stumble across the Institute first. In just a couple of hours, a section of the city became infested with zombies. Let's face it; New York's no good anymore." He stared at them with intensity. Something inside of Clary said that he was right, but the other majority wanted to stay. If they waited much longer, the whole state will become infected with walking dead people.
"Where can we go? What about mom and dad?" Alec was worried mostly about losing the people he loves than moving out of the Institute.
"They'll follow us some time. We just need to get out of here as soon as possible."
There was a loud ring coming from the front door. Alec got up and opened the door. There wasn't anyone there. The only thing that was outside was a letter. He picked it up and went back into the living room. He sat back on his rocking chair with Magnus.
"Who's it from?" Isabelle bent over to see the card.
"I'm not sure, it doesn't say." Clary grew curious and went over to look for herself. Jace and Simon followed behind.
The front of the envelope was blank except for the words OPEN IMMEDIATELY. Alec carefully opened the letter and took out the paper. Inside her mind, Clary read:
Dear fellow shadowhunters,
As you are most likely aware, there seems to be a disease going around the east coast. We invite any non-mundanes to attend a gathering tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. sharp in the backyard of the New York Institute. There we will discuss any future plans about these issues. Thank you for your support.
Clary found her mouth hanging wide open. East coast? She was even more surprised that the others didn't seem to care about that fact.
"Really? The meeting's in our backyard?" Alec's eyes were dull.
"I guess we don't even have a choice for this one." Jace straightened up. "I think we should go rest up. We'll need to get up early for this stupid meeting." He pulled on Clary's fist.
They all mentally yawned as they made their way up the steps. The first room in the hallway was Alec's. Magnus practically shoved him in and closed the door. It was no surprise to Clary that Isabelle did the same to Simon.
Clary and Jace walked their way into his room and closed the door. After they changed and showered they slid into bed. Clary's head rested on his chest. He had his arm around her waist as they stared at the ceiling. Clary felt like a child again, feeling as if a dead body would spring up from out of nowhere. But Jace's presence seemed to calm her down. He whispered calming words into her ear. As they said their goodnights, her eyes drooped. She felt him give her a light kiss on her forehead as she drifted off into sleep.
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The next morning, Clary awoke from the bright sunshine coming from the window. When she opened her eyes, Jace was already gone. She sighed and got up.
After dressing up into her lime green hoodie and dark jeans, she headed down to the kitchen. Nobody was in the kitchen but Simon. He was resting his head on his palm and looking down on the counter. Where's Jace? Am I that early? She turned her head towards the clock: 8:56. She knew they should be awake by now.
"Simon, do you know where everyone else is?" She sat onto one of the cushioned stools.
He sighed and picked his head up. There were bags under his eyes. "Good morning to you too, Clarissa." Simon stood up and pushed the chair in. "They should be coming down any minute now. But while they were all lookin' pretty, I went out and found this." He took a folded up newspaper out from one of his sweater pockets.
She took it from his hand and read it:
ZOMBIE INVASION HITS THE EAST COAST
Hundreds of citizens in the east coast have been infected with a devastating disease. This disease is carried about when the person is bitten by someone with the same disease. When the person is killed, they are bought back to life and roams off as a corpse. Doctors are still searching for a cure. As we wait for the medicine, the plague slowly travels west. In two days, over 10,000 people were infected with this disease-
She threw the paper down on the counter. "Jace is right; we need to leave before we get turned into one of these bastards."
"Well that's the issue. The others are in Isabelle's room debating on whether or not we should stay for the meeting or leave when we still have the chance." Simon looked disappointed.
Clary didn't know which side to choose. She knew it was too late to pack for leaving and it was too dangerous to go by themselves. Then again, she couldn't risk the chance of staying here much longer. "Maybe we should stay and see what plans the Clave has-"Her sentence was cut off by a loud bang from the ceiling.
The shadowhunters (plus Magnus) were muttering all together as they walked down the steps.
"The people are already on the way let's just wait and-"
"No! We have to go now! The bigger the group the longer-"
"You think we'll be safer by ourselves than staying here-"
Simon exhaled and whispered to Clary, "And now you know why I left the room." Clary wouldn't blame him, she would've left too.
She turned to look at all the red faces by the staircase. None of them seemed to realize that she and Simon were there. "EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Clary shouted. They all stared at Clary with their mouths open. "Thank you."
"Clary, you know we have to leave right now. You want that don't you?" Jace asked.
"I don't think we have a choice anymore." A voice said from a distance. They turned to look at what Simon was talking about.
Simon looked out the window from the kitchen. "They're already here." Everyone rushed to the kitchen in disbelief. The Nephlim and Downworlders were starting to pile into the backyard of the Institute.
Clary heard Jace mutter a handful of unknown curses as he went out the front door. They followed soon behind him.
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They went around the Institute and opened the gate. Jace's eyes fell on Maryse and Robert who were chatting with other Shadowhunters. He, Alec and Isabelle ran up to hug them. Clary watched as they embraced their parents
Clary wondered if her mother and Luke were okay. She shuddered as she thought of her two parents becoming one of "them". But that was impossible, right? After all, they were on a separate island. Clary wondered if they even heard the news…
She waved to Maryse and Robert when they greeted her from a far.
"Well this feels kind of awkward." Magnus put his hands behind his head and leaned against a brick wall. "I guess I'll just go chat with my fellow warlocks." He walked of and joined another group. Simon caught sight of Mia and Jordan.
He hesitated to go after them. "Is this okay-"Clary cut him off with a shove towards his friends. She waved at the two werewolves as Simon met up with them. Now she was the one feeling left out and awkward. She needed her mother and Luke- or her father as she could say.
"Clarissa." She heard a familiar accented voice from behind her. Clary turned around and saw Raphael grinning his fangs off. "It's been a while now hasn't it. Yet all of this had happened." Not long enough.
"I guess it has." She lied with an almost convincing smile. Clary didn't expect him to be here. But as she looked around, there were many faces she recognized. By looking around, she saw Kaelie, Meliorn, the Seelie Court Queen, and several others.
As she looked around for more, someone cleared their throat. "I need everyone's attention up front, please." She turned as the crowd started quieting down.
It was the Consul (guys, I feel so ashamed. I forgot his name…) speaking from the front of the crowd. Everyone turned towards him.
"Now as you know, there is a plague breaking out in this coast." Clary heard more mutters from the Nephilim and Downworlders. "The Clave and I have decided that it would be the safest to evacuate the east coast-"
There was a roar of arguments and agreements after this statement. They all yelled and rioted for a while.
"Silence!" The Consul shouted. And they all stopped.
"I know it seems cowardly to leave, but it's just not the demons that are our problems anymore." His voice went quieter as he spoke. "This disease doesn't turn you into a demon, but a monster. A cannibal. A walking corpse, whom we call Walkers." The crowd started murmuring about blood. "To preserve our kinds, we should leave while we have the chance. The humans must take this on themselves."
"But who's going to protect them? What about our other family members and our friends?" Isabelle called out from the crowd.
"We will take as many as we can before our department this evening. As for the humans, they must fend for their own sakes-"
"We can't just leave anyone, we have to fight!" Another voice called out.
"Yeah!" Clary heard a deep voice barked in agreement. The tension rose again.
"Settle down, everyone! We are going to depart tonight no matter how much people board-"
"To where?" Clary spoke out finally. Everyone stopped and turned to her. Jace and Alec looked surprised to hear her speak out. There was silence as they anticipated the Consul's answer.
After a few years he replied, "To a place where not even these blood smelling Walkers can find us." That would be…Clary thought inside her mind
"To Hawaii."
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IM REALLY sorry that I haven't updated in a while. (Hey I run a busy life.) I'm not really allowed to use the computer on weekdays so…ya. Go figure. I know I haven't been mentioning any characters so this is the part where they kind of all come in, I guess. AND IF YOU KNOW THE CONSUL'S NAME PLEEAAASSEE TELL ME. I HAVE FORGOTTON. Thanks! I'll be writin'!...or typin'…