Disclaimer: These wonderful characters belong to a Miss Kelly Armstrong!
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The guards had left me back at the small room, letting me move off of the chair and onto the bed, before leaving with the chair and shutting the door behind them. The room was still quiet, and because I didn't want to bug Liz quite yet, I kept it that way. Instead, I just sat on the bed, my head against the wall.
Well, while I wasn't technically alone here, I could exclude Rae and Aunt Lauren from providing any sort of help. Derek was going to want out, but there wasn't an easy way for us to scheme. Liz would definitely help with that, but I had a feeling that guards who watch supernatural children daily would notice something going on when a message would suddenly appear in each of our jail cells.
Maybe that idea isn't completely crazy though. Liz was smart, maybe she could find a way to communicate with Derek without drawing attention. And maybe we wouldn't need to pass too many messages anyway. They left me with Rae in the common room earlier, maybe Derek would be allowed in there too?
Even if he was allowed in there, there would be extra guards around us, knowing how careful they would be with his strength. The slightest hint of trouble from him, and who knows what they would do? We would be easily caught scheming with all of those guards around. In their eyes, Derek was already suspicious.
I grunted in frustration. There had to be a way to communicate. And once we had that way, we could plan our escape. Simon was still out there, as well as their dad. We had to find him, he would have the answers to all of this, and maybe he would have someone like me around to help teach me more about how I'm supposed to be. I would ask Aunt Lauren questions, but she wouldn't be much help. Whatever her brother had went through, it seemed to scare her and mom enough to take drastic measures. Did Dad know anything? Or was this all kept from him? As much as I loved my dad, it made more sense to me that he was clueless about all of this. Aunt Laurent didn't mention anything about Dad being scared, but she did have that annoying habit of excluding my dad out of everything. So who really knew?
"Hey, Chloe, I'm back." I jumped slightly, but settled back down when I opened my eyes to see Liz. I smiled.
"Hey, have fun?" I asked. She rolled her eyes.
"You mean when I decided to take another tour of a horror-movie like asylum? No, no I did not. But! I did find some useful information!"
"Really? Already? What did you find out?" This was good. Until I could find a way to communicate with Derek, I could find out as much information as I possibly could. I would finally have something to bring to the table.
Liz took a seat next to me on the bed. "Derek's alive, but I've gotta say that I feel bad for him. He doesn't have as much freedom as you do."
I looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
"His room is more like a jail cell. He doesn't even have a bed, and there's a lot less room. And, from what the guards were saying, I don't think they plan on moving him anywhere. It sounds like he's stuck there."
"Not even a bed?" I whispered, looking straight at the mirror in front of me.
"No. And unlike you, he has to have at least two guards watching him at all times. When I came in, yours wasn't here. I think he might be on a short break." Liz hesitated for a second, and I could tell she was hesitating telling me something.
"Liz, what's wrong?" I asked, worried.
"Chloe, you were pretty bruised up when you got here, right? Was Derek the same way?"
I looked away for a second, thinking back. "When we were running, he was feverish. But that's all I can really remember. I think when we got caught he might have fought off some of the guards…" I trailed off. I looked back toward Liz. "Why? What's going on? Is he hurt?"
She shifted a bit, uncomfortable. "He is. Nothing life threatening, but when I came in, he was covered with these small cuts. His nose was pretty busted up too." She sat silently for a minute before continuing. "Chloe, I think they're trying to get more information out of him. About Simon and his dad. We'll need to find a way out of here fast, if we don't want the same to happen to you or Derek to get worse."
I stared at her, horrified. She said that it wasn't anything life threatening, but still… Derek was getting hurt for answers that he most likely couldn't even answer. Sure he knew the rendezvous point, but that was where they had found us. There wasn't much more information that he could give… that I could give. The plan was just to make it out first and see how far we could go from there.
I turned, my back facing the mirror and my front facing Liz, and curled my fists into the crisp sheets that we sat on, angry and more determined than I was before.
"Yeah, we do, and we can't waste much time. I thought maybe if we stayed here a bit, we could gather some information and wait until the time was right, and maybe even convince Rae to help, but we might just have to make a quick plan and pray that it works."
Liz nodded, agreeing. Escaping would be even more dangerous now, but it would have to work. We would just need to plan for as much as we could.
"What do we have that we can use?" She asked, shifting a bit.
"Well, we have you and me to start out with, one of us being invisible and being able to move about freely," I began listing, "they didn't change my clothes, so I still have a few layers and my debit card, which has enough money on it to last us a while once we make it out."
Liz nodded, thinking. "And we'll have Derek, once we break him out. Though I don't know how much help he'll be, if these "questioning" session continue for much longer."
I shook my head, not wanting to think about it. "If we do this quick, then we won't have to worry too much about it."
"But it's still something we need to keep in mind." Liz said gently. I sighed and hung my head a bit, running my hand through my hair.
"Yeah, you're right. We might have to basically carry him out. It'll be hard, but between you and me we could drag him, it just might not be comfortable." I continued thinking, before a quick idea struck.
"Liz, while we were walking around, did you notice any sort of exits? Vents, doors, laundry shoots….?"
She thought for a second, before slowly shaking her head. "Noooo…. Not while I was with you…." all of a sudden her face lifted up. "But! Once I left you with your Aunt, I noticed that outside the common room and down the hall to the right, there were trash shoots! One for biohazards and the other for regular trash!"
I smiled widely. "That'll work! I just need to know where the shoot heads out, and if we can make a quick escape from there." I suddenly thought of Derek's size and looked back toward Liz. "How wide were the escapes? Think a guy Derek's size might be able to fit down there?"
She thought for a moment. "I think so.. It might be a really tight and uncomfortable fit, but as long as he can hunch his shoulders in, I think he'll be fine…'
I nodded. "Good enough for me then. So we have a possible escape route, we just need to think of a way out of the rooms and into the halls without the guards seeing us. And a possible way to talk to Derek."
"I think the rooms - "
Liz was cut off by the sound of the door to my room slamming open. I jumped and swiveled around quickly, finding a slightly familiar face smiling - not so kindly- down at me.
"Well, if it isn't the little necromancer, sitting in the corner of the room whispering secrets. What sort of stories are the ghosts here telling you dear?"
The woman was tall and blond, and her face had a sharp pinch to it that told me immediately not to mess with her. It wasn't until she spoke that I knew who she was. I had heard this voice before, yelling at Tori.
"Y-You're Mrs. E-Enright." I stated quietly, surprised. Of all people, I didn't expect to see her marching through my door.
She gave a small sigh as she crossed her arms and leaned against the mirror, her eyes never leaving me. "I guess that's one good thing about hearing things that nobody else hears… You're able to get the inside scoop on what's going on."
I nodded slightly. Let them know some things, but not all. They knew that I'd be able to get some information, but they didn't know that the ghost giving me information could also grab and move things.
She flipped back her hair and turned her attention toward her nails - a small habit that Tori had definitely inherited from her.
"See, I told Dr. Davidoff that it was useless leading you on to think that we had…. Selfless reasons. I said that we should just get straight to the point with you, but he insisted on playing a child's game. Said that it had worked so well for Rae, and that it should work for you." She looked back up at me then as I narrowed my eyes at her.
"A game he de-decided not t-to play w-with Derek, I hear." I said quietly, deciding not to pretend I didn't already know. Liz had gone quiet, and I made no move to acknowledge she was here, focusing all of my attention to the lady before me. Something told me not to ever turn away from her, lest she, oh I don't know, hit me in the back of the head with a brick and tie me up? I assumed that Tori didn't learn that trick all by herself.
A small, creepy smile played across Mrs. Enright's lips. "See, Chloe, I knew I would like you. You're smart. And you know now what type of people you're dealing with here." She pushed herself off of the mirror and moved to stand closer to me. I couldn't help the straightening of my back in slight fear.
"Since you're smart enough to know who holds all the cards, I'm going to get straight to the point. I want to know where the rest of your little "super group" ran off to, and I want to know now." She demanded, her steely eyes unblinking.
I kept my eyes forward, making sure not to waver. As scary as she was, Liz was here to back me up just in case, and I doubted that this woman couldn't fight what she couldn't see, touch, or hear.
"I-I don't kn-know-" I started, but she quickly cut me off.
"You see, there's another reason that I'm looking for Simon." She reached behind her, clipping off her belt what appeared to be a small, black bag.
"I don't know if Simon or his brother had ever told you about Simon's condition, but Simon's a diabetic, and needs this insulin pouch to keep him up and going." She tossed it over to me, making me scramble to catch it. I stared at it, already fearing for Simon.
"I need you to tell me where he might be."
I slowly shook my head. "I r-really do-don't know…. The pl-plan was to me-meet up at the older p-part of the factory, b-but you guys c-caught us before we could meet up." I said quietly. I gripped the pouch closer to me, looking back up at her. Her gaze was cold, calculating, and it was a few seconds more before she spoke again.
"I see. Maybe we need a change in scenery to maybe find an answer." I looked at her, confused, when she motioned for me to get up.
"Follow me closely and quickly, I don't want to spend all day on this." She demanded as she opened the door. I hesitated for only a second before making my way to follow her, Liz doing the same.
"Careful, Chloe. Tori never wanted to admit it, but even she was scared of her mother." I nodded slightly, keeping almost in step with Mrs. Enright out of the room and observation room into the hallway. Instead of turning towards the common room area, she made her way in the opposite direction, heading in a route that Dr. Davidoff hadn't bothered in showing me.
It was after the next couple turned corners that Liz decided to speak up.
"Chloe, the way she's going… She's taking you to Derek." My eyes widened a bit and shot to her before shooting back to the empty hallway ahead of us. To Derek's room? But why? What exactly did she have in mind? Did she think that if she got us together, we would talk? I looked down at the satchel still clutched in my hands, trying to piece together what exactly she might be thinking.
It was only a few seconds later that we stopped. I looked up to see Mrs. Enright pull out a small I.D. and hold it up to the small keypad that hung outside a door. Once the card was scanned and the door clicked unlock, Mrs. Enright opened the door and escorted me in to a small and dark observation room. It was similar to the one that lied outside of my room, a small desk was the only thing in the room- the only difference was that this room contained two men seated in chairs facing the direction of the two-way mirror. As soon as Mrs. Enright entered, the two men stood up and faced her, greeting her with a simple nod of the head.
"Thank you boys, take a few minutes break. I'll watch over these two for a little bit." The two men nodded, and, without a second glance back towards us, left the room and shut the door behind them. I turned back around to face the mirror, and gave a soft gasp at what I saw.
Liz was putting things mildly. Derek's room shouldn't even be called a room. The entire space would've passed as maybe the size of a small, walk-in closet. Derek barely had two feet passed each shoulder before touching a wall. The length was a little long, however, letting him stretch out his legs and having about five feet until he could reach the double-sided mirror. Still, it was a pretty small room. Nothing in it, except for the bindings that were tightly wrapped around each of his wrists and attached to the wall behind him. It looked like he had a little freedom to move his arms, but not much.
He didn't look much better, either. True to what Liz said, small cuts could be seen around his face, arms, and neck, some disappearing under the hems of his short-sleeved shirt. His face was bruised, and his nose looked like it was almost broken. The way he was sitting didn't look too comfortable either, almost like he was favoring his left side. His eyes were closed, and he had his head leaned against the wall.
I quickly made my way closer to the mirror, my hands going over my mouth as I tried to assess all the damage.
"I see that your little ghost friends didn't tell you much about the condition Derek was in. Well, how nice it is of me to give you a chance to have a closer look."
All of a sudden, I felt her cold hand grab onto my upper arm, and I gave a small squeak as I was suddenly pulled away from the mirror and toward the door, where Mrs. Enright had it open and waiting for when she threw me in.
I fell hard to the ground, grunting in pain as some old bruises reminded me of their presence. The black pouch slipped from my hands, but I wasn't too concerned about keeping it close. I looked up quickly to see Mrs. Enright shut the door behind her, and Liz preparing to jump her. I quickly made eye contact with Liz, shaking my head a bit.
I didn't want Liz to be made known yet. She was the key to our escape. If the guards or Mrs. Enright knew that I had access to a ghost who could move things, I would be watched even more closely, and our chances of escaping would be slim to none.
She got the message, but looked at me unhappily. As Mrs. Enright turned to look at Derek, I quickly mouthed the word "chute" to her, telling her to go and check out our escape route. She nodded once, shooting one last glare at Mrs. Enright before running through the door. I closed my eyes for a second before turning back around to see Derek slowly opening his eyes and blinking confusedly in my direction.
"Chloe?" He rumbled. His voice sounded raspy, like he hadn't had anything to drink in the three days that I had been out. Mrs. Enright quickly leaving my mind. I scrambled up and quickly crawled my way over to him.
"Derek!" I said, my voice filling with concern. I quickly took one of his arms, turning it to see the extent of the damage. I tried to ignore the stab of pain in my heart when he slightly flinched away, but then relaxed.
"You're alive, then." He rumbled. His voice was stale, no relief, no happiness, but I didn't really expect much to begin with. I looked at him and gave a small smile.
I was about to open my mouth to say something, when Mrs. Enright interrupted. "As touching as this scene may be, I have you both here for a reason."
I watched as Derek's eyes moved over toward her, and the look he gave her… well, let's just say I was glad I wasn't on the receiving end. I, instead, kept my eyes on Derek, scanning for any more serious injuries.
"L-Like I said, I st-still don't know wh-where Simon might be. D-D-Derek wouldn't know either. He wasn't supposed to escape with us." I said, a little disappointed that my voice didn't sound as strong as I wanted it to.
"Oh, dear Chloe, I already know that you don't have a clue. However, Derek over here has a few ideas on where Simon might have hid out, don't you Derek?"
My eyes flashed up and back down again quickly, a little caught of guard, but I stayed quiet, finally putting Derek's arm down and turning slightly to face Mrs. Enright.
"You see, Chloe," She drawled, strowling closer to us. I could feel Derek tense beside me, and I began to suspect who was responsible for his damage. "Derek is a very stubborn kid, and I'll admit that he's smart too. He could've escaped with little to no problem. But there was one, tiny thing holding him back." She said, the same wicked smile from earlier showing up.
I glared, holding out my hand slightly in front of Derek. I knew it was a stupid gesture, and that it would accomplish absolutely nothing, but I wasn't going to let her past me without a fight. She was right. If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have invited Liz. If it wasn't for me being such a terrible liar, he would've been able to escape with his brother.
She stepped a little closer, and both Derek and I tensed further. I felt Derek's hand try to brush mine away, but I quickly slapped it away, keeping my eyes in front of me. Mrs. Enright's smile just grew.
"It does make me wonder, though… If he was willing to give himself up to keep you from a hole between your eyes, what else is he willing to give up? Simon? Maybe he even has an idea as to where his dear, old dad could be…"
Too late, I realized what she had in mind. Before I could react, she grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Derek. I gasped slightly as I stumbled to stand, her nails already digging into my arm.
She yanked my arm up high at an uncomfortable angle, smiling down at me. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I met her eyes.
"Chloe, your dear ghost friend didn't tell you who was interrogating Derek, now did they?"
I kept my mouth shut and tried my best to glare without looking too scared. As frightening as she was, I knew she wouldn't kill me. Apparently I was important enough for Dr. Davidoff to keep alive, and something told me that she didn't have any authority over him.
"And your little ghost friend didn't happen to mention what I'm capable of?"
No, she hadn't, but I wasn't about to tell her that. Instead, I mustered up all my possible courage and did the one thing I always fantasized doing to an evil bad guy.
I spit in her face.
The look of shock and disgust on her face was enough for me to realize that I may have crossed a line, but I didn't care. That face was going to be permanently etched into memory.
My moment of victory, however, was just that. A moment. She used her other hand to slowly wipe her face, and once she was done wiping her face on her sweater, she slapped me with enough force that I saw stars. She dropped me on the floor quickly, and I had enough awareness to at least catch myself before my face could hit the ground.
"Really, Chloe, I thought you at least would have some manners."
I gave a small grunt and a whine as I felt a kick to my side. It wasn't too rough, but it was enough to knock some of the breath out of me. I place my hand on my side and looked up to see Mrs. Enright looking down on me, her hand reaching out toward my head. Distantly, I heard a growl from the back of the room as I felt her nails dig through my scalp and give a tug at my hair. I grabbed at her hand, trying to make her let go, but her grip was just as stubborn as she was. My eyes started to water from the pain.
Under her breath, Mrs. Enright muttered something that wasn't remotely close to English before stopping and putting her hand close to my face.
"Now Derek, I hear you like to learn, so here's a quick lesson about witches. Like wizards, we can prep spells, and later we can finish them using only one or two words." Before I realized she was done talking to Derek, I felt a huge surge of electricity flow through my spine. My jaw snapped shut and my muscles tightened to the point of shaking. My lungs felt frozen, and for those few seconds, I felt as if I had gotten struck by lightning.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the lightning stopped, and it left me weak and gasping for breath in its absence. Mrs. Enright let go of my hair, and though I tried to catch myself again, my arms were too weak, and I fell hard onto the floor. Through my ringing ears and efforts to sit back up again, I could hear Mrs. Enright distantly speak, and Derek growl in response. By the time I managed to get my arms to hold my weight, I felt a hand wrap around my throat and pull me up. The grip was firm, but it wasn't choking, yet. Just enough to threaten me not to try anything. I held still, but I made sure to keep my glare as steady as I could, ignoring the tears that ran down my face.
"Poor thing," Mrs. Enright cooed. "You look a little bit rattled. Don't worry, I won't use that spell again for a while. The human body can only stand to get hit three times before one of your organs rupture. Your so small, though, so we'll stop at one. Your nose is even bleeding from just the first hit." She chuckled darkly and turned away from me, facing Derek.
"There's no need to look so stressed, Derek. If you would just give me a hunch of where your brother or father might be, dear little Chloe here will be quietly put back into her quiet room with no more trouble."
Behind Mrs. Enright, I saw a form start to appear, and realized with a start that Liz was getting ready to fight.
"No!" I rasped out. I felt the grip on my throat tighten slightly, but I kept my eyes on Liz until she relented and backed away, looking frustrated.
Mrs. Enright turned to me, mistaking my answer for disobedience.
"Oh, so you still have some fight in you, do you? Well, if you're going to act all big and bad like Mr. Werewolf over here, I guess I'll just have to treat you like him." I wavered slightly, but one quick look toward Derek solid my resolve. He fought against his bindings, angered, but he looked torn. Torn between helping the girl he's only known for a week or two in front of him, or keeping his family's whereabouts a secret.
I wasn't going to let him make that decision. I looked back toward Mrs. Enright, thinking of something quick.
"I don't know where Simon is," I started, my voice sounding less hoarse, "but I know what direction he might be in."