Chapter 5: Blood, Talks, and Ticking Clocks

"Are you okay?" Jerome asked.

"What do you think?" Isaac shouted.

Nina let out a deep breath and forced herself to look away from the gunshot wound. "Can you walk?"

Isaac groaned and tried to sit up, but his body kept falling back. "Does that answer your question?"

"You're losing blood," Jerome gulped and stared at the pool of blood that had started to form.

Isaac forced his eyes shut and he shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have come back to Anubis house. All you ever bring is trouble and now I'm going to die because of it."

"You're not going to die," Nina assured him. "I won't let you."

"We're being hunted!" he exclaimed. "You really think we have a shot against man made weapons?"

Nina didn't answer him as she stood up and looked at Jerome. "Grab one arm. I'll take the other. We have to find somewhere to hide out."

"There's nothing here," Jerome pointed out as he forced Isaac up.

The teen groaned and looked down at his wound. "What's your plan?"

"Parking structures tend to have security booths," she shrugged.

"That's genius," Jerome grinned. "What floor is it on?"

"Probably the bottom," she answered. "We're going to have to go back down. I'm sorry, Isaac. This might hurt."

"I can take it," he nodded. "We have to get out of here."

Nina placed his other arm over her shoulder and the three began to head down the stairs carefully. Isaac winced at every move and he had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out. It took a couple of minutes, but they finally made it to the bottom of the structure and spotted the security booth by the stairs.

Nina opened up the small room to find a large desk and a bunch of screens connected to the cameras around the property. All the screens were black and Nina sighed as she walked further into the space and kicked the door closed.

"No one has been in here for a while," Jerome observed as he blew at the cob webs covering the table.

"Are you fine on the floor?" Nina asked Isaac.

He nodded and allowed himself to be lowered down on the dirty floor. Nina frowned and she sat beside him before placing his head in her lap.

"I'm sorry. I should have listened to you before," she apologized.

"No worries," he replied before coughing. "I've lived a full life."

Nina shook her head and gestured to Jerome. "Give me your blazer."

Jerome nodded and quickly shed the article of clothing before handing it to Nina. She held the fabric between her two hands before ripping the blazer so that the lining and the outside were separated. She took the lining and quickly wrapped it around Isaac, making sure to tie it around his wound. He groaned and coughed a bit more at the action.

"I'm sorry, but we have to put pressure on the wound," she told him.

"It's fine," he offered her a weak smile and stared up at the ceiling.

Nina sighed and she took the remaining part of Jerome's blazer and ripped it once again before taking one of the pieces and pressing it to the bleeding area.

Isaac winced, but he refused to complain as pain washed over him. "Any of you have a cell phone because that would really be great?"

"No service," Jerome told him as he handed Isaac his phone.

"So we're just sitting ducks then?" Isaac laughed a bit before he began coughing.

"We'll be fine," Nina told the boys. "They know where we are and they know that if we don't return by curfew that something is wrong. They'll find us."

Jerome ran a shaky hand through his hair and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Let's hope,"

(***)

Back at Anubis house, Fabian paced the living area back and forth. "Why haven't we heard from them yet?"

"Maybe there's no service in sketchy remote locations," Mick pointed out.

Fabian rolled his eyes at Mick's reply and glanced down at the letter. "There has to be a way to get in contact with them."

His eyes suddenly fell on the extra set of keys on the kitchen counter.

"Victor will notice if you take his car," Danielle told Fabian.

"What?" His eyes snapped to the blonde who sat across the room reading a book.

"I said that he'd notice if you took the car," she told him.

"Why?" Fabian asked.

Danielle lowered her book. "Because you said, 'I wonder if Victor would notice if I took his car.'"

"I didn't say it," Fabian denied. "I thought it."

"Oh," she frowned and shook her head. "Must be a coincidence."

"Or you're telepathic," Mick replied.

"Reading minds?" Danielle laughed at the thought. "That seems unlikely."

"Considering Amber can freeze things, Nina heals, and Eddie sets things on fire, reading minds seems pretty sane," Fabian told her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it could be."

"One more power down then," Amber grinned and ran up to the board. "Danielle, telepathy."

"Fine," Danielle settled back into her seat and glanced out the window, taking notice of the darkness that now consumed the sky. "It's already seven. Maybe we should go look for them."

"For all we know we could be walking right into a trap," Mick pointed out.

"But they could be in danger," Amber countered.

Mick sighed and stood up from his seat, not liking the idea of his friends risking their lives. "Fine."

The four began walking to the door, but before they could leave a loud voice was heard from above.

"And where do you four think you're going?" Victor asked.

"Out," Amber replied.

"Supper is about to start," he told them. "Go wash up."

"I don't live here, so I'm just going to go," Danielle stated before looking at Fabian, Amber, and Mick. "I'll see if I can find them,"

"Text us if anything happens," Fabian demanded.

She nodded and quickly exited the house.

(***)

It was 10:00 and the three were still in the security booth. Nina looked over at Jerome who had fallen asleep before returning her eyes to Isaac. She carefully brushed his hair off his forehead as she too began to feel the effects of the long day.

"You can sleep if you want," Isaac replied, his voice hoarse and quiet.

"I'm good right here," she protested.

He coughed and lightly shook his head. "I'm sorry about how I treated you before all this."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"At the police station and in the car the first time," he answered. "I was a jerk."

"It doesn't matter," Nina assured him. "Don't think about that now."

"I just, I don't want to die with any regrets," he told her. "So I'm sorry."

She nodded and wiped the beads of sweat that were forming on his forehead. "You're burning up."

Isaac gulped and stared up at her. "My throat is sore."

Nina began rummaging through her purse before she sighed and returned her eyes to him. "I don't have anything to help."

"That's okay," he responded. "It's just a sore throat. I'll live."

Nina laughed at his response and Isaac frowned at the girl. "Nina?"

"What?" she asked, her laughter slipping away.

"You're crying," he informed her.

Nina cautiously reached up to her face and she felt something wet on her cheeks. "I didn't realize."

"The past few days have been a lot," he acknowledged.

"Yeah," she agreed. "But to be completely honest, I've been through worse."

"Right," he chuckled. "Weird stuff happens at Anubis house all the time."

Nina smiled and leaned her head back against the wall. "You don't know the half of it."

"I guess you're right about that," he returned her smile and closed his eyes.

"Hey!" she smacked his arm and Isaac groaned.

"What'd you do that for?" he asked.

"Eyes open," Nina demanded. "I can't risk you falling asleep like this."

He rolled his eyes and looked up at her. "Then how do you suggest I stay awake?"

"We talk," she answered.

"About?"

"Why were you at the police station that day?" she asked.

"Wow, straight to the real questions," he laughed.

"You're right," she shook her head. "That was out of line."

"No," he gave her a small smile. "It's fine. I was arrested for trespassing."

"Why were you trespassing?" she asked.

"Honestly?" he sighed and looked over at Jerome before returning his eyes to Nina. "I don't know, but I do it a lot. That and petty theft."

"Wow," Nina was taken aback by his confession, but she refused to let it show as she stared at the blank screens beside them. "I wouldn't have pegged you as that type of guy."

"The tattoo didn't give me away?" he laughed. "Truth is, I'm not that guy, but I do get mixed into bad things sometimes."

"Don't we all?"

"Not like me," he frowned.

Nina opened her mouth to ask another question, but before the words could come out, the door to the security booth opened.

"Isaac!" Danielle gasped and she dropped to her knees upon spotting him. "What happened?"

"He was shot," Nina told her. "Is anyone else out there?"

Danielle shook her head. "No, but we should go now."

Jerome, who had been woken up at the sound of Danielle, looked outside. "Are you sure?"

Danielle nodded. "I saw no one. We have to get Isaac to the hospital."

"No!" he protested.

She scoffed. "You're out of your mind,"

"They'll ask questions!" Isaac exclaimed.

"I don't care," she replied sternly. "We're going there now. Let's help him up,"

The three tried to lift Isaac up, but at this point he had lost too much of his strength to walk.

"I got his legs," Nina declared as she gripped Isaac.

Together, they hurried to the car. Upon reaching the vehicle, they opened the doors and put Isaac in the back.

"I'll meet you at the hospital," Danielle told them as she walked to her car.

Nina nodded and as she walked to the driver's door she felt herself stumble.

"Are you okay?" Jerome asked.

"I don't know," Nina's vision began to blur and she felt her legs give out under her before she crashed to the ground.

(***)

"Where is she?" Fabian asked as soon as he spotted Danielle in the waiting room.

"She?" Danielle rolled her eyes. "She is just fine. She fainted due to stress. Isaac was shot."

"Is he okay?" Mick asked.

Danielle sighed and she sank back into her seat. "I don't know."

"Did they call his family?" Amber asked.

"I am his family," Danielle shot back.

"He doesn't have parents?" Mick frowned.

She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "His father's in America on business. Isaac hasn't seen him in five years."

"Danielle?"

The teens looked towards the doorway to find Officer Richards.

"Daddy?" Danielle ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Isaac was hurt."

He nodded and wrapped his arms around his daughter before glancing at Amber, Fabian, and Mick. "Who are they?"

"They're friends," she told him. "I called them when I found out what happened."

"And what did happen?" he asked.

At that moment, Jerome came in through the door, Nina by his side.

"Are you okay?" Fabian asked.

Nina nodded. "I'm fine."

"Nina Martin?" Officer Richards looked at the girl who had interviewed him.

"Officer Richards? What are you doing here?" she wondered.

"Danielle is my daughter," he told her. "Were you with Isaac?"

Nina nodded and she glanced down at her blood stained clothes. "Yeah, I was with him."

Officer Richards walked towards her and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for keeping him alive."

Nina didn't know exactly what to say, so she returned the hug and glanced at her roommates. "No problem."

"I need you to tell me what happened," he demanded.

"I don't know what happened," she replied. "We were just doing some scouting for a location for a school project and he was shot. Jerome and I carried him to safety and we waited for someone to find us. It was around ten when Danielle appeared. She knew where we were and came looking for us after we didn't come back to school in time."

He nodded, accepting her story before glancing at Jerome. "Both of you need to come to the station tomorrow to give an official statement. You should get some rest for now. One of my officers will take you back to school."

Nina nodded. "Thank you."

The Anubis kids all began to exit the waiting room, leaving Danielle and Officer Richards. Nina sighed and she ran a hand through her hair.

"What happened Nina?" Amber asked.

She shook her head and looked down at her bloody hands. "Tomorrow, we'll talk tomorrow."

AN: Thanks for reading! If you liked please favorite, subscribe, and review! The next chapter will be coming soon

-Karina