…
Erm… hello?
Yeah, okay, this is way overdue, and I apologize for that.
I'll try talking more at the end. For now, please enjoy!
Chapter 53: An Untimely Request
I don't know how long I was out.
I do remember things, though. Scattered bits and pieces.
None of them really made any sense, so I just kinda… passed out again? I'm not totally sure.
I remember being thrown over someone's shoulder… and my bag spilling a few of my books…
I remember lying on a bed, in a stiflingly hot room…
I remember the feeling of being shaken…
It's all just a kind of blur to me.
Until, finally…
I wake up.
I sit bolt upright, my eyes wide and my pulse racing. Memories of what had happened are flooding my senses so fast, it's almost impossible to piece everything together coherently.
"*gasp* You're awake!" a small voice to my right squeaks.
I jump in surprise, whirling towards the voice. The person, whoever it is, apparently didn't expect me to be moving so fast, which elected them to squeak again as they toppled over, having fallen off a stool.
Just as the person, whoever they are, finally settles down from falling, a door nearby crashes open and a dark-skinned man wearing a leather helmet barges in. "L-Luka?!"
And then he sees me, wide awake and staring at him.
For a tense few minutes, the only sounds are the other person moving as they recover and dust themselves off. Then, finally, they look up and see me and the man staring at each other.
"Quinn! He's awake!" the person, who I'm finally able to register is a pale-skinned little girl barely any older than ten, squeaks out in a very high-pitched voice. She, Luka, runs over and hides behind the man, shaking a little but otherwise unharmed.
The man, Quinn, first looks to make sure Luka is alright, and then turns back towards me. "Well… there goes my plans for a smooth introduction…"
"W-who are you?!" I demand, trying to get off the bed and confront the pair. But the minute I try, my legs turn to jelly and I can barely hold myself up.
"Easy, easy!" Quinn shouts, his deep voice still conveying concern. "I'm not here to do anything to you. At least, not anymore."
"Not any-" I start to say, before I realize something. "H-hey! You're the bastard who knocked me out! I heard you say something just before-"
"Y-yes, I know, I know, and I'm sorry, okay?" Quinn quickly responded, holding his worn-out hands out in defense. "It was orders, if anyone suspicious enters that area, we're authorized to take them prisoner for questioning."
"Then… then you're a guard…!" I realize, paling quickly.
"N-no! Well, technically yes, but I'm not bad, promise!" Quinn again backtracks. He's looking rather flustered, and doesn't seem to realize that he's not doing a very good job at calming me down.
And that's when Luka steps in.
"S-sir! Please!" the small girl pleads. She's poking out from behind Quinn and is gazing at me fearfully. "W-we just want to talk to you! That's all!"
Somehow, the girl's words manage to work their way into my panicking brain. Something about the squeaky, high-picthed voice of hers had a way of catching your attention real easily.
Quinn takes note that I'm starting to calm down a little, and tries to edge in his own words again. "Y-yeah, that's it. We just wanna talk. We're like you, okay?"
I blink. "You're… like me?" I asked.
"Erm… well…" Quinn started backtracking again, before giving up. "It's a bit too complicated when you just woke up, so… here, come in here. I've made breakfast."
Quinn briskly walks out into the next room, leaving Luka alone with me. She watches me as I slowly stand up, still feeling a little wobbly but otherwise fine.
"What in Notch's name did he hit me with…" I ask myself, leaning heavily against the wall.
"He hit you with that sword of his…" Luka responded quietly, slowly approaching me. "You had a pretty big lump on your head when you came here… Quinn says he didn't really mean to hit you that hard, he just wanted to… what's the word for when you are unable to do anything?"
"Er… 'disable'?" I offer, slowly regaining feeling in my legs.
"Yeah, that's it! He wanted to just disable you long enough to tie you up. He thinks he put a little too much force in his swing…"
Luka stands near me, watching me cautiously as I stagger into the next room. It's a small kitchen, about the same size as Paige's, I'd wager. Everything about the room feels a bit outdated and worn out: an old chair in the living room is using books as a fourth leg, the painted walls are peeling slightly, and the entire room just feels… like it's been lived in for quite a bit.
Quinn is here, behind the counter. He'd taken off his hat, showing off his buzzed-cut black hair. He was flipping eggs on a stove that looked older than he was (he looked at least mid-thirties, early forties at most).
Luka, having finally gained a bit more courage it appeared, gently helped me sit down at the counter. I'm still extremely tense and cautious, as I have no idea where I am or who these two are. They seem friendly, but I can't be too sure. For all I know this is an act of some kind and I'm in some DEEP shit.
Quinn quickly portioned off the slightly burnt eggs to three plates, sliding one for me and Luka and keeping the rest for himself. Luka started eagerly eating away, but I was much more curious for answers first.
"So… you say you're not a guard?" I ask, stabbing some egg and tenderly chewing it.
"Well, yes and no." Quinn responds, apparently put on the spot by the question. "I am technically a guard, and I get paid to do so, but I only do it as a cover. I don't want the rest of the city to see what I am."
"Then… what are you?" I ask, taking another, slightly bigger bite. Again, Quinn fidgets nervously, as if he's being grilled in an interrogation.
"Y'see… the thing is… well, it's actually because of Luka." Quinn admits, looking at the small girl.
Luka, apparently oblivious to the conversation, starts taking big gulps out of a glass of milk. Quinn looks at her sadly, and then leans in a bit closer to me. "She's the life of my life. I'd do anything to keep her safe. And right now, I have to put myself in danger because of it."
"But what's the danger?" I probe, setting my fork down. "And what could be so dangerous about a teenager like me roaming around the city to the point where you'd have to attack them?"
"Because. The city is currently under intense lockdown, as I'm sure you know." Quinn replies in that same husky whisper. "I know, or at least I can recognize everyone who's ever lived in this city before, but I know you're a traveller. You don't live here. And… I think I have an idea why."
Now it was my turn to start becoming nervous. "W-why?"
Quinn wasted no time. "It's because there's monsters here, inside this city. And you're the one who brought 'em, aren't you?"
I tensed up. I almost thought of reaching for a weapon, but I stopped myself. Besides the fact that I realized I had been disarmed almost as soon as had woken up, it would've been a very, VERY bad idea to suddenly start becoming aggressive when I have no idea where I am, while right in front of a guard.
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about." I immediately denied.
"I have proof. Or, at least, indirect proof." Quinn countered.
I was paling. If that was true, then… oh Notch, I'm in trouble.
"As I was taking you away, my original thought was to take you to the prisons, and then you'd be hauled away and questioned there. But then, on a whim, I decided to check your stuff. I was wondering if you had anything illegal on you, and I wanted to be the one to turn it in, since that gives guards bonuses and whatnot. And when I searched your stuff… this fell out."
He slid across the counter a black-bound book that I recognized instantly. If it was possible for me to turn any more pale, it did then.
He slid the picture album towards me. With all of the pictures of me and my friends. Most of them containing pictures that didn't even hide that my friends were all half-mobs.
"I may have glanced through this a bit… and when I saw the pictures… well, I don't think I need to say much more past that." Quinn responded.
I felt like there was suddenly a bright spotlight pointed right at me. I felt utterly exposed, and everything felt like it was spiraling dangerously out of control.
"I-I… t-that's…" I started to stammer, my mind coming up with explanations, each of them weaker than the last.
Quinn slid the album the rest of the way towards me, and went to his sink, where he started washing the pan he had used to make breakfast. "In any case… I couldn't believe it. A monster-supporter, here, not even three days into lockdown, and one of them just happens to fall into my lap. If I had done things the way the city wanted me to, I would've hauled you right up to the officers, and they would've had a field day with you. Anyone even remotely related to you would've probably been questioned, searched, and… exposed. Not to mention I would've been handsomely compensated. All for one simple act of turning you in."
And then, as I saw my future collapsing before me, a small ray of hope shined through. "But… you didn't. You… brought me here. Wherever 'here' is…"
"My house. I couldn't let them get to you. Not without at least talking with you myself first." Quinn responded, turning off the sink and returning to me. "The guards here are dying to get even a whiff of human-monster interaction. I'm sure you've heard of the collaborative effort a while ago, where pickaxe marks were located almost directly next to where a giant mob attack had been? The city's gone into absolute mayhem since then. Tensions are high, and right now, everyone's paranoid of an uprising."
"S-so… why… didn't you turn me in, then?" I asked hesitantly.
Quinn looked askance. It took me a second that he was looking at Luka, who had long since retreated to the living room and was reading a small book.
"She… she's why. She… she grew up with monsters. There was a village, about a month's trek north from here, that was known as a safe haven for anyone to live, human or monster. She was there."
Quinn gazed at Luka sadly, as though the memory still haunted him. "I… I found her after our raid last year. She was in an alley. She looked homeless even before we got there. It wasn't a good place for her. The officers initially wanted to question her about life down there… but I knew that if they questioned her, she'd almost certainly end up…" (Quinn leaned in to whisper the last word) "...dead. She'd be wrung dry of any information about monsters and humans cohabitating, and she'd almost certainly be executed for it."
"I couldn't watch a little girl with no family face that fate. So… I took her in. I made up a story for her, that she was wandering around the forests alone, having lost her home to an attack of some kind. They were sceptical, but… look at her. She made it believable. She convinced them that she came here because she thought it was a nice village, but got scared when she saw all the army-men with big, deadly weapons fighting monsters…"
Quinn swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and then looked back at me. "So… that's why. I have to protect her. If at any point it's revealed she lived in that village, both of us would be history. I'd be tried for treason, and that's a deadly penalty. And she'd be little better, used for questioning and then discarded after she'd had no more usefulness. I… I can't let that happen. I have to provide a better life for her. She deserves a second chance."
…
Is it wrong to say that I wanted to cry a little after hearing that? Because if so, to hell with it, I don't care.
"That… wow… that's… that's a big reason…" I responded. "But… I don't see how that has anything to do with me."
"But it does." Quinn responded quickly. "You live somewhere else, don't you? You're a traveller, so you live somewhere safe, preferably? Somewhere that this city doesn't know you exist?"
"I mean, a while away, but we've never been found before this… h-hold up! I'm not-" I started to shout.
"N-no! I'm not asking you to take her there to live with you! Notch, no, boy, use your head." Quinn responded. "What I am asking is… I'd do anything to keep her safe. I want you to help me help her. All I need is for her to get out of this city. I can get out myself, but I can't risk trying to get her out with normal means"
"But…!" I started to say, the idea simply… ludicrous, at absolute best. "I don't even know her! And, for that matter, I know nothing about you! How can I trust that this isn't some, I don't know, secret ploy to get me and my friends arrested?!"
Quinn nodded. "I know. Hey, I'm risking a lot here too. I mean, I barely know you either. It's hard to pin why I think someone half my age has a chance of getting her out. But, somehow, I believe you can. You have something about you… something that makes me believe that you can."
Quinn backed away. "Well, I've told you what I can. I don't know if it was enough… but I think I've given you enough to think about for now."
Questions were exploding in my mind. On the one hand, I was ecstatic that I WASN'T screwed anymore, and that I can, to some degree, get back to what I was doing.
On the other… these two people were stuck in Blockington, just like me. After hearing Quinn's story about Luka… I dunno, something really struck me in that story, and I wanted to help. But that's insane. With the amount of people I'm already trying to smuggle out of this city, adding even one more… the whole operation would become a logistical nightmare.
"I don't expect an answer today. I imagine you want to think about it with your friends or whatnot." Quinn explained. "I have to think too. I had to decide if you are the one I really want to trust, or if I should keep digging. But, please, consider. I have to get her to a safe place. This city is no longer the safe haven it once was. I can be a powerful ally. Just… consider me when you make your plans."
Wordlessly, I stood up. Luka saw me standing and shut her book, and quickly came running towards me, holding up my bag and my tool belt. "Here, mister. I like your sword! It's very lovely looking!"
I slowly put everything back on, my mind still far, far away. So far away, that Luka actually shook me to get my attention again. "Mister…? I… here."
She handed me something quickly and then ran off into the bedroom I woke in. I looked at what she handed me.
It was a small doll, about twice the size of my hand. It had button eyes, stringy hair, and a small, pink dress with a flower sewn on the front. On the back, the name, 'Luka', had been stitched in cursive.
I looked back up at Quinn, who seemed quite intrigued. "Amazing… she doesn't let anyone near that doll. Even I had to take months before she let me so much as touch it. But… she just gave it to you like that… I think she trusts you, boy."
I didn't really see that. It's a stuffed toy, after all. But, maybe it did mean something to her. I don't know. I certainly don't know how she would trust me enough to give me something like this, if it really meant that much to her.
"My apartment number is 258. Knock if you want me, I won't be on duty again for… at least a few days. But don't take too long, boy. I… I can't wait much longer."
And with that, Quinn led me down the stairs and to the lobby. I was in such a trance, such a state of utter confusion, that only when Quinn had left and I fully made sure I had all of my stuff did I realize that, somehow, this was the exact same building that Paige lived in.
I blinked, just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. This was already very, VERY crazy.
I stuffed the doll carefully among my other possessions, and quickly made my way upstairs.
The shock from learning I had been gone for an entire day was far more impactful than the slap Paige had just given to my face.
I had knocked on the door of Paige's apartment and quietly whispered, "Crossed swords!"
What I hadn't counted on was the door flying open (almost knocking me out a SECOND time), Paige's hand shooting out and grabbing me by the collar, and then shoving me towards the living room as she slammed the door behind her.
"YOU WERE GONE FOR A WHOLE DAY, CAMERON WALLIS!" she practically yelled, tears streaming down her face. "DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THAT FELT LIKE?! YOU… YOU…! Gah!"
*slap!*
"O-ow…" I muttered, more shocked than actually hurt. "W-wait… a-a day? B-but I just-!"
"You were gone all day yesterday." Andr breathed, still holding her chest as she leaned heavily into her chair. "Ever since you left to go do your thing, we didn't know what happened to you."
"We… we thought you had been captured, or worse." Diana commented, her eyes red too but still looking strong. "It was all we could do to stop ourselves from launching a manhunt through the city itself."
Susie wasn't saying anything, she was sitting by herself in another chair, softly crying into a hankie but looking beyond grateful that I was back. Seeing her cry like that… I felt terrible. Suddenly I felt like I hadn't been slapped hard enough.
Paige still had me by the shirt, but it was clear she was just as relieved to see me come back. Her temper was evening out now that she had raged. "Okay, you need to start talking. What were you doing? You were at that lake for a reason, and I want answers."
So, I tried to explain. "Well, I went to the lake because…"
I blinked. Why… why had I gone to the lake again? Oh, right, an escape plan! Vivianna said we might be able to use the lake to escape…! But… um…
'Vivianna…?' I asked silently. 'What… what did you say about the lake again?'
"...erm…" Vivianna slowly hummed, sounding very confused herself.
"...I… I don't… remember…" Aira added, sounding just as lost.
"I… wait…" I started again, paling rapidly. "I-I know I went to that lake… it was important, because… because…"
I was holding my forehead in surprise and shock. The results of the lake test…
They were gone. I couldn't remember them. And, somehow, neither could Vivianna or Aira.
"You… can't remember?" Paige asked, surprised.
"N-no… I… I know why I went!" I replied, growing panicked again. "It had something to do with… with escaping! It was very important to me that I get to that lake!"
Paige was lost. "Wait… how does a lake help us get out of Blockington? You aren't seriously considering, like, tunneling UNDER a lake, are you?"
"N-no, it wasn't that… it was… something else… about the water itself…?" I desperately tried to recall. But it wasn't working. The memory was hazy, and all I could clearly remember was the moment I was-
And then I snapped.
"Oh, shit." I swore. "It's because of that blow to my head."
Susie and the others instantly looked up at me with concern. "Wait, what blow to your head?!"
I told the others that just moments before I was about to leave and come back here, someone had snuck behind me and had knocked me unconscious.
"B-but that doesn't make sense!" Paige responded shakily. "If you were knocked out, you should've just come back to consciousness in moments!"
However, I realized something else. I looked at Susie and said one word: "Thunderstorms."
Susie's eyes became very round. "Wha… oh… OH!"
"What? What kind of secret communication are you two having?" Diana asked, leaning forward in her seat.
"Cameron… back at the house, he fell asleep during a thunderstorm." Susie explained, her voice a little shaky but nevertheless still clear. "He does it a lot, actually. But… but the thing is, even after the thunderstorm ends, even if there's still plenty of daylight out, if he falls asleep at all, he'll stay asleep until the next day. Nothing can get him up, not even bad smells or physical force. But… the strange thing is, it doesn't seem to be related to the weather. Rather, it's more related to how dark it is when he falls asleep. He's taken naps before and woke up from them no problem, but if it's properly dark enough outside, he'll stay out of it for the whole day. It's not medical, as far as I know, it's just how his body works… but I've never even heard of something like that happening to anyone else before."
"But… but it was still broad daylight when you went to the lake?" Diana asked hesitantly.
I tried to think about the scenery a bit. Something that I hadn't noticed until clicked in my mind.
"The… the trees." I remembered. "They were very tall, and all around that lake. The sun… I think it was behind one of them, so… maybe somehow, when I was knocked out, the darkness of being in the tree's shadow's was just barely dark enough for me to conk out for the whole day. That's the only explanation that makes even a little sense."
The room was silent for a while, as everyone digested this new information. Finally, Andr looked at me and asked, tepidly, "Well… then, what happened after you woke up?"
For a moment, I hesitated. This was getting to some seriously dicey territory. I could tell them everything. It would be easy.
But… I have no idea how they'd react. And plus, how would I word it to begin with?
So, yeah, I woke up and talked to this guy, and he works as a guard and knows that I smuggled some half-monsters in the city, but don't worry, because he's cool about it, and wants me to smuggle his adopted daughter out of the city too!
Even in my head that sounded stupid.
So I half-lied.
"Erm… well… the guy who knocked me out… he apparently panicked when I didn't get up immediately, and I guess he thought he did a lot more than just knock me out, so he took me to his place, and… it just never came up in conversation that I had been out for a whole day, I guess." I explained.
"Was he a guard?" Paige asked, her expression tense and braced for the worst.
"That… didn't come up in conversation either. He didn't say he was, or if he did, he didn't seem to care much about the job." I responded.
Okay, that was an outright lie, I know. But saying anything even remotely related to guards right now would be… problematic, at the very least. It's never wise to reveal your cards when you don't know what they all are yet, or how everything fits together.
Either way, the girls all seemed to finally relax. They all seemed convinced that we were safe now, at least for a time.
"Well… I think we should just stay here for the day." Paige offered, taking a deep breath. "Had things gone differently, we would've been heading off to the mines to look at that, but… well, I think everyone's a bit too tense right now."
A good call, and the others, myself included, all agreed. Andr and Diana scooted a bit closer and started talking quietly among themselves, and Paige retreated to the kitchen, likely to make a drink to calm her nerves.
That left Susie, who still was holding her hand over her chest and taking deep, calming breaths. I hated to do it, but…
"Hey, Susie? Can we talk really quick?" I whispered to her quietly, motioning for the bedroom.
Susie looked up at me, surprised and concerned. She slowly lifted herself up out of the chair and followed me silently to the bedroom.
I closed the door behind her, locking it just to be safe. When I turned back around, Susie had sat back down on the bed and was looking at me with a mixture of concern and fear.
"Susie, I… I lied back there. At least a little." I quickly admitted, talking quickly but quietly.
Susie spoke up, her voice shaking a little, "You… lied?"
I, very quickly and quietly, told her everything I could. The lake (though I still for the life of me couldn't remember what had happened down there fully yet), me being knocked out, waking up at Quinn's apartment, meeting him and Luka, him discovering my knowledge about her and the others, and how, rather than arrest me, he wanted me to help him.
"...and now he wants me to help break his daughter out of this city too, because he can't risk her being found out either." I quickly finished, panting a little.
Susie was at a loss for words. She had first been very cross with me that I snuck away to somewhere so dangerous, to terrified when she heard that Quinn was a guard, to her eyes becoming dinner plate-sized when she learned of Luka and Quinn's sudden request.
"I… I don't know what to do." I bemoaned, running my hands through my hair. "He's not expecting an answer tonight, but… somehow, I can't force myself to believe they'll be alright. I want to help him. He saved us more than he'll ever know. Hell, more than WE'LL probably ever know. We could've been far worse than dead had he turned me in. I can't let that risk he took be for nothing."
Susie stayed quiet for all of ten seconds. Finally, she whispered, "Why… why are you telling me this?"
I took her hand and stared desperately into her eyes. "Because, I don't want to hide this. This could be a very very good thing or a very very bad thing. But I don't know how we can use this. I needed to talk to someone first. Someone I trust."
Susie hesitated for a moment, before shakily replying, "So… this Quinn guy, he wants you to get his daughter out of the city?"
"In a very large nutshell, yes." I agreed.
Susie became lost in thought. She tugged at the bedsheets without thinking about it. She looked tense, nervous, and… utterly lost by what I had said. I can't blame her: I was still piecing it all together myself.
"I… okay." Susie responded, slowly sliding off the bed and standing up to face me. She looked worried still, but she tried to push it aside to get her words out. "We won't say anything to the others yet. We'll sit on this for a day or two, if we even are still here for that long. If this Quinn guy really is trustworthy, then he can prove to be a very useful ally, like you said."
She hesitated for a second, and then added in, "And… I think I should meet him. At least once, anyway."
I blanched. "S-Susie, wait, that-"
"I know it's dangerous, Cameron, but… I just want to at least talk to him and this Luka girl myself once before we commit to anything." Susie interrupted, her eyes shining a little. I realized that if I tried to push her any harder right now, she'd likely start crying on the spot.
"I… okay." I agreed hesitantly, deflating myself. "But… I have no idea how you'd be able to meet the guy without telling the others…"
"Don't worry. I'll think of something." Susie replied, waving her hand dismissively. "For now, though, can you promise me that you won't go barreling off on your own to check some random idea you have? I know you usually have a lot of good ideas like that, but this isn't a time to be risky. I… I can't lose you."
I guiltily glanced to the side, unable to meet Susie's eyes. "I… I'm sorry. I just… it was so sudden, I know that. The idea just came out of nowhere, and I HAD to see if it would work, at all."
"You really don't remember anything?" Susie asked, feeling my forehead.
"All I remember is that the lake had something to do with escaping." I responded, sitting down on the bed next to her while rubbing my eyes irritatedly. "It was important for me to check the water there, so I did, and… everything else up until I got knocked out is a blur."
"Hmm…" Susie murmured, lost in thought. "There's no real way for medicine to help… the only thing I can think of would be to get back to the lake somehow. It could jog your memory and help you remember."
"I'm not going down there anytime soon, though." I responded, looking to the side again. "Paige would likely blow a gasket if she knew that I wanted to look AGAIN."
Susie nodded. I could see in her eyes that she appeared glad that I didn't immediately want to go trying and figure out what had happened down at that lake.
For a moment, the room was quiet, as each of us tried to put the puzzle together on how to properly move forward.
Finally, Susie stood up slowly. "I think I'm going to go and talk with your sister. There's a few things about Blockington I need to ask her about."
I nodded, still lost in thought. Susie stood up and gently kissed me on my cheek, which brought me back a little. I gave her a small hug, which seemed to ease her nerves. For the first time in quite a while, when we parted, I saw she was actually smiling softly.
She left without another word, leaving me to my musing. I had turned to the window and was absentmindedly watching the clouds drift across the sky, still trying my best to think about what had happened down at the lake (because now I was even MORE sure that it was important, but still to no avail). I was so absorbed in my thoughts, I didn't even hear that someone had walked in until the door shut behind me and they slowly wrapped their arms around me.
"E-eh?" I stammered, taken off guard. Surprisingly, it was Diana, who at the moment looked plain relieved.
"O-oh… s-sorry, Cameron." Diana mumbled, not releasing her hold of me in the slightest. "I just… I got cold again, when I realized you weren't coming back here yesterday… I-I thought… I thought something may have happened to you…"
I sat in stunned silence as Diana, her voice becoming weaker and weaker. "I… I just wanted to make sure you really were back… and then I felt… cold… and…"
She shuddered a little, her arms tightening around me a little more. "W-warm…" she whispered.
"O-oh… right…" I whispered to myself, cursing under my breath. I had been so focused on Susie, and how worried she had been, I almost completely forgot about Andr and Diana. They would've been just as upset had I actually kicked the bucket. And honestly, they were much better at hiding their true emotions, so they were probably just as relieved, if not maybe even more, to see me come back as Susie had been.
That made me feel horrible all over again, but what's done is done. I can't change what happened, after all.
Diana slowly let go of me after a moment, though I could tell it took an enormous amount of willpower to do so. I turned and stared into the archer's eyes. She was holding it back a lot, but I could plainly see the pain in her eyes.
Without saying anything, I gently guided Diana to sit down on the bed, holding her hands firmly. Diana said nothing, but continued to stare into my eyes.
Her stormy gray eyes… I found myself getting lost in them. I don't really know why, but Diana's eyes were different from the others, even different from Andr's in a way. They were deep, mysterious. They swirled around, but not like Andr's vividly purple irises did. They were slower, much like a storm itself. It was like Diana's inner thoughts were constantly raging about in a storm inside of her, and her eyes were a small window into that.
Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but even if I was, I was captivated by them, more so today than I had been in quite a while.
I slowly broke the silence, first clearing my throat a little, then softly beginning to ask, "I-"
Diana quickly raised a finger to my lips, silencing me again. She seemed content to sit without talking. Just staring into each other's eyes and enjoying the other's presence was enough, I suppose.
Still, I wanted to make sure that Diana knew that I felt bad, and that I wanted to apologize for making her worry like she had.
Slowly, I let my hands work their way up Diana's arms, stopping around her shoulders to rub them slightly, before moving down and firmly grasping her sides. Diana did not squirm. I took that as an invitation to keep going.
I slowly moved forward on the bed, pulling her closer to me at the same time. Diana's cheeks may have turned slightly pink, but she did not resist my advance.
Before I even could plan on what to do next, Diana had suddenly leaned forward unexpectedly and more or less tackled me to the bed, all the while kissing me squarely on the lips.
She parted after a second or two, and looked down at me. "Please… don't leave me like that again. I… I can't lose you. I don't want to be cold anymore."
"I… I won't." I promised. "I'm sorry."
Diana sighed in relief, before gently leaning down again and kissing me once more. She put a lot more force into it than she normally did, which allowed me to focus on simply holding her close to me, trying my best to warm her up as best as possible.
Diana eventually parted from me, looking much more relaxed and content now that she had been warmed up. "Thank you, Cameron… I really needed that."
"Again, I apologize for what I did. I'm sorry for disappearing like I did. It won't happen again." I repeated, holding Diana's hand close to my chest as I said it.
Diana sighed once more in relief before sliding off the bed, saying, "I guess… I'm gonna go see if your sister wants me to do something tomorrow."
With that, she left me. Once more, I was alone again.
I flopped backwards onto the bed and breathed heavily.
"This is just perfect…" I mumbled aloud.
The room was silent for a good half-hour while I just thought. So many puzzle pieces were swirling around in my head, it was just about impossible to focus on any one part of things for too long.
On one hand, I was worried about escaping. On another, how to do it. Yet another, Luka and Quinn. Snowy and Silk, still at the house and oblivious to our situation. My fractured memory of the lake, Zach, my friends, my sister, machines and mines and flying and water and…
…
…
I couldn't focus. I can't focus.
I… I just want things to stop.
I just want…
Everything will finally start to make more sense if it all would just…
STOP.
…
Slowly, I sat up again. I needed to move. Get my body moving and, hopefully, my thoughts would flow a little more easily as well.
I left the bedroom and headed for the main.
My sister was just entering the hallway, and she saw me closing the door. "Oh, good, I was just about to come get you. I need you to follow me."
Confused, I asked, "What's up? Did something happen?"
"No, but just… follow me." Paige replied, leading me towards the door.
Perplexed but interested, I followed after. After a quick word to the others about not opening the door unless they hear the password, we head out of the apartment.
In minutes, Paige is leading me to downtown, and we quickly come to a stop outside of Zach's blacksmithy. "Why'd you want me to come here?"
Paige bit her lip, and handed me a folded note. "I just got this this morning. It was from Blake."
I was getting extreme deja vu flashbacks from this. Hesitantly, I opened up the note and read it,
"Please come over ASAP. Zach needs help."
So… was it any good?
First of all, I want to apologize tenfold for how long I've left basically all of my stories high and dry. Last year just kinda… really taxed me, especially in regards to last semester, and I just hadn't had any motivation to write for the longest of times.
Second of all, I want to try and make a TENTATIVE promise to make it up to you guys this year, but like we all know I might not be able to do so. With school picking up again just around the corner, plus all of my new classes and work taking up a lot of my free time, I cannot promise anything in good faith until I have a more solid idea of how this year will run.
Thirdly, it's far too late to say this, but HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone! At the very least, 2020 is now behind us. We all survived! Huzzah! I don't wanna say anything about this new year in case I jinx it, but I still hope that the nightmare of 2020 has officially left.
If you guys have any questions, feel free to send me a PM. Oh, and I have an official Realm on Minecraft as well, so if anyone is interested in joining that, PM me and I'll consider adding you to the server. I'm not sure if there's a limit, but I'm sure we'll come to that bridge when we need to.
Until next time, my dear readers, remember…
Stay awesome! =D
