Hey guys, I'm extremely sorry for being so late. It's been exhausting filling up all the College applications and writing the essays these past few weeks. Plus, the finals are coming up too. Eeeck! Just wish me that I get into one of the good universities.

CHAPTER DEDICATION : thetaylorbecker :*

So anyway, as an apology I'm updating 2 Chapters. But please you have to review on both of them. Last chapter I didn't get that many reviews and I'm kinda' upset. Even if you don't like a specific chapter, at leat let me know that. I need to know what you think of my story to bring you a better plot!

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ANY ASSUMPTIONS OR JUDGE THE PLOT, BASED ON A SINGLE CHAPTER, PARTICULARLY THIS ONE. WAIT TILL YOU READ THE STORY FURTHER TO FORM ANY THEORIES.

8.

Christian

A punch found its way straight to Jose's face.

Probably to break his nose again. But he ducked down at last second and grabbed my hand.

"Not again, Grey. You can't hit me whenever you feel like it." Jose spat at me.

Why was the fuck he angry? He didn't have that right. Especially at me.

"Believe me, you fuckface, I have my reasons." I hissed back at him.

"I already took one for that because I believed I deserved it. You're as much at fault here as I am but I ain't blaming you."

Jose stabbed his finger at my chest.

I was pretty sure he wished he had something much sharper and lethal to stab me with rather than his finger.

The feeling was mutual.

How dare he blame me when it was all him?

I didn't even know what was happening when they took Christopher away from me.

But Jose knew it all along.

I was going to kill him for that reason alone.

"This was his choice, Christian. You should respect that he saved you."

How could I? It was who was supposed to save him.

I had always been his supporter, his protector.

I had done everything in my power to save him time and time.

What good was it when in the end he was taken away by those sick cocksuckers?

God knows what they were doing to him.

All because he decided to protect me. He saved me.

But at what cost?

My brother was in their claws now. I didn't even know if he was alive.

It hurt like fucking hell.

Worse than when I believed he was a runaway, a missing boy from past almost-five years.

But right now, that was not the reason I wanted to kill Jose.

"First, you took her to Troy without acknowledging me." I growled.

Jose just rolled his eyes. As if he wasn't scared of me.

He should be. Damn if he only had a look inside my head, he would be running in the opposite direction screaming for hills.

"Anastasia is a big girl, Christian. She knows how to handle herself."

"She could barely walk straight for two minutes!"

"Which is why I assisted her and now she is sitting in the car, with Brandon while you're wasting both of our times here."

He had the guts to talk with me like that!

My hand flew faster than he could see it coming.

This time, he couldn't duck fast enough.

My fist met his mouth and he staggered backward. A painful oomph leaving his bloody mouth.

Jose wore shock on his face for two second tops before coming back to retaliate.

I was expecting it so I dodged him easily. My hand Ana once again, but I stopped.

Letting him know the second reason he was getting his ass handed to him.

"You told her! Do you have any idea how much guilt she must be feeling?"

"That was the least I could do. You and I both know she wasn't going to let this go. Better me telling her than you. I think I did you a favor here, buddy."

"By telling her half-truths."

He shrugged. "Something is better than nothing, right?"

Wrong. He was so wrong.

He didn't know what he just did.

Not only would his secret revelations about Christopher's actions would make Anastasia feel guilty for hating him, it would also destroy her when she'd know the whole truth.

Just like it destroyed me.

It made me hate myself in worst ways possible.

I owed Christopher so much. We had to save him.

Going back to the Brooke was final. It left no room for doubt.

But I also couldn't allow endangering Anastasia in the process.
Not more than she was already.

Time and time, I had failed to protect her. She always got hurt in the end.

I knew she was strong. I knew she wouldn't back down.

She was the type who would take more if it meant surviving the battle.

But I wasn't as strong-willed as her. No, when it came to Anastasia.
I couldn't bear seeing her getting hurt anymore. Even if that was for my brother's sake.

Anastasia had done enough. Now it was my time to act upon things.

With a last half-hearted shove to Jose. I let him go.

Fighting with him wasn't going to do any good. And my pent-up aggression wasn't going to find its way out anytime soon.

"Go back to the car. Wait for me. I just have to make a quick call."

With a questioning look, Jose left. Wisely not saying anything.

I took a deep breath and it hurt. Pain splintering all over my body. This was going to hurt. I knew it before I did it.

But I had to. No matter how painful it was for me I had to keep Anastasia safe. And this was the only way.

She was going to hate me, but she was at least going to be safe.

That was one less thing to worry about with all the chaos that was about to start.

Anyway, she couldn't hate me more than I hated myself.

So, without wasting a second, I did what I knew would regret immediately but I also knew I wouldn't allow myself to regret it.

The line connected quickly.

"Hello?"

I broke my heart myself.

What was done was done. I couldn't undo it now, I tried explaining myself.

Wrong. You could still call back and stop this. There is time.

And do what after canceling it? Put Anastasia in any more danger than she already was?

Let her get hurt again and again?
No. I wasn't. I couldn't. I wouldn't.

The door to the car opened, few feet away from me.

Out she came, her body leaning against the door.

Dammit Ana, why you have to do this?

Then again, this was the stubborn brave Anastasia Steele. What else should I expect?

"You coming?" She asked. A kind, understanding smile gracing her beautiful face, making my heart skip a beat.

This was another problem of hers.

She was too kind. Too understanding.

She shouldn't.

Not to me of all the people.

She should hate me and never bother to talk to me ever.

Oh, well. Your wish is going to be fulfilled in a few hours Grey.

That dull familiar ache in my chest was back. This time, I didn't try to push my way through it. I deserved it, for an eternity.

"Yeah." My reply was short and gruff. That was all I could handle. Willing myself to be steeled, I followed her inside the van.

But nothing could have prepared me for this.

The atmosphere inside the small enclosed space was suffocating with remnants of betrayal. Coming straight off from the person who I'd once considered my friend.

Troy was sitting in the third row. An upgradation from stewing in the back, at least.

Jose sat on the driver's seat while Brandon on the passenger side. Leaving Anastasia and I to sit in the middle row.

I wasn't entirely uncomfortable sitting near her.

But being this close to her for a battle for me. I ached to scoot a little closer, to slide my fingers and entwine them hers.

I didn't deserve any of this. Thus, I intended not to act on these.. these stupid urges.

Didn't mean what I intended was the same as what I wanted. Or what I needed.

Because I needed Anastasia so bad. I'd always be deprived of her. No matter what happens from here on.

My eyes met hers.

For a rapturous moment, everything else disappeared. Vanquished with my desires unfurling for her.

It could be so easy to take her in my arms, move her into my lap. We wouldn't have to do this alone.

She could be sheltered by me. I wanted that for her. She deserved to be comforted and cherished. To be tended and shielded.

But I wasn't the one to do all those things. I didn't have that right.

I was a coward, a loser while Anastasia was all strong and unyielding.

Breaking our connection, I swayed my gaze away from her.

The crestfallen look that shaped her face was accompanied by a loud clatter of something breaking.

I swear I could hear it in the depth of silence.

Something was breaking between us.

Waves of pain entered me but I quickly slammed the walls of the dam in place. Locking everything behind them.

I became cold and unfeeling once again.

"You need to answer some questions." I addressed Troy.

He sat there, not reacting. Being compliant in his own way.

"First, who was the backup?"

Tell me so that I could fucking kill him for hurting my Ana.

No. She was no longer mine.

The sooner I accepted that the better it will be for us.

"Jack. Jack Hyde." Troy answered in a cracked tone.

Anastasia sucked in a sharp breath beside me. "But how? He- Christian had almost killed him after he had attacked me. He had disappeared."

"Well, Christian did mess up with his face. He needed a plastic surgery. Maybe that's why you couldn't exactly recognize him."

I wasn't sure if I should smile and gloat about it but that was exactly how I felt.

If that made terrible then... well I didn't care.

"As per for the disappearance trick. Here." Troy continued.

He lifted his wrist- both his hands were tied together- and stretched the shirt to reveal the bare skin.

Only it wasn't bare. A light pink colored gadget was attached to his skin.

It was so light and thin, at first it wasn't even noticeable. One could look straight through it, ignoring as burnt or damaged skin.

Other who might notice with one glance would think of it as a tattoo.

It was in the shape of a lotus. The faint outline catching the sun, making it golden.

"He used this to disappear. Every student graduating with honors gets these. It's a like a get-out-of-jail-free-card for them. One click and you disappear. Go off the grid."

"And where do you go when you disappear?" Brandon questioned.
"Back to the Brooke. The university to be exact."

We all tensed at once. Not daring to breathe as his words sunk in.

"What university?" Ana voiced what we all were dreading to know the answer of.

The urgency in her voice indicating her fears as well.

"The Lotus Brooke University."

What is it with the Brooke and lotuses?

Jose leaned forward. "I have never heard of this when I was there."

"That's because it's kept a secret. They don't let you know until you graduate from the Brooke Mountain High School. It's not a choice, you see."

"Does no one ever resists going to the university? I mean they all have the idea now what's more in for them."

"Like I said. It's no choice. Once you're in the Brooke, you're trapped until you either die or become what they want you to."

"And that's the last straw." Anastasia whispered in horror. "Those students, like Beth, who at acting and waiting for this to get over with BMHS, their hopes die."

Troy nodded. "And they break fully. I did too."

With the ease he spoke, he could've been discussing the weather.

Not the tortures he would have to have borne.

"What happens in the university Troy?"

He shrugged. "Much of what happens at BMHS. It's like any other college you know. What you learn in high school only broadens in college."

Meaning they are subjected to more kinds of torture. I couldn't even imagine anything worse than the ones we had had to bear.

God knows what those poor kids must be going through when in college.

At least that explains where the students went from the BMHS.

Anastasia spoke again. "During the gleaning, I noticed the Senior batch was almost half the size of the Junior batch."

"That's because most of them are broken easily, ready to do what they want by the end of the third year. Meaning, they don't need to attend the Senior year. They're transferred to BLU early."

"And from there you graduate with that invisible gadget?" I perked.

"Yes. But not everyone gets this. Only honor students. Others only get sterile."

Wtf?

"What do you mean by getting sterile?" Brandon asked, but it was clear he already knew.

We all did.

This couldn't get any worse. Fuck!

"Exactly what you're thinking. Performed hysterectomy on. Stripped you out of your reproduction system."

"But why?"

"They don't want us to be... distracted of compromised when they send us back here to perform our duties."

I was stunned.

This was bigger than I thought.

This was way more fucked up than I thought.

"I don't know why this reminds me of Black Widow." Jose muttered.

Troy let out a bitter chuckle. "It's true in a way. Their motive is something like that. To build an army of brainwashed assassins they could control."

"Against what?"

"The U.S government."

"WHAT?!" Anastasia practically screamed in my ear. "You're kidding, right?"

"Why would I?"

"B-but why? Why against the U.S?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You know, the hegemony shit and all. Central Power. First World country. U.S has the best army and defense. If they can defeat this country, they can defeat all others. Rule the world."

My jaw dropped open. This... this sounded insane. He was playing with us.

None of this could be true.

It sounded like some action-patriotic movie's plot.

This all couldn't be true. We weren't involved in something like this.

"What are these people?" I questioned, disgusted. "What the fuck is The Brooke?"

A heavy silence followed my question.

Somehow this seemed to be the most important answer of all.

"The Brooke does not fall in the real world. It's another dimension, formed by greatest scientists who want to make the world a better place."

Anastasia blanched. "A better place? They are crazy! How does creating an army to fight against the countries make a better world?"

"Casualties for the greater good. Once the world bends under them, they'll change it. They have very, very advanced technologies. Mankind would not only rule the Earth but the Universe."

For a while, I thought that I survived Troy's attack because he had somehow found a way to break through whatever conditioning the Brooke has created.

He himself said he started developing feelings.

I was hoping my friend wasn't far off the end.

But I wrong.

Looking at him now, the gleam in his eyes as he talked about the sickest and unbelievable plans, I had to admit he was just as broken.

He wasn't going to help us. Not going to tell us anything we could use for our benefit.

Somehow I was sure of it.

Though, he had told us so many facts with uttermost cooperation. There must be a reason behind it.

Or maybe he was just pure crazy. Another dimension? He really expected us to believe that shit?

"What happens to you know? Why haven't you disappeared on us yet?"

"I told you, I can't go back. I'm screwed. I started feeling and attacking you was my last chance to prove myself. Now if I go back, they'll send me to the Pinnacle Race."

"Isn't Pinnacle Race only for BMHS students?" Ana inquired.

Troy shook his head. "No. Pinnacle Race happens twice a year. Every semester. Fall is for BMHS, spring is for BLU."

Ana suddenly paled. Her eyes widened at Troy's admission.

Her hands flew to her mouth as it dropped open in pure shock.

"No. Does- does that mean? Oh my god." She shook her head, looking like she was about to go in hyperventilating mode.

"Anastasia?" I moved closer, resting my hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at me with those eyes diluting with sheer terror.

"C, the Pinnacle Race. They could've gone there. Beth and Christopher."

NO!

Shit. I hadn't even considered that.

With Christopher winning the first Pinnacle Race and being the only one to do so, they could have sent him back just out of spite.

The chances of him winning, this time, were severely less.

A cold realization washed over me, chilling me to my bones.

My brother could be dead.

No. I couldn't think like that.

He was live. I knew he was. He had to be.

Otherwise, I would have felt something.

The twin instinct would've told me if he were gone. He was a part of me.

I wouldn't allow myself to think like that.

But before Ana and I could panic any further, Troy mercifully put me at ease.

"No, they did not go to the race. Beth is with slaves now."

"What do you mean slaves?" Ana growled.

"Out of the students who graduate from BLU, best are sent to live in the outside world whereas worst- as in the strongest- are made as slaves."

"What are these slaves made to do?"

Troy smirked. "Oh, all types of works. Why do you think your rooms in BMHS glowed? Who cleaned the halls and made food?"

Ana choked. "Oh, my god. They are made to stoop down this low? Thrashing their poor lives to make them work as servants?"

"Those are the most glorious jobs, dear. There are worst things slaves are commanded to do."

She shivered from his words. Wrapping her arms around her.

He was scaring her. He was scaring all of us.

"What about Christopher?" I asked.

Troy's smirk grew deeper. "He's completely another case. He never went to BLU. As the ever-only winner of the Pinnacle Race, he is being preserved."

Sickness traveled across my gut. Panic clogging me once more.

"What the fuck do you mean preserved!" I yelled.

"He is kept as a hostage in BMHS. Where he belongs for rest of his life and after that too."

Without thinking, I pounced forward. My fist flew to his temple, knocking him out cold.

No one whined or complained about it.

In fact, no one uttered a single word.

We were too shocked to even begin discussing anything.

What Troy had told us... it was too much. Too much to believe.

I needed time.

This changed everything.

Everything except my decision of keeping Anastasia far from all this.

It was so much bigger than us. We weren't going after sick bastards to avenge what they did to us and rescue my brother.

We were planning to go against some mad son of bitches who had advanced technology such as time machine and disappearing gadgets handy.

Who apparently lived in whole another fucking dimension and were planning to move against the government.

Not that I believed that theory, but the rest of it, whatever he had said seemed to be true.

In a way, they were extremely skilled terrorists.

"The levels in the race, it was all technology." Jose spoke after an untraceable long time.

Somehow this appeared important to him.

Like a very crucial piece of the puzzle we were trapped in.

"I always wondered about it, you know. The poisonous rain, quicksand full of blood, landslides going upwards." He continued.

Ana shook her head too. "I thought they were just some kind of aliens."

We all looked at her.

Heat Ana in her cheek. "What? My theory was much simpler and better."

It actually was.

Because the truth... it'd destroy us.

"What do we do now?" Brandon asked.

We were now sitting in a restaurant at the Bourbon Street, waiting for dinner.

Though none of was really in a mood to eat.

The things Troy had told us were still too raw to sink fully in our brains.

The good news was no one was plucking their hair out of their head.

All of us seemed to be composed and handling ourselves.

From outside at least.

"We have to get authorities involved. This is beyond us." I said.

"No." Jose shook his head. "We can't. Firstly 'cause they won't believe us. Secondly 'cause I'm pretty sure it could be trouble for us."

"More trouble than we're already in, Jose?" Anastasia challenged.

"Yes. Christian was being followed by two implants. God knows how many more are there? It's not safe."

"Nothing is safe anymore, Jose." She threw back.

Jose threw his head back in exasperation.

"But if we do go to cops or FBI, and if by anyhow they do believe us, it would circulate around, Ana. The Brooke will get the word and God knows what will happen then. Not only to us but those who we tell."

Shit. He was right.

Anastasia wasn't seeing it, though. Her voice Ana.

"There has to be something! Maybe we could research more into this and figure out. The Brooke has got to have some I the other flaw. A loop or something?"

Brandon intervened. "Can I just say how much this sounds like a scene from some Avengers movie?"

Jose and Anastasia looked at him in disbelief.

I ignored him.

He still hadn't remembered everything. This was his way to deal with all this, by making light jokes.

My phone chimed.

I looked at the message, feeling my insides turning to freeze.

She was here. This had to be done.

"You're right Anastasia. We will find a way out. But you do not have to worry about any of this now."

She blinked at my hard tone. "Huh?"

With perfect timings, the door to the restaurant opened and we entered.

"Anastasia!" She called out.

Anastasia spun, her mouth hanging in the air.

Surprise seeping through her face as her eyes brightened to see her friend.

"Oh, my god. Mia? How?"

Mia's response was to jump on her.

The two made a squealing sound and hugged the life out of each other.

Jealousy but me through my veins, sudden and intense.

I wanted to be the one who could hold Ana like that. To comfort her and hold her with complete ease.

The girls separated from each other and came to the table.

Anastasia made necessary introductions between Brandon and Mia as they settled down.

"Hey, hot-shot. Everything ready?"

I nodded. My muscles clenching throughout my body. Masking me hard as steel.

If I had to do this, I had to be strong.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked her.

Mia looked offended. "Do I look like I'm in need of money? Anyway, she is my friend too, you know. So it's my treat."

Anastasia scowled. "What are you two talking about?"

Oh. Well, here went nothing.

"You're going to Barbados with Mia."

Silence. A long one.

"When?" She asked me calmly. Yet I knew this was the calm before the storm.

"Tonight."

Mia jumped in.

"That's right. Christian called me this morning, I had to go to Georgia first. Collect your luggage from Kate, who apparently packed everything on Christian's orders."

"My luggage?" Ana asked in a deceptively soft tone.

Mia rolled her eyes.

"Duh! Of course, you're not going to spend a whole month there without any clothes. I mean yeah, there are people who go fully naked on the beach, but you'll still be needing clothes when we are not at the beach."

"A month?" The soft tone was getting harder.

I have to admit this. I was scared of her reaction.

Still, I knew I would not let her win this one. She was going to Barbados.

I was staying right here to investigate things further but Ana didn't need to be in any more danger than she already was.

She needed to get away from this.

Away from the memories and trouble of the Brooke.

Away from all the worries and promises.

Away from the danger.

And away from me.

No matter how much impossible this was for me, no matter how much this would break me.

I had to do this.

I had to send Ana away.

Where no one can hurt her. Especially not me.

Aww, wasn't that sad? Christian is definitely hiding something from her. What do you think it can be? Jose told her the half-truth, according to him. What do you think could be the other half of the truth?

REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW. OH, AND I NEED SONGS TOO. :P

Love ya all,

Kaishi Springs xoxo.