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I left Nigel's at top speed and skated back to the lake, it was getting dark by now so I expected that Jamie and his friends would be on their way to the lake, if not already there.

I went straight past them as they began setting themselves down.

"Jackie?" I heard Pippa ask, "What's the rush?"

"Something's happened! I need to check something!" I called back from behind the rocks.

The purple flower that marked the entrance was still there after all this time. I still used the Tunnel to head to the Departure Cavern every now and again, but I was still surprised to see it alive.

I found the entrance hole and went straight down, silently begging that they were down there.

I didn't stop the ice bridge as I went into the Departure Cavern and went straight through into the Main Cavern.

"HELLO!" I yelled "ANYONE HERE?"

Silence.

I looked in all the caverns. The beds hadn't been slept in, the practice dummies and forges were gathering dust, but the Council Chamber was the worst.

It was clear there had been some kind of struggle inside it. The giant earth table had been toppled and the chairs were scattered everywhere. On the floor were large patches of black sand and large canine footprints.

This was conformation to the suspicion I had in the cave. The Descendants of Pitch had broken free. The very thought of it made my heart thud against my ribs in fear.

I knew I needed to get out of here, to call Jason and get more of an idea of what might be going on, but there was something I wanted to do.

I went down into the Cavern of the Dead.

I ignored most of the large statues in the room and headed straight for the youngest looking. The last and youngest casualty of war; Penelope.

I looked up at her statue's face, more confident in death than I'd ever seen her in life.

I held my hand out in front of me and allowed an ice wreath to form, which I lowered onto pedestal.

I didn't say anything, just looked up at her face and smiled slightly, her death had been tragic, but I'd learned to accept it and remember the good times we had. I can't say there were many, but that made them all the more precious.

With my moment of complacency over with, I left to call Jason.

"Empty? The cavern was empty?"

"Yes, and I can't contact any other member of HOG. I even went to the old war base to try and find you."

"Did you find anyone?"

"No, but I found something worrying, black sand and huge paw prints in the Council Chamber."

"That is concerning." He didn't sound surprised, just accepting.

"What can we do?"

"I'm afraid I'm not much help to you now. You've just confirmed my suspicions."

"What suspicions?"

"We're all being captured by the Descendants of Pitch and another, unknown force. I am
imprisoned as we speak."

"What?! Then how-?"

"Doesn't matter. Now I can only say, keep moving and follow your instincts. They'll probably target you next."

"But...How, what...?" I could feel my face dropping in shock.

"Jackie, I need you calm now. Just keep moving, understand?"

I managed to get it back under control.

"...Understood."

There was a gasp and roaring noise.

"Jason? Jason!" I cried as a crunching noise filled the speaker, and the call cut off.

I stopped in the Tunnel and stared at the phone, which was saying that the call had been cut off. I didn't want to believe what was happening, but I couldn't ignore it.

Everyone was gone, my Branch, the Heads. Who knew what was going on with the rest of HOG, but I could imagine that something similar was happening.

"No, please no."

I could feel the back of my throat burning. I couldn't go through this again, alone. A part of me wanted to curl up in a corner somewhere and cry. My hand gripped the phone tighter and my head bent as I tried to stop the tears.

I felt like my heart was being ripped out, the people I cared about, worked with, laughed with, trained with. Gone.

The broken photo frame appeared in my mind and the feeling intensified. Despite my best
efforts, a tear did trickle out.

I wiped it away quickly before it even had a chance to freeze. Even though there was no one there, and I really had every right to cry.

Crying never helped anyone, you can't help them like this.

Jason's words came back to me. Keep moving and follow your instincts.

I had to get out of here before something happened.

With that I straightened my shoulders and sniffed my suddenly blocked nose, put the phone in my pocket and continued to power my way out of the Tunnel. I burst out of the top and approached the lake in a slower fashion, walking instead of using my skates.

I used this time to compose myself. I would probably have to tell Jamie that something was up, but I needed to look in control.

Jamie and the others were still waiting, and their expression lit up when they saw me re-appear.

One of the twins ran over, his faces alight with anticipation and excitement.

"So, you're really letting us watch you practice tonight?"

"I can't now, not tonight."

"But Jamie said..."

"I know, I agreed to it, but something's come up, and I need to go." In a split second of paranoia I looked over my shoulder. Were those shadows by the rocks darker than before?

"Well, how long will you be?" asked Pippa, walking over with the others, clearly wondering what was going on.

"I don't know. But I need to go, and you're not safe with me anymore."

"You've had your powers under control for ages." Said Jamie, a little confused.

"It's not that, something is hunting down and catching people like me. If you guys are around me, then you might get caught up in it too. So, until I say it's safe, I ask that you leave me alone. Okay?"

"It's the cave isn't it?" asked Jamie, "Whatever was supposed to be the cave is looking for you." He knew full well what was supposed to be down there, so I thanked the stars he had the sense to keep quiet about the specifics.

"Yes, now if you excuse me."

I ran past them and kept up the speed all the way home. I burst through the door and ran upstairs without giving my parents a second thought, which naturally aroused their suspicion.

"Jackie? What's going on?"

"I don't know but I have to go!" I called back from my room, throwing changes of clothes and other essentials into a bag, such as a sleeping bag, water and non-perishable food. I needed to go, and my only plan of action was to cross my fingers and hope for the best.

As much as I wanted to go and find my Branch, I had nothing to go on, right now there was nothing I could do except run.

"What do you mean you don't know?" asked my mum, stepping into my room.

"Something's happened to the others, it's not safe for me to stay, it's not safe for you to be around me right now."

"It's not your powers is it?"

"No, something else. Descendants of Pitch and a force I don't know. Everyone else is down so there's not much I can do."

"What about last time everyone was unaccounted for? Didn't you go the Guardians?"

I stopped mid packing and looked at her, a smile forming on my face. I couldn't help my Branch and the rest of HOG alone, but if I got help...

"Mom you're a genius!"

"Glad to hear that I've helped."

I shouldered my bag and looked around for something I may have missed, when my eyes fell on my armour. Something big was happening; it may be time to put it on again.

My mom followed my gaze.

"Well, if you're going to be taking those, I've got something that'll make your life a little easier."

"What?"

"Wait right here and I'll show you."

I waited impatiently for my mom to come back with what she was looking for. When she finally did she brought with her a hiking rucksack that was twice the size of mine.

"Where were you keeping that?" I asked, taking it from her.

"In the attic." She replied as I moved the stuff from my other bag into this one. "Your father and I used to go hiking before we had you. We always meant to take you with us, that was until..."

I looked up from putting the clanking armour in the bag, "until I accidentally killed Daniel?"

"I'm still surprised at how calmly you said that. The state you were in when it happened..."

She shook her head and smiled, "Oh well, it's in the past now."

I stood up with the bag on back. I didn't really feel much of a difference in the weight, although my armour was designed to be light.

"Do have enough food to get you to the Guardians?"

I paused for a second. The only place I could really think of to look was North's Workshop, and who knew how long it would take me to get there.

"I don't know, but I'll hunt if I have to."

"What about cooking? I know what you're like around fires."

I paused again, this was looking more and more like a bad plan.

"I'll take some money with me." I decided, "I'll stock up in any towns that I come across."

I stuffed the change I could find in my pockets and my mom stood there and watched.

"You know." I said, "I'm surprised you're not trying to stop me. I mean, the last time I disappeared..."

"I can't stop you, and if you really believe that staying will put all of us in danger, I have no right to stop you."

I looked over as my mom gave a small smile, "Besides, I've heard enough stories to know you'll be able to handle yourself, and I'm not going to tell you to keep out of trouble, because you can't promise that."

"Mom..." I said, almost tearing up.

"Just, try to come back, okay? Once this has been sorted out, you come home. You hear?"

"I will. Thank you."

To both mine and my mom's surprise, I pulled her into a hug, then pulled away, opened the window and disappeared into the night.