Grant and Bex, the bones in their faces a little too angular and bruises and cuts running down their bodies. But they were alive, and on their feet.
Determination glinted in there eyes, and Bex smiled crookedly.
"Given up so soon, love?"
Zach's POV
"Damn it!" Zach screamed, fisting his hands into his hair. He paced back and forth almost violently, spinning on his heel and slapping the wooden floorboards with the bottom of his shoes.
Liz and Jonas sat slumped over their laptops, fingers slipping over the keys hysterically.
"We just had it, where the hell did it go? How did it slip away from us?" Jonas shouted to his computer screen.
Liz just shook her head furiously, typing faster. Macey was on the phone with Tristan, already in her spy gear. Black skinny jeans with black boots, a skin-tight black long-sleeved shirt tucked into the jeans, a black belt. Daggers were tucked into her belt, and she had twisted her dark hair up into a ponytail. Rings adorned her fingers, and for some reason Zach didn't think they were just for accessorizing.
Macey slapped the phone shut and nodded to the bathroom with her chin. "Zach, everything's ready in there for you. Hurry up and get changed, we're leaving the minute Liz and Jonas get Cammie's location again. Tristan's on his way."
Zach just shrugged and walked to the bathroom. He could feel Macey glancing at him worriedly. A week together and he already had a brotherly affection for Liz and Macey. Liz, who could barely walk down the stairs without tripping, whom he was extremely glad wasn't a field agent. And Macey, who had so many walls up, bossing people around and pretending to be cold and beautiful, when underneath she was just as scared and broken down as the rest of them over losing their best friends to the Circle.
He slammed the bathroom door shut with his foot and placed a hand on either side of the sink, leaning forward and staring at himself in the mirror. Even he could see the changes in his physical appearance. His cheekbones too angular, the skin on his face stretched over his bones as if there were barely enough there to cover it. Stubble lined his jaw, and his deep green eyes were dead. His hair was rumpled and messy due to him continuously fisting his hands in it, and his lips were raw from his gnawing.
He slipped on the completely black outfit, stuffing Napotine patches into his pocket, knives into his belt, and a couple of poison tipped daggers into his boot. He splashed his face with cold water.
We will get her back. We'll get her back if it's the last thing we do.
Which, in this circumstance, it might very well be.
He stepped out from the bathroom and saw that Tristan had arrived, dressed in an outfit identical to his. Their jeans were looser and their shirts short-sleeved, but other than that, Macey and Liz would be wearing the same exact thing.
As ridiculous as they may look to anyone else, wearing any baggy or unnecessary clothing could be the cause between life and death. Most female agents had short-cropped hair, those who didn't always had to put their hair tightly up in a fight.
Macey and Tristan were sparring, and Zach went over to Liz and Jonas to see how they were doing. Cammie's face kept pushing her way into his mind, her flawless smile, her clear-blue eyes...
Zach shook his head, but immediately following Cammie was Grant. Grant, who had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. And that girl – Bex – who was Cammie's best friend.
Zach took a deep breath and leaned over Jonas's laptop. "How are you doing?"
"How do you think we're doing?" Jonas snapped through clenched jaws. Zach raised his eyebrows. Jonas hardly ever got angry, and if he did he rarely showed it.
"Sorry, man," Zach retreated.
Jonas looked embarrassed now, but he never let his eyes wander from the glowing screen. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just a little...tired."
"Liz?" Macey's voice rang out from the kitchen.
"Yea?"
"I think this had gone on long enough. It's time to call Mr. Solomon."
Cammie's POV
"Bex? Grant!" I whispered. "How did you-? I – what?"
I squinted at them, confusion leaking into my brain.
"Oh, god damn it. I haven't had food in so long I'm hallucinating. Go away, shoo," I waved my hands out at them. Grant chuckled, and Bex rolled her eyes.
"We're actually here, Cam. We're gonna get you out of her, we promise."
I just stared at her.
"Is it really you?" I asked, my voice small.
Bex smiled gently and pulled me into a hug. "I can feel your ribs," she said over my shoulder. "Eat more."
"I would if I could, Bex. Trust me," I muttered.
"We have to get going," Grant said. Shouts erupted from outside the door, and we all jumped. My heart was beating painfully against my ribs, but I stood, chin up, cool and collected, as a spy should be. It didn't matter if our stomachs were so empty that it was eating itself – it didn't matter if our heads were pounding so hard we could barely hear our companions speaking – you had to pretend that you were fine, and pretend that you were strong.
Because sometimes, you are what you pretend to be.
"Get down," I hissed, pulling on both of their arms and behind a crate.
"Have they found her? Is the door still closed?" Mrs. Goode's annoyed voice rang through the dark room, and we heard a Circle member walk quickly towards my room's door. I blew out a sigh of relief when I remembered closing it.
"Yes, the door is still closed, Ma'am."
"Damn it! Where are those prats?"
Despite the situation, I stifled a laugh. Mrs. Goode still thought that everybody was still in the base, coming to save her.
Well – two of them had.
I looked at Bex and Grant. Grant had a hand placed protectively at the small of her back, both of them were staring sharply out over the crates, eyes flickering around in the darkness.
"Let's get going, then," Grant nodded his head towards the door. Bex grabbed one of my hands.
"Are you strong enough to run, Cams?" Bex asked, steadying me on my feet.
I gritted my teeth. A surge of adrenaline pumped through my veins, and I nodded. "I can do this."
Bex grinned wickedly. "Then what the hell are we waiting for? It's time to go home."
I stuck my head out of the door, seeing nobody down the hall. Grant placed something in my hand. It was a small by heavy stone. Confusion wracked my body until I saw a camera. I nodded, and with a swift flick of my wrist, I shot the stone straight at the camera and cracked the screen – enough so it couldn't see us, but lightly enough so that it wouldn't break, alerting the guards.
"Let's go," Grant said.
We sprinted down the hall, the lights above us flickering ominously. Cramps twisted up my empty stomach, but I ignored it and sprinted harder. With each turn we took, I saw each of the cameras were cracked.
So that was how they got in. I shook my head a little and smiled. Suddenly, I turned a sharp corner and ran right into someone. I gasped quickly, but then ended up gasping so sharply that it brought on a round of coughing.
I coughed violently into my hand, and felt something warm and sticky fly from my throat and onto my palm. Whoever I ran into was holding me up gently.
I looked up, confused why their soft, warm hands were so steady around my body.
"Cammie?" Zach's warm breath tickled my ear, and I let out a disbelieving sob.
I repeated his name over and over, like a chant. I threw my arms around his neck, not even caring that the blood on my hand smeared the back of his black shirt, turning it even darker and sticking it to his skin. He rubbed my back and ran his fingers through my knotted hair soothingly.
"It's okay, Cammie. You're safe."
"You're safe. I was so worried that -" A hiccup wracked my body, and I hugged him tighter, inhaling his scent and nuzzling my face into his neck. He kissed the top of my head gently.
"Alright, people. Love-fest over. Chop-chop, we're standing in the middle of a terrorist organization base. Let's move!" Macey's voice broke through our bubble, and I looked up.
"Mace!"
I didn't care that we were in danger of being caught – I was so hungry and dizzy and tired and happy to see everybody I loved again that I flung my arms around her neck, relieved to smell her familiar perfume again.
She hugged me back quickly, but then pulled away.
"Celebrations after we escape the terrorists. Let's go."
I nodded. I felt Zach come up and grab my hand, and I squeezed it. He squeezed back.
"Heads up," a tall man about our age with tan skin and blue eyes tossed me a coms unit. I quickly pushed it into my ear, and heard Liz and male voice giving directions. Momentarily confused by the new additions to our team, I quirked an eyebrow at Zach.
He just shrugged and mouthed, 'I'll explain later.'
"So go right – and there's still three camera you guys didn't have time to smash down that hallway. Grant, get the one diagonally to the left. Bex, the one directly up. Zach, the one near the floor to the right." Liz commanded.
"Got it," we all said in unison.
We all ran down the hall, Zach and Macey leading me with a hand clasped in each of mine so I didn't stumble. I hated being the weak link out of the group, but today I had no choice. The fatigue and hunger still gnawed away at my body, and it was getting harder and harder to fight off the dizziness. When we stopped for a moment for them to crush the cameras, I fell to my knees, shaking, and heaved up more blood.
"Cammie," Bex whispered.
"I'm fine," I said weakly, trying to stand up but stumbling.
Macey rolled her eyes. "Leave it to Cam to say she's fine after she vomited up enough blood to feed a vampire for a week."
Zach came over and scooped me up in his arms.
"I can walk," I protested. My voice was raspy, and my vision wasn't clearing.
"No, Cammie, you can't. Now shut your eyes and try not to vomit blood up on my shirt," Zach growled.
I glared at him. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.
"Please," he murmured. "We're all worried about you."
So I shut my eyes and finally, finally gave in to my hunger and weakness. I let everything take my body over – my love for my friends, me missing my mom and Mr. Solomon, my despair over my father, my curiosity at the new members to our team, the gnawing hunger in my stomach, the pulsing in my head, the shaking of my limbs.
I let the darkness take over, and I finally let go of my strength and felt myself do something I haven't done in my life.
I surrendered.