Wow. My last update was in December last year. I totally didn't mean for this to happen this way! I hope you can forgive me for my lack of interest in this story. Somehow I don't think writers block can cut it any more (even though it is a major cause).
Anyway; I hope you enjoy this chapter.
The Secret Army:
A Leader's Desperation
" We have to get her out of there."
" You will do no such thing."
" The mission will be jeopardised."
" They'll kill her!"
Kayla woke in the middle of the night, not by the urge to join the others in planning an escape but by the sudden urge to protect somebody. Julia was wrapped up in her arms again, but something was wrong. Terribly wrong. The entire bunker was as silent as one of the trained owls back at the Secret Army, and those birds were silent. She had also managed to get a few hours, at least, of sleep that night, which was more than she had had ever since she arrived at this accursed camp (but she would never blame Julia for her lack of sleep). Finally it dawned on her. Julia had stopped coughing.
" Julia?" She whispered, getting worried. " Julia, open your eyes."
She received no response or movement. Desperately, she searched for the reason of Julia's silence. Inside, her heart cringed with the thought of what could have happened. Outside, she remained calm and quiet throughout her search. Not even the shuffle of frozen inmates as they tried to warm themselves during their sleep could distract her from her worry.
" Julia, please." She whispered urgently. " Don't… don't give up on me now."
With tears in her eyes, Kayla spent the rest of the night trying to warm the girl up and get her to respond to her quiet yet desperate pleas.
" Are you sure this is a good idea?"
" Better yet, are you sure the Elders said we could go?"
" If anyone here questions me one more time, I will personally see to it that there will be one less member on this mission!"
" Yes, Alpha."
Michael couldn't help but be dragged along the hospital hallways. The reason for this was because his half-brother had a pretty strong grip. It was clear that being raised by dragons also meant that you gained some of their strength because if he hadn't had given up trying to fight him Kaine would have still continued dragging him along about half an hour ago. Before he knew it, Kaine had stopped in front of the doors to the Seven Heroes' rooms.
" Kaine. I am not going in there." He deadpanned.
" You are. Son of water god wait inside for you. He wants talk. And Kenobi said you go." Kaine replied.
With that said, Kaine proceeded to drag Michael into the boy's room. Sure enough, Percy was sitting up and trying very hard not to look bored. Nico, once again, was reading some ancient Greek book he had received from the library. But unlike the last time that he was in the room, both Jason and Frank were now awake and talking to each other while Jason spared glances towards the still unconscious Leo.
However, all eyes turned to the door as the two entered the room, Michael hissing out his brother's name in the process as well as thinking a few curses which he would never say aloud. Percy, though looking surprised at the arrival, also looked a little upset possibly because he was remembering what Michael had done when he had first woken up. Nico, on the other hand, went back to his book almost instantly.
" Michael Yew. What happened? I tried looking for you but I couldn't find you." Percy said, already starting the interrogation.
" Obviously, I survived." Michael replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice, before turning to his half-brother. " Okay, I've talked to him. Am I allowed to go now? Lyis has asked for my help with Mrs O'Leary and Toby's gone and burnt himself again on the open fire, the idiot."
" Kaine guess." Kaine replied, a little down that his brother wasn't accepting his help.
" Wait, medicus." Jason called. " What about Leo? When will he wake up?"
" I don't know, Roman. That all depends on him and what the director says. You'll have to ask the director when he comes to see you."
" Don't stumble on your way out, Yew." Nico called from over his book.
The instant flare in Michael's eyes told Kaine that he needed to get out of there before someone ended up staying in the hospital longer than anticipated. Almost immediately, he began pushing his half-brother back towards the door. Of course, that didn't stop the string of insults from escaping the son of Apollo's lips as he was forced away from the scene.
" Kara, it's been days. We haven't found the camp. Why don't we just go back to base?"
" If we do, then it will be my head that ends up on the Elder's bookshelf."
" Well maybe the others are right. Maybe this was a bad idea."
" Would you leave behind a sister when death surrounded her?"
It took days to fully register the death of Julia. And it wasn't just the Romans that it hit hard. Kayla had gone numb the instant morning had come and the Redcoats had taken the body away. She didn't even remember pleading them to bury the girl. She had, to put it simply, become Gaea's perfect little human slave. And it was worrying Connor and the rest of those in Bunker Six.
Not once did Kayla eat during meal times and if she had anything at all it was usually a single sip of water. Her eyes were as dull as the grey sky above and she moved like a zombie; there was no other way to put it. And each day she worked non-stop, doing exactly as the redcoats had wanted and not even bothering to lift so much as a finger.
It went on like that for about two weeks until finally the Watch realised that something was wrong and had taken her to the doctor. It was now three days since that happened. Connor, Dakota, Octavian and a few other people were still awake passed curfew, each one trying to figure out what was wrong with Kayla and if they were ever going to be able to see her again. Apparently there were rumours that the 'doctor' was once an escaped prisoner who had a degree in medicine and that he was in because he had been a doctor.
" Any ideas?" Dakota asked, his whispered voice echoing around the Bunker.
" The only thing I can think of is that she's fretting." Lieutenant Barker replied.
" What do you mean, she's fretting." Octavian asked.
" She's a wolf and wolves fret for those that are lost."
" Why do you keep calling her a wolf?" Katie asked.
" Where we come from, Katie, there are groups of people that can turn into wolves. To them, turning into a wolf is as natural as reading Ancient Greek or Latin to any one of you. That's what we mean by Kayla being a wolf." Another boy answered. " It's in her blood."
Silence fell amongst the Bunker and just in time too. The Watch had returned, but this time they sounded like they were dragging someone or something in behind them. In the silence, the sound of a large animal growling reverberated throughout the cold walls of the Bunker. Everyone seemed to freeze at the thought of what the creature was. Then the door was closed with a sharp click that no one had ever heard before and the creature was locked in with the inmates.
" No one enters until morning." They all heard the order despite the constant growling of the creature that had been dragged in.
In the dim light of the frozen moon – courtesy of a hole in the roof that the Watch hadn't bothered to order be fixed – all the inmates of Bunker Six noticed the creature. It was the size of a Siberian Husky but it seemed to have a more wild nature than the dog breed. Its raised fur was mainly a rich brown colour save for the white undercoat, lower jaw and rings around the eyes. But one thing was for sure, it was definitely a canine. That was when the wolf raised its head and howled a single pain-filled note.
" Kayla?" Connor's voice penetrated the howl.
Twin green eyes turned on the son of Hermes, piercing him both with acknowledgement and loss.
" Well?"
" We've found it, Alpha."
" It's in the Deep Valley."
" Gather Kara and the others. We move at sundown."
" What do you mean the Whitewater Wolf Pack is missing?!"
Everyone within a half mile radius of the Secret Army Head Quarters heard General Bowen's roar. Birds that had finally settled in for the night were startled awake at the sudden noise and instantly took flight. The griffins and horses were much the same way; however their handlers were able to calm them before they took flight. The dragons and other carnivorous beasts growled, sensing the anger that was pulsating through the air. Other than that, everyone fell into a deep, dead silence the instant the echoing roar reached their ears.
" Grandpapa's angry." Oliver Barker whispered to the four girls that were surrounding him and the two other people who were in the room at the time.
" Oliver, who is your Grandpapa?" Hazel asked, a faint smile on her lips as she watched the boy draw his version of what happened in Rome.
" He's the general. He always says that you and the others are the ones that can save the world. And he doesn't like it when other members of the CSA don't follow his orders."
" We heard." Thalia muttered, looking at the puzzle that Annabeth was holding and trying to understand how the daughter of Athena could have finished the thing in such a short amount of time.
At that point, Oliver jumped up and began proudly showing off the art that he had just finished. When asked, it turned out that Ephialtes was the massive bull like creature that was under a pyramid of rocks and barrels and getting kicked in the face by a ballet dancing – and more than slightly dizzy - Otis who was dressed in the pink tutu. Percy and Jason were the two boys with swords and torn clothes that resembled Tarzan suits while the Argo II looked like the pirate ship from the Peter Pan movie crossed with a dragon; the dragon's wings beating at the air in excitement and creating a purple hurricane on top of the junk pile. Of course, the hurricane had to resemble Bacchus somehow so the boy drew a bearded face on the hurricane.
The only thing that crossed everyone's mind about the picture was that it was cute. Even Thalia had to smile at the blob like figures of the characters. Of course, things had to come to an end when it was time for Oliver to follow his mother home. The amount of protests the boy did ended up getting on the other doctor's nerve and, in order to quieten the boy, he opted to take him into the room next door before walking him home afterwards.
The unfortunate thing was that when Oliver got home later that day, his picture did nothing to improve his grandfather's rather dark mood.
" You five, search the perimeter. Look for anything that can be easy for us to get through but far enough away from anything that we don't get spotted easily."
" Yes, Alpha."
" Sabre, Stryker, Kaige, you three are to follow Caro's group around the perimeter. When they find a suitable entrance, you three are to go in and search the inside of the compound. Make sure you learn what things are like in there. And make sure you don't get yourselves caught."
" Yes, Alpha."
" Marik, Rust, you two are the best tormentors that I know. Get to the front gates and do what you do best. I want to find out just how strong these pests are."
" Yes Alpha."
" Ice. Flame. You stay with Shiro and me. I want to know where you two are. Disperse!"
The rustle in the trees made Travis look up from his work. In the distance he was just able to make out the shape of a thick tail but he shook it off as his mind placing tricks on him and continued dragging the fallen tree along the trail and back to the Grotto. To his left stood a member of the Elite, known only by their royal blue uniform similar to that of a French Revolutionary Rifleman's uniform. And following close behind him, attached only by a chain-link rope, was a large and ancient oak tree… the very one that he had felled only a few hours ago. Why Gaia needed wood, Gods knew. But one thing that Travis did know was that if he managed to survive this, he would have some pretty good muscles attached to him.
It was another hour and a half before he reached the pile of logs from previous jobs. The pile was almost in the form of a triangle, all it needed was the top log… and that was the log that Travis had provided. With a heavy sigh, the son of Hermes threw his end of the chain to the other side of the pile and pulled. After another half hour, his day's work was complete and he fell to the ground with the amount of force he had been using. His short break didn't last long, however.
" Get up, you Hermes filth." The Elite roared, cracking his whip across Travis' stomach.
Careful not to voice the growl that was scratching at the back of his throat, Travis did as he was told before being led to his cell. The Grotto was a single building that housed the Elite showers, sleeping quarters, mess hall and offices. It was under the earth that the Grotto cells were kept and that meant that not one of the 300 cells had any windows for sunlight to enter. His cell was number 75 of the first floor making it the last cell on floor A. There were still three floors underneath, each with 75 more cells. Only four rooms weren't cells and they were the prisoner mess hall, the prison bathroom, the elevator and the Elite Guard Room. Travis was thrown roughly into his cell, forcing him to ground.
" You've got a hike tomorrow, Travis. Make sure you can get up in the morning." The Elite growled as he locked the cell door closed.
" You okay, Travis?" Nyssa's voice came from the cell next to his a few minutes after the guard had left.
" I'll be fine. Don't you worry about me." Travis replied.
" I heard wolves early last night. Did you see anything while you were up top?" The guy across from his cell asked.
" Does a bushy tail count?"
" So does that mean that we'll be saved soon?" Nyssa's voice came again.
" I don't know. It could have just been a wild beast."
" Or it could mean that help is on its way." The guy added.
" What the hell is your name anyway?" Travis growled, taking refuge on his pile of splinters for a bed.
" Mark Atkins, son of Aeolus, Dragon Keeper of the CSA, at your service. Got in for trying to set free the dragons."
" Well, if we're going that far… Travis Stoll, son of Hermes. Got in for trying to protect the one I love."
" I heard about that. That was the day that the coliseum was filled." Nyssa remarked, remembering the day well.
" And what about you, miss? How come you're here?" Mark asked.
" My little brother was getting whipped again. I lost control. He was still recovering from the first time he was whipped."
" You're not talking about Harvey, are you?" The fear in Travis' voice was clear in his question; he was worried about little Julia.
" Yeah."
" What about Julia? The little Roman kid?"
" She wasn't sparred. They whipped all the children aged ten and under. But…"
" But what?"
" Travis… she… she died… about two weeks ago. That Kayla girl went absolutely mental over it."
" Kayla? Kayla Terren?" Mark butted in, a slight red colour beginning to grace the top of his nose.
" Yeah, her. Why?" Travis asked, the news about Julia still not having sunk in yet.
" Nothing."
Silence followed. Mark moved to the back of his cell where he took out a chipped stone from under his bed and carved something into the stone just above his floor. Nyssa moved uncomfortably in her own cell. She remembered well when she saw Kayla in the mines a week before hand. It was the first time that she had witnessed what the death of that little girl had caused. The last time she saw Kayla (without her even knowing it was Kayla) was two days before when the Watch were dragging a white and red wolf from Bunker Six and beating it fiercely as it tried to attack and kill them. To be honest, that was when she had been taken to the Grotto; because she had tried to prevent cruelty to the animal. But she didn't want to say anything. As for Travis, it took a few more minutes to understand what Nyssa had said about Julia and when it did…
" What do you mean Julia's dead?! She can't be dead!" He roared.
" Oi! Hermes filth! Shut up!" the sound of an Elite member growled in reply.
" Well? What did you find?"
" There's a rusty bit of fence that can easily be gotten rid of and dug under near the rock quarry. That will be the perfect way to get in."
" Excellent."
" Any news from the other stations?"
" They were moving something last night by truck, but we couldn't figure out what."
" Also, their defences are high, but they would never expect an attack at this point. They're too focussed on keeping the demigods in."
" Fine. We enter at sun down."
Well? What do you think? Is it okay? Do you like it? Am I dreaming when I say that I am going to finish it? Please let me know. It helps a lot.