Late update again, I know, I really suck! Well, there was this typhoon that hit our country and well, the net was just ultra slow! By ultra slow, I meant as in loading the Google page took about 4-5 minutes and sometimes it also goes out. So no way for me to really post this. So I'm really sorry! Please forgive me!
But please do enjoy this chapter :)
Night came in a blink of an eye. One moment they were setting up their hotel. The next they were already preparing for the night's mission.
"Remember we are not here to fight. Not yet. We just need information. We need to know what they want and what they are doing." Fiske reminded before they went off.
Hamilton, Dan , Ian and Amy shuffled through the town casually. There weren't a lot people but they needed to be extra careful. They're basically walking towards their enemy's territory through the front door. They talked and acted like normal tourists going out for a walk but their eyes scanned their surroundings for any signs of spies or suspicious activities.
After making sure the coast was clear, they headed towards the forest. They saw the fence with a board saying 'Warning! Keep out!'. That means they're heading towards the right direction. Dan took out a pair of wire cutter and started to cut the wire in the fence.
After a few minutes, Dan finished and went through it first. Hamilton followed. Ian was in front of Amy but he signaled for her to go first. She crawled through and waited for Ian.
"So where are we going?" Amy whispered.
"Through here." Ian pointed to a path in front of them.
"Are you sure?" Hamilton asked.
"I think I remembered it correctly." Ian answered.
Hamilton frowned. "Thanks. That made me feel better." he said sarcastically.
"My guts tell me I'm right. Might as well follow it." Ian said. He was about to turn around and continue when Dan asked.
"Wait. Why are we whispering?"
They all looked at him blankly.
"What? I mean no one's here." Dan said.
They all rolled their eyes and continued to walk, ignoring Dan's question.
All Amy saw were trees and grass. No signs of people or wild animals. But they remained silent. This was a dangerous mission. There's no room for joking. One wrong move and everything will fall apart.
Suddenly she heard a very loud noise.
"Hello?" It crackled through the earpiece she was wearing.
"Aw!" Amy exclaimed.
"Nyah!" Dan shouted.
"Ah!" Hamilton flinched.
Ian suddenly jumped and tripped. He fell down, missing a mud puddle by a few inches.
"So what's up, guys?" it blasted in their ears.
They all groaned in pain.
"Guys! Are you alri-!?" Atticus' voice blasted through.
They didn't know what happened next. They only heard a loud continuous beep, signaling their ears were still not functioning well. After a few minutes, their hearing was back.
"Um... Sorry about that, guys. I told Atticus it was not yet ready." Sinead said through their earpieces and thankfully it was at the right volume.
They heard a rumble then the voice changed.
"No, she did not!" Atticus said.
Another rumble.
"Go away, Atticus." They heard in the background. Then Sinead's voice returned.
"Again, guys. Sorry. So how's it going?" she asked.
"Our ears hurt. Thank you very much!" Amy replied.
"And I almost fell on a mud puddle." Ian said with a disgusted look on his face.
"Oh! I would pay to see that." Sinead laughed.
They all laughed except Ian, of course, who was glaring daggers at them.
"Hahaha. Very funny." he said sarcastically. "Let's move, guys!"
They all walked resuming their journey. Dan and Hamilton were still giggling like a pair of little girls. Amy was pretty much over it and was trying hard not to get too irritated with their noise. She just focused on Ian's back who was in front of her, observing the way he walks. The way the muscles on his back contract lightly against his jacket. She gulped. He's gotten bigger actually. His muscles looked more developed compared to the last time she saw him. Maybe it was because of his time here in Africa. And that hair, bouncing with every step he takes. I wonder if it's soft...
She shook her head. No! What am I thinking? She was not drooling over him. Never! And she was not checking him out! She was just observing. Besides, they were on a mission. No time for this. She must get her head back in the game. Amy, focus. Focus, Amy. Focus. Focus!
When suddenly she bumped into something hard. She looked up and found herself staring at his back. She shuffled back immediately, muttering a soft "I'm sorry."
He looked back at her. "I'm sorry. Just suddenly spaced out. You alright?"
She nodded.
"Really sorry. Anyway, let's continue." he said.
She felt her face grew hot. Now, she should really focus because that was embarrassing. She felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked back and saw Dan grinning at her. Dan suddenly stopped walking, making Hamilton hit his back. Hamilton muttered and made a face that she would never do. She glared at them but they just laughed at her. She decided to ignore them. She needs to focus!
"We're getting closer." Ian said.
"How could you tell?" Amy asked.
He stopped and pointed at a nearby tree. There was a mark like a bullet shot.
"These were made when I managed to escape."
Amy realized they were surrounded by these bullet marks on tress around them. She realized they must really be serious about this. Their enemies were armed and they were certainly not. What happened next was a bit hazy in Amy's head. Really her surrounding were making her head fuzzy and she couldn't think properly. That was until they arrived at the foot of the mountain.
"Now, what?" Dan asked.
"I'm not so sure..." Ian whispered.
"What? What do you mean you don't know?" Dan asked again in a loud voice.
"Will you please lower your voice!" Amy glared at him.
Dan frowned.
"I escape from the inside so I'm not really sure how to go back in. What I remember is that I came from underground and there was a switch. So there must be a switch around here." Ian replied.
"You mean something like this?" Hamilton asked.
He was lifting a rock and dropped it beside him. They all looked and there was a keypad.
"Well, that was easy." Dan commented.
Ian reached for something in his pocket and connected it to the keypad.
"Sinead, could you-" he asked.
"Already on it." Sinead answered. There was a sound of keys tapping and mouse clicking then after a few minutes, they heard something move like something opened.
They stood up, looking for any openings but there was actually no need for that because it was already in front of them. There was now a hole and a ladder that led underground. It was dark and bit narrow like the on in the movies. As usual, Ian led the way and the three of them followed.
When they reached the end of the ladder, they found themselves in a dark corridor that stretched on both sides. Only a few lit torches served as their source of light but it was enough to see where they were walking. Ian proceeded to examine the walls. They were old with molds and cobwebs hanging. And there was a faint mark. So faint that you almost can't see it. He flashed his flashlight over it. It was just simply a letter V. But it was enough information.
"I've never been here before." he said.
"Well, how did you escape?" Hamilton asked.
"Apparently, there must be other exits and I didn't pass through here." Ian replied.
Sinead's voice crackled through their earpiece. "H-Hello? Gu-uck-uys! Ba-ack Si-ck-nal! Y-You've got to do- this a-ack-lone. Toot!"
With that, they were now alone and completely clueless on what they're gonna do.
"So? What now?" Dan asked.
"We continue." Amy said as she walked along the dark corridor. They all followed closely behind her.
"Do you know where you're going?" Dan asked.
"Nope!" Amy replied in a cheerful voice.
"Ugh! Great!" Dan groaned.
"Stop complaining, dweeb." she said.
They fell into silence as they walked in a path that never seem to end. A path where they have absolutely no idea what was coming next.
"We lost them." Sinead announced to everyone that was in the room.
Fiske slammed his fist on the table. "Damn!"
Fiske massaged his temples. This was not good. They were one of the best but facing the Vespers alone is another thing. They weren't even armed. Damn! What is he gonna do? He sighed. The most that they can do is set off any trap that comes their way.
"Sinead scan the perimeter for any traps. Disable if there are any." he said.
Sinead nodded and proceeded to type a series of codes.
"Fiske! Check this out!" Jonah said.
He walked across the room and peeked over Jonah's shoulder.
"Atticus, here, was able to hack their system" he said as he patted Atticus on the shoulder. "So we got to their database and look at what we found."
Jonah clicked on a button and an image popped up. It was a scan of a piece of burnt paper that was recovered using modern technology. Some letters were hard to read but it was readable. Fiske put his reading glasses on. He read.
One portion = One ounce
His throat went dry. No. Impossible. He read the next line.
Start with one portion of water.
He stopped. He knew what that was. He doesn't need to read any further. He perfectly knew what it was.
The recipe for the Master Serum.
But how? It was secured in a Madrigal vault that was logically one of the most safest place in the world. And no one knew of the existence of the paper except the Cahills that joined the clue hunt. Only them. So how could the Vespers know or get hold of that? Unless... No. He would not think of that. He would not think that any of them would be a traitor. They all proved to be very loyal when they defeated the Vespers for the first time. They were family.
"Fiske, this is bad." Sinead called out.
He snapped back to reality and walked over to Sinead."What is it?"
"It's the guys. They're in the Vespers training grounds."
"Run!"
There was no need for other words. They just ran. The snakes hissed grew louder. Amy looked back. Her eyes widened.
"They're getting many!" she shouted.
"Just run!" Ian shouted back.
They ran. They just randomly turned around corners, not caring which way they were heading. They had no idea, anyway. So it was alright. As they ran further, the once dark dungeon-like corridors became steel white tubes. But the snakes were still hot on their trail. They continued running. They just realized that they were in a labyrinth when the snakes suddenly appeared. They had no weapons to protect themselves so the only way is to run.
"Here!" Ian shouted.
They turned around a corner but it was a dead end. They were to turn back when the snakes turned around the corner too. They hissed as if they were laughing devilishly. There was nowhere to go. Dead end.
"Bye, guys." Amy said as she looked at them.
"Don't say that." Dan replied.
"There's nothing we can do." she stated.
"It's okay, guys." Hamilton said. He grabbed Dan's hand. "If we're going to die, then we die together."
Dan took Amy's hand and nodded. His eyes full of emotion. Amy smiled and turned to look at Ian. He flashed one of those rare heartfelt smiles. Her heart skipped a beat. His hand crept its way to hers. He squeezed them hard, as if assuring her it's alright. She smiled back. Even until death. Maybe she did forgive him. Maybe she did like him, after all.
Suddenly, the ground shook. What happened next was a blur. It was very fast. Water rounded around the corner, washing the snakes away. The snakes were gone but they were next. Amy was thankful they had their hands together or else they would lose each other in the raging water. A few snakes and some debris went past them. They managed to get their heads above the water. She sighed in relief. They were alright.
"Grab something!" Ian shouted over the sound of raging water.
And as if granting his command, a big log was making its way to them.
"There!" Amy shouted, pointing at the log that was coming their way.
They all managed to grab it with big smiles on their faces.
"This is cool!" Dan shouted.
"Woohoo!" Hamilton cheered.
"where is this heading to?" Amy asked.
"I don't know!" Ian answered.
"I don't care! This is FUN!" Dan shouted.
But before any other words could leave their mouth, they felt their hearts drop and the next thing they knew they were falling. Then they blacked out.
Amy's head throbbed in pain. She tried to open her eyes but the light was shining on her eyes. She groaned in pain as she tried to sit up.
She heard someone say. "Amy? Wake up, Amy!"
She saw a figure above her. When her eyes finally focused, she saw Dan looking down at her. She tried to stand up with the help of Dan. Ian and Hamilton were already up and they were looking around. She gasped. They were in a really big dome.
"Where are we?" Amy asked.
"It's cool! It's like we're in a spaceship!" Dan said.
"This is it. We're here." Ian stated.
"Then how come no one's here?" Hamilton asked.
"I don't know." Ian answered.
At the same time, the lights went out. After a few seconds, the lights flicked back on. They found themselves with handcuffs and surrounded by six people. They were dumbfounded. That was incredibly fast and they didn't even feel a thing!
"Stand." said one of them that must be their commanding officer.
They didn't budge.
He nodded to his men. They pulled them up to stand. Amy was forced to stand and walk. She turned and looked at Hamilton and Dan who were also forced to walk. They were led to a door at the end of the dome. Then she realized Ian was missing. She stopped walking.
"What, girl? Walk!" one of the men pushed her.
But she didn't move.
"I said move!" he said again.
She ignored him. He raised his gun and pointed it at her.
"Where's our other friend?" she finally asked.
"What are you talking about?" asked their leader.
"The other one!' she said.
"We don't know. Now, move!" he said.
"I won't! Unless you tell me where he is!" she shouted.
"Hm... Let's see..." The leader scratched his chin. "No! Move!"
The men pushed her with more force. Their grip on her arm was very tight. She knew it would leave a mark. They were led to the door. Along the way, she saw someone standing in the dark. She tried to make out who it was but the face was covered by the shadows but when she saw the clothes, she gasped. At the same time, a cloth was placed over her mouth and nose. Upon recognizing the smell, her mind started to blur. Her senses were clouded.
Ian.
She stretched her arms towards Ian who was standing in the shadows but he didn't move and his eyes were closed. Ian! She stretched her arms more, trying to grab something. Her mind screamed. Ian! Ian! Help! But still he only stood. Why aren't you helping us? Ian!
She sensed her vision started go out. Everything's a blur. She saw Ian opened his eyes.
Before she fell unconscious, she found herself staring back at his eyes.
Golden yellow eyes.
Oooohhh! Golden eyes!
Please review! And I'm really really really sorry about the really long updates! Plus THANK YOU! 104 REVIEWS! Really, THANKS, GUYS! :D