Chapter 27 – Back to Morganville

Claire's POV

When we got to the exit, I was blinded by the bright light that instantly flooded every cell of my body. The contrast between dark hallways and bright meadows was extraordinary.

The flowers that lay throughout the field were beautifully coloured – blues and pinks and purples and greens – and the mixture of green grass and distant blue sky made the scene before my eyes even more beautiful.

When I turned, I discovered that we had been held hostage in a hill, nonetheless. It sounded ridiculous, but it was true, and it was smart. Who would think to look in a meadow, let alone a hill? The door handle was visible; however, it was only visible if you knew it was there. We stood in silence, listening intently to the click of the door as it locked behind us.

"Where are we?" Shane asked. He didn't seem to be admiring the gorgeous surroundings as much as he should have been but I understood the need to get home and as far away from here as possible.

"It seems to me like we are in a meadow of some sort," Myrnin stated, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Shane just looked irritated. "Really? Who would have thought?" He sighed and turned to Amelie. "Where are we?"

"We are in Morganville. Well, not in Morganville as much as on the outskirts. My father made it so that where you need or want to be when you leave, you will go."

"But we're not in a desert."

"It just seems that way. Give it a few minutes and the effects of the gas will wear off."

"What gas?" I asked.

"The gas that lingers throughout the laboratories and the corridors to create an unreal surrounding when you leave, although, it does not affect those who know it is there. I would have told you, but it would have made no difference," and then she added in a quieter voice, "Also, I had forgotten that particular detail."

"So we're stuck here?" Shane moaned.

"No, the effects should wear off soon enough. Until then, I am standing in a desert as you all stand in a meadow. I know where I'm going, so let's be on our way."

"Then, where is the location of the Crypt if you can exit to anywhere?" Michael asked.

"If you wanted to find the Crypt, which I personally never have, then you would know exactly where to go." And she finished there, making her answer sound slightly like a riddle.

As we walked on, all I could see was a large expanse of grass. It was extremely difficult to resist the temptation to lie down and make grass angels – but I had to remember that it would be the equal of lying on the desert floor and getting sand in your hair and all over your clothes. I turned around and watched Sonya and Eve conversing. Sonya's eyes reminded me of the fantastic green meadow, and her hair was like a bright red flower. She was really pretty, even after being locked in a single room for centuries.

I suddenly felt dizzy, and I had to hold on to Shane to keep my balance. He panicked and quickly called over to Amelie.

"The gas effect is just wearing off; she will be okay in a few seconds." And just like she said, a few seconds later I felt perfectly normal – apart from the fact that I had gone from standing in a meadow to standing in a desert.

"There's the Morganville sign," I stated as we continued to walk the way that Amelie had led us. "We're actually going home!"

Shane's hand found my shoulder and I felt him lean his weight on me. I turned to see Eve and Sonya leaning on each other as well. Michael was beside Myrnin and Oliver. They weren't leaning on anyone so they lost their balance and all fell to the ground, and I couldn't help laughing when they created a minute snow storm and ended up with sand covering them from head to toe.

"There's Morganville!" everybody shouted when the effect wore off.

I was totally excited. That was our home, and we were going back.

"What's that?" Eve asked as she furrowed her brow to get a closer look at the flashing lights ahead.

"That's a police car," I answered, feeling suddenly worried. What had happened while we were gone?

"We should hurry."

We reached the entrance to Morganville in no time and chaos lay in our wake. There were crowds of people shouting and holding signs painted with the Founder logo. When someone noticed us, the news travelled like a forest fire. Soon enough, we had all eyes on us and the silence surrounded us like a blanket.

Twenty seconds later the crowd broke into applause and the only thing that I could make out were the people screaming, "The founder's back, the founder's back!"

We had a look around and found Monica Morrell standing beside a policeman. We walked over to where they stood.

"Where the hell have you all been? This town has been in chaos for the past ten days!" Monica's face was filled with frustration.

"Where is Hannah?" Amelie asked her, ignoring her rant.

Monica didn't even bother to argue and seemed to give up with a heavy sigh. "She was making a phone call, I don't know why or what for but chances are it had something to do with your disappearance." Her voice dripped of sarcasm with her last word.

"If you wish to know, Little Miss Perfect, I was possessed. If you would rather have your city being run by an ancient psychotic vampire, I guess that's your choice. Now I need to know exactly where Hannah is, she should have made sure that this city was kept in some sort of order."

"Amelie! Claire! Myrnin! You're all back!" It was Hannah, and she held a phone to her ear. As her pace increased, it looked as though she was finishing a conversation. When she reached us, she put the phone in her pocket. "What happened to you guys? One minute you were asking Travis and Joe if we could keep you up to date with any information that we find, and then I decide to visit the Glass House and find it empty!"

"It's a really long story..." I started, but I was interrupted.

"You can tell me all about it later as I see that you found Amelie. Let me guess, that's probably a really long story, too? Well, why don't we get you all home first, you've probably missed it."

"Hannah?" Eve asked.

"Yes, Eve?"

"Why is there a police car at the Morganville entrance?"

"Oh right, yeah. Give me a second." She walked over and quickly said something to the policeman. He nodded his head sharply, turned to smile at us and slid into his police car to take off down the long road. Hannah turned and walked back to us, "Now that that is dealt with, who's this new one?" she asked, staring straight at Sonya.

"I'm Sonya," she replied simply and shook the hand that Hannah had held out to her.

"Care to elaborate?" Hannah joked, but to her surprise she got an answer.

"Sonya Rosser, I'm related to Eve. I was Amelie's first vampire creation."

"Wow, that's big." She took a deep breath. "Well, I'm pretty sure I've got lots to catch up on. Come on; let's get you all to the Glass House."

We pushed through the crowd of gawking faces and made our way back to Lot Street, back home.