Chapter Six

The household was in distress. After I had woken up from what I had considered a nightmare, we had already arrived home and Rinslet was crying. Sven had been the first one that noticed I was awake. Well, obviously – he had been keeping an eye on me for over an hour. As Sven leaned over me, the smoke from his recently lighted cigarette obstructed my view of the outside world an also made me cough. Sven's hand was immediately slicing through the smoke at the sound of my unladylike hacking. My view was cleared, and I was helped to my feet and sat down on a chair where the questioning began.

"Evekat! You scared us. What were you dreaming about? – you were screaming!" cried a tearful Rinslet, her usually tidy locks a plastered, tangled mess. Sven just kissed me on the cheek and then held his face in his hands, muttering something along the lines of "Thank God…" The one person I didn't see anywhere was Train. Rinslet caught my searching glances and rolled her eyes, rubbing her tear-stained cheeks. Sniffling, she said almost inaudibly,

"He's in his room." I nodded my thanks and stood up, leaving Sven and Rinslet in my room, with both of them targeting me with disapproving stares. Ignoring their doubtfulness, I ran to Train's room, and found the door closed. I was about to turn back when I stopped abruptly, my dress swishing from the sudden movement. No. Train needed me. I raised my fist and knocked smartly, once, twice, pause, and once more. The secret knock hadn't worked, so instead I turned the knob. It didn't budge. I smiled, excited to use my lockpick trick for the first time. Morphing my finger into a thin silver point, I stuck it in and before long, the door clicked open quietly. I would be sneaky, I told myself. Quiet.

His room messy, to say the least.

Well, it had always been a mess, with pants, shirts, dirty plates, iPods, crumpled paper and empty bottles of milk strewn everywhere, Train's excuse for a room could definitely use some spring cleaning. Everyone had told him to organize it, but Train had stayed strong and protested that it was his "man cave." Eventually, everyone had given up on persuading him otherwise.

I tentatively tiptoed through the landscape of clothing on the floor. Before I knew it, though, I had tripped on a wayward tee and landed with a thud on the carpet. So much for sneaking. Train was in front of me in an instant, offering me a hand with a side of frown.

"Let me help you up, Princess, you took quite a fall there. What are you doing here?" Train lifted me up into his arms and set me down gently on the bed. I sighed and looked down at my hands. A finger lifted up my chin and caressed my cheek. "Tell me," he purred. "Tell me everything." So I did.

Sven and Rinslet had been waiting a long time for me to come back, so before long, they had joined us in Train's room. Sven sat intently on Train's desk placed in the opposite corner of the room, and Rinslet sat cross-legged beside me, apparently recovered, filing her nails. I had explained everything to the best of my ability, right up to the end of my dream, and the uncanny similarity between Adam and I.

"It all makes sense now. Adam found us, and now he wants to capture me." My voice was not my own – it was too calm for the flurry of emotions I was feeling inside. Rinslet shook her head, still very much concentrated on her left pointer finger. Sven ran his fingers through his hair and nervously fiddled with his eye patch, while Train clenched his fists at his sides, narrowing his eyes and hissing ferociously. I brought my knees up to my chest and hugged myself. It was silent for a few moments but then we heard a knocking at the front door.

Everyone moved into action; Sven pulled his gun out and kneeled under the window, listening. Rinslet tossed Sven her binoculars silently and pulled a butterfly knife from her combat boot, standing guard at the door. Train stocked up on ammo for his gun, which was always hidden but always on him. I was the only one that stayed still on the bed, listening.

We were all nervous, and Train was the one who told me what to do in a surprisingly calm manner. Whispering, he gave me instructions.

"Listen, Eve. You're going to go downstairs – no, don't look at me like that – you're going to go down there and open the door." As if on cue, a more insistent knocking was heard, and I glanced at the door to Train's room warily. "Don't go as yourself, Princess." he licked his lips. "Protect yourself and come back alive, you hear me?" He grabbed my shoulders and looked into my eyes. Turning me around, he led me to the door, where Rinslet gave me a short black dress of hers to wear with a pair of slippers and some black lacy gloves. Lastly, she handed me a black rose.

"Put this in your hair," she whispered. I nodded, she offered me a strained smile and closed the door quietly. I changed quickly, putting the black rose in my hair last. I breathed deeply. Then, I willed myself to change into another person. I visualized a normal teenager, with dark red hair, full lips and a flirty manner. Before long, I felt the familiar buzzing sensation and I knew I was changing into my visualization. Running down the hall to the familiar staircase, I managed to glance at myself in the mirror, and smiled at the results. Perfect. Now I just had to act the part.

The doorknob was in my hand in moments. I hesitated, but then pushed my fears aside.

This was necessary. Train, Sven and Rinslet were depending on me.

I put on my best alluring smile and opened the door.