Only about three more chapters guys :(
A couple of you have said you haven't been able to view chapters. Don't know why that's happening so sorry bout that
For those who can read this, enjoy...
Alex
I was shoved back into my tiny cell with another tray of so-called food in front of me. I ignored my grumbling stomach, refusing to eat something when I couldn't even tell what it was. I huddled up on the bed, wondering when they'd take me for the next meeting. Finally Hugh arrived again, with a bag of cheeseburgers and fries in his hand. He chucked them to me with a smile. "Thought you might need some proper food."
I scoffed them down, burning my oesophageus before a guard approached and took me back to the grey room, this time Justin and Max were sitting opposite.
They looked…oddly expressionless. They didn't get up to hug me and I thought that was kind of weird but I sat down anyway.
"How are you doing?" Max asked sympathetically.
"Crap," I answered truthfully. "But that's to be expected."
An uneasy silence filled the air and I decided it was up to me to move this conversation along. "Found a way to get back yet?"
"Maybe," answered Justin and I wanted to ask more but with the guard in the corner, I couldn't say too much and neither could he.
It was bothering me how…calm they looked. I would have expected Justin to be hysterical and panicky like he usually was in these situations but he just looked completely in control. Somewhere underneath, it stung a little that they didn't seem to care more. But maybe they were holding it in, trying to be macho or something.
"We're going to miss you Alex," Max said, and he….smiled.
Okay, I was definitely missing something here. But soon it was over and I didn't have any more time to press for answers. I gazed questioningly at them as I was led away but all I saw were blank faces and unreadable eyes.
A little while later, Hugh returned for me yet again. This time I wasn't in the grey room. I couldn't tell for sure since all the lights were off but I was pretty certain we hadn't taken the same route. Then the lights started to flicker and I could see Mason on the other side. He was sitting on the ground, looking quite weak. I ran to him and grabbed his hand. "Mason? Mason?"
His eyes blinked open. "Alex? What are you doing here?"
"What did they do to you?" I asked, running our intertwined hands over his forehead; he was very hot.
"Wolfsbane. The only way they can keep me from changing."
"You've got an hour guys, until the council finds out you're not visiting someone else. Use it wisely."
I looked up at the sound of the voice in the room that I recognised as Hugh's but he was nowhere to be seen. Smiling, I snuggled into Mason's arms.
One hour. That was all I had left with him.
"You shouldn't be doing this Alex," he murmured as I kissed his hand, "Saving me."
"You're worth saving," I replied, stretching upwards to kiss his cheek.
We sat there for a while, his arms around me as he tried to recover some strength. I traced patterns on his palm and he watched. "I have a confession to make."
I looked up. "What?"
"I did see you, when you were in the bathroom," he said with a cheeky grin.
I blushed. "I knew it! I knew I didn't get the towel on in time."
"It doesn't matter anyway because I got a good long look at you anyway a couple of hours later."
I pretended to swat him. "I saw you too."
"Yeah I know, but I'm not as easily embarrassed as you," he pointed out, tapping my nose with a calloused fingertip.
"You used to be. You used to be all shy and bashful."
"Things change."
I curled up closer into him, trying as hard as I could, to memorize every detail of this moment so I could have something to focus on when the time came. Yes, things did change.
When the hour was up, I was ripped away from him. It took everything I had to walk away. He pressed me to his chest and kissed my forehead before Hugh finally yanked me away.
"I'm sorry Alex, really I am."
I didn't say anything, I couldn't. He brought me back down and as soon as I was locked away, a guard re-appeared at his post.
I sat on the flimsy bed, my mind in overdrive. Who was I kidding? I wasn't ready to say goodbye. Today had just reinforced that. I wasn't ready to let the people I loved go and they weren't ready to let me go either.
I remembered how Hugh had come rushing in yesterday when he'd seen I was distressed. I wondered if that would work again.
I bent over, gasping and groaning loudly. The guard saw me and walked over to the bars, gazing in. "Hey, you alright?"
I just groaned again, louder, ignoring him. He rapped on the bars, trying to get my attention. "Hey, you, what's going on?"
"Help me," I said in my most pathetic voice. The door swung open and the guard came in to help me.
I timed it perfectly, rearing up and swinging my legs upwards into his gut. I wasn't exactly a martial arts expert but I'd seen enough movies to have some idea. Mostly it was just instinct that drove me. He stumbled at the sudden, unexpected force and I didn't waste time, swinging my fists like a mad woman, connecting with his face. While he crumbled to the ground, I started hopping and shaking my hand which hurt like hell; how did guys do this? I swore something was broken but now was not the time to reflect.
I winced at the sound his head made when he hit the ground. He was alive but he'd be out for a while. I slipped my arms underneath his and lifted him up slowly onto the bed. I felt like I was tearing my arms out of the socket but I plunged on and finally got him up. I grabbed the sheet and threw it over his head so it would look like I was sleeping. It wouldn't fool many people but I didn't need it to last long. Only long enough to get away.
After what seemed like endless corridors passed, I found Mason. I saw him, nodding off in the corner where I' left him and rushed to his cell bars. "Mason? Mason wake up!"
He rubbed his eyes and they widened when they saw me. He seemed to be disoriented, looking everywhere until he seemed to see something over my shoulder. "Alex look out!"
I ducked instantly and watched as a fist arced through the air above me. I pushed my legs back and caught the ones of the guard behind me who tripped and smacked straight into the bars, face first.
By now, Mason was on his feet, swaying. He seemed to be growing stronger by the second as the poisonous substance in his body faded away. I could already see the changes starting to take control of his body. He growled at the guard, who was still unbelievably conscious after his face plant, and Mason with inhuman speed raced to the bars. He reached between them with his furry claws and grabbed the guy's shoulders, holding him in place before swinging him forward to once again bang his head. Eventually he faltered.
I stepped back as he tore apart the gate, his sinewy arms rippling under his sweater. Simultaneously, alarm bells started ringing furiously, screaming out danger. It was time to split.
We heard frequent footsteps approaching and he just nodded in the other direction. "Get out of here. I'll distract them, hold them off."
"We can't split up," I exclaimed, "That's suicide."
"They'll expect us to stay together. You go, they'll come after me."
I remained rooted to the spot. "I meant what I said, you're not dying for me."
"Go," he urged.
The footsteps and rumbles of a crowd got louder and fear made me run, while love tried to make me go back.
Justin
I locked and loaded the gun Hugh had handed me. I tried to shake off the nerves I felt. I'd never picturing myself holding a firearm but then again, I'd never pictured myself breaking my sister out of jail either so there was a first time for everything.
"Thanks Hugh. I mean, not to sound ungrateful or anything but why are you helping?"
Hugh focused intently on polishing his wand before looking up. "Let's just say I owe it to an old friend."
"Why do I get a bat?" Max asked, holding it up and admiring it.
"Because I don't trust you with a gun in any lifetime. You with a bat is dangerous enough."
He rolled his eyes and I prayed I wouldn't have to use the weapon in my hand. I didn't want to hurt anyone but to save Alex and get back to our own time, I would.
We'd decided Hugh was on the front line, considering he had a wand. I was behind him and Max was behind me. He led us down the flights of stairs to the bottom level where Alex was being kept. We kept largely out of sight and if we were stopped, Hugh took care of it with a handy memory spell, making them think they never saw us. We finally got down to Alex's cell and it was…empty. Empty.
"Where is she? Where is Alex?" I asked, panicking.
"You don't think…." Max trailed off and it was easy to assume he thought they'd already come for her to be killed.
"No that's not until tomorrow," Hugh informed us. He peered into the bed and that's when we saw someone under the sheets. He pulled them back and there was an unconscious guard with blood coming out of his nose.
We all looked at each other. "Oh my god, she's escaped."
Alex
I ran through the winding corridors, living off pure adrenaline as I begged my legs to move faster. I moved past a hanging mirror and briefly saw an image of a dark haired woman. And I did what had to be a contender for one of the stupidest things in my life: I stopped dead. With everyone after me, trying to break out of prison, I stopped.
I'm not so vain that I simply had to stop to see my own reflection. I had looked into the mirror plenty of times since I'd arrived in the future, admiring my new, older body. But this time was different, because it was like I was seeing myself for the first time.
As I'd run past, I had only caught a glimpse of myself and this blur I'd seen had reminded me so much of something. Someone. And I knew who.
It was me. The dark haired woman who pushed us into the time portal, the one who started this whole thing, sent us into this crazy world where we knew nothing. I'd almost given no thought to the mystery woman, having been so preoccupied with changing my fate and finding Mason. But it was easy to see now, like finally finding that where that annoying piece in a jigsaw puzzle fit.
I reached fingertips out to touch the mirror, hoping that something might happen as I did. I connected with the glass and the reflection smiled at me, a rare feat considering I was still gazing in wonderment.
Time to go home.
I heard the echoing voice inside my head but still looked around, as if hoping to see something. I didn't, not until two guards came running around the corner.
Still in a daze from my revelation, I tried to move closer to offer myself back in their custody when a crack filled my ears. The guards stared at me as I swayed on my feet. I numbly glanced down and saw a pool of red around my abdomen.
How strange. I'd been shot but I didn't even feel pain. I just felt tired.
I slumped to the ground and they moved closer, staring with pity in their eyes down at me. I blinked rapidly and simply hugged my stomach as I lay down slowly. I felt like I was floating on air, light as a feather. It was funny; I'd never imagined death quite like this but I guessed everyone was different. Maybe it was because I didn't really belong here that I felt nothing really. I'd been a living ghost this whole time, having a place here when I didn't belong.
Maybe this was how it was supposed to be. After all, I made right with my parents, my brothers. I got one night with Mason, apologized to him.
Mason. I hoped he would be alright. I really did love him. Even if my actions didn't always show it. I wanted him to be happy. I hoped he would be.
"Alex, Alex!"
Through the blurriness of my fading vision, I saw a brown haired figure emerge and it wasn't hard to guess who it was. He bent down next to me and I felt his hot salty tears fall onto my face.
"Get off of me!" he yelled, and I assumed he was talking to the fuzzy guards behind him, who were attempting to apprehend him as he knelt down next to me.
"Why did you shoot her? She was a mortal, defenceless."
"Prison policy. All escapees are shot on sight. She was scheduled for death row anyway."
I saw him grit his teeth before he leaned down and eclipsed my lips in a kiss. He finally backed away, rubbing the edge of my chin with his thumb and letting his fingers slide across my cheek. "We'll meet again love."
"I know," I said, and I truly believed we would.
Then a bright white light overwhelmed me and I was no more.