Chapter 8. Abigail: Car Ride

Note: I forgot that the manor was destroyed, in my story the manor still exists. I have my reasons.

Abigail

I still refused to eat. I would not be accepting food from those I don't fully trust, even if one of them tried to save me. Daniel should understand this.

I picked at the food in front of me, Daniel said it was toast. I could feel Damian's glare, his heart was beating in a different rhythm than I was used to. 'Da Thump. Da thump. Da thump.' Steady, yet there was something that told me that he was uncertain. 'Though his glare was saying he didn't believe one thing I had said about that woman.'

In my own way, I knew Damian, though we never spent any time together. Back at the fortress, I heard this heartbeat. I saw him trying to prove himself to… him. What did Damian have to prove to a man like him? A man who caused so much harm? Daniel once told me that Damian was raised differently. He was treated as a weapon yes, however, to follow his orders willingly. This made no sense to me. Though Damian followed his orders, I can still tell that Damian was his own person. He was making his own way.

Jason spoke, shaking me out of my thoughts. "Kid, you need to eat something."

"I'm fine."

"Ab's. You need your strength." Daniel said. I shook my head.

Jason sighed. "Well, you sure are stubborn. I guess it runs in the family." He looked at a circle on the wall, ticking. "I guess we should go now, before traffic hits. I'll just tell golden boy to pick something up to eat, other than cereal."

"Golden boy?" I asked.

"You'll meet him soon enough." Jason threw a coat at me, then another to Daniel. "Come on."

The coat I was given was huge, it felt like animal skin, but I couldn't be sure, Daniel had a similar coat. It smelled like Jason, gunpowder and metal and something else I didn't know, like protection. We followed Jason downstairs, Daniel had grabbed our bags, Damian was carrying his own bag too. Jason took something out of his back pocket, tapped it a couple of times, and brought it up next to his ear and talked to it. A voice came from the object, clearly a man's voice, but I had to cover my ears because it was giving me a headache.

Daniel frowned at me. 'You, ok?' he mouthed.

"The thing he is talking to is giving me a headache." I whispered back. He looked at Jason, then back to me. After a minute he seemed to understand.

Damian was behind all of us, watching me and Daniel. Shoulders tense, as if we were sharing dark secrets. I don't doubt Damian can read lips. Daniel, Ruby, Dean, and David were all taught to do so. I don't need to read lips, as I can hear everything anyway, though I know some words.

We were led to a type of storage area. There were tools on the walls, the tables were covered in small bits and bobs, a heater in the corner. A thick liquid covered pretty much everything, though it wasn't blood, it smelled odd but not terrible. To the left was a buffed-up bike, it had two wheels, but it was much bulkier than any bike I've seen before, a helmet rests on the handles, it was obviously well tended. To the right, was a car, long, tall, and built well. On the front grate was an odd scarring, 'Subaru'. Not a clue what that means. Nor do I care right now, too many other things to learn.

Jason stopped talking to the object and placed it back in his pocket. He went to the wall covered in tools and picked up a set of keys and pressed a button. A door lifted, rolling into the ceiling. 'Grrrn' I stepped back, breathing hard. Gears moving, opening the door for the next person to be hurt, awaiting orders to…

Daniel grabbed my shoulder. "Hey, breathe. Five, four, three, two, one. Five, four, three, two, one."

I pinched myself, the small prick of pain woke me up from the past. After another shaky breath, I gave Daniel a small smile.

Jason didn't seem to be aware of my panic. He turned and clicked the keys, the car clicked twice. "Come on, get in." Jason opened a door, and got in, Damian went for the seat next to his up front. Me and Daniel climbed in the back, me behind Jason, I knew that Daniel didn't want to be in Damian's eyesight right now.

I couldn't see out of the car. Yes, the car had win- windows, but I couldn't hear anything clearly outside. Trapped. Caged. Waiting for him to…

I flinched. When Daniel touched my shoulder. He was counting down from five again, but this time, I couldn't control my breathing. He is going to make me hurt people. No. No. I don't want to.

Suddenly my window came down slightly. Cars passing to the left, going the other way. People walking down either side of the road, going into buildings. The weight lifted from my chest; I could breathe again.

I noticed that Daniel was still talking. "Are you ok?"

I nodded. Still shaken.

"Kid, what was that?" Jason asked.

"Couldn't see."

"But you said-"

"Tt. Todd, her hearing was muffled due to your insufferable car. With her hearing limited to a very confined space, she proceeded to have a panic attack." Damian defended.

"Kid, is the demon brat telling the truth?" Jason asked.

I wrinkled my nose at 'demon brat'. I am sure Damian isn't a demon, that's the evil man. Some words from Damian I didn't understand. Insufferable, confined, proceeded. "Y- Yes, even if I don't understand some words he said."

Jason waited, then he spoke again. "Does it help with the window down?"

"Yes."

Jason nodded. The rest of the ride was in spoken silence. Not one word, the hum and noises of cars passing, and the thump of heartbeats were the only noises. Three rhythms were around me. This time it was in a car, instead of a cave. Three rhythms I know, but in a different way.

Daniel and Damian. In looks, they seemed the same. The same scowl, height, voice, tells, and face. So much like Dean and David. Though they acted differently, yet the same.

From what I could tell, Damian was defensive, quick to talk back, like being feared. A kindness is also in Damian, though I haven't seen much of it yet.

Daniel was kind of like Damian. Defensive, a want to prove himself, yet Daniel was used to living in fear like me. Used to the pain, being seen as an object. Daniel is more open with kindness, at least to me. He knows when I need help.

Dean was actually a little taller than the rest, more muscles, overall, his body looked kind of like Jason's. Stronger, yet he seemed the most rash. Loud, which got us caught. Protective, to the point of death.

David. He was quiet, open to care, wanting to learn, and taught me what family meant. From what I've seen, he was the fastest. He figured out many things, how to set traps, make weapons from nature, make fire. Also very protective, though he waited, didn't rush to action.

Damian is overall the most like Ruby. Ruby was quick to act, but she thought things through. She tried to control her emotions, though she could never fool me. She had a harder time with caring. In the open. She always did little things to show she cared. Her words and tone sound so much like Damian. Damian is just using… not simple words.

Before my sight was changed, Ruby, Dean, Daivd, and I managed to get to a little town. In the main part was an odd tall box, it had a curtain on one side, and writing on the metal. David said the word was 'Photobooth'. We had some coins and discovered that the thing took our likeness. We took a few pho- photos. Outside the box spit out a few strips of paper, with our likeness. We each kept one, so we would never forget what we looked like.

After my sight was changed, and we managed to escape again, Ruby, Dean and David knew I couldn't see the ph-photo anymore. Again, we managed to get to a town different from the last and gave me a locket. How they got it I don't know. It's a simple one with an 'A' on the outside. Somehow, they managed to scar the metal on the inside with their likeness.

I touched the locket on my neck, and the old strip of paper with our likenesses in my pocket. How I was able to keep them, I don't know.

The car finally stopped, and the window went up. "Time to get out." Jason said.

We did and were met with a huge building. At least as tall as some hills, possibly trees. We stepped onto gravel, and cars that went back, to a gate we just passed through, which is currently closing. Trap. There are four other cars, all on the outside of the circle, to let other cars pass.

"Well, looks like almost everyone is here." Jason said, "Only Bab's car is missing, Duke is probably already in the manor."

We followed Jason and Damian up to the steps.

"TT, put your hoods on. We don't want to ruin the surprise."