Chapter 10

Rachel’s eyes were locked on the car seat in front of her, her mind a colossal disaster while she struggled to figure out what she was supposed to do in this situation. Her fists clenched in her lap, the instinct to fight back for once being held back by her overwhelming shock and confusion.

She was in a strange car, surrounded by strangers, driving away from everything that she knew. Logically, she knew she was being kidnapped, yet it did not quite feel like that. Not that she knew what getting kidnapped felt like, but considering that they were almost eaten by a dragon- a very real, very angry dragon- and these strange people were the ones to kill it… it didn’t do much to calm her nerves, but it made her feel better about them, like the enemy of your enemy is your friend kind of thing, but not really because it was a dragon.

Except that dragon was apparently Asher, which meant Asher was dead now. But why would he attack Jacob in the first place, and since they were his friends, did that mean they would be killed too? How did he turn into a dragon, and how did they not figure it out before he did it?

Why did they take them? She didn’t know, maybe because they saw the monster? Were they secret government agents like the men in black? But then why didn’t they take the whole school? Then again, one of them did disappear for a bit, he could have erased all their memories… but then why did they take them instead of just erasing their memories too?

She couldn’t figure out where Jacob fit into this either. He knew how to use a sword, she wanted to use a sword too, but she would probably hurt herself within thirty seconds. No, she couldn’t trust herself with that. But Jacob clearly knew these people, so maybe it was more like a friend of my friend is my friend?

She shook her head, a chill running down her spine, sending her upright in her seat. She blinked, turning to Ben beside her. He was strangely calm, looking at the tips of his shoes, but maybe not strange because no matter what happened he always seemed to keep his cool. He must have felt her gaze on him, lifting his head from how he had tucked it down. She could see the worry in his eyes, but far from the utter panic she was fighting down on her own. Wordlessly, he reached a hand across the gap between their chairs, his cool fingers feeling like ice against hers.

The whole car was tense with the silence that could crack with the slightest of noise, the revving of the engine droning in her mind as harmony to her racing thoughts. Behind them, Jacob and Anna were out cold, the blond boy doing something that caused a pale light to wash over the inside of the car, leaving an eerie cold shine that shone shadows up onto the roof.

Her grip tightened on Ben’s hand as her mind went to her mom and sister. Would she see them again? What about her brother? Would he even know that she was taken? Would any of them look for her or would her mom pretend she didn’t exist anymore, just like she did when Brady left? Were they going to die? Were they going to be shipped off to a far-off country?

She turned her face back to the driver’s seat, unnerved by Ben’s silent acceptance. They had just witnessed things that should have been impossible, things that she had only read about in her favorite fantasy books. Fantasy was the keyword. As much as she had always loved the world of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, it didn’t mean she wanted dementors or monsters chasing her and her friends.

She couldn’t survive in a world where those things were real! She would be eaten or cursed; but more likely, she would get lost or stand frozen in confusion until she died, just like she did earlier. Sure, she liked reading about all of it, escaping into worlds so much more intriguing and exciting. That’s where they should have stayed though, where she could just close the book or turn off the TV and go on with her life. Not getting stuck in a car going who knows where after she witnessed her sort-of-friend turn into a dragon that got killed by an Amazon warrior with ice powers.

She felt her hand get grabbed by Ben’s other hand, his fingers, once again, icicles against her skin. She glanced over, a note of guilt hitting her as she noticed the half-moons that had been dug into his hand with her nails. She raised her gaze, meeting his. Despite his cool demeanor, she could see the worry hidden in his eyes. His face was pale, his jaw tight, and there was a slight tremble in how he held her hand with both of his. It was like the time they had explored her haunted basement all over again, except so, so much worse.

She swallowed, hard. She needed to protect him as she had always tried to do. Though these people had saved them from the dragon, she couldn’t guarantee that they had good intentions, and most people bringing strangers into cars didn’t.

Outside the window, they were approaching the familiar edge of the city, the houses growing apart from each other and the beginnings of the stretches of cornfields visible at the top of the next hill. Behind them was her home, her family, and the security of knowing what was going to happen next. She would rather be going to Spanish class right now, but instead, they were heading out into the unknown.

____________________________

The last thing Ben had expected to happen during an average Wednesday in April was for Asher Coleman to turn into a monster that was killed by an obviously trained group that somehow knew Jacob Samuels who was currently unconscious in the back seat of the shapeshifting van along with the new girl that had fallen from the sky.

No. He was expecting the quiz he had to take in fourth hour, and that lunch would be a quiet affair and not a battle scene that he was very convinced he would somehow die in. Now he and Rachel were riding in silence with the only four others that were conscious, being complete strangers that were most definitely armed and dangerous.

Rachel’s hand death-gripping his told him how her mental state was, but he was surprisingly calm. Logic told him he shouldn’t trust the people around them, but considering they just saved their lives, he doubted they were driving them off into the middle of nowhere to kill them.

Then again, they were, in fact, driving them to the middle of nowhere. So that wasn’t necessarily a good sign.

They had left Rochester behind, the roads blending as they passed cornfield after cornfield, and the occasional bean field or dairy farm with cows grazing cluelessly in a field with the stench of manure hanging in the air.

Part of him wanted to say something, ask where they were going, who they were, why they were doing… what they were doing, but considering the albino girl that had stabbed a giant monster through the head was directly behind him, obviously ready to snap, talking didn’t seem like a good idea.

He wondered what would happen if his mom came home to find that he didn’t return. The first thing that came to mind was would she notice? It went as quickly as it came because of course she would notice. She noticed if he was thirty seconds off on his arrival to dinner each evening.

He wondered if he would ever see her again, a notion that was theoretically positive considering her treatment of him, but it still stuck a knife into his heart. He didn’t want to think about his dad, in fact, he never really did.

He didn’t have much to lose if things did turn for the worse, and he was well aware of this fact. Rachel had her family to go home to, but it wasn’t like his was anything anymore.

So no, he wasn’t overly worried about the idea that they were taking them out to die. He could just hope that this car ride wasn’t heading in that direction.

They had been on the back roads for well over a half-hour at that point. He had to admit that even though he had lived there his entire life, he had absolutely no idea where they were. They had passed none of the landmarks he would have recognized, and with the number of turns they had taken, he didn’t even know if they were north, west, or east of the city.

His heart flipped when the van began to slow, and this time there was no intersection ahead. The only destination he could determine was what looked like a family farm on the left side of the road. The buildings were obscured by a thick line of evergreen trees that stretched over to a forest that wrapped around a good portion of the land.

He felt Rachel’s grip tighten even further, the nerves in his hand screamed in protest, but he didn’t care. He gave a light squeeze in return, a small attempt at comfort that only made his anxiety spike.

The van turned, the moment stretching longer than what made sense. He heard Rachel take a stuttering breath while he held his own.

They pulled off the road, the van rocking with the rough gravel under the tires. It was only a few seconds before a shock of electricity shot through his body, his eyes slamming shut with his sharp inhale. It was barely a second, but he pulled his hand free from Rachel, his brain just registering that she had let out a squeak of discomfort as well.

His vision was blurry for a moment when he reopened his eyes, but what he saw when they refocused made his mouth go dry.

Ahead, within the gap in the tree line, a large gate had appeared from nowhere. Beyond it, he could see buildings rising up, none of which had any business on a farm, and there were people. People that had previously been nonexistent through the gaps in the trees were now clearly present, two of whom were standing in wait for them as they rolled forward to the gate.

The sound of the driver’s window rolling down was surreal, the driver quietly speaking to the young man that had walked to the door. There was a quick nod and a signal from him, then the other, a woman, opened the gate with what was obvious urgency.

They pulled through, immediately turning left, away from the opening in the trees to move toward what was a surprisingly normal multi-car garage by the edge of the road which looked just like it had when they were driving on it. The garage door opened to reveal two women, and the driver mumbled what sounded like a curse in another language.

Ben surveyed the women; both looked like they were in their early twenties at the most, the one on the left catching his eye with her mane of auburn hair and tall stature. Just from looking at her, he could tell she was someone of authority, quite possibly the person in charge. Her light eyes were sharp and cold as they grew closer, her arms crossed in a manner that spoke of indisputable judgment.

He shivered, despite her narrowed gaze being fixated on the driver across from him. The other woman looked vaguely familiar, her dark brown hair pulled back by a silver crown-looking thing that looked almost identical to the one the albino girl was wearing. Her dark eyes were hard to read, but the anxious tapping of her foot revealed more to him than the scowl on her face. The black markings around her eyes caught his attention, the lines making her angular features more dramatic as she observed the other woman approach the van.

The car jerked softly as the driver shifted into park, the front doors of both the driver and passenger opening almost simultaneously. The engine fell silent, and the car became silent except for the buzzing in his ears. He could hear the muffled voices of the others outside the car, watching subtly as they moved around the vehicle to the trunk where they paused for a second before it opened.

“-No time,” the driver was saying, his voice low and rich, an unidentifiable accent hitting on the vowels of his words in his intensity. “We were about to be cornered there.”

“Get them to the healing chambers,” the woman’s voice was as cold as looking at her would assume. “But we will be discussing your failure.” Ben looked back in time to see the sneer on her face before she turned away. “If there isn’t anything else to report, I will inform Maishear of your arrival. Amber will assist you in moving the wounded.”

There weren’t any words spoken after the woman left, just the sounds of movement in the trunk, the albino girl shuffling back and forth at the edge of his vision as they sat.

Ben’s door opened, and the young girl that had been sitting in the passenger seat looked at him with large, very green eyes. “My name is Eleanor; we’re not going to hurt you. I’m going to need both of you to come with me, okay? We have a lot to talk to you about.” She switched her gaze to Rachel.

Ben looked at Rachel, her face pale and lips pressed together. Silently, they communicated like they always had, exchanging their unsurety.

“I’m sorry you have to find out this way,” The girl, Eleanor, broke the connection. “But you can’t stay here, and you can’t go home.”

Find out what? He felt his eyebrows furrow ever so slightly; he swallowed. He had zero urge to move from his seat in the van, even with the other girl uncomfortably close to him at the moment.

Rachel was quiet, her dark eyes darting to each figure around her. She stopped on something behind the girl, Ben turned to see the driver easily carrying Jacob’s unmoving figure swiftly away, the dark-haired woman following with Anna in her arms. Ben caught his breath slightly, he hadn’t gotten a good look at the blonde girl after she had fallen, but there were scorch marks visible along her arms beyond the curtain of her singed hair.

“Please,” Eleanor urged, licking her lips nervously as neither of them made to move. The sound of the trunk being slammed shut caused her to look back before returning her eyes to his.

“Get out,” the harsh husky voice of the albino girl made him jump as he turned to look at her. Her light colorless eyes burned into him, and despite her awkwardly bending over from the low height of the van’s roof, she was by far the most intimidating person he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. A mental image of her pulling the insides of the monster earlier resurfaced as he looked at her. “Stop gaping like a goldfish and get out of the way.” Her voice dropped to a growl, and he found himself unbuckling his seatbelt and sliding out of the car, Eleanor having to move quickly to not be bumped into.

He gritted his teeth after he had cleared the vehicle, regretting that he had done it. The girl followed him out, immediately circling to the blond boy that was leaning against the van with the huge sword in his hands. She snatched it back, the glare she cast the boy outshining the one she had given him by far. The blond boy didn’t seem to mind though, even angling a smirk after her as she stalked away.

Rachel was the last to leave the van, her hands wringing around themselves as she rushed to his side. She positioned herself between him and the others, just as she had done for years. This time though, he could see the fear in her shoulders, in the way that her weight was in the balls of her feet, ready to run if she had to, and it was most present in the way she wasn’t taking her eyes off the strangers for even a second.

He wanted to reach out to her, but he kept his hands at his sides, hands curled into fists.

“They’ll be okay,” the blond boy said suddenly. Ben looked at him again, he was still leaning against the van, though now that he looked closer, he was supporting himself on it more than leaning. Had he gotten hurt too? Ben hadn’t seen that, then again, he hadn’t been watching him. “I can tell you that Jacob’s had way worse.”

“This is Ryan; since he’s decided he’s not going to introduce himself,” Eleanor shot the blond in question a look, but it lost its weight with the small smile that accompanied it. “And we want to formally welcome you to our home, and apologize for the circumstances of your arrival here.”

“So formal, Ere,” Ryan teased.

She ignored him as she met each of their eyes, her green eyes seemed greener than green, unusual against her darker complexion. “I understand that today is a lot and you don’t know what’s going on, but I assure you that we didn’t bring you here to hurt you.”

Ben looked her over, she must have only been twelve or thirteen, by far the youngest of the group that they had ridden with. Meanwhile, Ryan looked to be their age. He narrowed his eyes in thought, intrigued.

“Yeah,” Ryan interjected, a humorous curve to the corner of his mouth that made him look younger. “We don’t bite. Hard.”

Ben could see Rachel’s face, which had been tense with fear, twist in a cringe at his ‘joke.’

“If you would follow us, we would like to show you around, as well as where you will be staying.”

“Staying,” Rachel spoke for the first time, blankly restating what the girl said. Though her dark eyes were filled with fear, her tone was as hard as nails.

Ryan pushed off of the van, swinging the back door closed as he did so. The sound echoed off the blank walls of the garage, as the blond moved closer to Eleanor. His silvery eyes now had a sharp glint to them when he locked his eyes on Rachel.

“We can talk,” Eleanor elaborated quickly. “But first, please.” She gestured to the door the others had disappeared through.

Ben felt his curiosity tug him toward the opening, but Rachel’s presence kept his feet rooted in the spot.

“I want to know what that thing was,” Rachel’s voice was tight and dry; like she was having difficulty getting the words out.

Ryan’s face changed slightly, shooting a glance at the side of Eleanor’s face. “It was a Hytroxae,” he stated.

“Why?”

Ben understood her simple phrasing, but he could see the others taken aback by it.

“We don’t know,” Ryan admitted.

“Why did you take us?”

“We-” he stopped. “It’s something we need to talk about with you.”

“So do it,” Rachel narrowed her eyes in a familiar challenge.

“First,” Eleanor looked her squarely in the face. “You have to come with us.”

Ben nudged her softly with his knuckles, meeting her gaze unflinchingly when she turned.

She huffed as she turned back to them, her hands tense at her sides when she spoke an incredibly forced: “Fine.”

Eleanor nodded but reached behind her back. In her hand, as it came back into view, was a simple golden rod. She moved to Ben before holding it out, her head slightly tilted back at the height difference between them. “Take this for now.”

Ben looked at it, his nerves jumping slightly as he realized that she had been carrying a spear that greatly resembled this rod that had somehow vanished somewhere in the chaos.

Slowly, he reached for it. The cool metal tingled at his fingertips as he brushed them against the solid surface. He jumped as the girl grabbed his hand, placing it firmly on it. It sprung to life; expanding on both ends to reach what about matched her height. It felt odd and tiny in his hands, the sharpened tip tilting with the uneven weight distribution so he moved his other hand to stabilize it.

“Let’s go,” Ryan grinned.

Ben looked at the weapon in his hands, unsure of what he was supposed to do with it. He could have stood there for longer, staring at it, but he glanced at Rachel to find her doing the same. Her eyes slipped to meet his, and he could see her conflict. He understood, and they stayed that way for a few seconds, debating with only eye contact connecting the two before Ben shrugged and began moving to the door, Rachel following at a slower pace.

The afternoon sun glared into his eyes as they stepped free of the building, revealing the clearing he had caught glimpses of when coming through the gate. It was larger than he had thought, expanding to fit several buildings that encompassed the outer edges of the field.

It was a mixture of styles, but all looked like they had been built fairly recently beside the farmhouse to their right which was certainly the original building on the land. Instead of where a barn would stand across the grass on their left, a large, two-story stone building rose from the ground. It looked out of place, too regal to be standing in the middle of nowhere. Its roof was arched in ways reminiscent of old churches and ancient temples, the gray stone almost white in the light.

The buildings ahead of them were more traditionally built, but each was unique. Signs hanging by the doors revealed a surprisingly normal shop lineup with stores for food and necessities, and a small café with small tables set up outside.

“This is the main square,” Eleanor stated the obvious, gesturing for them to continue forward. “Here at the academy, we have about a thousand people living across the land, so it’s best to have everything they need in this common area.”

Ben felt his eyes grow large at that number, though from the number of people that were currently scattered across the clearing, he considered the similarity to a small town. The residents were watching them curiously, but he was struck by the fact that none of them looked surprised or concerned at their strange presence.

“Living here allows our people to live without fear,” Eleanor continued. “It’s not perfect, but we’re rebuilding slowly, and it’s the closest we have to our home.”

Her vague phrasing piqued Ben’s attention, and beside him, he could envision Rachel’s eyes narrowing.

“Our team,” Ryan interrupted. “Our observance, we live in a building of our own.”

“Yes,” Eleanor nodded at him. “We live beyond the tree line that way.” She pointed broadly to their left. “Most of the private residences are spread on the other sides, while the observances are all over there. We only really deal with Kesritae’s though.”

It was clear they were meaning well with this information, but unfortunately, with no context, they might as well have been talking gibberish while Ben concentrated on figuring out what it was that they weren’t saying.

They followed the stone path that wound around the outside of the grassy area, passing various people as they went. “Currently,” Ryan said as he gave a nod to a passing man. “We have five on our team. Cameron, who drove us today, Eleanor and I, Elaine, and Jacob.”

Ben wasn’t surprised, but Rachel sucked in a gulp of air at the confirmation.

“We are… us,” Ryan shrugged as he looked at Eleanor. “Cameron is a mysterious serious man that has stuck around for some reason, and Elaine and Jacob are fraternal twins of the headmaster that like destroying things for various reasons. Don’t tell them I said that.”

“Ryan likes to give everyone fun little descriptions,” Eleanor sighed. “We are all welcoming though, but Elaine means better than she lets on.”

“So you say,” Ryan’s eyes flashed, but with what, Ben couldn’t say.

He could only determine that the albino girl was somehow Jacob’s twin sister, which was truly baffling since even beyond the obvious, they looked nothing alike.

“Amber, who you met earlier is also their sister, but that’s complicated,” Ryan added. “She is also a joy to interact with.”

Eleanor nudged him lightly with her elbow, giving the slightest shake to her head.

“Anyway,” Ryan continued cheerily. “The other woman you met is Kesritae, and she’s kind of our boss. Don’t let her get to you, she might bite your head off if she gets too close.”

Eleanor shot him another warning glance.

Ben watched them, his dark blue eyes darting between the two. They were almost behaving as though the day was normal, like they hadn’t witnessed the impossible, the very possible death of two people, or kidnapped them. But what worried Ben, is that he had a small part of him that was put at ease, more so than he had felt in his own house for many years.

A few more minutes passed by, Ryan and Eleanor each taking turns to point things out and vaguely explaining something or another. Truly, it was beginning to all get mixed up in his head. Rachel had remained quiet, but Ben could feel she had something on the tip of her tongue.

It finally came as Ryan announced that they were going to see the observance building. They were nearing the trees when she spoke, her brown eyes searching. “So why are we here?”

They all stopped, turning to meet her intense stare. “What?” Eleanor’s face was unreadable.

“Why have you brought us here?”

Ben met Ryan’s eyes, the familiar spark of hesitation there in his eyes, which Ben noted had grown even more silver since the conversation had started. “Why don’t we discuss this once we sit down,” the blond said slowly.

“No,” Rachel’s tone held an edge to it.

There was a moment of silence, and then a heavy sigh. “You, me, everyone else here,” Ryan’s face was more serious than it had been the entire conversation. “We are not like other people. We have our own cultures, beliefs, languages…” He trailed off.

Ben felt his stomach sink. Whatever was about to come out of his mouth next, he knew it was going to change both their lives forever.

“I grew up in the human world like you, but I was lucky that my parents were open about our past and what our people have gone through.” Ryan paused. “That we all are children of Ariya, Hecathians, and not of Earth.”

Ben caught his breath, while beside him, Rachel stood stalk still.

He was barely aware of her exclaiming to everyone present.

“What the FU-”