Star POV

I walked slowly, trailing behind the boys as my mind wandered. Tears pricked my eyes, threatening to fall as my thoughts raced back to Saron. Could she really be dead? I shuddered remembering her still body, cold to the touch.

"Hey, she'll be okay." Joel wrapped his arm over my shoulder comfortingly as he smiled down at me.

"You don't know that," Tom said, staring blankly ahead.

"If she dies, so will Edward," Zion stated, fire in his eyes.

"You know Saron wouldn't want that. She sacrificed her life for him," I said softly, careful not to anger him.

He stared at me silently, fists clenched. He knew I was right.

"I'm going back to my Wing," Zion said, flitting away before we could respond.

"Do you really think he'd kill him?" Jeremy asked, eyes wide.

"No doubt," I said, remembering Zion's cold gaze, full of fury.

"Tom, she'll be alright." Joel assured, placing an arm on Tom's shoulder. I noticed Tom had distanced himself from the rest of us, his eyes mirroring Zion, full of rage. It didn't surprise me, after all he was closer to Saron than the rest of us were. He seemed to understand her more, when the rest of us couldn't figure her out.

As we walked past the Cafeteria, my stomach growled, reminding me of my hunger.

"Let's eat before we head back," Tom offered walking towards the entrance. We trailed him, quickly getting food before heading to an empty table.

"So what's the plan?" Jeremy asked, stuffing his face with food.

"If she's stuck inside her head, we need to find some way to get her out."

I cocked my head at Tom before asking, "But how? It's not like we can go inside her head-"

I gasped, realizing we could. Why didn't I think of this before?

Smiling, Joel lit up. "That's it! We need to go inside her head and tell her to wake up."

"It can't be that easy," Tom doubted.

"It's still worth a shot," Jeremy offered.

"I've never done it before. One of you should try to jump into her head," I admitted, embarrassed.

"I'll try," Tom said, crossing his arms on the table before closing his eyes. We watched him silently, waiting for him to return to us. He didn't budge a muscle as his eyebrows narrowed in confusion. Minutes passed of complete silence as we watched and waited. With a gasp, his eyes flew open, bouncing between each of us as he struggled to form words.

"What? What did you see? Did you find her?" I asked.

Shaking his head, worry lines began to crease his forehead.

"What did you see Tom?" Jeremy demanded, concerned.

"I couldn't find her. It was....nothing. Just empty darkness, like she didn't even exist. I've never seen anything like it."

"Joel, you have to try," I persisted, refusing to give up.

Joel eyed Tom fearfully before reluctantly closing his eyes. His eyes shot open in under a minute, his face pale, like he had seen a ghost. My heart sank, losing my last sliver of hope. I blinked back tears as I tried to make sense of what had happened. Why couldn't they find her? Was she really gone?

"You saw it didn't you?" Tom said, still visibly shaken from what he had seen.

"I don't know where she is but something is wrong," Joel whispered.

I stared down at my hands, frowning as I processed what just happened. If Saron was trapped in her mind, why couldn't we find her? Unless she wasn't there.

I rose up, stacking the empty platters before tilting my head for the boys to follow me out. We slinked out of the Cafeteria quickly, walking the rest of the way back silently until we arrived at our Wing. As we walked in, we noticed a crowd of students in the Common.

Jeremy looked at me, confused. I shrugged as I looked around, just as confused as he was.

"Weird," Joel commented.

As we walked through the Common, the kids got quieter, eying us suspiciously. I rolled my eyes in disgust. After everyone discovered Saron was Arogen, they feared not only her but us as well. They avoided us like we had leprosy. As her friends, we were guilty by association. Guilty of what you may ask? I'll let you know when I find out. I'd gotten accustomed to the stares and whispers but that didn't mean it annoyed me. I don't know how Saron kept so calm. Every glare, every whisper, every snicker it made me want to lose control. I always admired that about Saron. She was more powerful than any of us, but you'd never know by looking at her. She was always so calm and collected. I don't know how she dealt with it, especially with all that power inside of her.

"Is it true?" a short, geeky boy with glasses way too big for his face asked, stepping in front of me and blocking my path.

"Hey," Joel yelled, pushing him out of the way before wrapping his arm around my waist protectively.

The boy put his arms up as a gesture that he meant no harm before asking again, "The hybrid girl, is she dead?"

"The hybrid girl has a name," Tom growled, stepping towards the boy angrily.

"Saron," Alice corrected, stepping forward from the crowd. "He's asking about Saron," she repeated, clearing her throat.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME," I exploded, shoving her back so violently she fell to the ground. I stepped forward, looming over her menacingly before I felt myself being pulled back.

"Star!" Jeremy grabbed onto my arm, holding me back before I could inflict further damage. I shook him off as rage flooded inside of me. After everything, she had the nerve to utter her name.

"Star, I'm sorry," Alice apologized, her gaze softening.

I paused, narrowing my eyes in confusion at the show of emotion.

"I shouldn't have kicked her out."

"It was you?!" Tom roared, stepping towards her with murder in his eyes.

"Tom, calm down. Let's hear her out," Joel offered, stepping between him and Alice before returning her soft gaze with one of disgust, reminding her he wasn't on her side. That was Joel, always the peacemaker. Sometimes I wondered how we got along so well, being such polar opposites. Tom scowled, reluctantly backing down.

"We heard what she did, saving us from the dark magic. We were wrong about her," Alice said, cautiously while maintaining her gaze with me.

Laughing dryly, Jeremy shot back, "She never did anything to any of you and you still hated her for who she was."

"I know, I-"

"Save it Alice. When she comes back, you can tell her whatever you have to say to her face," I said confidently, before shoving my way through the crowd with the boys hot on my trail.

Silently fuming I turned around to say bye to the boys before ducking into my section. I peeled off my clothes and changed quickly before burying myself underneath the covers of my bed. My thoughts kept going back to Tom and Joel's rattled faces when they tried to enter Saron's mind. What did they see? Why did they look so terrified? Taking a deep breath, I decided to try to jump into her mind. I had to find her. I had to know she was still there.

I pictured Saron in my mind until I formed a clear picture of her in my brain. Her thick, curly ginger hair that always looked perfect. Her hearty laughter. Her long, slender frame with her glowing, dark skin. That subtle smile of her hers that hid so many secrets. I felt myself being pulled. I held back for a moment, surprised it had worked before letting myself go completely. In under a second, I found myself standing in complete darkness. I'd been in dark rooms before but this was a different kind of darkness. It was reeked of despair and hopelessness. Every passing second made me more paranoid as I squinted my eyes in efforts to see more clearly. It was no use. There was nothing here. Nothing but darkness.

"SAROOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNN" I screamed, desperate to find her.

I heard my voice, echo back to me, distorted. Where was I? A cave? I shivered, creeped out. The eery silence sent goosebumps up my spine. The darkness surrounded me like a blanket as I turned every which way for something, anything. A clue. A hint. A sliver of hope. A trace of her. An escape. Finding nothing, I paused, standing frozen in the blackness, blind as a bat. Fear started to creep inside of me as the dark threatened to swallow me whole. I gulped, pushing my fears down as the voice in my head screamed at me to get out.

"SAROOONNN?" I tried once more, hearing my voice echo back at me once more. It was terrifying to hear. I didn't understand. Was I even in Saron's mind? Tears escaped my eyes as I accepted the fact that she wasn't here. Unable to stay any longer, I closed my eyes, imagining myself back in my bed as I felt myself being pulled out.

As I felt myself being tugged, I could've sworn I heard a faint whisper as I escaped the darkness.

Perhaps I'd imagined it?

I threw the covers off of me, shivering at the memory of the soft whisper. My mind was probably playing tricks on me. My mind kept traveling back to the darkness. I was never scared of the dark as a child but that darkness shook me to my core. I hope Saron wasn't in that darkness. The few minutes I was in was enough to scare me. I pulled the covers closer to my body, willing myself to forget before dozing off for the night.

Hey guys, sorry this chapter was a bit short. The rest of them will be longer!