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"Up! Up! Up! Everyone up and at 'em!" Vladimir makes his way through the hallways, shouting to rise everyone from their slumbers.

"Hawk? You up?" He knocks on my door. I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Yep." I wipe the sleep from my eyes with a yawn. Rex hops to the ground to stretch. Then it hits me- we're leaving for the attack today. I silently curse. What if things don't go right? No. Deep breaths. You will win- Adrien said you would. He believed in this more than anything, so you'll win. Guthrie Harper will fall. Deep breaths, Hawk. You can do this. You can do this.

After changing, I get breakfast then head down to the basement to load up on stars and find my sword. "Where, oh where did you go?" I can locate every sword except mine.

"Rex, could you find my sword with that dog nose of yours?" He just looks confused.

"What are you looking for, Hawk?" Sasha's grabbing a spear and several daggers on the opposite side of the basement.

"My sword. Do you know what happened to it?"

"Didn't you have it when you were captured?"

"I don't think so."

"Hm. I'm not sure then. Jay might have it? Sorry."

"Where's Sarah?"

"Getting breakfast. Don't worry, I didn't leave her without a babysitter. She's not going anywhere."

"Good. I just wanted to double check."

"You ready?"

"Ready to win."

"Indeed. I can't wait to see Guthrie Harper's face when he realizes he's been defeated."

"You're on the Spinach team?"

"No, but I'm hoping that if we defeat the Wasteland guards and the Clicks fast enough that we'll be able to join you guys."

"That would be something."

"Fellow T-LOOT-Dians! We're meeting on the front lawn in five minutes! Please come join us as soon as possible!" Vladimir hollers, and his message is relayed throughout the base.

"Will this sword work?" Sasha picks up one that looks similar to mine.

"This one seems a little more balanced. Thanks though." I hold up an iron sword with a design of an eagle on the handle, and run through a few attacks to get the feel of it. Wish us luck, Adrien. We're going to win for you.

"Sounds good." I follow Sasha up the stairs and outside.

Vladimir's standing in the back of the Slash. A crowd it gathering around him, more adding to it every second. It's an army. "Come. Gather 'round! We went over the plan yesterday, so everyone knows what's going to happen once we reach Capital City, right?" We did? Hawk! Just kidding. You'd better not be joking. I'm not! Are you? No. Are you sure? Yeah, I'm sure. I know what's happening. "The Spinach group will be using the Slash to go to the base of the nearby mountain, which we are calling the Capital Mountain from here on out. The Carrots and Dandelions will be traveling in the various vehicles off to my right. The Rosemarys, Lily and Remy, will be traveling on the dirt bikes to my left." Wait, Remy is attacking? He's a kid!

"Sor-." I raise my hand, but am cut off by Sasha.

"Shut up, Hawk!" Sasha elbows me in the side as she hisses at me.

"Do you have a question, Hawk?" Vladimir asks.

"No. Sorry, continue on."

"Ok. All groups will travel as a group to the base of Capital Mountain opposite Capital City, and will split up from there to get into position. The Spinach group will go to the right, and the Carrots and Dandelions will go to the left. Once the Carrots and Dandelions come into view of Capital City, they will then begin the attack to give the Spinach group the break they need. The Rosemarys will relay messages between groups. And we're good from there?" Vladimir scans the crowd for hands, but there are none.

"Let's go."

"Hawk!" Jay runs over to me.

"Yeah?"

"I thought you might want this," He says, and hands me my sword. I take it, feeling the familiar weight pull on my arm.

"Thank you. I was wondering where it went!"

"I found it after you'd been captured, and I kept it until you had come back, but I forgot until today. Sorry." He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to make one little modification, though." I trade the simple sphere that had adorned the handle before for the eagle that was on the sword I found in the basement. Sorry to whoever this had belonged to before.

"Adrien?"

"He told us we would win. I thought this might, I don't know. Like, bring him along with us? Stupid idea, I know. No need to rub it in."

"No. I wasn't going to say that. It's a nice idea."

"Jay! Hawk! We don't have all day! Come on! Go get in the Slash!" Vladimir leans out the window and jabs his finger towards the rusty truck.

"We're going, Vladimir!" Jay jogs over and hops into the driver's seat. I climb into the seat behind him, and Rex sits down at my feet.

"So, we're killing Guthrie Harper?" The guy sitting next to me asks.

"Yep."

"Wow. I can't believe we're actually doing this," He breathes.

"What are your names? I already know yours, Mia." Jay glances into the rearview mirror.

"I'm Gary."

"Nice bow and arrow." I gesture to his weapon.

"Thanks. I'm glad I can finally put it to some good use."

"You?" Jay looks up once more, briefly, before turning his attention back to the road.

"I'm Callie."

"Cool spear you've got there."

"Thank you." She nods.

"Wait. So how much longer do we have? I've never been out of Raydowne," Gary asks when we pass the final houses and the last few bushes and shrubs of the town.

"Probably another forty minutes or so until we reach Capital Mountain. Give or take a bit," Jay replies. Never been out of Raydowne... How much worse can this get? Are we just walking them to their deaths? We've had experience fighting, and a lot of it. Some of them have been training with a weapon for two days. Two days! Many are bound to collapse under pressure. So how many will that leave us? Was this a mistake? I take some calming deep breaths to clear my mind; I need all the focus I can get for the fight. "Is it a bad thing that there is a mob of butterflies in my stomach?" Mia's knee is bouncing as her fingers drum on her legs and she shifts in her seat.

"Take some deep breaths. I've been doing it 'cuz it helps. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. Like that."

"How about we all do that?" Callie pipes up.

"Sure. I'll count. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four." I count round after round of deep breaths until we're nearing Capital Mountain.

"We're here." Jay interrupts us. He had opted out of the pre-battle meditation, saying he needed to focus on driving. Mia curses underneath her breath as her legs start bouncing again. Will she be able to keep her cool? She looks like she's about to have a breakdown or a heart attack or something. Have some trust, Hawk. Mia could be the strongest in the group. What about me and Rex? I've got strength on my side, remember? Mia hasn't been trapped in Guthrie Harper's prison for a few months, unlike you. I don't reply.

We pull into a smooth stop at the base of Capital Mountain. Callie opens her mouth to speak, but I lean across Gary to slap a hand over her mouth. I silence her with a glare, then take my hand back. "No talking," I mouth. She nods. The other vehicles stop next to us. Lily and Remy stop next to the Slash, and look to Vladimir for the signal to go. Once we begin traveling around Capital Mountain, there's no going back- we're attacking Guthrie Harper in an attempt to end him and his Wasteland once and for all. We can do it- Adrien said we would win. He's right. He has to be. Vladimir stands up out of the car after rolling down the window.

He raises his arm, and closes his fingers into a fist. "Go," he says silently.

Jay shifts the car into drive, and is the first to pull out. He turns the steering wheel into a hard right turn. The Slash bounces across the uneven terrain as we complete the first step in our attack on Guthrie Harper: getting around Capital Mountain. Luckily it is more tall, as opposed to wide, and Guthrie Harper's Capital City comes into view. The so-called Capital City is only one building, but it spreads across the landscape. It only appears to be one level high, two at the most. Whoever built that had an eye for style.

We wait for a minute behind an oak tree until the Carrots and Dandelions make their move.

The battle has begun! Thank you for reading! Please comment your thoughts, and click that little yellow star! Don't forget to check out my next book, The King's Remorse, which I will be starting immediately after I finish this one!

Who will win?

How will the battle go down?

Does Guthrie Harper know they're here?

Does he have any tricks up his sleeve?

Who will make it out alive?

-Werewolf14-