"And you're sure you're not leaving at barely 6 am again because you don't want to talk about this week?" Mum sipped her coffee with quirked brows.

"Why would you think that?" I asked, making sure my eyes were trained everywhere else.

   Please, please don't tell me why.

"I don't know..." She shrugged, propping an elbow on the counter, not bothering to mask her over-exaggerated simper. "Maybe because after you saw Dorian off and walked back in, you speed-grabbed two chips and dashed to your room before I could even get a question in?"

   Yeah, and that had cost me dinner that day. Those chips I'd grabbed were a joke so I suppose we were losers on both our ends.

"It's not my fault you didn't use your chance that day." I said, facing her.

"You know I had a study session." She glared. "Fine. Let's forget about that day then, what was wrong with doing so yesterday? You didn't give me the chance to ask yesterday."

"That was on you. It's not my fault you ruined it."

   I would have been able to get past how Mum's blowing of multiple puffs of air in my ear woke me up yesterday morning. I would have even forgiven her for continuing her annoying gesture while I pretended to remain asleep—until I finally cracked and yelled at her to get out, that is.

   But I couldn't let go just yet how my relief, while Mum stood up to walk away, was short-lived when she stole my phone in the process and made me spend hours searching while she was at work.

   The toaster, ladies and gentlemen. I found it in the toaster.

"You could have come down to say hi when I returned from the hospital. I would have been more than willing to talk." She didn't bother hiding her smile.

   And be bombarded with multiple versions of 'the talk'? No thanks. I had suffered through it once.

   Other kids got the birds and bees talk, I got live human demonstrations of positions.

"I'm gonna go now." I placed my breakfast bowl in the sink and grabbed my bag.

"Say hi to Dorian for me!"

   The subsequent door slam was a good enough answer as to what I'd rather do. That didn't stop the screeching laughter which followed though.

   My strides to the bus stop where I got the bus to Zavlon Academia everyday involved walking past Tali's house. As usual, I tried to see if I could get anything by peering through one of the windows of her home. Knowing her though, the fact that it was seven o'clock wasn't an excuse to wake u—

   I jumped and halted my steps in shock when her front door immediately burst open. Clad in pajamas and plastic crocs at her entrance, Tali ran toward me.

"Hey Beth," she approached with a small smile. "I haven't seen you like I usually do from my window when you return from school so far this week."

"Yeah, I've been getting home kind of late nowadays." I made my nod as believable as possible. "I'm having late tutoring sessions at Zavlon's library with, uh, friends in some areas I'm struggling with in school."

"Friends huh?" Tali hesitated, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "And yesterday? When I stopped by again around seven pm, you weren't home."

   I tried to conceal my grimace. Of course I wasn't. I had been in the bunker till almost eight pm yesterday, reviewing the plan Camila and Rav had come up with on how, where and when we were going to use the drones.

   Thank God Mum had an evening shift yesterday.

   After a week of planning, drone-making and testing the drones in the bunker, today was finally the day we were going to carry on with our plan to get them into Zavlon. Although I would have loved to speak to Tali, my nerves kept reminding me how I couldn't afford to be late.

"Yeah, there was another tutoring session...with friends." I managed to blurt under her fixed gaze, "It went longer than we'd thought. But what's up?"

"I think we should talk..."

   Her words drifted away as I reached over in my pocket for my vibrating phone. It was a text from Dorian. Great, everyone else was around the area of the woods Dorian had accompanied me to the first time. I was late.

"Are you listening to me?" Tali asked with a louder voice this time.

   My attention diverted from the phone's screen to meet the serious expression she had on. Whatever she was going to talk about seemed like it was going to take a while. I just couldn't deal with this right now.

"Talise, I've got to go. It's a school thing." I mumbled out that last lie as I stuffed my phone in my pocket.

   Was it really a lie though? Not really, right?

"With your friends, I'm assuming?" She questioned in a tone I couldn't recognize.

"Right. Them. We'll talk later, okay?" I told her over my shoulder as I briskly walked towards the bus stop. "I promise!"

   I took the simple 'Okay' she whispered out as a good sign.

***

   A sigh of relief broke out from me when I got to Zavlon and spotted Dorian, Rav and Camila under a cluster of trees. They hadn't gone on without me.

"Finally!" Aarav grumbled as I ran toward them.

"Sorry," I apologised.

"The Yunies would begin scouting soon." Camila glanced at her wrist watch. "Let's do this already."

   Without another word, the four of us walked through the path that led us to the woods.

"So let's go over the plan for getting the drones in and finding Mr. Sacury's lab," Rav remarked on our walk to the bunker. "We have to operate the drones at the worm's eye view as much as possible since we don't want to draw much attention to them. The subtle nature of the drones is going to make it easier, thankfully."

   His mention of the drones appealed to all the right emotions within me. My gaze found Dorian's to find he was stifling a grin of his own as well.

"We don't know where the lab might be situated but we'll begin with the secluded areas of the school, starting with these very woods. There could be more bunkers like the one we found," Rav kept saying.

"So one of the drones for the forest," Camila continued. "and another for the school's main grounds. Rav and I will guide you on where to go, while, Beth and Dorian, you regulate the drones' movements. If you get tired, Rav and I would of course take over."

   She and Rav were the first to go down the bunker's door when we arrived at our spot. This made them a few steps ahead on our walk through the dark path which led to our hangout.

"Hey," Dorian whispered.

"Hi." I followed the sound of his voice behind me.

"I read two comics yesterday."

"Really?" I was surprised he had time to do that. My wrists were still hurting from the many trial runs we had had with the drones the whole of yesterday. "Which ones?"

"The Aversion and Seekers Avenge."

"Any honest reviews on them?" I asked.

"Of course. Fireboy should have really held back in The Aversion. He just proved everyone's point on how his power matches his horrible temper. He could have easily passed off as the villain in the story. Sometimes, I was so convinced that he secretly was." It was surprising to hear the genuine excitement that matched his voice.

"Yes! Oh my God, yes!" I shook my head. "He made it so hard to be liked."

"But then I have to admit I was freaking out when I thought he was gone."

"Me too!" I said, not bothering to whisper. It felt so good to have someone not just read the thing you were into, but appreciate it as well. "I was sure he was a goner when he was swallow—"

"Guys." Rav called ahead.

"Get over here. Now." Camila added in a low tone a few seconds later.

   The darkness remained terrible even as we moved closer to our room's barely opened door. So much so that we didn't realise how close we were until a collective "NO!" of horror was yelled when we bumped into Camila and Rav, sending us all crashing through the door.

   The unexpected burst of light onto my previously dark-filled eyes was blinding. What the hell was happen—

   My thoughts were suddenly handicapped by the state of the bunker we had tumbled into. What my eyes fell on next made my blood run cold.

   Shit.

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