We end up landing somewhere in Massachusetts just before 10 o'clock at night. Everything was dark, so we don't  even have to stay very high up to get to the mainland. For miles around all I see is trees, fields, and scattered houses. No one is out to see us anyway. As soon as we get cell service all three of our phones start to buzz with missed calls from the Anderson's. Anne drops down in a cluster of trees to call them back. I pace back and forth anxiously as she talks to Garret. The darkness seems to press in on all sides, concealing every horror imaginable. I feel like more of Gabriel's men could fly out from among the trees at any second.

Finally Anne gets off the phone and walks back towards us.

"What did he say?" I ask.

"We're going to a safe house in Virginia. It's near headquarters," she says. "Right now we're too close to Gabriel's base, and they would expect us to go to DC cause that's where the plane was going. We can't go to HQ itself, either. He knows where it is now cause of Glen Hunter. That traitor!"

"What about after that?" Chase asks. "Have they found the island?"

"Yeah, it's about 1,000 miles away from shore. They want us to meet them in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina tomorrow. Then we're going to leave for the Carmine Isle from there."

No one speaks for a second. We all know that Carmine Isle will be the end, whether we find the Amulet or die on the way. Somehow, once we get there our fates will be decided.

"We should go then," Chase says, breaking the silence. Anne nods, and a little while later we're back in the air, this time heading South to Virginia.

I'm half asleep for the rest of the way there, not really aware of what's going on around me. The land moves slowly below us, trees giving way to cities and cities to fields before fading back to trees again. I might have actually lost consciousness at some point, because the next thing I know Anne is telling me that we've just crossed into Virginia and we're nearing the site. I blink a couple of times before focusing on the area around me.

The safe house ends up being a small wooden cabin a few miles outside of Charlottesville. It's so remote that Anne passes over it a few times before Chase spotted it through the trees. The entire thing is just one main room with two beds and a wood stove as well as a loft upstairs containing the third bed. There's also a chest filled with extra clothes in varying sizes and a ton of canned food, rations, and bottled water. That's it. It doesn't look like anyone's been here in years. There's no running water and no electricity, either. Chase snaps his fingers and creates a ball of fire in the air, big enough for light but small enough that the wood of the walls isn't at risk.

"This is it?" I ask, closing the door behind us and looking around. "This is the safe house?"

"It was built just in case Gabriel ever attacked HQ," Chase tells me. "There are about six in Virginia currently. There's a couple of apartments in Norfolk and one in Richmond. I think we have a fishing shack by the bay and a townhouse in Roanoke. We also let Gifted who are on the run from Gabriel stay here, if they need it."

"Here," Anne starts, walking over to the chest in the corner. "We can get some new clothes to replace the burnt ones here." She starts rummaging through the chest, pulling out items when she thinks that they'll fit us. I come over to her and help her sort through, pushing away the mammoth sized jackets and pants. Eventually we come up with three outfits that look like they'd fit us.

I hand Chase a stack of clothes and pick up my own. "I mean they're not a perfect match, but it's better than nothing." I look down at my own current outfit, noting the singed sleeves and ripped fabric.

"It's fine. As long as we can pass for regular society when we stop places we'll be good," he says, taking the stack from me.

"Shh," Anne orders, sitting down on one of the beds. "We need to get to sleep. It'll be sunrise in a few hours anyway."

Chase nods and starts to climb the ladder to the loft. Anne and I change quickly, pulling on the new clothes as fast as possible. The shirt's a bit big on me and the pants have wicked bell bottom flares, but all in all it's alright. I walk over to the other bed on the ground floor, noting the musty smell of the blankets as I climb in. I don't mind sleeping in the new jeans much, though. Much more precious things were lost on that flight, anyway. I don't want to think about all of the passengers on that plane, or their grieving families back home. By now I'm sure that they've declared the plane missing. The search will begin, but they'll never find where it exploded. It'll just be missing. There were so many people on that plane. Husbands and sons and mothers who would never come home. And it's all because of Gabriel. Like I needed another reason to hate him. And this is what will happen if he's allowed to have his way with the world. We have to stop him, in any way we can. That's why the Amulet is so important.

My eyes close and my breathing evens out slowly. Tomorrow. Tomorrow we will get the Amulet. And tomorrow we will gain the power to destroy him. These are my last thoughts as I sink into sleep.

*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

A muffled boom and an awful cracking sound splits the silence of the cabin, shocking me awake. I roll off the bed and land in a crouch, instantly awake. My ears strain against the silence, listening for signs of an attack by Gabriel's men. I wait a minute but don't pick up on anything else. It's then that I notice the loft railing has been broken. The wooden post dangles down from the second level, barely hanging on by the splintered rail above. Something broke it.

I frown at the compromised barrier, starting to climb the ladder to the upper level of the cabin. What possibly could've caused it to snap like that? Unless Chase. . ? I start to move faster.

He's still asleep when I reach the top, but he's not dreaming peacefully. The blankets are bunched at the bottom of the bed in a tangled heap from where he kicked them. His hand glows a bright orange yellow, glowing sparks darting between his fingers as if trying to connect. He trembles and twitches in his sleep, lips forming unspoken words as his chest rises and falls rapidly. His breaths are shallow, uneven. He's having a nightmare.

"N-n-no!" He mumbles. "Matt, Haven, please!" His eyes flick back and forth under his thin eyelids and the sparks in his hand get brighter.

"Chase?" I ask, sitting down next to him and shaking his shoulder. "Chase!"

He doesn't wake up. The light in his hand gets brighter.

"Chase! Wake up!" I call, tenderly running my hand up from his shoulder to his jaw.

In one fluid movement his eyes flick open and he sits up, a shaft of energy shooting from his palm to the floor. I hear another harsh cracking sound and flinch away, covering my head with my hands. Shock and adrenaline courses through me, making my heart beat faster. And then his trembling hands run across my skin as he apologizes over and over, cursing himself repeatedly.

"Shh, shh, it's alright," I tell him, pushing his dark hair back from his face.

"I'm sorry I. . ." His eyes flicker from the broken fence post and the chunk taken out of the floor to my face in front of his. He closes his eyes and drops his chin to his chest, keeping his hands on my upper arms. "I swear I didn't mean to!"

"Chase," I implore, but he doesn't look up. "C'mon, look at me."

Slowly he raises his eyes to meet mine, the flecks back in his irises.

"Really," I tell him. "I'm alright. You didn't hurt me."

He lets out a breath, long and slow, leaning back against his pillow and throwing an arm up over his eyes. I edge closer to him, tracing random patterns on his palm. We don't speak for a long time. Chase's breath evens out after a while, returning to normal. I pick up his hand and press it against my face, his palm touching my skin. He lets out a sigh, his thumb rubbing gently across my cheekbone. Everything is silent.

He pulls his arm away from his eyes, staring listlessly up at the ceiling. Then he says, "Hell. That was my dream. I relived my hallucination from the first Trial."

My eyes widen, trying to imagine living with that on your shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask timidly.

He shakes his head, swallowing once. "No. I don't."

I look at the floor, saddened that I can't help him at all.

"Okay," I tell him, standing up and walking over to the ladder. "Goodnight."

"Haven, wait," He says as I get ready to descend.

I stop. "Yeah?"

"Will you stay?" He asks me. His voice is weary and sad, with a hint of desperation in the words. I feel a pang in my chest.

"Yes," I whisper, walking over to the other side of the bed. "I'll stay."

Hesitantly I lay down next to him, ignoring the discarded covers by his feet. My head falls onto his shoulder and one arm slides under my head like a pillow. Chase doesn't move, but I hear him let out a sigh and see his face relax, the lines smoothing out. I turn on my side, bunching a section of his shirt with one hand as my eyes close. I feel safe with him, like nothing bad could ever happen to me while I stay by his side. I'm glad he asked me to stay, too. But most of all I feel a sense of rightness, like this is the way things were meant to be.

And so we fall asleep like that, in all our day clothes, with our minds set at rest and our hearts at peace.

*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

My sleep is deep and dreamless the rest of the night. I don't really remember anything at all, though, because the next thing I know, sunlight's streaming in the window and my eyes are opening to Anne's smirking face at the foot of the bed.

"Come on, get up," she tells me. I look around myself. I'm still lying in Chase's bed, but somehow he must've turned in his sleep, because now I feel his chin on my head and one of his arms draped across my torso. He's warm and comfortable to lay against. I don't want to move. But. . . Anne.

I leap out of bed, protesting before my feet have even hit the floor. "No no no, Anne! It's not what it looks like! I uh. . ."

She shakes her head, still smirking. "Got lonely, huh?"

"No! Gosh, I didn't-" I look back over to Chase's sleeping form, so peaceful looking and quiet. My voice drops to a whisper. "I didn't sleep with him. I mean, I did technically, but I didn't sleep sleep with him, you know!"

Her face cracks into a smile as she turns and starts to descend the ladder. "Hey, I don't judge, alright."

"No," I moan desperately. "No! C'mon Anne, I didn't!" I think that she's joking at this point, but you can never tell with Anne, I guess.

"Come on," she says. "Let's go make breakfast."

Mortified, I follow her down to the first level.

Anne doesn't speak about the incident again, but I catch her staring at the two of us as we eat as if trying to figure us out. It makes me uncomfortable, like I've done something wrong. But instead of confronting her I just pretend like I don't notice it.

Chase fixes the banister and we leave the cabin before nine o'clock, carefully putting everything back and locking the door behind us.

Chapter 30! Wow! We're nearing  the end of the story at this point. I'm estimating five or six more chapters, but I'm having a bit of a crisis over the ending. I had a plan, and now I doubt my plan. This is kinda bad. I shall try to resolve this issue asap. Expect this book to be finished by the end on the month. Please give me feedback, too. Suggestions, criticism, whatever. Anything and everything us appreciated!

-iambibliophilic