"Alright," one of the guards says after a very, very long time in the car. I don't know where we're going, but we've been driving for at least nine hours. I feel someone messing with the blindfold tie at the back of my head. "This is going to need to come off. We can't have people ask questions. But don't even think about trying to run."

I nod carefully as the fabric is lifted up over my head, letting me see the interior of the car. It looks like an SUV, very tall, very big. The seats are leather, as I had guessed previously. The people in the car aren't how I imagined them, though. They look like anyone I might pass by on the street; normal clothes, normal faces. I could meet with any one of them at the mall, really, except that they all look at me with a superior, cold look on their faces, like how a king might look at a particularly nasty peasant in the street.

I cower in the corner of the car, eyeing the doorknob with longing. But I don't dare jump from the car. I would never be able to get away and they would kill me in a heartbeat. Not to mention that the leap itself might kill me, or at least seriously injure my body. No, I'm totally at their mercy, just as I've been since the day I was taken prisoner.

They don't stare at me for long, talking amongst themselves loudly. I guess that they don't care whether I hear them or not.

"I've heard that they got away," one of them says. "That the clan members we intercepted on the flight to DC escaped. I mean, we can't be sure that survived after we lost contact with the London team, but I've heard that they were seen in Pennsylvania, trying to get to the others." I wonder which group Haven was in.

"We definitely have a lock on the larger group, though," a woman from the front adds. "They've completed the second Trial already. We're hoping to catch them right at the third."

"You know, there've been rumors that Lord Gabriel has called in every single member of his army, from all over the globe," the driver chimes in.

"How do you know that?"

"Well, I had a friend in Germany who said that his branch got called in for this, and that he'd heard from a couple Japanese people that their stations were contacted as well," he says.

"You don't think that he's assembling everyone?"

"I think it makes sense," the girl up front says. "If they get their hands on the Amulet, just our branch alone doesn't have a prayer of stopping them."

"Do you really think that the whole army can? I mean, the rumors about the Amulet are. . ." The guard beside me struggles to find an appropriate word. "Unimaginable."

There is a long pause as they consider this information. Then the woman says, "stupid bastards! Don't they know that we're only helping them? I mean, we're all going to live like kings once Gabriel has succeeded! It's not them that we're after, but the way they carry on you would think we killed their freaking family members! The humans have oppressed up for years, kept us in the dark, shoved us into the shadows. And how many have they executed in the Witch Trials back in the day? It's their turn to pay, and it's our turn in the light for once! Whose with me?"

A chorus of cheers and applause fills the car, loud and aggressive. I cower in my corner, shutting my eyes as if that will make all of them go away.

"Are you scared?" The man beside me asks. I look up to see his nasty face inches from mine, grinning sadistically. My tongue goes dry in my mouth; I can't speak. This only makes his grin widen.

"Good, good. I think you have some idea of how powerful we are, don't you?" When I don't say anything the grin vanishes and his eyes glint dangerously. "Don't you?"

I manage to nod, and the grin returns. I get the sense that I'm being treated like some sort to animal in a cage. Is that how these. . . These killers really see us? As vermin?

"But you don't really know the extent of our abilities, huh?" He asks. I don't speak, feeling my heartbeat in my ears.

He shows me his hand and snaps, once, creating a small flame that dances in his palm. I keep my eyes glued to the light as he moves it closer and closer to me. My head hits the window and I still try to press away from him. The heat warms my skin, and as it draws nearer it gets uncomfortably hot. I feel my eyes cross as it stops just an inch away from the spot directly between my eyebrows. A small whimper hitches in my throat, desperate and pathetic sounding. It's not even the flame he has right next to my face. It's the knowledge that he could blow my brains to pieces just by blinking.

He snorts and snaps again, making the flame go out instantly. "Yeah, she's scared shitless, she won't be running," he tells the others, smirking and letting his hand fall back down to his side. "She's just like the rest. Cowards, all of them."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, trying to calm down. Everyone in the car casts amused glances at me, almost as if I'm too stupid to understand their looks. But what he said got to me. Am I really a coward? When it comes down to it, do I really shy away from a challenge and give up too soon? I suppose. . . Maybe. I don't put up much of a fight, do I?

The rest of the drive is spent in doubt and fear of our future destination.

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

We are somewhere in North Carolina when the car stops. I remember taking a ferry across the water, so I can make a guess as to where we are. We must be on one of the barrier islands just East of the coast. When I am led out of the car my hunch is confirmed. This is Cape Hatteras.

There are people everywhere, despite it being the islands' off season, and it doesn't take me long to guess that all of them are working for Gabriel. I also notice tons of little black spots far up in the air. At first I brush them off as birds, but after a second look I begin to doubt that theory. None of them fly in formation, and the sheer amount is suspicious as well. There's no way that there could be that many birds in one place, could there?

"Why aren't all of us Flying?" My guard asks his friend.

"I think it's because it would attract too much attention," he says. "The humans would get curious, and if someone took out a telescope. . ."

"Hm, I guess that makes sense. We've never had all of the members together, I don't think."

"Just imagine all of the power within this square mile. Enough to take over a world," the second man breathes.

"Ha!" My guard chuckles. "Would the Amulet even be enough to stop us?"

"Oi! Harry!" A woman says from over by the beach. She has a very heavy British accent. "Quit sitting on your arse and get the girl secured!"

The guard, Harry, salutes her and nods at his friend. "See you soon."

He roughly grabs my arm and hauls me over to the pier. I search around myself for a possible way out, but quickly give up. There's simply too many of them to even try. I let myself be led over to a large white speedboat sitting on the water.

"Sit," Harry orders, shoving me down into the back seat. I stay quiet, not moving as he ties my wrists together with a piece of rope. A sense of dread settles into the pit of my stomach. Despite everything that's happened, I hate being tied up like this. I feel like a dog. A captive, beaten mongrel. And I accept it. I'm less than dirt and there's nothing I can do about it.

Dark thoughts like these run through my head as I watch four other Gifted climb into the boat and sit down in the free seats. One of them speaks into an ear piece just too far away for me to hear his words. I guess that's how they're getting orders. Harry stays in the seat to my left, eyeing me carefully. The tension doesn't leave his shoulders until the boats pull out from the dock and into the open water.

The boat is fast. My hair blows back behind me and the water parts into foam as we speed off through the ocean. I look down at the water speeding by below me. It looks cold and opaque, and I think about how anything could be lurking in the waves. My throat goes dry as I stare into the darkness. I could jump. If I did, I might be able to get away. Maybe. If I jumped, I could dive under and swim away. We're near the back of the fleet; it's possible. The chances might be slim, but they're there. If I could just steel myself and jump. . .

I turn away from the water, heart pounding. No. They would catch me, it's pointless to even attempt. I mean, they have a boat, not to mention ridiculous supernatural ability. There's no point in trying. I turn away from the side, dejected.

Out of the corner of my eye, I think I see Harry smirk.

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

I don't know how long we are on the water before the boat stills. Suddenly the growling, mechanical noise of the engine stops and the hull sinks down to sea level. I lift my head from my knees to see that we're parked at a rickety boat dock that looks just about ready to collapse into the ocean. The other boats are already tied up around us. I count twelve in total.

Harry orders me to stand and I do, following him out onto the dock at the jerk of his head. It creaks under my feet and I shudder, looking down through a crack to see the rough surf below. If I fell now I might not make it. The waves look vicious, like they're hungry.

"Hey! Get moving!" Harry calls and I snap to attention, scurrying across the uneven boards to catch up.

The first thing I notice about the beach is its color. It's red, like the hue of rust. This odd phenomenon puzzles me. There must be an abundance of some sort of element not usually found in sand. It's interesting, and I feel the urge to study it more closely. I quickly shake it off.

The second thing I notice about the beach is the people. There are literally thousands of them scattered all over, talking, shouting, flying, and walking. I notice that they move in groups of about twenty or more, usually led by a single man. It's pretty easy to tell which after a minute of studying them. They're like ants crawling about the place. Many actually hover about in the air like bees, gliding from place to place in a tight formation. The sight is so foreign I am stunned silent for a second.

I don't see any physical stimulus to affect the people, but after about five minutes of standing with Harry, everyone falls dead silent and stops moving. It's all at once, like they were a TV program and the watcher had pressed pause. Something's happening. Even the Flyers find some place to land. I can feel the anticipation in the air. I wet my lips nervously, waiting.

Suddenly everyone starts to move towards the cliff as one body, like the water flowing in a river. The synchronization makes it almost like a march. And as the people in front reach the cliff, I see them go one by one into a small, person-sized hole in the rock. We're going into the cliff. But despite the thousands of people in this small area, no one speaks. The only sounds made are the ones made by our shoes in the sand as we file into the entrance.

Harry and I reach the front a little after the other people in our boat. It doesn't seem long at all. One moment I'm outside, staring at the people around me in confusion and bafflement. The next it's my turn, and Harry's graphing my elbow and pushing me into the entryway. I treasure my one last look at the blue sky before being shoved into darkness.

I am sooooo sorry for not updating sooner! I know it's been like a week! Sorry!

-iambibliophilic