One year spent running around with Rana and Darcy.

We worked pretty well together, and I was satisfied with the results. And, well it didn't hurt that Rana was very pretty.

I glanced at the group.

Ivan and Darcy were walking a few paces in front of us.

Rana was walking next to me. Her hair was messier than ever, and she was hunched over. I could hear her breathing hard.

And I could see that she was stiff, poised to attack.

"Rana?"

She looked at me, her posture relaxing. "Hm?"

I chuckled. "It's okay. You don't need to be in attack mode."

Her face flushed. "I'm not."

I smirked. "Uh huh."

Rana knocked her shoulder against mine.

We grinned at each other.

Rana froze suddenly. Her eyes darted around.

I clenched my fist, getting my lightning ready.

Rana turned her head towards an alley, and bolted down it.

"Darcy! Ivan!" I called.

They turned, ready to fight.

"Follow me. Rana ran off."

We ran down the alley.

I heard a gasp, and then Rana's shriek.

We turned a corner and froze.

Rana turned to us, shaking. She was holding a bundle in her arms.

"Look. Somebody abandoned a baby here." she croaked.

"A baby?" I repeated.

She nodded and showed me the bundle.

It was a baby, tan, with dark fuzz and puffy eyes. He whimpered.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "I came running thinking that you were in danger, and all that happened is that you found a baby? I was scared for you!"

Rana swallowed. "We have to bring him with us."

"What?!" Ivan yelped.

"Rana, that's out of the question!" Darcy snapped. "We can't just bring a child with us!"

"We will." Rana insisted.

"No. No, we won't." I snapped.

"Rin, Darcy, Ivan, please!"

"Why?" Ivan asked.

Rana looked down at the baby. "I just can't stand that somebody abandoned their child like this. Children deserve to be loved and treasured. To grow up in a home where they are accepted and embraced for being themselves. They should never be abandoned like this. And they should never be thrown away!"

Darcy stared at Rana. "This isn't just about the baby, is it?"

Rana closed her eyes. "Yes and no. Please, I need to help the baby.

Ivan spoke softly. "As long as the baby doesn't get us in trouble, I don't have a problem with keeping him."

"Ivan!" I gasped.

"I think we should keep the baby." Darcy said quietly.

I looked around at them, feeling hopeless. I could tell that nothing was going to make them budge.

Especially Rana.

I threw my hands up. "Fine."

Rana smiled. "Thank you."

We trudged out of the alley.

"How about you tell Rin why you want to keep the baby?" Darcy whispered. "I think that she'll understand."

Rana pursed her lips. She walked up to Darcy and put the baby in her arms. Darcy swaddled the baby tighter and gave Rana an encouraging smile.

Rana fell back into pace with me, her eyes trained on Darcy and Ivan ahead.

"Rana?" I whispered.

She glanced at me, raising her eyebrow.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. But,"

I paused, unsure of how to put it.

I sighed. "Look, I'd like for you to consider me as your friend. And you're more than welcome to tell me anything that you'd like to tell me. I won't say a word of whatever you tell me, I promise."

Rana drew in a breath.

"Promise?" she asked.

"Yes."

Her  eyebrows scrunched together. "And you won't tell a soul?"

I frowned. "Of course not. I want you to feel comfortable around me."

Her eyes flew open wide with suprise.

She tilted her head slightly, peering at me. It seemed like she was trying to figure out if I was telling the truth.

Her face softened.

"You guys okay?" Ivan called out.

Rana jumped.

"We're fine." I sighed.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. I could hear the wind whistling, and the baby sniffling quietly. Darcy quieted him, adjusting the baby in her arms.

Rana hesitated, and then shook her head decisively.

"I'll spare you the details. But pretty much it was my fault. My parents found out that I'm gay, and they freaked out. They called the government officials and I got shipped to America. I was in the Facility, the headquarters in Washington, for an year."

Rana paused, her hands shaking.

I looked at her. She looked so fragile. I had never seen her let her guard down, but now, her walls were gone. At least some of them.

"You don't have to continue." I told her. "If you don't want to say anymore-"

"No." Rana interrupted. "Let me just tell you one more thing."

I nodded. "Alright."

Rana didn't speak for a moment. She drew in a breath and looked at me. There were tears in her eyes.

"There was this girl." she whispered.

"In the Facility, there was girl in the cell next to me. She was several years younger than me. She was like me. Ripped right out of her life by officials. Her name was Clarita. She used to say that my nightmares kept her up all night. She-"

Rana's voice cut off. I looked at her and saw a tear trickling down her cheek.

"I promised her that I would escape with her someday. I promised her that I wouldn't leave her behind. That we would run. Run away, out of the Facility. Together."

"And that didn't happen."

I jumped.

Darcy had slowed down to Rana's side. Her face was unreadable, but her eyes were unbelievably sorrowful. She shifted the baby to one arm and slipped the other one across Rana's shoulder. Rana leaned against her, shaking.

"I broke her out of the Facility." Darcy explained. "Just Rana. Clarita was asleep or something, I don't know, but the moment that we were out of my uncle's range, Rana nearly had a breakdown."

"The Admin hurt her." Rana croaked. "He and Ricker hurt Clarita once they figured out that her being in pain hurt me more than myself being tortured. Every time I managed to escape, Ricker hunted me down and then tortured Clarita in front of me. I promised her that I wouldn't let that happen again. That I would protect her. And now-"

Her voice cut off again. She let out a gasping sob.

I reached and touched her arm. I didn't know what to say.

"It's okay." Darcy murmured. "It's okay, Rana."

"They probably killed her." Rana whispered.

"Rana, do you think about her often?" I asked.

Rana wiped her eyes roughly. "Yeah. In the evenings mostly."

"Maybe you should stop." I suggested.

Rana looked up at me in suprise.

"My mother was burned on the stake." I mumbled. "I was four years old and saw my neighbors gleefully burn her because they thought that she was a witch. But it was me who had powers, not Amma. But she let them take her, just so I could live."

Darcy touched my shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Are you okay with telling us that?" Rana asked.

I nodded. "I trust you guys."

Rana stared at me for a moment. Then a soft smile spread across her face. Her entire face seemed to change. Her eyes were brighter, and then bags under them looked lighter. Her eyes were the warmest that I had ever seen them.

"I trust you too, Rin." she whispered.

I smiled. "I'm glad. You know, you should smile more often. You look even more beautiful when you smile. Your eyes light up. It suits you more than a frown."

Her face flushed red. "W-what?"

I went red. "Ah, I mean, just, uh-"

Darcy laughed. "Want me to give you guys some time alone?"

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the blush. "No! No, no, that's not necessary. But as I was saying, you shouldn't be thinking about Clarita that often."

Rana flinched. "Why not?"

I sighed. "I used to think about my Amma all the time. I couldn't think clearly, or barely even speak. I felt so awful all the time. I nearly got myself killed many times."

"What's your point?" Rana asked.

"My point is that my Amma died so I could live. Back then, I wasn't living. I was existing, and floating around, half dead and drowning in guilt. Whatever happened to Clarita happened. And by what you told me, I think that she would want you to live. Not stumble around, drunk with regret." I explained.

Rana stared at me.

Darcy hesitated and then slipped away and caught up Ivan. I could hear them talking.

I looked down at the baby. He was so tiny. So innocent.

"Maybe you're right."

I turned to Rana.

Her face was turned away from me, her voice impossibly soft.

"I shouldn't be thinking about her so often. I can't let the past consume me."

I reached out and touched her arm.

Rana looked up at me. She hesitated, and then hooked her pinky with mine.

I didn't pull away. My face felt hot. I felt a smile spreading across my face.

"Thank you Rin." Rana whispered.

"It's nothing. I just want you to be happy." I squeaked.

She let out a laugh. "I think I will be."

Rana glanced down at the baby and cocked her head. "What do you think we should name him?  Because I don't have a single idea."

I gazed down at the baby. "How about Kai?"

Rana smiled. "Kai. Yeah, I like that."

She smiled at Kai. "How about that, sweetheart? Do you like your name?"

Kai gurgled and grinned up at Rana.

Rana beamed.

"Guys!" I called.

Ivan and Darcy came walking back to us.

Ivan grinned. "Came up with a name?"

"It's Kai." Rana announced.

Darcy leaned down. "Welcome to the family, Kai!"

I looked at Ivan, Darcy, Kai, and Rana. They were all smiling.

I glanced down at Rana's finger interlocked with mine. I looked up at them again.

"Yeah," I whispered. "My family."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I couldn't find her. Or Jae for that matter." Lanis sighed.

I glared at her. "Liar. I'll get them."

"No. Really Rin, I can't find them. They're absolutely nowhere. Come on, you've  got to trust me on this."

I whirled around. "I don't trust anyone what does safety of my family. And Jae for the matter. I don't trust her at all."

"Yeah you've made that pretty clear in the past months." Lanis scoffed. "But seriously I can't find them. Its like they vanished in thin air."

"What do you mean? People can't vanish into thin air."

Marcus came over. "I couldn't find them either, Rin. It's  like they ran out."

I shook my head. "You didn't look hard enough. I'm going to find them and I'll be back in a moment."

"Guys," Ivan said. "You might wanna take a look at this."

"Not now Ivan."

Ivan came over, glaring at me. "No, really you want to look at this."

I grab the paper out of his hand and glared at it. "There's nothing on here."

Ivan flipped it over gave me a sharp look. "Read it."

You want your family back? Go to the place where it all started.

"That's Jae's hand writing." Lanis commented, frowning.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. That is Jae's hand writing!"

Marcus shook his head. "Doesn't make sense. Why would she leave a note?"

"And this doesn't apply to anyone in the Haven." Darcy mused. "The only people who have family is Rin and Rana. They got each other and the kids, but-"

My eyes widened. "Rana! She did something to Rana! And she might've hurt the kids!"

"Oh stop it." Lanis snapped. "Jae wouldn't hurt Rana, and she most definitely wouldn't hurt Kai and Sabrina."

"How do you know that?" I asked. "She has been manipulating Rana from the very beginning. Who knows what she's capable of!"

Darcy sighed. "Jesus Christ Rin! Stop it! This isn't the time for your damn rivalry. We have to find them both."

Rocco stomped over. "Found anything about Jae?"

"No." Marcus muttered.

"Yeah actually." I interrupted. "Ivan found this note."

"That doesn't mean anything." Rocco scoffed.

"How do you know that?" I snapped.

"Because why would a note have anything to do with Jae's disappearance?" he bit back.

"Because she wrote it." I answered.

Rocco blinked, looking stumped. Then he scowled and held out his hand to Ivan.

"Give me the damn note." Rocco snapped.

Ivan flinched at his tone.

Rocco sighed. "Please give the note, love."

Ivan handed Rocco the note. Rocco scanned it and looked up, glaring at me.

"What do you want now?" I scoffed.

"How do I know that you didn't write this note? You cou-"

"Rocco." Lanis interrupted. "It's Jae's handwriting, you know that."

Rocco pursed his lips. Lanis gave him and look, and he turned away from her, refusing to listen.

"Guys?" Kamira asked. "Did you find Rana and Jae?"

"No." I said flatly.

"What? Where are they?" Kamira demanded.

"That's what we're trying to find out." Marcus sighed.

I looked down at the note. I remembered something that Jae had mentioned earlier.

We had been snapping at each other during training. It was early in the morning, and nobody else was in the Arena. She had been looser, more wild and unrestrained. She had talked about Rana.

"She gets nightmares. She got them in the cells. They would keep me up all night."

In the cells.

That was weird.

The only cell that Rana had been in was in the Facility. And even though Rana might've told her about the Facility, I know that Jae wouldn't know about Rana's nightmares. Rana wouldn't have told her. The last thing that my girlfriend wanted was to burden anyone with her struggles. Not to mention that she saw her nightmares as a sign of weakness.

And what did Jae mean by "they would keep me up all night"?

The only way that would happen is that if Jae was in a cell near Rana.

Rana's voice suddenly rang in my head.

"In the Facility, there was a girl in the cell next to me. She was several years younger than me. She was like me. Ripped right out of her life by officials. Her name was Clarita. She used to say that my nightmares kept her up all night."

My throat tightened.

I turned to Lanis. "What's Jae's name?"

She frowned. "What? Rin, are you feeling okay?"

Rocco threw her hands up. "Well obviously, she doesn't care about Jae. C'mon Kamira."

Kamira hesitated, and then followed Rocco.

"I'll go after them." Marcus volunteered. "Got to make sure that they won't run off to find Jae."

"I'll go with you." Ivan piped up.

They ran after the siblings.

"Rin, Jae's name is Jae." Darcy said worriedly. "C'mon, you know that?"

I shook my head. "That was the name that she gave us. But Lanis has known her for a few years. I want to know if Jae is her real name."

Lanis frowned. "Why does that matter?"

"Because it might help us find Rana and Jae."

"How would that help us?" Darcy demanded. "What, are you thinking that Jae kidnapped Rana or something. Rin, this is ridiculous!"

"You don't know that." I shot back.

"Jae isn't her real name." Lanis said.

We looked at her.

Lanis sighed. "Jae came to the Haven three years ago. She told us that she had escaped a facility that she had that detained in for a year. The poor kid was dehydrated and starving. Marcus and I were running the Haven back then. Jae begged us to let her take refuge. In return, she offered to make me a hearing aid."

Lanis's hand floated up and touched her hearing aid absentmindedly.

"Is that the hearing aid that she made you?" Darcy asked.

Lanis nodded. "Yeah."

Her hand drifted back down to her side, frowning contemplatively.

"We let her in, of course. Hearing aid or not, she was on the run, and we had plenty of space to bring her in. She fit in almost immediately, tagging along with me whenver she could. Jae had a knack for finding a way out of any situation or encounter with the Admin's men. She was my co-leader by the end of her first year at the Haven."

"That's great to know and all," I sighed. "But I asked for her real name, not her entire history in the Haven."

Lanis nodded. "Yeah, I know. But the thing is, when Jae told me her real name, she made me promise not to tell anyone else her name without her permission. And I don't like breaking my promises."

"Lanis, please." I begged. "You have to tell me this."

She hesitated, and then nodded. "Fine. I can tell that this is important. Jae's real name is Clarita."

I froze.

I was right.

Jae was Clarita.

Which meant that "the place where it all started" had to be the Facility.

Clarita had taken Rana and the kids back to the Facility.

Allah help us.

"Rin?" Darcy asked. "What are you thinking?"

I looked up at my friends. Lanis and Darcy stared back at me with concern.

"Clarita took Rana and the kids to the Facility." I whispered.

There was a moment of silence.

"Oh my God!" Darcy yelled.

"Rin, this is serious!" Lanis snapped. "You can't just go around throwing out hair brained conclusions about the people that you hate!"

"Saundrine, that's enough!" Darcy continued. "You've had it out for Jae from the moment that you two met. You can't just pin this on Jae just because you don't like her!"

"Are you kidding me?" Rocco bellowed.

We jumped.

Marcus, Rocco, Ivan and Kamira had came back over. They were all glaring at me.

"Guys, listen to me."  I pleaded.

"Why should we?" Kamira asked. "You've done nothing but be hostile to Jae from the very begginning!"

"One, her name is Clarita." I snapped. "And two, you didn't see how she treated me!"

"Are you stupid?" Rocco scoffed. "Her name is Jae!"

"Actually her real name is Clarita." Marcus corrected.

"What?" Darcy asked.

Lanis nodded.

"Now Rin, do you have any proof?" Marcus sighed.

"Yes. It's simple." I groaned. "Just connect the dots!"

They stared at me.

"Look, Rana escaped from the Facility four years ago. She told me and Darcy about this girl who was in the cell next to her. The girl's name was Clarita."

"So?" Rocco snapped. "That's just a coincidence!"

I glared at him. "Let me finish."

"Go on." Ivan said.

"Thank you, Ivan. Lanis, you just told me that Clarita came to the Haven three years ago. Clarita told you that she escaped from a facility that she was detained in for a year."

Lanis's eyes widened. "You're saying that Clarita is the same Clarita that was in the cell next to Rana in the Facility?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" I yelped.

"Lanis, you really can't be going along with this!" Rocco yelled.

"It makes some sense." Lanis argued. "Continue, Rin."

I could see that she was now taking this seriously.

"Okay. So Jae dyed her hair. Marcus, was her hair black when she came to the Haven?"

"Yes. But hair color isn't a big thing." Marcus answered.

"It actually is." I sighed. "Another thing is that one time when we were sparring, Clarita mentioned that Rana's nightmares kept her up all night. And I know for a fact that three years ago, when Rana was telling me about Clarita, she said the exact same thing. The Clarita that Rana knew told Rana that her nightmares kept her up all night."

Darcy nodded. "She did say that. I remember that."

"One last thing is the note. It says 'go back to the place where it all started'. That would be the Facility. Rana told me that she promised not to leave Clarita behind, but she did. So, it would be in the Facility where the hurt started."

"What are you saying?" Darcy asked.

"I'm saying that Clarita took Rana and the kids to the Facility for revenge. She wanted to hurt Rana as much as Rana hurt her." I finished.

Nobody said anything.

They were all staring at me, completely silent.

Then Rocco spoke.

"That's a load of bull."

Everyone looked at him.

"Those are all coincidences." Rocco growled. "You say these things simply because you hate Jae. You want to blame someone for Rana's disappearance, so you point it all on Jae."

"Actually, I believe her." Darcy whispered.

Rocco glared at her. "Are you kidding me? And here I thought you were smart."

"And here I thought that you were a decent human being." Darcy fired back.

"That's enough." Lanis interrupted. "I also believe Rin."

"Of course you believe her." Rocco scoffed. "You two have been friends since day one."

"Rin is my friend." Lanis acknowledged. "But it all fits together. That's why I agree, not just because we're friends."

"I believe Rin as well." Marcus agreed.

"What?" Ivan asked. "No, Jae told us-"

"People lie, Ivan." Darcy whispered. "We all know that."

Ivan flinched.

"No!" Kamira cried. "No, no. Jae wouldn't lie about this. She wouldn't hide this much from us. Lanis, Marcus, you know that! She's Jae! Your friend. Please, you can't believe this!"

"It makes sense." Lanis said firmly. "Rin is telling the truth."

Kamira shook her head. "No. No. I know Jae. She's practically my sister. And I know that she wouldn't hide this much. She didn't hurt Rana. She wouldn't do this!"

"Kamira," Marcus murmured.

She shook her head defiantly. I could see tears building up in her eyes.

"Kamira, Ivan and I don't believe you." Rocco scoffed.

"I do." Ivan whispered.

Rocco's head snapped to Ivan in disbelief.

Ivan swallowed. "I don't want to believe it. But it makes sense. And I'm worried about them. Clarita, Rana, Kai, and Sabrina. They're probably in trouble."

I felt my chest tighten.

Kai and Sabrina. They were kids. No, a toddler and a baby. Kai was barely five, and Sabrina was only one years old. They didn't deserve this.

"But," Kamira mumbled.

We looked at her.

"Even if I don't believe what you said about Jae, I think that they are in trouble. And I do agree that they're at the Facility. And we have to save them."

"Miri-" Rocco began.

Kamira's head snapped up. She wiped at her eyes roughly and glared at Rocco.

"No Rocco! Don't 'Miri' me. I know that they are at the Facility. And we have to help them!"

"Well, that's final." Marcus said. "Rocco, you're the only one who doesn't agree. Your'e outnumbered. Majority wins."

Rocco looked at all of us, almost pleadingly.

Lanis clucked her tongue. "Alright. We will leave for the Facility at midnight to get Rana, Clarita, and the kids back."

"How do we get there?" Rocco spat. "We can't go anywhere if we don't know-"

"I can lead us." Darcy volunteered.

"You know how to get there?" Lanis asked.

"Yeah. There's a bunch of old subways beneath us. They can lead to anywhere. I can take us through the stations. We can make it by before noon if we leave by midnight." Darcy said.

"How will we get through?" I asked.

Darcy stuck her hand into her pocket, frowning with concentration. She sighed and sifted through all her pockets. Her face brightened, and she pulled out a small golden card.

"This is an key card." Darcy said triumphantly. "Everyone in my family has one. They can open any vehicle, including subways."

"Woah." Ivan breathed.

"You just had that in your pocket?" I demanded. "We could've used that a hundred times!"

"We have used it." Darcy chuckled. "Just not very often."

"Key for everything aside," Lanis sighed. "Now that we know how to get to the Facility, it's decided. Marcus, Rin, Darcy and I will leave at midnight. Now, come on. We have to let the rest of the Haven know."

"I'm coming with you guys." Ivan yelped.

I looked at him in suprise.

"I am not going to sit back while you guys charge into danger." he said firmly. "I'm going to help my friends too."

Lanis glanced at me.

I smile. "Alright. You're coming with us."

"Me too!" Kamira declared.

"Absolutely not." Rocco snapped.

"Absolutely hell yes I am!" Kamira yelled.

"Kamira!" Lanis hissed.

"No! I won't sit back while Jae and Rana are suffering. I am going to help them too. Jae is my sister, and Rana is my badass friend. I don't care about my age. If you try to keep me back, I will flood the entire Haven and get there on my own."

There was a pause.

Kamira glared at all of us, her face pink and hands shaking.

"Okay." I said.

"No!" Rocco yelped.

"Thank you Rin!" Kamira gasped.

"You aren't lying about flooding the Haven, are you?" Lanis asked.

Kamira shook her head.

"Well then. I guess you're coming." Marcus muttered.

"No! Stop it!" Rocco cried. "What is wrong with all of you?"

"I'd suggest that you came too, Rocco." Darcy hummed. "Instead of standing there, whining to us when that obviously isn't going to change anything. You can come with us to ensure your sister's safety. Your powers would help us quite a lot when a fight breaks out."

"When a fight breaks out?" Ivan repeated. "Not if?"

"Mhm." Darcy hummed. "There will always be a fight when my uncle is involved. Not to mention that he isn't going to give Rana up without a fight."

"Fine." Rocco hissed. "But Kamira, you will stay behind me."

"Sure." Kamira agreed.

"Now that it's settled." Lanis sighed. "Marcus and I will go tell eveyone else. You all rest up. We got a big fight ahead of us."

Midnight came quickly.

Lanis had appointed several of the Haven's unofficial leaders to be in charge while we were gone. She told everyone that we'd be back in a couple of days.

I knew that wouldn't happen.

We left the Haven quickly, making our way up the ladder as quietly as we could.

Of course, Rocco just used his powers to float up.

Stuck up air manipulator.

Darcy lead us downtown to the subways. She went to the turnstile and put in her key card. There was a pause, and then the turnstile beeped in confirmation.

The subway's doors opened and we stepped into the car. The doors closed behind us with a soft click.

Darcy went up to the front of the car. There was a small slot on the wall. I watched as she put in key card. The machine beeped. Darcy leaned in to the machine. An automated voice came out.

"Welcome to Subway Train 493, Darlene Jessica Johnson. Where would you like to go?"

"I'd like for you to take me to the Facility." Darcy ordered.

"Of course. Clearing a route for Subway Train 493 to the Facility."

The machine paused.

"Route cleared. Subway Train 493 is on route to arrive at the Facility in 18 hours. Is there anything else that you need, Ms.Johnson?"

"No." Darcy chuckled. "Just keep the train at the highest speed."

"Changing the speed up to highest level. New time is estimated to be 10 hours. Is this time satisfactory?"

"Yes. Your assistance complete." Darcy said.

"Alright. We hope that your experience on Subway Train 493 is satisfactory. Enjoy the ride."

The machine shut off.

Darcy walked over to us and plopped down on one of the seats. We all sat down with her. A collective air of relief filled the car.

"Is that how easy things are for you?" Kamira asked.

Darcy nodded. "Yeah. The technology evolves everyday."

"Lucky." Kamira muttered.

Darcy shook her head. "It's not for free."

"Sure." Kamira scoffed.

"Guys." Ivan whispered. "Please don't fight."

"We won't." Darcy assured him.

I leaned back and closed my eyes.

Rana and our kids were at the Facility. From what she told me, combined with what I heard, I could tell that the Facility was nothing more than a maze of torture rooms.

Simply put it, Hell on Earth.

I opened my eyes and looked around the car.

Darcy sat a couple of seats away from me, leaning forward with her head down and covered with her arms. I could hear her mumbling to herself.

I couldn't imagine what she was thinking. After all, she would be seeing her uncle in the less than a day. The uncle that traumatized her, hurt her best friend almost beyond saving, and literately ran Hell on Earth.

Not to mention that she hadn't seen him in four years.

Lanis and Marcus sat huddled together, talking quietly. Lanis's hand kept on drifting up to her hearing aid.

No doubt that she was thinking about Clarita.

Rocco and Kamira sat next to each other.

Rocco was trying to speak to Kamira, but she was focused on the sphere of water in her hands.

I made a mental note to not get close to her when her powers were activated. The last thing that I wanted was to splashed by her water and electrocute myself.

I sighed and closed my eyes, thinking about my family.

Rana, Kai, Sabrina, Darcy and Ivan.

If anything happened to them...

And now, I had Lanis to worry about too.

She was my friend. I didn't want anything to happen to her.

We made it to Washington by 10 am.

Darcy led us through the city, talking her way through everything. She led us to a tall building and let us inside with her key card. We followed her down several hallways and into an elevator.

When the elevator opened, there was a door just a few paces in front of us. Darcy looked back at us, smiling grimly.

"Here we go." she chuckled. "Into the belly of the beast."

"Darcy." I said. "We're all ready. Let's go."

She nodded.

Darcy slipped her key card in the identification slot. It beeped, and the doors opened. We went in, and the doors closed behind us.

We all froze.

Marcus swallowed. "Well that's not ominous at all."

"Come on." I sighed. "We can deal with the doors later. For now, lets focus on finding Rana, the kids, and Clarita."

Darcy led us through the hallways.

Everything was so quiet.

Nobody stopped us.

"So, does anybody else think that it's creepy that nobody is around?" Ivan squeaked. "I mean, shouldn't people be stopping us?"

"Of course nobody is stopping us." Darcy said flatly. "The note that Clarita wrote told us to come to the Facility. They're expecting us."

"So, will we be ambushed right away?" Kamira asked.

"Probably not." Darcy answered. "My uncle's plans are usually subtle. But be ready, just in case."

Once again, we came to a door. It was a set of double doors, towering over us.

Darcy and I pushed them open.

We entered a dining hall.

Everything was glass and white metal. There was a dining table in the middle of the room.

And sitting at the head of the table was a man with dark hair and a sharp smile.

"Uncle." Darcy whispered.

The Admin stood up and called out to us. "Friends, come, sit down! My cooks have just finished making lunch. It should be out soon."

"Where's Jae?" Kamira burst out.

The Admin chuckled. "Ms.Iago, Darlene, please tell your friends to be quiet and sit down for lunch. After all, you are my guests."

"We didn't come for lunch." I hissed.

He nodded, smiling. "But I'm afraid I must insist. So please, sit down. I'd hate to repeat myself."

As he spoke, I noticed the men in the shadows of the decor.

"Of course, Uncle." Darcy whispered.

"Darcy?" Ivan yelped.

"Guys, let's sit down." I said.

I glanced at the group, hoping that they'd understand. Darcy and I sat down at the table, and to my relief, everyone else did too.

The Admin smiled. "Well, I'm glad that you all have manners."

"I would still like to know where my family is." I growled.

He nodded. "Yes, yes. Have some patience, Ms.Iago. Ah, here comes lunch!"

The servants served lunch. Plates and plates of hot food.

Despite myself, my stomach growled.

The Admin laughed. "Come on now, get some on your plates!"

We all put a bit of food on our plates.

The Admin nodded. "Good. Now,"

The tension in the room suddenly went up.

A chill went up my spine.

"Let's get to business."

Hi! It's J.
Thank you all who have stuck with Hell Rising. I know it's a fast paced book, and not suited for everyone, but I'm really grateful to everyone who stuck with it. Every single read makes me extremely happy.
Now, I'm curious about what you guys think is going to happen. Will Rana be okay? Will the Admin kill the group? Will Clarita kill Rana? I'd love to discuss with you all!
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Thank you!