Draxton and I finally arrive at Zlander Ville, the capital of North America. This village is bustling with all kinds of life. A farmer trying to sell this year's harvest. A politician running to be elected to have a seat at the Empress' table. A mother pulling her children along the busy street. Draxton and I make our way to Thistle Street, which is where headquarter are. I walk up to the entrance and show the guard my badge. He nods and lets us by. Zlander is one of the few villages to have power, so we take the elevator to the 32nd floor. Once we reach floor 32 I go straight to an old friends office. I walk to her door and knock lightly, "Long time no see, huh, Lexie." I say as I hug my friend. "Octavia, what are you doing here?" She asks me. "Well, as much as I wish I could say for a social call, I need your help," I tell her. "With what?" "Well, something's been stolen and I need help finding it." "Ok, what's been stolen?" "A cure." "A cure for what exactly? " Lexie asks. "For the soulless." "The soulless? Yea, right. Really Octavia, why are you here?" "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but this guy has truly found a way to fix our biggest threat. I've seen it with my own eyes. People who were once undead and rotting away have heart beats again, they can talk, their skin was mending from the rot. Believe me, I was beyond skeptical." I tell her. "It's getting worse out there Lex. Hell, just the other day I found souls within sector 27." "Impossible. All souls have been pushed to the Drylands." "Well, not anymore." I tell her. "Alright, have a seat and I'll see what I can do." "Thanks, Lex. I owe you one." "Don't worry about it, girl. If this thing does what you claim it does then I'll call that more than even."

It took Lexie several hours before she came back. In the meantime I tried my best to keep an eye on Draxton. "Don't touch that." "I'm not gonna break it." "When it breaks you'll have to replace it." "Well, it's a good thing it's not gonna break." He says as the ancient figurine plummets to the ground, breaking into several pieces. "I told you not to touch it." I state with a smirk. "I'll have you know that belonged to her dead grandmother." I tell him as Lexie walks back into the office. "Ma'am, I'm so sorry. It was an accident." Draxton starts rambling out. "Oh, no problem. I picked it up at the market for a buck-fifty." Lexie tells him. He turns to me with a glare that could kill and I send back a smile full of pearly whites.

"So, what've you got?" I ask Lexie as she sits down behind her desk. "As far as leads...none." She tells me with a look of disappointment. "I mean, it's not like y'all gave me all that much to go off." "Yea, I was hoping we'd pick something up at least." "You know, I don't get on the ground much, but you could always talk to Jess. She's always got her ears to the ground, so if anyone were to know something it would most likely be her." "Your probably right. Thanks anyways, Lexie." "Of course, but hey, next time you stop by make sure five years don't past first." "You got it." I tell her as I hug her goodbye. "Come on, Draxton." "Where are we going now?" "To the Wetlands." I tell him as his face goes ghost white.

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OH MY GOSH!!! It's been soooo long! And I'm so sorry my beautiful muffins. I've been so busy and honestly didn't know where I was going with this book, but I think I've got an idea now. This chapter isn't THE best, but that's only because I was trying to give y'all something for this incredibly longgggg wait. I'm going to try and publish every Saturday like I stated before and probably edit the chapters, because I'm fairly sure they all suck.

With Much Love,
Loving_Bookworm📚🐛