"Can I ask you something?" Everyone was strapped up and seated by the exit door waiting for the right moment to jump off. Kayla was sitting right across from me and despite the fact that Zayn and Harry had somehow ended up on either side of mine, I couldn't help but wonder about "Mikaela".

She leaned casually against the steel wall of the hangar, her steady eyes fixed on me after my question. She looked much too calm for someone who was about to jump off a plane more than fifty thousand feet in the air. She's definitely looked more calm than I felt.

"Are you asking me?" She raised her eye brows in surprise. 

"That day in the woods. When I was spying on..." I trailed off and looked at Zayn sheepishly, remembering how I'd snuck out after gym class and followed Amanda and him into the back woods behind our school. "Did you lie to me when you said you didn't see anything?"

The hangar was silent aside from the low thrumming of the turbines outside. Everyone's eyes had turned our way, even Niall and Arlo who sat beside Kayla. I didn't know why I decided to ask such a question in front of everyone but it just burst out of my chest as I thought I might never get to ask her if our operation went wrong. 

What if my parachute was broken? 

What if we landed in a deep lake and drowned?

Why was I panicking already?

"Rosalie, calm down," Zayn murmured and I instinctively stopped twisting my fingers.

"Yes, I did," Kayla finally answered after a few seconds. "I lied about numerous things."

A sense of false relief shot through me, I knew the story thanks to Zayn but her confirmation made me feel so much better. I leaned forward waiting for her to continue.

"I knew you weren't a cutter either and I invited you to the Stratford ball on purpose. I really don't want you to take this personally because this is so much more than just you or me. I lied in the beginning to protect Zayn and our kind from exposure. Our strength has always been our anonymity, people don't believe we exist and therefore we have been able to do anything."

I swallowed hard as a small smile formed on her lips. 

"But soon your case turned to that of self interest for me," She said and I heard Zayn sigh.

Kayla looked at Harry and then her smile widened. "Your progress was very different from most of our victims. You were able to figure out almost everything thanks to Harry and Zayn was too invested. He dragged it on too long and it became clear that he would not kill you so I decided to use this to my advantage."

"Advantage?" Harry asked.

"She's been pushing for reform agenda's within our community since I became a vampire," Zayn explained, making me wonder how old Kayla really was. 

"I've always wanted to be self reliant. To not have to depend on human or animal blood to survive. There are a group of us like minded people who have been experimenting for centuries to create artificial blood with sufficient nutrients for us to consume instead." Kayla sat up straight and frowned at Zayn suddenly. "But we have always been the minority and our research was always sabotaged hindering our progress. Lavender believes we need human blood to stay in power and the majority agree with her."

"But what does this have to do with me? With us?" I gesture at Harry and I. Every time I heard of this Lavender vampire, I felt goosebumps erupt on my skin. 

Kayla smiling like an evil villain right now didn't help either. 

She chuckled lightly before speaking again. "Zayn has always been a popular figure in the council. He was Lavender's favorite for the longest time and he introduced the feeding schedule that lead him to you. The fact that HE failed to kill you was like a stab to the council's gut. It shows that the feeding schedule isn't fool proof. Harry's father is proof of that as well. I've heard the rumors. Some vampire's are finally thinking of switching sides and supporting my cause instead." 

I looked at Zayn and his eyes shifted to the floor in shame. 

"I suppose it is time for us to stop being parasites." He said quietly.

"Rosalie, by working with us you won't just be saving yourself. You would be saving all the other potential victim's around the world." Kayla said earnestly and I just nodded my head simply. I know it may seem selfish but it's not like we chose to help her. To be honest we were at her mercy as well.

It felt like I was standing on a double edged sword with the twins on either end. Stay here and let Kayla use us to fight the council or escape and potentially be caught by someone much worse like Lavender. Either way it didn't seem like anyone had our best interests in mind, only their own.

"We're in position," Lauren announced from the cockpit and she tightened the straps around her shoulders as she walked up to us.

"Have you set it in automatic?" Kayla stood up and did the same. 

"Yeap, programmed Chardon's plane to crash in Brisbane. Should divert some attention away from us," Lauren replied.

"Do vampire's even need parachutes? Aren't you supposed to be indestructible?" Harry asked Lauren in sarcasm and she pulled him towards her.

"We won't die but it sure is painful to be splattered across a hard surface, don't you think? You'll come with me, smart mouth," She winked at him and secured herself behind him. 

"Rosalie, I'll take you," Zayn said and he fastened his straps to mine securely before I could say anything. 

Arlo turned the wheel of the hangar door and the sound of the metal screeching made me grind my teeth in anticipation. Soon the door flung to the side and a gush of violent air whipped into the space around us. 

Thankfully my hair was tied up but a few strands escaped and flew around my face wildly. I squinted my eyes and my knees started wobbling as one by one, everyone jumped out of the exit. Soon it was Harry and Lauren's turn. He turned around and looked at me and then he was gone, like the wind had swallowed him into nothing. 

I was now standing by the threshold and all I could see below me was the thick wisps of clouds, like cotton candy only thinner. I knew I would cut through them like a knife and nothing would stop me from plummeting down.

"Let's go, Rosalie. You'll be fine," Zayn urged me patiently from behind. 

"Zayn, I can't. You go ahead. I'll stay here." My fingers found the straps that bound us together and I twisted at them in panic but Zayn grabbed my hands and held them in place.

"You jumped into a large river in winter without any protection and you're telling me you are afraid of this? I don't buy it for a second," He said and my breathing slowed slightly. He had a point.

"Just close your eyes and jump. I'm right here with you," His lips were at my ear and it brought me some calm at least.

After taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and stretched one foot out into the air. Wind slapped my cheeks and soon we were falling through the clouds. 

My body was rigid, my back tight like a tense coil of wire but soon I heard Zayn's laughter.

"Doesn't it feel like we're flying!" He shouted and I finally opened my eyes. It didn't feel like we were flying, in fact it felt like we were falling at an unimaginable speed but the vastness of pale blue sky around us made me feel strangely invigorated. Soon my body relaxed and I stretched my gloved hands out in the air, they somehow found Zayn's and within seconds our fingers were interlocked.

I closed my eyes because the strong wind had become too painful and rejoiced in the moment with my head against Zayn's neck. 

He pulled the parachute strap and we were soon dragged up and backwards by a strong current of air. I held on to him tightly but the wind started to grow less and less wild. 

"We're going to land soon. Brace yourself and soften your knees when we touch the ground, okay?" Zayn says into my ears, his voice barely audible against the lapping wind.

I opened my eyes to see that we were fast approaching the ground. We landed sooner than I expected and my legs wobbled like jelly as Zayn did most of the work keeping us from being dragged across the grass by the parachute. 

I saw the others taking off their gear nearby and Zayn quickly undid ours as well. We approached the group shortly after as they waited by the side of a lone road that separated us from a large empty field on the other side. 

Kayla quickly signaled for us not to speak -not that I was in a chatty mood anyway- and soon a small military jeep drove up and stopped next to us. I looked inside to see an older man with a hooked nose and eyes shielded by dark glasses sitting by the wheel. He nodded his head at Kayla and she got in immediately. 

Everyone else piled up inside and I felt my gut twist at the thought of getting into this car with this strange man due to my current trust issues with these vampires. Harry hesitated as well but the moment he got in, I knew I had no choice.  

I climbed into the back and Zayn got in after me, shutting the door behind him. We drove ahead, everyone sitting in cautious silence and it was only then that I realized my hand was still tightly gripping onto Zayn's.

Heyy hope you enjoyed the chapter :) :)