Season 2 - Episode One, Part 1:

P y r i t e

The bus jolted against the uneven ground - the emptiness of the vehicle making every bump noticeable. Sol's head banged against one of the windows, a memory seeming to trigger its way into her mind of the last time she was sitting on one of their buses; though she had vowed not to let fear come in the way of her actions, she couldn't help but feel the shivers it left on her skin, and her wandering eyes searched the passing trees for any sight of Blood Riders.

She shook her head, screwing her eyes shut. No -they were prepared this time, they were careful of who they told about the mission. There was no way that anyone from Riders could have known about what they were going to do...

It had now been a little over 4 months since she had seen Wynnlow, or any of the others who had returned back into their Bunker. A little while after they disappeared, she could have sworn that she had seen one of them in the woods, but she lost sight of them before she could confirm it. Still, there was something unsettling about their plan; perhaps knowing how much consequences had occurred from opening Wynnlow's Bunker was what made her anxious, and that she couldn't bare to see the same thing happen again because of her choices.

"5 minutes away." A voice pulled her from her thoughts. Sol looked over to see her dad smiling over at her, a last moment's reassurance that it was going to work, that it had to work.

She didn't respond, only turned back to glance out the window as if looking back into the past. Visions of Bunker Clan sitting in the seats, the bodies that came next - sprawled along the ground by the wreckage of the old bus, pulling Wynnlow away from the explosion...

Suddenly, a hand latched onto her shoulder causing her to jump into her seat. She rolled her eyes as she turned around to face Kodiak, a look asking what he had disturbed her for.

"It'll be different this time."

She sighed. Half grateful, half annoyed that he seemed to have some sort of ability to always read her thoughts.

"Like your dad said," he lowered his voice a little, not wanting Eryx to overhear them, "it'll redeem yourself to Basilisk after what happened with the first Bunker. But between you and me, I'd have called it a victory, anyway."

"How?" Sol asked, the question slipping out of her. It was a tender topic to talk about, one that she usually pulled herself away from.

"You got them home, the ones who wanted to, at least."

"And what about the rest of them that are buried by the vault? You know, underground but not in the Bunker?"

He shot a warning look over to his friend, hating the way she judged herself so harshly. "They were not your fault, Riv. We've been over this."

"My dad seems to think it was."

"Screw what your dad thinks-" Kodiak caught himself. His words hadn't been loud enough for Eryx to hear, but he sunk into his chair nonetheless, fear swirling his stomach.

Sol let out a small laugh, turning back around to face the direction they were moving. Her smile quickly retreated as he eyes burned into the back of her father's head, sitting across a few rows down from her. What would happen if she failed today? What would that mean for her as Nobel? Nothing phased her quite like the idea of having to face her father if it all went wrong.

Before she could answer her questions, or begin to understand what the sirens going off in her head meant, the bus came to a stop, Eryx's eyes on Sol before she could even stand up.

She took in a deep breath, bracing herself, moving to stand at the front of the vehicle. "I'll skip to it. We all know what we're here for." She began, glancing over everyone in the bus: Kodiak, Bianca, Aeryn, Dreea, Ellery, Adair, and of course, Eryx.

"We're on Riders' territory this time, this means that they could be anywhere, but we're prepared for it. Aeryn will stay on board in case we face any casualties or assaults. Dreea will keep watch and if it comes to it, take down anyone who gets in our way. Once we open the door, we make it known we are not a threat - they could have all sorts of weapons or precautions down there that we don't know about. That's why we're leaving all weapons on the bus."

"Sol-" Eryx was quick to his feet, keeping his voice hushed as he pulled her to one side. "You can't be serious. Going out there unarmed is a death march."

The young girl looked down to see her arm gripped tightly in her father's hands. Pulling it away, she challenged him, staring at him assertively. "We have Dreea, like I told you. They wouldn't get past her."

Eryx contemplated her words for a few moments, agitated by her rebellion to his advice. He couldn't decide if she had ordered it to make a point to him, or simply out naivety of her new responsibility. Either way, he stood up taller, puffing out his jacket. "I'm taking my gun. And it's not up for debate."

Sol rolled her eyes and pushed open the door, the group piling out behind her. There was a short trek to reach the Bunker - barely even a minute, but the door was located inside a cave resting at the bottom of the cliffs. The river that surrounded them was what prevented the bus from coming any closer, but Eryx had insisted upon evacuating this particular shelter, so they had to adjust to the conditions.

Sol reached the vault of the opening which wasn't too far in the cave, but it was still a lot darker than she had predicted, and trying to adjust the magnet to open the lock took longer than they had hoped.

"Can you not get it open?" Eryx asked, his voice offering no sense of help to his daughter crouched down on the cold, wet ground.

"Ye of little faith..." She smirked, a tight push on the magnet and then a loud, clicking sound echoing throughout the cave. As Sol pulled open the door, the alarms set in began to blast underground, and the group hurried before anyone found them first.

one // part one

Just a short little introductory chapter to welcome you to book 2! So this season starts with a familiar undertone, but what lies inside this Bunker will bring a whole different set of challenges for our new Nobel.

The first few chapters of this season will be heavily Sol-orientated, but that is to build up one of the main plots coming your way. And don't worry - Wynn will be back before you know it;)

Thanks for sticking around.

28/06/19