SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 46- Out of the Darkness

"...mom?" I ask shakily as I clutch my shoulder "How... how?"

"We can talk about that later," she says worriedly as she rushes over to me, quickly taking one of Sterling's elixirs and attempting to stop the bleeding "We need to get the hell out of here first," she states as she grabs something to wrap up my shoulder.

"What about Ember? Is she gone?" I ask nervously as she helps me to my feet.

"No, but I managed to surprise her, so she's locked up for now at least," she explains as I look over Sterling's unconscious body. Suddenly, I look across the room and see the mortified look on Kai's face.

"Kai," I say calmly, but after glancing over at my mother, he quickly darts out of the room "Kai! Wait!" I shout, but it's no use "Shit."

"What's wrong, who is he?" she asks worriedly as we head toward the hall.

"Wait," I say as I stop walking "You mean you don't know?" I ask, a chill beginning to shoot down my spine.

"I haven't exactly been in a window looking out this whole time," she states bluntly as we start to head down the hall. Strangely, she seems to know exactly where she's going. After a moment, I realize that this is nowhere near the first time that she's been here, and something tells me that it won't be the last.

"If you couldn't see, then how did you know that I was in danger?" I ask, confused.

"Instincts are more powerful than you might think," she states as we peek around a corner. Once she sees that it's clear, we start rushing. As I try to run, my head starts to spin, I've lost too much blood already.

"What the hell are we gonna do now?" I ask nervously.

"I'm guessing they aren't dumb enough to use the original entrance, and running around looking for where they came in is going to take too long. So, we're going to need to find another way out," she explains, stopping as we turn another corner.

"Wait," I say worriedly, "My friend is still here, I can't just leave her behind."

"Tex!" I hear Cleo shout from the direction we had come from "Marissa!"

"Shit," Mother states as she quickly looks around "Breeze, look, I don't want to leave Pearl here either, but the two of us aren't enough to get those two out on our own. These people are far too strong and we're outnumbered here," she explains, I can hear the guilt in her voice.

"Fine, but we need to come with backup as soon as possible," I state frustratedly.

"Agreed, but we need to get out of here before we can even think about that." she explains worriedly "We need to find an outside wall, there should be one pretty close if I remember right," she says as she runs her hand over the charred brick.

"Find that bitch!" Cleo screams angrily "Kai, where the hell are you?"

"Here." Mother states as she places both of her hands on the wall "Stand back." she says as she gently nudges me away.

"You better be right about this, or the noise is gonna lead them straight to us," I say worriedly.

"Have some faith, kiddo." she smiles, then suddenly holds her fist out sideways, punching the wall as hard as she can. The shockwave of it shakes the whole area as I watch the wall crumble away. After a few feet of dirt and rubble, I can see a faint glimpse of sunlight through the cracks, the beams hurting my eyes as they readjust to the light.

"This way!" I hear Tex shout nearby.

"Damn," I say as we start to climb in "Remind me never to doubt you again." I laugh as she forces the rest of the stone away, the bright sun becoming blinding to me after a week underground. As soon as we make it outside, she collapses the tunnel behind us and we make a run for it as far as we can go, ducking into a large bush to catch our breath.

"Son of a bitch." I wheeze, my head spinning.

"Shh, take it easy." she whispers nervously "Once we get closer to town, we should be safe. I don't think that they're stupid enough to show themselves out in the open."

"God, I hope you're right." I sigh as I lie back on the dirt "Fucking freaks."

"You don't even know the half of it." she states worriedly "I saw some of the things they have done in the past through Ember's memories and it's far worse than I could have ever imagined."

"Oh god," I say as I try to sit up "We need to get her out of your head."

"I need Mahina." she says as we start to climb out of the bush "Hopefully she'll know what to do."

We carefully make our way through the jungle, feeling relief when we start to reach the edge of town. I know that we might turn some heads if anyone sees all of the blood soaking the bandage on my shoulder, so we make sure to try to stay out of sight as much as possible. Once we manage to make it to the temple, we sneak around and take one of the hidden passages off to the side. The tunnel is dusty and littered with cobwebs that we have to duck under, I know that it hasn't been used in years. When we reach the end, we emerge in the hall near the Sanctuary.

"Aurora!" I shout hoarsely as we make our way down the hall. Suddenly, Aurora and Roxie rush out, seeming relieved as they see us.

"Oh my god," Aurora says in relief as she rushes to us "What the hell happened? Are you okay?" she asks as she stares at my shoulder.

"It's complicated, I'm okay, but we have a lot we need to talk about," I state as we head into the Sanctuary.

"Mona, Delilah, go find everyone and bring them here," Roxie commands two of her servants and they quickly rush out.

"Artemis?" Aurora asks as she begins to stare skeptically at her. At that moment, my mother begins to smile warmly at her.

"Hello, old friend," she says kindly, and suddenly, Aurora and Roxie's eyes both grow wide and hopeful.

"Veronika?" Roxie asks in disbelief, and my mother nods happily. Quickly, the three of them rush in for a hug, nearly falling to their knees in the process.

"Holy shit," Aurora states "You're great at getting mixed up in some crazy shit, aren't you?" she laughs, and soon the others join in.

"You've got that right." my mother says as she lets go, suddenly looking worried "Look, before anything else, I need your help with something."

"What's wrong?" Aurora asks nervously, but before she can answer, Daddy and Nanea rush into the room.

"Sweetheart, oh thank god you're okay," Daddy says in relief as he rushes to hold me.

"You really scared the hell out of us, Magnus told us what happened." Nanea states as she comes over and joins in the hug "I'm glad that you're home." she smiles.

"Well," I say as I back away, glancing at my mother "I'm not the only one." As she gazes at my father, I can see the tears begin to fill her eyes.

"Dante?" she asks as she begins to step towards him. Aurora, Roxie, and I both watch as he realizes the truth.

"Veronika?" he asks in disbelief, and suddenly she dashes into his arms as he lifts her up and spins her around. As he returns her feet to the ground, my heart begins to feel warm as I watch them kiss, both in tears "I knew that I would find you again."

Fall for You- Secondhand Serenade