Diary of a Runaway (BOOK #3)

Oblivion

        Jane's POV

            The next morning came without hesitation.

            We spent the remainder of the night preparing ourselves for the unknown. Luke tried staying by my side, but I caught him dozing off numerous times and eventually told him to go to bed.

            "No," he mumbled. "I'm awake. I just need a little caffeine."

            I shook my head, pulling him from the couch. "No, caffeine will only make it worse in the end. Come on. Go to bed. I'll be here in the morning. I promise I won't run off, okay?"

            He looked up at me with those drooping blue eyes. "I'm not worried about you running off. I know you would never do that to me But I am worried about you."

            "Don't be," I told him with a weak smile as he leaned against me. "I'm a vampire, Luke Hartman. I can take anything."

            "Vampire or not, you still have that bit of humanity inside you. You still have the ability to feel. I've seen it, Jane. Don't try to pass it off as anything else. You're as human as the rest of us."

            Luke's words plagued me for the remainder of the night. By about ten, he rolled out of bed completely oblivious about what he said the night before. We all stood in the kitchen going through the billionth possible plan. I half expected everyone to be at each other's throats by now. But no. Derek and William seemed to be avoiding each other--both ways--now. Angelina sat quietly, staring out the window until she would mind giving her input. Ava's only concern seemed to be her sister.

            All while they kept the destructive doctor in his room. I couldn't even imagine talking to him now. And everyone else wanted to avoid telling him what happened to Val. So the best option came to be sedation and imprisonment.

            "I've been out," Derek was saying, his tone the usual demeanor. "All those people from the party last night are at their houses. It's only morning, but it's too quiet. It's a Sunday. Don't people have church? Don't people go out for breakfast? Walk the dog? Watch the sunrise?"

            "Not when there's a greater force controlling their every move," Victor reminded him.

            "Right," Derek nodded. "God, I can't believe I missed this."

            "Well, you did," William grumbled, slumping down in his chair at the kitchen table. "So what are we supposed to do? Just sit around here and wait?"

            "We can't," Ava insisted, marching forward.

            I crossed my arms, leaning against the cabinets. "Well, we don't exactly know where these Originals are. They only ever come to us."

            "So we make them come to us," Angelina suggested, still standing at her place by the window, but now she faced us and her eyes focused in determination. "I don't know what's going on. And I want answers as much as the next person. I'm not just going to sit back and wait for something to happen. The Originals want our help in order to defeat the Hunters. We make them think we'll do it/"

            My whole body tensed up at the thought of siding with a group of people we didn't even know. But then I thought about what taking over the Hunters might mean. It might mean truly finding a cure. I could start over. I could find that happy ending I could only ever dream of.

            I glanced over at Luke. He seemed to be thinking intensely over the subject. Keeping him out of the line of fire seemed impossible lately. The closer he got to all of this, the more he felt like he needed to do something.