(#1) Roommates by Day, Enemies by Night

Chapter 21

Darkness does not always equate to evil, just as light does not always bring good.~P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Dedicated to the lovely CimerianSparrow. I am so grateful for all your votes and comments on nearly all of my works, plus, you comments give me LIFE. Thank you so so so much, i don't know what else to say.

Siena

I had always wondered what would have happened if I was caught in a race against time. You know, like on of those epic adventures that you see on TV, where the main characters have to complete a task in a certain time limit. Well, I can say one thing now that I'm in one. It really brings out the procrastinator in you.

It wasn't too long after I had discovered the location of the next clue that I was eager to go and get it. Truth be told, I didn't want to do anything. I mean, we had found three clues in one day! Anyone would have thought that we deserved a break. Anyone, that is, except for Warrior.

"Black Hawk, let's go." he said, trying to get me to go to Grand Central Station. After finding the third clue, I had been hit with a sudden bout of laziness. That ever happen to you? I REALLY didn't want to go find the other clue, and now I was lying on the floor of the room we had discovered the third clue in.

"Don't you want to stop Gemini from getting whatever they need for this?" He prodded, trying to entice me into getting up.

I waved a hand without looking at him. "Yeah, yeah. Have you never understood the nature of procrastinators? I don't want to do something, so I'm not going to do it." I explained, sitting up and crossing my legs.

Warrior took a seat next to me. "But they could do some serious damage if they get their hands on all the ingredients. Look, i know it's not your thing to help people, but we have to go." I groaned. This guy clearly wasn't getting the meaning of laziness. Honestly, I would be the worst superhero ever, hence why I am not one.

"Look, idiot, we haven't even discovered the identity of the next ingredient. How about we do that first, then head off to find your precious clue, ok? Because I can guarantee that Gemini already has, they just haven't struck yet."

He rubbed his temples, finally getting what I was saying. "Ok then." he agreed. "Quickly, we find out the next ingredient, then we immediately head to Grand Central."

"All right." I agreed. "Sounds good."

He focused on the words, delicately carved into the wall. "You must find the strongest of the flora that was torched, the one that bloomed when the earth was scorched."

I snapped my fingers. "Ok, flora means flowers, vegetation. But if they wanted a generic plant, I'm guessing they would say that. So I'm going to assume flora means flowers, since that's was it sounds like. We need to find a flower."

Warrior nodded. "One that is sturdy, strong. It was the first to bloom after a devastating event. But not just any event. This one says the earth was scorched. So not a tsunami, or an earthquake. More like a natural disaster like a volcano or a nuclear bomb."

My eyebrows knitted together as I tried to decipher which flower it would be. As the answer dawned upon me, my eyes widened and I grasped Warrior's shoulder, shaking him roughly.

"Whoa." He said, placing a hand on my arm. "I take it you've got the answer?"

I ignored the tingles that were sparking up my arm and nodded. "The strongest of flowers. I remember learning about this in APUSH." He looked at me blankly, and I rolled my eyes. "Oleander. It was the first flower to bloom after Hiroshima. That's why it's the national flower of Japan."