The Haven High Book Series (Wattys2017)

Chapter 18

Alexander Ludwig as Kyle Audney

Despaired

Part 2

Kyle Audney lay sleeping in an uncomfortable hospital chair slumped over a wheeled hospital tray. The kind they use to put their god awful food on. He was drooling and snoring loudly, but his hospital companion couldn't hear him.

Travis had been out now for over two weeks with no sign of coming out of his coma, and Kyle refused to leave. The only thing that gave him hope was watching as each of his brother's hairline cracks mended slowly.

The worst part had been Trav's stomach. It still looked like scorched earth rather than stone the color of hard granite. That part worried him the most. The doctors couldn't explain why he was still in his stone form, nor could they explain why he was unconscious or even how to wake him.

Mountain Trolls are so reclusive and secretive that the MedMages had no clue what to do for him but make him comfortable.

For the first few days of his hospital stay Kyle had not been able to come see him, because he and his friends had been detained by the council guard. This time the Commander himself interrogated them. He wished he could say it was an honor to meet the legendary hardass but no not so much.

They all had to lie and say that they knew nothing about the attack prior to its occurrence. That just by chance Lauren happened to be walking by when she spotted Liam and his compadres going into the school. Of course the commander wasn't stupid, he didn't believe that for a second, but without anything to prove otherwise his hands were tied.

He grilled them on what they knew about the attack. Did they know why the insurgents attacked the library? Questions like that. He was digging to see how much they knew. He even sent in powerful psychics to dig in their brains for the truth, but Brenna had created a powerful amulet to safeguard against that ages ago.

At one point they had placed them all in the same room no doubt hoping they were stupid enough to start blabbing when the guards left. You didn't have to be a genius to guess they were using magic to observe them and listen in. In the end when the kids still didn't cooperate the guards marched in, and one by one, menacingly strode up to them demanding they take off the amulets, but when you've gone up against a full grown death worm, rampaging horde of berserkers, and Liam's crew the guards lost their power to intimidate.

It was hilarious when the guards in desperation tried to remove them. They had tried to remove the bracelet from every member of his crew each time expecting a different result and each time getting throw across the room like rag dolls. Kyle had to bite his lower lip so hard it bled to keep from laughing.

They dragged Zach off then. He told them later that it had been touch and go for a while though when the commander questioned him. The poor guy can't lie worth a damn – literally. As a halfblood angel, he can't speak an untrue word. He said in the end the only thing he could think to do to ensure the guards didn't lock them up and throw away the key, was to shut the fuck up and not say anything.

The scariest part of the whole ordeal though was when the commander called them all into his office at the same time and told them if they were all too eager to fight on the council's behalf then that could easily be arranged with an early conscription request.

Kyle had looked around at his frightened friends. Out of anything the commander could have said that was the worst. Not a one of them wanted to give up being a teen that badly. In all the time they'd battled Liam's hateful crew they never once thought this might be the outcome. Now here they were in danger of never leaving the garrison, not because they were prisoners but because they were enslaved to the council.