False Gods | The Prime Archives #3 ✓

two

Chase had been trying to avoid having this talk with Emily, but the universe had a habit of ignoring him.

After leaving Archie's workshop, Chase called a meeting in the central room of The Haven. If he was going to tell Emily about what he and Andre saw outside, he might as well have told the others.

Once everyone was settled in, Chase took his spot in front of them all.

Emily stood beside one of the couches, her dark eyes narrowed. Her girlfriend, the hydrokinetic Kai, was next to her. Everyone else had filled in the sofas, their eyes trained on their leader as they awaited his explanation.

"So," Victor said while sharpening his red blade with a smooth rock, "what do you need? I have work to do."

"You mean training by yourself for hours?" Emily replied dryly.

"I'm staying ready. You all are getting too comfortable."

Emily snorted. "It's been a year. If Atlas was going to find us here, they would've already."

Victor simply rolled his eyes and continued sharpening his sword.

"What did you want to talk to us about, Chase?" Kai asked him.

Uh oh.

He looked around at everyone's faces. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, they all looked relaxed. Almost as if they weren't fugitives hiding from the world.

They had no idea what happened earlier that morning. They had no idea that the place they made their home might've been ripped away from them in the next coming hours.

Chase rubbed the back of his neck as he prepared his response. All eyes were on him. He was used to the pressure; after all, he had been the leader of this team for three years and had also led his old group for two. Nerves rarely got the best of him.

But this was different. Their lives and freedom were potentially in jeopardy.

"Well?" Danai, one of the original members of the group, asked while tying her silver dreads into a bun atop her head. "Spit it out, Goldilocks."

"Right." He released a deep breath. "A Jaeger ship flew over the forest today during patrol."

The entire room felt like copious amounts of liquid nitrogen had seeped in through the cracks. Everyone stiffened in their seats, their eyes going wide upon registering the news Chase delivered. Most were afraid. A few seemed angry.

The only who hadn't reacted was Cassie—the last of the newcomers.

She remained in the corner of the room with her head bowed. Her hair, darker than the blackest night sky, curtained around her like the grim reaper's hood.

The thirteen-year-old rarely spoke. In fact, Chase couldn't remember the last time she said a word to him since they rescued her from an Atlas research facility. That particular mission had been the one that almost got them all killed.

He tried not to think about it often.

It was the first and only time he had experienced her abilities—and he still wasn't exactly sure what they were. Whatever Atlas did to her in that lab messed her up. Bad. He wasn't sure if she would ever recover. Not without intense therapy, of course.

And he was afraid they wouldn't be able to offer her that any time soon.

As the others began speaking amongst themselves about the Jaeger situation, he found himself fixating upon Cassie.

She lifted her head slightly, her silver eyes staring straight into his own. Even though she hadn't said a word, he knew exactly what she was thinking.