Never Really Gone

Chapter 24

Nora's POV

I'm given an hour to get ready before I leave. Entering the dorm for possibly the last time, I notice something on Xisuma's bed. Walking over, I see it's his small turtle plushie, left behind in the chaos last week. Ezra's dragon plushie is still on his bed too. Smiling a little, I pick them up, knowing they'd be incinerated once the room was cleaned. I also take Joe's favourite book, and Grian's photo of him and his mother.

It's all I have left of the boys, and under no circumstances would I let them be burnt away to nothing. Slipping them into my bag, a single tear rolls down my cheek as I take one final look around the room, the place that had held 6 years of happiness among the pain and sadness I'd felt since I was taken. Not wanting to cry, I quickly shut the door.

Waking down the halls, I take note that every door is locked. This is the one day each year the barrier falls, and Demetrius decided yesterday to keep all students locked in their rooms from now on, for fear of more escaping. I try not to look directly at the terrified 12 year olds, their wrists grabbed by the iron grips of Watchers as they're dragged down the halls. Demetrius had really upped the security, the idea that 4 people had escaped driving him mad.

I'm honestly a little happy I won't be near him. He wouldn't be able to hurt me on his bad days. I had begun to notice the days he didn't hit me, Grian sometimes had a bruise or bloody nose, which he claimed he got whilst training, or in a small fight. My brain slowly began to connect the dots that Demetrius might have been hurting him, but I refused to believe it, something I regret. The downside of him not being able to hurt me was that someone else now got that pleasure.

I stop at the massive entrance when a cold hand I know too well grips my shoulder from behind me. Not enough to hurt me, but definitely enough to say he could if he wanted to.

"Try to run away and I will find and kill you. Under no circumstances will you tell anyone what you truly are and if you do that person will die and you will be severely punished. Find them and refuse to bring them in, and all 5 of you will die." Demetrius tells me, voice calm yet stern. I continue to look forward, not wanting to see this bastard's face again. I bite my lip, holding back tears.

"Yes sir"

He releases me, and I walk toward the portal, a mixture of fear, sadness and anger swelling inside of me. I feel his gaze on me the whole way. I pause momentarily as I reach the structure, looking down into the swirling mass of stars. I take a deep breath, silencing the panic inside of me, before jumping through.

Grian's POV, 6 days later.

"I have to go"

"What?!"

My mother's voice is full of disbelief and shock, I feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes, not wanting to believe myself either.

"They'll be looking for me, and I'll only put you in danger by staying here. I need to go to a whitelisted server where they can't get to me. I'm sorry, I don't want to have to leave."

My mother nods understandingly, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Please stay safe Sunshine"

"I will mum, don't worry"

I give her one last hug, before turning to the door. It's best this way, I'd never forgive myself if she died because of me. Not wanting to make saying goodbye harder, I leave, trying not to cry as I head back to the bus stop.

I have to be realistic, staying with my mum wasn't going to work. It was an instinctive decision made in a moment of panic, and not a smart one. I would have been better off not seeing her, as it's only become harder to leave her behind. It's better this way. It's what's safest for the both of us.

Climbing back onto the stuffy vehicle, I begin to work a new plan out, one that can hopefully stretch farther into the future. I can either find a server, or apply to become an Admin and start one. Despite being longer and more difficult, the latter seems safer. As an Admin, I'd be able to control who'd be on the server, lowering the chance of a Watcher being there by a lot. So my first step is to head to the Admin HQ back at the Hub.

The bus ride seems even longer this time, the bus itself a lot quieter. I can only wonder what the others are doing, Ezra in particular. I hope he's ok. Hopefully they're all together and safe. I miss them. I miss the comforting arms of my boyfriend, and his soft, sweet kisses that make me feel happy and loved. I don't want to love anyone else, my heart belonging to him and him only...

I can only hope he still says the same about me.

Ezra's POV.

"Ezra?" Hels quietly asks

"Yeah?" I respond, not turning to face him, more content with the small, silver dagger in my hand. It's very nice, especially the small rubies on either side of the leather bound hilt. A knife like this would sell for a fair price.

"Do you remember anyone called... Joe?"

I rack my brain for people I know with that name. Despite it being fairly common, I can't match it to a face I've seen before. At least I don't think so, most things that happened before meeting Hels I can't remember. Just that I was a Watcher, and that my brother betrayed me and left me here.

"No" I call "Why?"

"Doesn't matter... what about... Grian?"

Grian. A pretty name that certainly rings a bell, though I'm unsure why. As I said, most of my memories before meeting Hels are blurry, I only remember Xisuma, and two unclear faces. Faces of people who betrayed me. Maybe that's why the name is familiar, Grian might be one of the men who hurt me. But the name seems to have more meaning then that... I almost associate it with happiness.

"Vaguely..." I respond, after a moment's pause "I don't know why though. Why did you ask?"

"Like I said... it... it doesn't matter" Hels mumbles quietly, taking a seat beside me.

'That's right.' A voice whispers in my head, unknown but eerily familiar. 'No need to remember them...'

As soon as the voice came, however, it disappeared. I figured it was only a figment of my imagination, and ignored it, but I couldn't shake the eerie feeling, like something was wrong...

Probably nothing.