Altered

Forty-Eight: Surrender

Charlotte continued her sprint after her team mates, ignoring the quaking ground. Her breath was ripping at her throat. She could see them just ahead of her and knew she just needed to hold James off a bit longer. She had to frighten him, though it went against everything in her body. Even if things were changing with him, if her feelings for him were changing, she still had a game to win. She still had to beat him.

Charlotte once again stood on the platform with James. A horn sounded, distorted but none the less obvious. "What's that?" James asked surprised, glancing to the headmaster's balcony.

"What's what?" Charlotte asked, flickering in and out of focus for a moment, deliberately making her alteration falter, making herself look weak.

"The horn," he said looking at her suspiciously. "I heard the horn".

"James?" Charlotte muttered vanishing for a moment, before flickering back.

"What's going on?" he snapped. She could see a flash of panic in his eyes. She had him doubting everything.

Charlotte took a deep breath as she caught up on Eli and Carrie, flinging Mary across the next channel of water. They didn't say a word to her as they took hold of her and threw her across the river, where Maria and Freya halted her tumble.

She didn't speak but concentrated on leading James from one projection to the next, before he realised she had tricked him again. She needed to do it seamlessly or he would notice.

The projection of herself had vanished, leaving James watching the pitch as he thought he had left it. The horn was still sounding calling a sudden end to the game. Forgotten were flooding onto the pitch, down onto his platform. He glanced bewildered as he was seized, yelling and cursing. The screens showed the Forgotten surrounding Charlotte, Ethan, Carrie and the others. Elmhirst stood on the balcony frowning.

"We're nearly there," Ethan yelled, pulling Charlotte back into the real world. "What is James up to?"

"I've distracted him for now," Charlotte said breathlessly, jumping with the others down the next step. "The others are near, we need to split up and take them out," she ordered. "Ethan you head west with Maria. Freya and Mary head east. Eli and Carrie I need you here. James is not going to hold anything back when he realises that I have misled him again," she growled. There was a sudden awareness of his fear flaring up. She had been stupid to show him the Forgotten surrounding them. That now distant urge to attack surged. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the urge to turn her attention away from the fear feeding the larger projection, and focus on him. She had a game to win.

"There are three ahead," she explained, running along with Carrie and Eli. "They won't even see us. Just take them out quickly. James is about to send us scattering".

"If we take his team out," Carrie grunted, "there won't be much he can do".

Charlotte laughed. "You would be surprised. Don't underestimate him".

"He's already after underestimating us," Eli interjected. "He won't stand a chance against us". Charlotte pressed her lips together. She had too much experience with James to know that even alone he was too dangerous to disregard.

"What can the crowd see?" Carrie asked.

"In the projection James' team are making their final advances," she smiled. "They smell the kill". Eli laughed and even Carrie grinned.

"They are in for a surprise," Eli chuckled to himself.

They finally came upon four members of James' team standing entranced by the stream. Annakiya was among them.