"Ignited" Book One of the Autumn Trilogy

Chapter Five

Oliver woke Autumn early that morning. She poked at Autumn in her sleep, muttering silently that they had things to do. Autumn groaned as she rose from her bed, the air cold and humid with morning dew. The sun had barely risen, leaving the sky to be gray. She had stayed out late last night, trying to decipher the letters, coming up with a plan to find her family. She would go to all the places in that document, she would track down her family and find safety, find answers; maybe she would even find Victoria.
As they stepped outside, bare feet on the cold, wet ground, Autumn shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Why are we out here?" She asked Oliver. She seemed a lot less bothered than Autumn, her muscles were relaxed and she took in deep breathes of foggy air, she didn't even seem to be sleepy.
"You have practice to do," Oliver said, "We must get started early." She began to lead them towards the forest.
"What kind of practice?" Autumn yawned. Oliver shushed her, and they continued to walk in silence until they were deep in the woods. Autumn felt more awake now, her muscles seeming to ache less from sleep.
"It's time for us to find out your abilities." Oliver said, putting her hands on her hips, "We can't expect you to stay here forever, and you're already causing quite the name for yourself." Autumn lowered her head, "You will have to go soon, Autumn, but you cant do it defenseless."
"So what, youre going to train me?" Autumn laughed, but her voice died out at Oliver's serious face.
"In a way, yes. You're going to practice your shifting." Oliver smiled devilishly.
Autumn swallowed, "But, I'm a duster. Is'nt that dangerous?"
"We wont start off immediately with shifting, we have to prep your body first, and your mind. You can't expect to control a different body when you don't even have control of your natural one."
Autumn scoffed, "What does that mean?"
Oliver just shook her head with a smile, "You'll see, now come. We'll start by running."
And so their day started. Autumn was ashamed to admit to herself that she wasn't in the best of shape; she might be strong and fast now, but that doesn't mean she couldn't e stronger, faster, with a little bit of practice. She was surprised to see that she had trouble keeping up with Oliver. The short woman definitely was one of surprises, as they did different exercises together. However, while Oliver was hoping that Autumn was working postively on her mind as well through these practices, Autumn silently devised a plan. The curiosity of what the letter from the Bird Isels had to do with the Alpha seemed to pull at her. She wanted to know, she had to know. It was same sigil from the letters she found in her fathers safe, and while she knew the chances that they would actually be related to one another was slim, she still had to make sure, she still had to know if t was about her family, or about Vick.
Eventuallly, the two grew tired of exercises. Oliver decided that they would go back to fuel up, and then return to the woods later. As they were walking back, Autumn casually asks, "So, is the Alpha here today?"
Oliver sighed, looking around them. You could see a few figures in the distance, as it was now to middle of the day. "I'm not entirely sure, but he's been pretty absent these days, with the war. My bet is he's gone," She said it like it was a relief, and it felt like one to Autumn. Suddenly, Autumn stopped.
"I have to go to the bathroom," She announced.
Oliver side eyed her, "You can't wait?"
"No, I'll just go real quick, just wait here."
Oliver leaned on her hip, "Alright, dont go too far."
Autumn hesitantly stepped into the woods, and walked far enough until she couldn't see Oliver anymore. And then she ran. She was'nt very familiar with these woods, but she hoped that in the daylight she'd still be able to find it. And she did, the center circle of the territory. She saw people rushing around in a hurry, but it seemed much less crowded than yesterday. Perhaps he was really gone. Autumn waited for a moment, having a hard time being stealthy in the middle of the day with so many people around, but she managed to stand by until there were few people around, and then she trotted over to the center tent, the Alpha's tent. Once she slid past the drapes, the world grew still. It was dark inside, and there wasn't much except for a small bed and a large table, riddled with documents and papers. Autumn began her search, digging through the piles of papers.
Finally, with desperation Autumn flung open the drawers under the table. She tugged at each one, until the very bottom right tugged back, locked shut. Autumn kneeled, pressing one hand against the wooden foundation of the desk while she adjusted the grip of the other on the drawer. If she could break pen a safe, mayb she could break open a drawer too. He would obviously see that someone had broken it open, but she wouldnt steal anything, she just had to look, and he wouldnt even know that she was there. With a deep breathe, Autumn yanked her arm back and the drawer busted open. At just the same moment, she heard the drapes fly open. Autumn quickly hid under the desk, lightly pushing the drawer back shut. It didn't go all the way, slightly ajar with a now broken latch.
"I thought you said that the Diseased were going in the opposite direction," She heard Nash say as he and one other walked into the tent. She saw their feet from underneath the table, as they walked towards her and threw things onto the surface above her head.
"I did, sir. And they were, but they suddenly switched direction-"
"Then send people after them, warn any neighboring regions of the Diseased heading in their direction,"
"Yes sir, but-"
"We're low on people, send as few as you can. Have we gotten those shipments from the Isels yet?"
"No, not yet. But sir-"
"As soon as those shipments come, I need you to distribute them amount the fighters-"
"Sir!" The man suddenly yelled, "They're headed towards us!" There was a moment of silence. Headed towards them? Autumn peeked over at the drawer, and sure enough, saw the yellow paper and black cursive ink of the Bird Isles letters looking back at her. She hesitantly looked back at the feet, and saw that they had turned to face each other now.
"How far?" Nash asked, as if he was about to explode. Autumn reached her fingers and pinched the paper between them, lightly pulling the out.
"About seven miles east," the man responded. Autum successfully pulled the paper to her. She quietly unfolded the letter as they spoke. It was the same elegant handwriting, written in code, signed with a letter M. How could he get the same letter as Autumns family, from th same person? Was it even a person, or an organization? How was the BoneBreaker pack and the Aris's related?
"Bring everyone home, all the fighters. We have to defend our people." Nash said. Autumn noticed a small note in the bottom corner of the letter. It was the only thing not written in code. 'They'll be there soon.' Did he know, and he still didn't make any moves to protect his home? Did he not believe what the note was saying?
"There's not enough of us, sir." The man told Nash quietly. The tent became silent. Autumn's heart began to ache for them. Their home was going to be taken down, they knew it was coming, but they couldn't do anything about it. She wondered, if her family had known Vick was coming, would they hav even been able to stop it?
"I know," Nash sighed as he walked over to the table, "We'll be defending our people on the move. We can't stay here any longer. Go, tell the others. Make sure everyone only brings what they can carry." The man said nothing as he walked out. Nash and Autumn were left alone in the tent. Not only was the war tearing down the Bone-Breaker people, but now they were forced to leave their homes.
"If you wanted to see me so bad, you could have just asked," Nash said suddenly, bending down and looking at Autumn underneath the table. She said nothing, just held her breath as he pulled out the broken drawer. She had been caught, with the letter still clasped in her hands.
"Come out." He said to her, standing and backing away. Autumn shamefully crawled out from under the table. She held out the letter without looking him in the face. He snatched it from her, shoving it back in the drawer and forcefully slamming it shut.
"You have some nerve-sneaking in and trying to steal things from me, coming into my home uninvited and unwelcome," He narrowed his eyes at her, leaning his weight onto the table, "Youre making yourself an enemy in my eyes."
"It seems we both have the same views as one another." Autumn snapped back.
He stared at her for a moment, looking her up and down, "How's that?" He asked in such a way that made Autumn feel less aggressive, in a way that said; 'I'll bite.'
"You kept secrets, you deprived me of information, and most of all, it seems Oliver doesn't like you much."
"Oliver? And what, you two have only known each other for a day?"
"You and i have only known each other for a day," Autumn crossed her arms, "i trust her judgment."
"Youre either brave or stupid, talking to me the way you are like you didn't just try to steal."
"I wasn't trying to steal a thing-"
"Oh really? Because youre acting an awful lot like a theif."
Autumn let her arms fall, she took a few steps forward until they were eye to eye, "i dont like being called something I'm not."
"And what are you going to do about it?" He asked, not expecting an answer but still waiting for one. Autumn said nothing. "That's what I thought. I'm trying to fight a war, and I cant be worried about my own people going behind my back." He leaned close to Autumns face, "I want you gone. The moment your back on your feet, in full health-youre out." And then he turned away, walking towards the desk. He began to fiddle with papers, as if waiting for Autumn to let herself out.
"Why let me stay, if youre so suspicious of me then?" She asked. He didn't even look up at her, "We take pity of refugees, but even they dont stay here for long. Youre pushing your limits. Now go." Autumn sucked in a quick breath, willing herself to move out of the tent and into the daylight. She heard Nash yell at her from inside, "Give the news to Oliver!"

Oliver looked at the ground. Autumn had gone straight there. "He wants us to leave?" She spoke quietly, her hands fiddling together. Autumn expected her to laugh, even be angry with being asked to leave, but the pain in her voice was not what Autumn was expecting. "The Diseased are close," Autumn told her, trying to lessen the load, "The fight is being continued on the move." Oliver stood quietly for a moment, before nodding. She looked up at the sky. The sun shone brightly still, the day only just now reaching its peak.
"Then we'll continue." Oliver said, turning her gaze back to Autumn, "If this is the severity of things, then you need to learn to defend yourself even more." She began to walk away, leading them back into the woods. "But I thought you said i needed more practice!" Autumn exclaimed as she followed. "I did, but things have change. We'll get as far as we can today, and then we'll go home and pack." Autumn was worried; she didn't think she could shift just yet, it was too soon. She felt as if her mind was still heavy with grief, emotion, things she was holding back and shoving away. But she quietly followed Oliver, with her hunched shoulders and pained voice. She didn't want to fight her on it.
They did more physical exercises, and then Oliver had them sit across from one another. At this point, the sun had finally fallen below the tree line, casting long shadows. Oliver asked Autumn questions. Some were simple; What is your favorite color? Your favorite food? But as they went on, they became more detailed, more thought out. Oliver spewed the questions like she was reading them out of a book, and Autumn was almost concerned that she was growing impatient with her delayed answers. Then they took a sharp turn.
"How do you feel about the fire?" Oliver asked her. Autumn was taken aback. They haven't spoke about it since the first night. Autumn just stared at the ground for a long moment.
"Betrayed."
"Why?"
"You know why."
"Pretend like I don't."
Autumn sighed, "My brother attacked my family, attacked me. My mother left me to burn." Autumn clenched her fist, "But, it turns out she's not even related to me."
"How?" Oliver continued.
"She posed as my mother, pretended to have some kind of love for me when there wasn't anything there at all," Autumn clenched her fists harder to stop the tears from coming. They came anyway.
"And how does that make you feel?" Oliver pressed more.
"It makes me feel like I hate her," Autumn spat angrily, "It makes me feel like I want to hurt her the same way she hurt me."
"So imagine that you did, imagine that you found her and hurt her. How do you feel after what you did?"
Autumn sat in silence, tears flowing down her cheeks, as she imagined. She thought about their roles reversed, Autumn tricking Veronica to come save her, and when she did, she shoved her down, and left her defenseless. She walked out of the house, and turned to hear her scream as the house came crashing down. She was expecting the pressure in her chest to lessen, but instead a new pain seemed to grip her heart. Picturing her taking revenge against Veronica seemed to cause a different kind of hurt. It became obvious what Oliver was trying to achieve; Autumn's feelings towards Veronica was going to do nothing but hold her back, prevent the process of Autumn learning to control her powers. Autumn could see this, and as much as she wanted to let go, fear and hate refused to leave her mind, just as much as her tears refused to stop falling.
"I can't forgive her," Autumn spoke in a shaky voice.
"Can't, or won't?" Oliver asked.
Suddenly, Autumn flipped. Her shakiness halted, and she looked up at Oliver with a snarl, "I won't. I will never let that bitch have anymore of me, nothing. She stole my life"
Oliver looked emptily at Autumn, as if trying to speak through her eyes. Her gaze was full of pity. Autumn sniffed, looking away. Having feelings of sadness towards her was something she wasnt used to. Oliver watched for a moment, while Autumn stared determiningly at the ground, wondering what kind of conclusion she came to about Victoria. Had she realized that she didnt want to kill her? Or, maybe, had she realized that she actually did want to?
"I think that's enough for today," Oliver said, standing to her feet. She faced the mountains, as the sun began to tuck itself beneath them, painting the sky pink in sunset.
"I thought you wanted to do more?" Autumn asked, rubbing her eyes still wet with tears.
"Like I said, we've done enough today." Oliver turned away from her, "The rest is up to you. Whether or not you let your emotions get in the way of your duty."
"My duty...?" Autumn repeated, but Oliver had already began to walk away. Autumn stood herself, watching the sky melt into a purple that eventually blended into the stars. A new determination had come over her. She would become powerful, she would become strong, she wouldnt let anyone stand in her way. She would find them, her family. She would find Veronica.
There was a moment when Autumn questioned herself; was she so determined because of her family, or because of Veronica? She pushed the question away, out of mind. Either way, it didnt matter. Either way, she had to find them.
Not a single tear fell from her eyes again.