SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 50- Those Who Are Lost

Being in Roxie's Sanctum always makes me feel uneasy, but we needed a safe place to go over our plan without worrying about anyone listening in. We all know the risks involved with this mission, but after a lengthy discussion, we all decide that it's the right thing to do. The first priority is to rescue Pearl and Jewel, the second is to try and capture the other Ancient Ones. We decide to split up into teams, hoping that it will raise our chances of finding them without being completely ambushed. After discussing the best team match-ups, we decide that Roxie and Nixi would go in from above, Aurora and Desire would reopen the main entrance, and Phoenix and I would go back through where my mother and I had escaped. As much as she wanted to help, my mother knew that it would be too risky with Ember still inside her mind. Daddy decided to stay back and keep an eye on her with Nanea, Eli, and Jasper. They all feel like it will be a good time to catch up on things as well as prepare in case we succeed in capturing any of them.

"You okay?" Roxie asks as she helps me strap my leather armor.

"Yea, I'm just worried about everyone right now." I sigh as I pull my hair back. "Brendan went with Aria to get Magnus and Alex, I wish I could have gone with them," I explain worriedly.

"I honestly think that Aria should have stayed here. She didn't look so good when they left." Roxie sighs "I guess I'd feel the same way after everything that she saw today. I honestly feel numb to it at this point." she explains as she comes around to sit beside me.

"I wish that I was." I sigh as I look over at Phoenix and Desire "This past week has been hell, I honestly thought that it was just another nightmare I would wake up from. But then, when I would open my eyes I would wake up in that place again and..." I suddenly lose the words as I picture Sterling's room. I can still feel his lips on my skin and the cold chill it would bring as he drained my blood.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Roxie asks sympathetically, "I know that look."

"What look?" I ask, confused.

"Veronika," she sighs "when we found her after Gael had kidnapped her, she had the same look on her face. I can't even imagine how it felt for her," she explains worriedly.

"Oh..." I sigh as I kick at the ground "I guess I never expected this to happen to me, you know?"

"I always hoped that you'd never have to go through what we have." she explains sadly "This world is nowhere near perfect, that's for sure. Corruption makes people become cruel and twisted, and when you're as old as we are, it digs even deeper and can make you lose sight of who you are. I've seen it happen to all of us in one way or another, but luckily, we have each other to keep us grounded during our worst moments." she smiles as she puts her arm around my shoulder.

"I suppose that's true." I sigh as I look over at the others.

"Look kiddo, I fell down a dark path at one point too, and I'm not proud of some of the things that I've done. But luckily, I found a way back and have tried to better myself from that experience." she explains, her voice becoming solemn "The problem is, if these people are that disconnected from their humanity, they may be beyond the point of no return. Gael was that way too, and Nika told me that in the end, he couldn't remember why he became what he was, just that he lost himself along the way."

"Something has been getting to me, something that Aria said earlier." I state as I try to think "She had thought that we didn't care about anyone else since they weren't immortal, but Aurora made it clear that that's not true." I explain.

"What about it?" Roxie asks.

"You guys don't really talk about the people you knew from before the gap years even though you were close with them. Why don't you?" I ask curiously.