War Of Millennium

Chapter 17: Joey

Getting along the sides of the island was difficult. There were guards everywhere. They were swarming the Sea Faction. They were stationed outside every cabin, surrounding perimeters, and in the shadows.

Shane and I took a few minutes to adjust and figure out how we were going to move through the swarm. After I'd accidentally set someone on fire out of sheer panic, he tried to keep me away from people as much as he could.

"You have to calm down." He warned. "Everything is going to fine. Keep your cool." He kept repeating. I was trying my best to calm down and keep my emotions under control, but it wasn't easy when I was fully convinced that I was about to die.

"I know where their cabin is." Shane mentioned suddenly. "Right here." We came up against the side of a particular shack. "They should be in here." Shane whispered. I listened for voices inside, but I couldn't hear anything aside from the sound of my own ragged breathing.

Shane and I exchanged glances in the dark. "What do we do?" I asked. "We go in. That's what we came to do." He reminded me. We inched around the side of the cabin and to the front door. "I'll take the guards. You need to save your energy." He warned.

Shane attacked, furiously and outright. The two men stationed outside of the cabin were down in seconds. I didn't even see what happened before he came back for me.

He shoved me towards the front door, pushed me in, shut it, and deadbolt locked it. I began to breathe even heavier.

It was almost completely dark inside the cabin. There were only a few rooms in it, as far as I could tell—a bathroom, a kitchen, and just one bedroom. There was a light on in the bedroom down the narrow hallway to the front door. I could make out a distinct conversation.

"He didn't come today." Joey said. "I really thought he'd buy it. Now we have no choice but to invade the Volcano Faction tomorrow." He told someone quietly. Shane yanked on the back of my shirt so I didn't walk any further into the cabin.

Clearly Joey was talking to someone, and that particular someone would probably leave the cabin at some point. He wanted me to stay back in case they left quickly.

"We can't do that." Jay's voice replied. "The Mons Igneus Faction is too difficult to take on singlehandedly. You know that, and so does everyone else." I heard Joey sigh. "Jay, do you realize that your brother and your mother absolutely have to die in order for us to win?" he asked, a twinge of frustration in his voice.

"I know!" Jay squeaked helplessly. "I've accepted that. That's done. But the Mons Igneus Faction is too much. They're too heavily fortified, and you've already sent them warning that we're coming. They'll be ready for you." Jay explained.

"They might not be strong enough to beat all the factions put together." Joey countered. Jay silenced. I began to inch a bit further into the cabin. I unsheathed the sword and waited for a second.

I held the sword away from me to avoid cutting myself in half. "Leave. I need my sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day." Joey dismissed Jay. I heard the bedroom door creak open.

There wasn't anywhere I could've possibly hid from Jay. I quickly urged Shane back out the front door, but he'd locked out, which turned out to be one of stupidest decisions we made that night.

I left the decision up to him. He wanted Jay dead—he'd have to do that himself. I'd had enough of the 'killing family member' plan. "Jay's coming." I hissed. "What are you doing?" I asked. "It's not like I can just open the door and wait for him to come outside." Shane whispered. "Are you insane? Of course you can!" I snapped.

Jay rounded the corner to the hallway which led to the front door. But Shane had been ready and waiting. Jay's footsteps approached us in the dark. Shane's footsteps thundered towards Jay. Jay was cornered, and there was no way for him to escape.