Nocturne

2. Old photos

After about an hour drive northeast we finally came to a stop at what appeared to be an abandoned gas station. Everyone hopped out of the truck and I had to take a deep breath just to feel like I could breathe in this heat. Being a walking furnace didn't exactly help in extreme weather conditions.

As of the moment, it was only the seven of us. Murmur and Thamyris had returned to a compound located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they lived a non-violent life and stayed hidden under the care of their leader, Josephine. Kaage left as well, heading north up into the pacific. He had some business to take care of up there and said he'd meet us when we ended up on the west coast. Speaking of which, Devorah and Medusa both headed west to California to scout out possible allies and problems. Ritter...he's around sometimes, but after Lily died, it's few and far between that we see him these days. He was still in mourning, that part we knew.

Marshall slid his keycard through the mechanism in a soda machine and it slid to the side, revealing the lift that looked just like the hardwood floor. We all stepped on and the railing sprung up, securing us in place while we descended. It was only a matter of seconds before we were back in the bunker with the lights on and the room untouched. Margo and Crowe walked together down to the showers while Marshall ducked into the kitchen, most likely to start on some type of breakfast for us all seeing as it was only eight. Aeric split off and walked over to the monitors on the wall, lighting them up and turning on the news. No matter what we did, we always watched the news. We were the headline day and night these days, and we just so happened to tune back into a rerun of CEO Cornelius Vayne's speech. I'd found out that he took over the job after we murdered his grandfather, he was a spry twenty-something whose eyes were sharper than a knife. His words rang in my head as the screen switched to a reporter outside of a facility in Portland, Oregon. A familiar face stood behind the screen, practically teleporting across it as he attacked an agent. Kaage was leading a team of Skull and Bones members as they tore the building to pieces. The group was back under its rightful command and we couldn't have been happier. Most news networks these days treated our plight as a political issue though: people split, being pro-subject or anti-subject, or somewhere in between. The one we were watching supported our side wholeheartedly.

"It's hard to believe people actually want to support us sometimes." Nolan chuckled. "It's heartwarming."

"I love it." I smiled, leaning into him as he wrapped an arm around me. Noelle seemed to be looking at us, true love reflecting in her eyes. She smiled and turned back to the screen.

"We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news."

"Well, shit." I said flatly, watching my face as it flashed across the screen.

"It's been reported that the air force base at Groom Lake has been struck in an attack. The subject group known as the Skull and Bones have taken down yet another facility, freeing approximately one thousand subjects and killing over two hundred agents. It is believed the group is still in the area, so please be advised to report any suspicious activity to your local sheriff's department."

"Marshall!" I called out, turning towards the kitchen.

"I'm already packin' up the dishes!"

"I'll go get our stuff ready." Nolan planted a kiss on my cheek before walking down the hall to the bedrooms, just as Margo and Crowe returned from the shower, wrapped in towels and laughing over something.

"Hey guys, get dressed! We've got to evac ASAP!"

"Aw, I just got cozy though!" Margo grumbled as they marched towards the bedroom behind Nolan, their shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Where are we going to go?" Aeric asked. His face was illuminated in the light of the screen, tanned skin and chocolate eyes complimenting his curling head of hair that was just a little too long for him.