Battle Wounds || Jasper Hale {2}

Chapter 19

"Maybe they're experimenting on supers," Felicity said, flopping onto Harmon's bed, watching as he removed his black jacket.

It had been a week since Ellie's discovery of the restricted hallway, and she had yet to discover the secrets they were keeping. It was beginning to infuriate her, and with the way she was feeling, it wasn't a good thing for her to expend any extra energy.

"That's possible," Ellie said, sitting on her bed and leaning back onto her elbows. She closed her eyes, resting them for just a moment. "It could also be a secret weapon of sorts. At this point I'm not ruling out anything."

"Or," Harmon said, taking a seat next to Felicity. "It could just be a storage unit, and you could be wasting everyone's time."

Ellie rolled her eyes before closing them again and rubbing until she saw the phosphenes burst. A sigh slipped past her lips. "Why can't you just be optimistic for once?"

He lifted his eyebrows at the girl. "Why can't you just let it go?"

Ellie sat up and scowled, before chucking her pillow across the room at him, causing him to stand to his feet and narrow his eyes at her.

"I'm sure it would be highly entertaining to see you two fight again," Felicity chimed, interrupting the brewing storm between the two. "But seeing as you're already on thin ice with Anastasia, I'm going to keep that from happening. Besides, there are more important things to worry about."

Harmon huffed but sat back down. Ellie was only going to get herself in more trouble. That didn't mean he had to get himself involved in it.

"We've only thrown ideas back and forth all week about what's in that room," Felicity said, a sparkle forming in her eyes.

"Well, it is a restricted area," Ellie frowned, not sure where Felicity was going with her thought. "What are we supposed to do, just go see what's down there ourselves?"

Harmon smacked a hand to his face, before dragging it down. The words had been said, and he was under complete awareness that Felicity and Ellie would drag him down with them. The look that overtook Felicity's features said just that.

"Why not?" Felicity grinned, that mischievous sparkle dancing in her gaze. "Like you said, it's restricted. No one else will be down there. We'll be free to sneak in and out undetected."

Ellie considered her idea. It wasn't bad. It was definitely risky, but risk had never been something to hold her back. It might possibly be the only way they ever found out what the council was keeping from them.

"You know what," Ellie said, standing to her feet, a renewed energy filling her. "Let's do it."

"Alright, Nike," Harmon said, crossing his arms over his chest, and raising his brows. "Even if you want to go check it out, you can't right now. You have a meeting with Dawson in ten minutes."

Ellie's eyes widened. She had completely forgotten that he wanted her to stop by for their first training session this afternoon. Harmon was right. Their search would have to wait until later. Straightening herself out, she walked toward the door before turning to Harmon. "'Let's do it' isn't the slogan for Nike by the way. It's 'Just do it.' Come on. I don't want to be late."

"And you're certain that's what you saw?"

He couldn't help but ask. It was still mind boggling for him to think that Ellie was putting herself in as much danger as she was, but to put her life in the hands of the enemy was more than he could understand. She was supposed to stay in Forks with Bella. Safe, where no harm would come to her. Didn't she understand that that was the precise reason he had left? For her safety? It was like she didn't even care anymore.

"I'm certain," Alice said, a distinct frown resting on her lips. She wished that what she had seen wasn't true, but unless another decision was made, this would come to pass. Ellie had already made up her mind, and it would change her life forever.

"Where is she?" Jasper asked, standing from his seat beside of her.

Alice shook her head. "I can see her, but something is blocking the location. I don't know where she is. Just in an office of some sort."

Jasper clenched his fists. This would not do at all. If he had to scour the ends of the earth, he would find her and bring her to safety. Just as she would do for him.

"Just have patience, Jazz," Alice said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll keep her safe one way or another."

He wanted to believe it, but something deep inside of him told him that things were not going to go the way they wanted, and he hated that the reason would be of no one's fault but his own. He should have never left home.

The journal sat on the table between them, waiting for them to delve into its depths and discover the secrets hiding within its pages.

Ellie tentatively reached a hand out to touch the leather bound book. The binding felt familiar between her fingers, even though she had never seen, let alone touched, the journal until seven days ago. She wondered why Jesse had kept it, why he had thought anything that happened with her was important enough to document. Rolling her eyes, she half assumed that it probably had nothing to do with her and probably had more to do with his ever growing ego, but she was certain that she would never know for sure unless she opened it and read the chronicles he deemed worthy to write down.

"You don't have to be afraid," Dawson said, watching as she fought the idea of reading the manuscript by placing it back on the table. He couldn't blame her for feeling the emotion. His brother had hurt many people in his existence, and Ellie DuPree had received the brunt of it. However, he did want her to know that she didn't have to fear the monstrous being while with him. She was safe within the confines of The Academy.

Ellie lifted her eyes to him, rolling both of her lips into her mouth. It wasn't that she was afraid of him reaching her. She was afraid of the reasons he had bothered with her in the first place. For years, she had thought it to be because he felt a scary amount of passion for her, but with the knowledge that someone named Annie had something to do with it, she was left with more confusion than she had faced in a long time.

She hated to think that she was feeling concern over something so juvenile, but she couldn't help herself. Regardless of whether or not he had manipulated her and dragged her down to the darkest parts of herself, she had loved him greatly, and it hurt to think that, even if she knew that he was the epitome of abusive, he never cared for who she truly was, that it was all a ruse based on his desires for someone else.

Shaking her head from her thoughts, she said, "There's just so much that could be written in here."

"I know," Dawson said, placing his hands on the table. He was more than aware that there were secrets that neither had discovered written in the pages of the journal. "You don't have to read them alone, though. I'll be right by your side the whole way. We'll find a way to defeat him together. We just have to keep fighting."

"I'm not sure I have much left to fight for."

The words were true, no matter how much they hurt. She didn't really have anyone left. She had her sister and Bella, not to mention Mike, of course, but they were safer away from her. Her tether and coven had left her behind. Sure, she had her new friends here, but they would leave each other as soon as training was over. Everyone was better off leaving her behind. They wouldn't have to worry about a crazy vampire being out for blood. It was just her, and that's how it was best left.

Dawson frowned. Her pain was almost tangible. It was truly heartbreaking, but she couldn't give up. She couldn't let the prophecy die out before it even began. She had to keep fighting. "You have yourself, and that's all you have to have. Fight for yourself. We will stand behind you regardless."

Ellie narrowed her eyes. What was that supposed to mean? "Why?"

"Because you're one of us."

Ellie didn't quite trust his answer,. She didn't think that it was true for everyone in the facility, but she knew it was all he would say at this point in time. She would just have to find out the truth on her own, but for now, she had to find a way to defeat Jesse.

Picking the book back up, she flipped it open. "Let's get started."