Memory Glitch (Book 2 in the "Glitched" Series)

[TWENTY-TWO - All Over Again]

'What do you mean, "Vik's gone"?!'

'I'm sorry, but he - Well, we don't exactly know. Once he saw that he hurt you, he just stopped, then ran away.' Rob explained as he sat on the edge of his younger friend's bed. 'I tried to go after him, so did Jerome, but I was too slow. Jerome's afar better tracker than me so I'm sure he'll find him.'

"This is worse than what I did, years ago... I only freaked out because I didn't know what to do, and I was scared, but Vik knows that he physically hurt somebody." Mitch thought sullenly, internally groaning at all of the unnecessary drama that their return to the mountains had brought. It was all a stupid mess that they had made when they were younger, and now they were getting payback.

"We did find out that Vik has that levitation magic thing now, so that's fun." Without even realizing it, he started to walk out of the room. Down the stairs, through the empty hallway and into the mountains. "But at the same time, maybe saying all that stuff wasn't the best idea. Or maybe it's triggered by severe anger? Either way Vik could die out here. Like, seriously - I love the guy, but he can't defend anyone in this state."
He passed a few huts, subconsciously noting that they always appeared to be empty as he continued to wander to the forest's edge. Then he took a deep breath, as if about to dive into the depths of the ocean, before taking a step into the crisp foliage.

---

'This is quite possibly the worst idea we've ever had.' Tobi groaned good-naturedly as he and Harry both snuck around the main Council Hall.

The Idea; Josh would create a distraction, which would hopefully give the trio enough time to get out of the village's defences. They'd been heavily improved since the boys had gone missing again, with guards dotted all around the area, but the distraction should cause such a big commotion that they would all congregate around the centre.
Then, they would run like maniacs and pray to the gods that they weren't caught.
'We didn't have much time to plan, and we're definitely not the strategists like JJ is. We just did our best.' Honestly, Tobi wasn't too sure who he was trying to convince, but it seemed to work as his taller companion nodded confidently.

'We can do this. We've fought battles, slayed monsters, and we will not be defeated by a bloody fence.' The youngest of the trio spoke up determinedly, the pointed husky ears atop his head swivelling and twitching at the quietest of noises. It had been months, almost a year since they'd been out, so he was making the most of the current moment in time 'We're gonna jump it.'
'Harry, you know there isn't actually a-'
'Sh! I just heard something...' A large flare shot up from the Hart Statue, quickly followed by a loud bang that sent dust flying through the air.

'Was that-'
'GO GO GO, LIKE RIGHT NOW!' Josh screamed as he ran around the corner of a building, dark cloak billowing as the cold winds caused it to fly through the air. The dual swords attached to his belt kept hitting him in the legs as he sprinted past the group 'Josh, what happened?'

'The idea worked, too well - They think it was an attack from the hybrids! We've got to get through the barrier before nightfall, or we won't get there in time.'

---

Alarms blared throughout the village. A precise series of explosions sounded from the centre, all seeming to originate from the Hart, as the people continued to scream and run around in a panic.

Observing this behaviour, Simon Minter swore loudly and drew his longsword 'Sidemen, fall out to the village - Ensure the safety of the people!'

'Uhm... Simon, bro, not sure if you're aware but only us three are actually here.' Ethan pointed out, gesturing to the practically empty room as the Strategist looked around and nodded. At this, Simon glared at the half-open doors and began stalking towards them, expecting to find the other three members lounging around in the common room.

They weren't obviously, but he didn't know why.

'Those lazy - Where the Hell are they? Ethan, you were supposed to keep an eye on them!'

'Me?! You never told me to do anything!' The redhead snapped, crossing his arms at his friend's arrogance while JJ turned to glare at him. 'He shouldn't need to tell you anything, now we could have lost those three as well!'

'I was trying to make sure you two didn't do something stupid, like start planning another attack against the hybrids.' Ethan explained firmly as he narrowed his eyes at the taller male. He could sense the hostility from the both of them, and wanted nothing more than to get out of there, but he couldn't seem too suspicious.

'What, do you want me to go out and find them now, while somebody's messing around with TnT? It's probably just Petrov, anyway. He did ask if he could borrow some explosives earlier.'

'And you let him?! He's a child!'

'...You're probably only a few years older than him yourself, Simon. Look, if you don't want me to do anything, then fine - I'll go and check for casualties, but I'm pretty sure whoever did this wasn't intending to hurt anyone.'

'Ethan, get back - Don't walk away from me, this conversation is not over!'

'Yeah, well mine is, so suck it. You two try and find whoever did this, but I can assure you know, the hybrids wouldn't try to do this again. Not after what we did to them, anyways - The wouldn't want this to happen all over again.'

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Apologies for the short chapter, fellow humans, but Luna's sick so she's out of action for a while and I've taken her place: Hai! You guys can call me Trick, and you'll be seeing a lot more of me :-)

-Timezone outro intensifies and all that