STARS | (editing!)

16*

"like the old man said. together." --Tony Stark, Age of Ultron

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THE LOOMING SILENCE THAT hung over both Caleb, Hailiee and I felt like something that would stick with us forever until we found Joey. Or made peace when we got our hands on Austin. The anger that resided in my body towards Austin was unexplainable. Since we got back to Hailiee's and we've all recovered and let out all of our feelings, we all made a plan to get Joey back. That plan involved killing Austin which I plan to do. Either way, I knew that whatever we did, I wanted to be the one to face Austin. I sat alone in the small office that was across from my room. The sound of glass breaking pulled me out of my daze. I jumped out of bed and rushed down the hall to Caleb's room.

Upon arrival, my eyes scanned the whole room until they found Caleb's bare back that faced me. Soft sobs could he heard from the man as I watched him put his hands on his dresser and lean into it, clearly frustrated. A broken folding table could be seen in the far left corner with glass covering the floor, most likely from a drink. His fists slammed down on the dresser over and over again while he let out a strained shout. My feet carried me to him and I placed a hand on my middle of his back. He jumped from the sudden contact. His muscles tensed and relaxed as soon as he realized it was only me.

He put his head in his hands and spoke, "Joey's gone, Austin's turned his back on us, and those injections were just fakes."

Fighting the urge to ask questions I swallowed heavily and said, "I know. We'll take care of it. You don't have to worry about it, we'll get Joey back and kick Austin's ass. Then we'll come up with a plan to kill that blonde son of a bitch."

He chuckled lightly, "I hope. God, all that time we spent trying to get those damned things and nobody, not once, checked up on him or kept eyes on him."

"It's not your fault." I said softly.

He scoffed, "Yeah. It is."

"No. It's not. Caleb listen, we will get him back - mark my words." I promised, "Come 'ere."

He looked around, avoiding my eyes to try and keep himself together I assumed. Caleb turned towards me and nuzzled his face into my neck as I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tightly. Part of me was lying to him, I didn't know for sure if we'd get him back. Or if he was even alive still.

"Something tells me Alaina only just got started with us." Hailiee speaks as I walk down the steps into the basement.

I hum in response waiting for her to begin whatever speech she prepared before I came down here, "There has to be a logical reason as to why she specifically wants you."

I sighed, "She said it was because I was her most powerful weapon."

She shook her head slightly, "Yeah, but there are more powerful people in there that she's created."

"I don't know Hailiee. I- I just want get Joey back." I squatted down into the seat behind me and leaned back.

"I do too. But we need a plan for that." Hailiee instructed.

"Well what if we could-"

My sentence was cut short by a sudden, deafening bang quickly followed by heat from above. For a moment, I think this is another memory flash from how surreal it all felt. But it wasn't another flash, it was in the current moment. My eyes immediately shut from the painfully burning sensation the smoke created. I forced them to open only to be met with a giant plank of wood right in front of me. I placed my hands on the now lukewarm concrete floor and tried to push myself up. But no avail. A few other heavy pieces of wood lay on top of me, preventing me from any further movement than just moving my arms.

For a moment I think someone may be holding me down and trying to smother me to death. And in that quick moment I let them. But the moment passes and I shake myself out of the daze. I mentally make note of my numb and scratchy feeling throat. Despite this I try to call out to Hailiee but the only thing that came out was a quiet, pit-less sob. My brain feels empty and jumbled with words at the same time. I feel one of the planks of wood start to shift, my heart picks up thinking another one fell on top of me. But I feel it lift up slowly and hear it slam to the ground next to me.

My spine felt flattened as I try to straighten myself out and get up. But a hand on my shoulder pushes me back down violently and my chest slams back into the pavement. My breathing becomes jagged. Two legs stand in front of me and crouch down to my eye level.

"I told you - A war is coming, and I intended to win. And I am not playing far sweetheart." A familiar blonde sneers at me.

A quick prick followed by the room fading into black are come quick after her punchline. The last thing that crossed my mind was hoping Hailiee was okay, and the Caleb was smart enough to hide just incase they decided to look for him too. Which they most likely did.

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this is really short and i'm so sorry about it. between school, stress and me figuring out when's and how i'm moving it's been a crazy filled few months. I've also been experiencing a serious case of writers block, I love this story and I intend to finish it. I'm trying to fill in the gaps between my ideas and stuff that's coming, I just don't really know how. It's not that easy to do it either. Dialogue and description are easy and come natural to me, but filling in the holes aren't that easy. i'm so so so sorry. but we are reaching the end of this book, and I do have plans for a sequel cause I would like to try and make this a trilogy at best.

but i'm just playing it by ear so let's see what happens. :)) until next time

bye bye :)