Finally Heroes

Chapter Seven

                The other line continued to ring as I pressed my phone closer to my ear. I'd been trying to reach Aria for the past ten minutes, but every time, the rings just led to her answering machine. I attempted to put the fact Harry was walking not five feet behind me; I could feel him watching my every move.

After the twelfth time Aria's cheery message interrupted the ringing, I hung up and slipped my phone back into my pocket, defeated. I'd been so occupied in attempting to reach my friend, I'd failed to notice the people at tables and on the grass, slumped over and curled up against themselves, quietly slumbering and completely unaware of what had happened to them. I stared in a mix of horror and awe, unsure of exactly how to feel about all of this.

"They're asleep," Mal sighed, hanging up her own attempt at a phone call. "Everyone. I can't get Ben."

"Or Dizzy, or Doug," Evie added.

"Or Aria," I finished. "The signal's out."

As the rest of us moved along, Celia suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her jaw dropped a little as she stared at the large castle in front of her, pointing at the structure.

"Is that Auradon Prep?" she asked, basking in the awe of the beautiful building. Carlos turned and glanced at it for a moment, then looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah. When everybody wakes up, you're going to love it," he assured her. As he turned around, the two of us shared a brief smile, then I went back to attempting to at least get a cell signal. I didn't believe Mal when she said everyone was asleep. There had to be a couple of people that somehow got missed by Audrey's spell. Not to mention, if this was about Ben—which, why wouldn't it be?—she definitely would at least keep him awake, if no one else.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and when I turned around, I spotted Harry reaching into a sleeping boy's pocket and removing his wallet, smirking as he reached in and pulled the money in it out.

"I believe I deserve some compensation for my muscles, my wile, and my role in this endeavor."

No one else seemed to notice Harry snatch the money, but he couldn't just get away with that. This is Auradon, that sort of thing isn't acceptable... not that it was acceptable on the Isle, people just got away with it more often than not.

I took in a deep breath, trying to affirm to myself that he didn't scare me, then marched over and grabbed the money out of his hands, causing him to whip around. He looked more annoyed than angry, but it still caused a little chill to run through me. I tried my best to just stand my ground and remember he couldn't intimidate me anymore.

"You can't just go around taking things," I hissed. "This isn't the Isle, all right? And while you're here, you follow Auradon's laws. Understood?" Instead of answering the way I'd hoped, that stupid smirk came back to his face, and he leaned down slightly, trying to get as close to my face as he could without me attempting to clock him.

"Well, well, well... look at you, putting your foot down. It's adorable," he taunted. Irritated, I just scoffed and turned back around.

"Dude!" Carlos exclaimed, running over to his little dog that had been licking something off a sleeping person's hand. "Dude, really?" I rushed over to stand by Carlos, glancing down at Dude.

"What? It wasn't me!" he protested. I shook my head, then rested it against my hand. "Okay, it was me."

"Still so weird that your dog talks," I muttered, turning my head to look up at Carlos.

"Hey, do you know what happened here?"

"Yup. Audrey showed up. She put everybody to sleep."

My eyes widened a little as Dude confirmed the reports. I'd never really doubted it, given Audrey's penitent for petty acts, but I couldn't really understand why all this was happening. After we'd defeated Maleficent and my mother, Mal and her seemed to be on good terms. What went wrong?

"And then, she turned some of them into—"

"Guys," Evie interrupted, drawing our attention to where she was standing. I gasped as my eyes rested on a girl... or what had once been a girl. Now, she'd become a grey, stone statue, frozen in place as she tried to run. It was horrific, a reminder that she had tried to flee and couldn't succeed. "Hannah turned to stone."

"All right, everybody stay on their toes," I warned, my voice catching slightly in my throat.

"Look, since we're here, let's check the school," Uma suggested. It wasn't a terrible idea, as much as I hated to admit it, but the school seemed too easy. She'd know we'd go looking there, so why would she wait in such an obvious place?

"No. Audrey went straight for the crown, so, I think it's safe to assume that she's gonna go for Ben and his castle next," Mal countered. Her theory held more water than Uma's, definitely, but the motive still seemed slightly unclear. The fog was beginning to dissipate, however. "That's where we'll go."

"Says who?" Uma challenged, getting up close to Mal's face in an attempt to intimidate her.

"Says me."

"Says you. And that's supposed to mean something to me?"

"Guys." Both girls turned to glare at Evie. She didn't have to say anything, the look on her face told them exactly what she was thinking. Both of them rolled their eyes, and Mal broke away first, leading everyone in the opposite direction of Auradon Prep.

"To the castle," she declared flatly. With reluctance, Uma's crew followed behind us, occasionally glancing back at the school. For a moment, my mind wandered to Jon. If Audrey's plan really had something to do with Ben, would she have spared Jon as well, or was he now peacefully slumbering, or hardened into stone? There was part of me that didn't want to know, but if he was out there and needed saving, I at least owed him that, as his friend.

"Hera? You okay?" Carlos questioned, waving his hand in front of my face. I'd definitely spaced out a little as we were walking.

"Yep, I'm fine," I sighed. "I just want to... do this, save everyone, and get it all overwith."