I sit at the cafeteria tables with Louis and the two guys from Sam's team. I've had an awful 24 hours! I've had a headache, felt sick and Louis said I was running a fever. I spent the night literally in his bed to be close to someone as I was scared. We haven't seen Kelsey, Cloud, Avery or even Sam. I know something happened yesterday that I need to remember, but I was so out of it, coming off what medication was in those IV's that had been inserted into me. Louis tries to tell me that I shouldn't push myself, but it all just niggles at the back of my mind.
I haven't seen Sebastian, Rain or Owen either and a part of me is curious what they are doing...
Then I hear two familiar voices and slowly look up to see two recognizable bodies, staggering towards us. Tired, drugged, cold and overall, how I feel, but worse as I had 24 hours to kind of wind down during.
The two guys leap up, bringing them to sit down.
"Woah, you guys don't look so crash hot!" Louis points out. "N-no. W-we feel terrible." Kelsey stammers, wrapping Her arms around Herself. Cloud just closes his eyes and rests his head on the table. "Sebastian kicked us out of the infirmary at this home because the hospital was full... We had IV's in us." Cloud says weakly. "Valerie did too, but she left early on, ripping them out... Regardless though, we can't trust them anymore." Louis warns to which we all agree.
He still looks scared, somewhat confused and not meaning what he says. What is up with him?
"What do you think they are g-goanna do to us?" I stammer. "I don't know Valerie, but they are very angry I can tell you that!" Kelsey speaks up, weakly though.
"Hey, let's not worry about anything for the moment if we can and just work on you all getting better... you're all really sick." Louis responds.
"Hey, it's not so bad. Most of us are all together again." One of the Guys say, trailing off. "Have either of you seen Samantha or Avery?" The other Guy asks, prompting Kelsey and Cloud to moan, shaking their heads and plonking them on the table again. Just then I hear voices and look up, gripping Louis. hand. "What's wrong, Marl- Valerie?" He asks me, draping an arm around me.
We all look up, seeing Sebastian, Rain and Owen talking to the Guards. I can faintly make out their conversation. Sebastian is wondering where Harriet has gotten and that she took something "important" and Ricky responds back saying an exiled member is missing, but I'm so sick and tired that I can't concentrate for very long and lean against Louis who his other around me to help keep me upright. After a while the leaders and Guards stop talking and I see Ricky walk over, placing a small vase with a single white flower near the bench where they prepare food...
Everyone on our table stops dead, looking and instantly knowing what it represents. I sware there are tears in his eyes. I stand up slowly, gripping the edge of the table. "R-Ricky, I-I am so sor-"
"Shut up, Valerie! I don't want to hear it." He growls through gritted teeth. The whole room is silent and staring at us. "No, Ricky. P-please- hear me out-"
"I said enough! It's because of your selfishness, Samantha went out there and she's gone now forever."
I watch his eyes lower and he sits down on his chair, resting his head in hands and the rest of the Guards join him. Everyone else sits down in the room, not saying a word. All I can hear is the gentle howling of the wind and snow flurries. I give up sitting down. "Well, Valerie. That should teach you and your group and everyone else in this room that actions have consequences." Sebastian smirks, walking off with Rain who is smirking and Owen who looks really concerned...
As they leave, I stand up again. "Wait. I have one more question." I whisper and He looks back. "Fine. Spit it out, Sprout."
"Where is Avery?"
"Not where Samantha is right now due to your actions." And then he leaves.
---
I sit curled up with a pillow in my arms and face resting in it with Kelsey, Cloud, Louis and the two Guys all hanging around in the secret room we found ages ago. We feel so miserable that we just couldn't bear to stay facing the Guards or the other members so we came here to hide.
"I remembered something." Kelsey whispers after some time. "What?" Cloud asks and Louis has just completely shut down on us, hiding next the bookshelf in the corner. He gave his freedom to stay with Samantha to keep her alive, yet it was all in vain. "Just say it, Kelsey." I say in somewhat of a snap even though it's not personal.
She stands up coming over and taking a seat next to me and wrapping her arms around me, resting her head in the crook of my neck and shoulder. "It was your birthday 6 days ago, Valerie. You were out for 8 days... I just remembered. Sorry. I-I know this doesn't make today any better, but, Happy Birthday." She says, giving me a small kiss on my cheek and I just cuddle into her.
"Thanks, Kelsey."
"No problem, Valerie."
We stay together, resting against each-other for the rest of the afternoon. I open my eyes seeing the lights are off, especially outside. Louis, Cloud and the Guys are all asleep, Kelsey is also asleep, just resting still on my shoulder. I wonder how late at night it is?
I flinch hearing footsteps. They sound nearby... no... please don't tell me someone is going to check this room! I leap up, placing my hand on Kelsey's mouth to suffocate her, but I shake Her awake and she opens Her eyes looking shocked, but tired still. I bring my finger to my lips and she nods gently, but quickly standing up to hide behind the couch while I move to Cloud and Louis who also wake up and Louis books it took to wake up the Guys.
We all find a hiding place and quieten our breathing. I hear the sound of wood being wrenched off, and the door being unlocked and a soft light comes in and I hear soft footsteps, coming just a few meters into the room.
...
"I know you, Valerie and your friends are in here."
That voice... It's not Sebastian's, but it's male! I see him turn around and close the door behind him and he locks it from the inside with a key. "You can all come out. I won't hurt you."
I hear a sigh and he starts walking around the room. "It's been a long time since I've been in here here. It used to be my old observatory. I spent many hours, looking into space.
Do you like astronomy, Cloud?"
We all keep quiet and I just hear the man keeping walking around the room, talking about various stuff in the room and his interests.
I hear him take a seat. "I don't blame you Guys for running out into the snow. You're afraid of us and you have every right to be, but out there as beautiful as it is, its also very dangerous.
You all were close to death when we found you. Any longer out there and none of you would have come back here except in a body bag..."
"You're wrong! Were missing one of us." I hear Kelsey call out and I hear the person jump up and then I hear her curse, realizing she gave her location away.
"Shit!" She whispers out and the person is slowly walking around the side of the couch to where Kelsey is. I can't let her be discovered! I leave my hiding place, stepping out. "Hey!" I yell pulling his attention from Kelsey and I see her sneak away to where Cloud is hiding under a table who puts his arm around her.
"Ah, there you are, Valerie."
It's Owen... "H-Hi."
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I was doing last minute checks and noticed none of you were in your rooms so I thought I would check some rooms that were hardly used anymore and here you all are. What are you all doing here? Can you all come out?"
I wave my hands and all my Friend stands up. "None of you look so great. You don't need to take my suggestion, but I think you all should perhaps head to bed for the night and rest. Sleeping on the chairs and couches in here won't be comfortable and you won't recover either from going out there in that horrible snow storm."
We all nod. "Head down the hall, turn left, then right and right again and you will find the hallway for the main sleeping quarters."
We all nod. "That's good." He says and we all start leaving. "Don't worry about running into any Guards. They are all in bed, but I highly suggest that you plan *however* you Guys enter and exit this room better. In the mean time, I shall accidentally *misplace* the key."
I follow behind Kelsey when I feel Owen cling onto my arm, stopping me from leaving. "Valerie, you coming?" Owen asks, turning around with everyone. I look at Owen and he seems down?
"Uh, I'll be there soon. Head to bed without me."
"Okayyyyy...." Kelsey trails off leaving with everyone else. After that, the door closes behind us, Owen signals for me to sit and I take a seat, him sitting too. "You okay? You're highly shaken up. What's wrong?"
I look away. "I didn't punish you Guys for being in an off limits area, surely that means I'm trustworthy, yes? I wanted a chance to sit down and talk with you. I know you probably think I have some interesting *friends* but I assure you that we, they weren't always like that, unfortunately time is humanity's worst enemy."
"W-what d-do you m-mean b-by that?" I ask to see him stand up. "You're 100%, positively shaking, Valerie. Umm, do you want to come down to my house? We can talk while I treat you."
I shake my head. "Doctors take an oath to do no harm, Valerie." He says, placing his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "And Rain said you woke up, leaving instantly.
You're friends stuck around a little longer to get slightly better, but you just took yourself out into the city into the cold which didn't really help you get better."
I slowly nod my head. "Okay, let's go." He smiles, leading me the the door, but on our way, he takes the old coat and scarf in this room we found and hands it to me temporarily for the journey to wear.
---
I open my eyes slightly still shaking on the bed, Owen has me on and I see him in the corner, slipping a lab coat on, grabbing some stuff and pulling a easily moveable chair over to sit near me. He holds his gloved hand out and I place my arm on him slipping up my sleeve. "I'm just going to take your blood pressure, okay?" He says, wrapping a cuff around it and then marks down blood pressure reading. He listens to my breathing and shines a light in my eyes and some other stuff after a little while.
"Hmm, you're temperature is slowly rising up again to normal, but you're running a slight fever and a little dehydrated. Let me get you some hydralyte" He says, grabbing some for me. I drink it.
He just sits there while I do. "Do you want anything for your fever?" He asks me and I shake my head. "Okay. I won't force you too, but let me do something to help you." He says grabbing a cloth and wetting it then, sliding it onto my forehead. "Does that feel slightly better?"
I nod. "I'm glad, Valerie. You gave us all quite a fright when you and your team went out there, including Samantha's. Why did you Guys do it?"
I look away. "You don't have to tell me, but telling me will help me to understand what happened. You can ask me some questions if you want."
"W-where's Samantha?"
"I'm sorry, but you all ready know the answer to that... Valerie, Merge is a highly toxic in it's raw form. It has sharp barbs and if they pierce your skin, toxic levels of poison are released and that in the blood stream can cause convulsions, fevers and in worst cases... stop your heart and in water, it's a liquid version with slight crystal in it and will poison you much the same.
Now there is an antidote, ironically which involves making it from Merge it's self, but it takes a while and unfortunately there was nothing we could do.
I assure you, Sebastian tried to make an antidote as soon as he could, but time just wasn't our side. He did try to operate too, but as I said, time wasn't on our side."
I nod slowly. "And Avery?"
"She's still recovering. She seems to have been passed out in the cold long before you, Kelsey and Cloud. passed out, but I think she will be fine. I did do minor emergency surgery on her myself, but the end result.,I have no idea if it helped till she wakes up or if she wakes up at all. I won't lie to you."
I nod slowly, feeling tears slip down my cheeks. "W-what were your questions?" I ask slowly feeling myself shake from the cold still. "Ages ago... you said something about Angels... Was what you said was true?"
I nod. "I see. Well, anyway, Harriet has gone missing. Do you know anything about that?"
"I-I'm sorry. I was out of it, I didn't know what I was doing-"
"Don't worry about it, it's fine. If they are together, then I'm happy for her. She never liked this place and I know he will take good car of her. While I'm sad that she's gone and it won't change the feelings I have, as long as she's happy, then her and me will meet each-other again in the future at a truck-stop diner or something. I don't know, life is full of surprises!"
I laugh too at his silly joke. "You feeling slightly better?" He asks me and I nod. "Good, that's good. You should join your friends and get some rest. There's about six hours of night left. It would be better than nothing.
I can take you all off training for a while, but frankly if you ask me, I don't know if Sebastian or Rain will want to see your faces for a while...."
"Okay." I say, sliding to my feet and handing him the wet cloth, but as I grip the door handle to leave. He says something else which surprises me.
"Happy 'belated' birthday, Valerie."
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