Sorry it took so long XD I hope we still have some readers <><><><><><> Audrey sat in shock as Cass relayed the whole story of what had just happened at her house. What was she supposed to do with this? Cass took a shaky breath. "But, all that said, go with your aunt for now. It's more important that you go see your mom. I'll work on figuring this out for now. Okay?" Audrey nodded, a tear falling down her face. "But what if what you said is true? What if I do only have a few days left before..." The tears were coming faster now. "I can feel it. I can feel it destroying me," she told him through her sobs. He took her hands gently in his own. "Hey, don't think like that. I'm going to figure this out. It's going to be okay. I will always be there to defend you. I promise. Whatever it takes, Lady Audrey, I will fix my mistakes. No matter the cost, I will protect you.” She nodded again before pulling him into a hug, tears still falling down her face. "What would I do without you?" Cass held her a little closer. "Probably not get poisoned." "But l would never know what it was like to have such a close, amazing friend either," she added, squeezing his arm. He placed his hand over hers. "I'm still so sorry any of this had to happen. You shouldn't have to be a part of this." "It was worth it to be able to know you," she told him, leaning on his shoulder. Cass closed his eyes. He couldn't let anything happen to her. What was he going to do? Suddenly his eyes snapped open. "Audrey, where did you get that bracelet that brought you to Etrion?" "From my dad I don't know where he got it or anything, though." "Audrey, we should go now," her aunt called from the living room. Audrey began to stand up, but Cass grabbed her arm. "I think your dad is from Etrion." "I-I...that doesn't make sense. I would've noticed something before now," she trailed off for a moment. "And I really don't think we have time to talk about it right now. I'm sorry. I need to go." "Ok..." Cass said, and gave her a hug. "I just want to get this figured out before anything happens to you." Audrey nodded. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure this out, okay? It'll be alright." Audrey headed out the door and as soon as she was out of sight, Cass broke down. He had been keeping it together for Audrey, but he was scared. He didn't know how in the world he would fix this. He sat there, tears falling to the ground, trying to think of anything he could do. Nothing seemed to work. Every idea was quickly dismissed as useless or impossible. He knocked himself on the head a couple times as if it would help him have better ideas. His best idea was to look around to see if Audrey's father did end up being connected to Etrion somehow. He sighed. "Guess it's time for a little invasion of property in the name of progress," he halfheartedly joked to himself. He got up and went back over to Audrey's house. He had no idea where to start looking. Maybe her dad had an office or something? He wandered down the main hallway, peeking in the doors. A bedroom, a bathroom, some sort of family room... He cautiously turned the handle of a closed door at the far end of the house. Behind it was a dark, rather dusty room filled with a desk and countless stacks of paper. Cass grimaced at the musty smell. "Yikes. Welcome to paperwork purgatory." He picked up a few papers to see if the paperwork would have anything of interest. He shuffled through them, reading off the titles. "Health billing, light billing, bla bla bla billing, I get it, yeesh." He scanned the room again after putting the papers back. A worn leather folder on a high shelf in the corner caught his eye. "Hello, important-looking-magic-binder-of hopefully-useful-information." He was just barely able to reach the binder. The cloud of dust that originated from the binder made him sneeze. He opened it up to the first paper inside. The words that greeted him were both shocking and exciting at the same time. The paper read, "Etrion to Earth Mission: Full Summary." He flipped through the pages with amazement. It seemed that everything he needed to know was outlined in this folder. He looked the binder over; nobody on the council would just leave such secretive information unguarded for anyone to take. There had to be some sort of tracker or camera or something. All he found was a handwritten sticky-note saying, "If anything happens to me, burn this folder and make sure my family is safe." Cass frantically flipped through the pages, looking for anything that might explain what exactly this folder was here for. Finally. he found it. A single page of lined paper that contained a handwritten letter. This letter was addressed to Audrey. "I probably shouldn't read it. I should wait for Audrey," he said to himself as he folded the note and slipped it into his pocket. Now what? Audrey was leaving to go to her mom, and communications with Etrion were blocked. He didn't know what to do. -->
--> Unless... He decided he would test the mysterious man's information and try to contact someone. His dad, even. He didn't care who. He just needed some help. He closed all the doors he had opened and jumped the fence between their houses, sliding in through the Jones' back door. Back in his room, he carefully removed the false bottom from his bedside drawer. Underneath lay all his Etrion possessions where his parents couldn't find them. He packed everything up in a bag and held the teleporter in his hand. He was about to click the button when he thought of Audrey. What if he never saw her again? He shook the thought away. He had to leave, otherwise he was certain to never see her again! Forcing himself to push the button, the light whisked him away. Back to where he was born. Back to his home. Back to where he was always lonely. Back to where he never felt like he belonged. <><><><><><><><> Writing by Rena Gale & Calla Tolliver Cover by Calla on Canva
