Remember

Chapter 12

We had been walking for a very long time and I had hardly said a word to either of them. In fact, nobody had said a word to anybody the entire time. After a few hours we stopped at the base of a cliff and Jacob pointed up,

"The house is up there" he said quietly and my eyes widened as they followed the cliff all the way to the top. I couldn't see the house but I knew it would be silly to have such a thing on show to the world.

I nodded and he led the group around the side of the cliff and up a path, we began to walk up the steep road. It was dusty and there were rocks everywhere, I tripped a couple of times and landed on a few spikey bushes with twigs sticking out every-which-way. I knew I had cut myself and I tried to cover it up when Luke came over to make sure I was alright.

I knew he felt bad about what happened with me and Jacob but not bad enough to try and get us to make up. All goes towards that all important 'decision' he was talking about at the diner while I was 'sleeping'.

It took ages to get even quarter of the way up the cliff and when I asked to stop Jacob said we couldn't stop until we were a least half way up and by the time we got there it was pretty much pitch black and the only thing lighting our way was - once again - Jacob's torch.

I was afraid and cold all over again and this time I knew just as well as he did that Jacob wasn't planning on putting his arms around me to warm me up this time.

We managed to get to a slight clearing on the cliff. There was a curve in the road, what for I wasn't too sure but it was there and it was flat and some of it was sheltered by a few trees.

"We'll rest up here for tonight" Luke said, placing down my bag he had been carrying for me.

"No, we need to keep going" Jacob said, glaring at Luke.

"We're all tired and none of us can be doing with you being so high-maintenance. You haven't slept in two days and neither have I, Allie's only had two hours of rest so we're going to stay here for the night" Luke got a little closer to Jacob as he spoke.

"If we lose this guy, it's on your head" Jacob hissed, dropping his own bag down on the floor.

-

Later that night the two of them were asleep, using bags and clothes as pillows. I was so tired but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't close my eyes. Maybe because I knew that if I was going to get away from this house we were heading towards, I would have to run before I got there. I knew that at the top of this cliff wasn't only the house of the most powerful novanoid in the world, it was also the barrier you pass to get to the novanoid world, where they all live.

And since nobody can actually find Blackwood, he must be hidden expertly and the only place where that is possible is past the novanoid borders. He must be hidden right under their noses and that is where I am going because wherever Blackwood is, Blake is.

I sat up from the hard ground and brushed myself off, walking towards the edge of the cliff and looking out. There was a log balanced on the edge, I reached out a hand and shook it a little to make sure it was stable, it was and so I sat on it, looking out across the sky.

You could see everything from this height. We'd been travelling for so long we must be in a completely different state by now but I can just about see the New York skyline in the distance. I sighed and looked up at the stars above me wondering how the hell I was going to get myself out of this mess.

This is all my fault. If I hadn't forced Blake away from me he would be safe now. He would be ok and I wouldn't be here. If I had just listened to him for once and taken his advice he wouldn't be in danger and it's my fault he's in danger.