The Easton's

18

Alexi couldn't remember what happened. The first thing he was awakened to was the pulling on his arms and the throbbing in his head. He slowly sat up looking up at his arms that were chained to the wall.

He shivered from the cold, realizing he had been stripped to his underwear. He looked up at the door, hearing it creek open.

"My dear Alexis." Hayden spoke as he came in with a bucket. Alexi gave him a sharp glare as he watched the man walk in.

A cart was being wheeled in behind him by a guard who hurriedly left after setting up the cart. Alexi slightly pulled on the chains trying to see how tight they were. He knew Mora would've revealed all the secretes she knew, but she wasn't trained how he was.

"Now Alexis, you can either have dinner with me, or I'm gonna slice you up to get my brother's toys back." Hayden said as he pulled out a small knife.

----

The plane ride was silent. Elias stared out the window playing with the necklace he shared with Alexi.

"He's going to be okay Eli." Caleb called out from beside Elias and held his hand. Elias looked over at him and smiled.

"I hope so, Caleb," Elias replied, trying to hold in his emotions. Caleb, not knowing what to do, pulled out one of his favorite books and started to read it to Elias slowly.

June sat across from the pair, asleep with his stuffed animal clutched in his arms. Lorenzo sat beside June on his computer. He was flying back with them and then in two days he'd make his way back.

"He's going to be fine, Elias; Alexi is a lot stronger and smarter than he comes across." Lorenzo said as he looked up from his computer.

Elias nodded at him and looked him in the eye, part of him started to believe that Alexi would be just fine.

---

Riley and Jestion sat in the car silently. Jestion kept messing with his boots making sure his knives wouldn't move and Riley kept glancing at him.

"The mission is to just get Alexi back." Riley reminded him as he stared at his fiance.

Jestion looked back over at him as he pulled his mask out of his bag.

"I'm not gonna be reckless Riley, we have too many people counting on us to make it out." Jestion promised as he reached out for Riley's hand.

The car stopped at the warehouse and the couple got out. Walking inside they saw a table set up and people sitting around it.

"Why do you guys always have this superhero ass set up, we are gang leaders." Marco said with his arms crossed. His partner sat next to them and they looked less than impressed by his joke.

"Be sensitive this is a hard time." Sora said as they hit him in the back of the head.

Riley ignored them and went to sit down. Jestion stood beside him as he continued to track Alexi.

"As you know, Carl was killed by Mora." Riley started pausing for a moment. He cleared his throat and looked back up.

"Alexi was taken by Hayden, so our main mission is just to get him back, after that I would suggest everyone go back to their base countries because a war is coming soon and we need to all prepare." Riley said as he looked around the table.

Everyone looked solemen but gave a quick nod. Carl was a close friend to them all and they had even seen him grow up with Bradley.

The group continued to chat for a while before jumping when the doors to the room suddenly burst open.

Weapons pointed they watched as the guards struggled to bring in a man, he had blood dripping down from his face as they threw him on the table.

"Joseph what the hell are you doing here?" Riley questioned as he stood up walking around the table.

--

Elias couldn't remeber when the plane landed. He had dozed off while Caleb continued to read, Lorenzo making sure to correct the boy when he messed up.

He woke up with a pat to his shoulder and saw Caleb staring at him with a wide smile. "We're here Elias!" Caleb said happily.

He couldn't believe what his life had become, he'd faced so much pain for as long as he could remember and now he was in italy with a family that loved him.

Elias nodded and grabbed his bag unbuckling his seat belt. He walked over and picked June up who was slightly fussy from the long drive.

He watched as Lorenzo held hands with the twins who were bouncing with excitement. Those two never could sit still for long no matter what you gave them for entertainment.

As they exited the plane, Axel and Lucielle stood by a SUV waiting for them.

"GAMMY!" The twins yelled as they ran to the woman. Lucille smiled at them and kneeled slightly to hug the boys.

They hugged her and started going a mile a minute about the plane ride. Lorenzo sighed, and he placed the boy's backpacks in the vehicle before getting them to get in.

Axel came over to Elias and held his hands out so he could hold June before his wife snatched the boy up. He gave Elias a sad smile as he took the boy.

Caleb rushed up to him and started talking about the new book he had as he walked beside the man.

Elias tried his best not to bring down the mood as he walked to the vehicle. His hand continued to go back to his necklace, holding on to it. He just had to keep hoping Alexi was okay.

--

"We have to go to Italy. It's getting closer to the eclipse. This has to be done, or we'll all die," a young woman said as she sat in a circle with the other women.

Everyone's attention turned to the leader. Her black hair flowed in front of her face. It was so long that it pooled in her lap. She slowly raised her head up, her striking green eyes piercing through the darkness.

"We have to wait until my sons are back together," she said before looking up at the moon. They didn't have long, and she knew it was time for her to stop playing games.

"We'll go to Italy when Jestion leaves." She said before leaning her head back down.