The Night School [GxG] [First Draft Edition]

Chapter Eighty-One: Regression

The Daniels had finished their debriefing a while ago, and had taken residence in the lockdown chamber next to mine and Megan's. Grace's parents had apologized for being ignorant (which I found stupid, seeing as I hardly cared in the first place. I'd only left in fear of a breakdown), her mother had hugged me and cried on my shoulder for some time. It's not like I really minded. The more comfortable they felt with me, the more they'd support Grace and I.

"Okay... Socks and sandals are really weird, so that card wins." Megan chuckled, putting the red apple cards in the used pile while Sawyer smugly collected the green card. We'd been playing Apples to Apples for god knows how long, Micha and Kayla joining in too. I'd gotten bored playing, so I just leaned on my sister and put my head into the crook of her neck.

"My turn," Micha stated, flipping over a new green card, "funny. Knee-slapping. Hilarious. Ha ha ha." She read.

Megan's phone suddenly dinged on the floor next to us, and she snatched it away before I could read the notification on her lock screen.

"Hazel, they've located Lex." She whispered once she'd read the message. Micha and Kayla both looked up, hearing and understanding what Megan had said. Micha gave me this reassuring nod. I think she knew how desperately I wanted the human girl back, more so, I think she understood it.

"What was that?" Grace's father asked, scowling. I think he thought we'd just jumbled our words rather than spoke a foreign language.

"That was the Director hoping you all are comfortable and situated, and that she's personally overseeing the recovery." Megan lied easily. Even Megan, being part of the N.S., had the innate ability to come up with and convince others of a false truth, which I was thankful for because I knew her tells. She could lie to a lot of people, but we both know she could never lie to me.

"Oh, thank you." He replied, looking a little disappointed. You could see the unease and worry in the way his jaw was set, or how the vein on his forehead throbbed as we went on playing our game.

...

A few days later, and I'd almost gotten used to sleeping with the awful chill in my stomach and the even worse constant, unrelenting ache in my chest. I'd also grown used to the ungodly snoring sounds the Daniels males make when they sleep. The mother also snores a little, but a lot quieter.

"Hazel! Hazel!" Someone whispered harshly, pulling me out of a light sleep haunted with nauseating worry. "Hazel, wake-"

"I'm awake, Megan! What do you want?!" I growled quietly, not wanting to waken the sleeping Daniels and Lloyds (Micha and Kayla, who'd decided to stay with us).

"Follow." Megan helped me stand, and then hurried me out the chamber. I ran a hand into my hair, trying to make it presentable, only to remember it was short again.

"Megan, where are we going?" I sighed at my usual volume. Now that we were roaming the halls of the main Night School, we were out of the humans' earshot, and it's not like the other passerby cadets would care what we were talking about.

"Infirmary. We've got her, and she's going to be back in a few minutes." She gave me a sad smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The unease at her expression was threatening to overturn the happiness that came from knowing my soulmate was back in safe hands.

"Lex tried to pull a fail-safe. She's definitely been physically abused, and they're trying to figure out what caused most of the damage, and they're running a test for various poisons. She's unconscious and Alexa was not found guarding her, which makes me think she pulled something."