Feared

Fifteen: Breaking News

"Wait on me," Andrew sighed, following Julian.

They city sounds flooded the apartment once the doors opened. Squeals of car tyres, horns, birds, construction and sirens came together in a cacophony too loud to allow Charlotte to think.

"You all set for today? How are you feeling about leaving your friends?" her mother probed. Both her expression and her tone were gentle.

"I don't know. I mean I can't wait to get away from all this fuss and pressure. I never wanted to have this sort of attention, not even at the academy. It doesn't suit me. But leaving here, means leaving James and the last time that happened things didn't work out too well".

Caroline smiled. "It will be fine this time, Charlotte. We'll look after you, and we will make sure you see James as often as possible".

"Thank you".

"We get that this won't be easy. We know this is a huge step and we want to make it as easy as possible," her mother said. "Even if we want to be selfish and keep you all to ourselves".

The doors from the balcony opened again and the city noise filled the suite. Laughing, Andrew and Julian clambered back in.

"I never knew Washington could be that noisy".

"Mum I saw four helicopters!"

"They're circling overhead".

"It was so cool. I bet it's..."

Julian's words were cut off as the door to the suite burst open with such force the walls shook.

"Ian, what the hell?" Charlotte snapped, her heart racing. Ian moved in a blur, stopping only when he was in front of her.

"Did you see the news?" he asked, ignoring her question. He had a serious expression marring his features. Seriousness did not suit Ian. He wore it like an imposter's shroud.

"No – why? What's happened?" she whispered, forgetting about her family. She could taste the unease that was now emanating from Ian. It trailed behind him, a misty fog of fear.

He flickered from sight and when he returned to her side, the television was on.

The words Breaking News trailed across the bottom of the screen.

Charlotte took a step towards the TV.

"It is hard to know what exactly happened," the news reporter began. "But in the early hours of this morning, five people forced their way into The Capitol Building in the centre of Washington DC. Video footage seems to show that the assailants were unarmed. But there have been reports that some of those guards on duty have been seriously injured. As well as that the damage caused to the building was extensive and a city wide manhunt is now underfoot".

Charlotte frowned as the camera fixed on the Capitol Building, black smoke billowing from its windows.

"What were the motives given for the attack?" a disembodied voice asked.

The reporter nodded. "The motives are still unclear. It seems to be an attack, simply to cause fear. Nothing was taken. Nothing was compromised. Yet, an attack on such an iconic building seems to be an attack on liberty itself. Security has been heightened, not just across the city, but across the country. And we do expect to get a statement from the White House in the coming minutes regarding the attack".

"Has there been any indicators of who was involved?"

"That is the most chilling part of this crime. We have been asked not to draw assumptions at this delicate time, but the culprits did leave a message". The cameras cut to a close-up of the front of the building overlooking The Mall. Giant letters had been carved into the pristine white walls. The reporter read them as the camera moved across the huge words.

"The gods have come to bear witness upon your failures. We are your gods. Kneel before us and repent".

Ian flickered from view, the television screen turning black. "They're blaming us - we are the gods," Ian said, when Charlotte didn't speak. His face screwed up in revulsion at his own words.

She gazed at the blank screen, her brow furrowed. She tried to reason with what had happened but she didn't know what they were suggesting. Were they really blaming the students? They never mentioned them, but who else would they blame? Charlotte had grown up being blamed for everything. It wasn't unthinkable that they were capable of such an attack. And no doubt conspiracy theorists were already pointing their fingers at the students living only a few blocks away.

"What proof do they have?" she whispered, her voice a husk of what it should have been. "We're not allowed to leave. We were all here in the hotel".

"Were we?" Ethan asked, striding through the door, his expression grave. Carrie followed him, a great hulking shadow.

"We were, we..." She met Ethan's electric blue eyes and her words caught in her throat.

Ethan shook his head and exhaled. "Where's James?"

Charlotte swallowed. Where was James?

Okay sorry for such a long wait - and it wasn't even planned to be this soon, but it's surprise for all of us! Inspiration comes when we least expect it! I will apologise in advance as I am very busy with another project at the moment, so Feared will be updated a little more randomly that I would like (But sure if you've been waiting on this you've figured that out already)!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope this chapter makes up for the wait!! It was fun to write and has me thinking ahead to the next chapter though how long that will be I'm not sure! Please vote and comment - I really enjoy hearing what you have to say! All your feedback is so appreciated! I hope you enjoyed x