Their Light

Chapter 2

Hadley

"I'm sorry I yelled."

His voice was calmer. It surprised me and took me a moment to respond. I dipped my head, relaxing as the last remnants of my panic subsided. He pushed up to a crouch, but didn't come any closer to me.

"I will get you out of here." The sheer determination I felt from him was enough to make even me feel a little hopeful. His color was looking better. Standing, he surveyed the room just as I had done before checking the door. It wouldn't budge for him either. He moved towards me, but stopped himself a few feet away.

"Can I join you?" He asked. I hesitated but nodded, not sensing anything off about him. I also liked that he asked. He smiled and made his way over, sitting as close as he could without touching me.

"How long have you been here?" I shrugged. Worry twisted my stomach at the unknown.

"I don't know," I told him. "I was walking back from work when they jumped me. I woke up in here a little while ago." Confusion still radiated from him like a perpetual loop. Nothing I said ever seemed to help.

"So people are probably looking for you by now," he prompted, but I shook my head. His confusion spiked, but he moved on quickly. "My brothers are definitely looking for me by now."

"They are going to kill you?" I asked, glad he was turning the conversation back to himself. I was also very curious about these mysterious, murderous brothers of his. It was great that he had people who cared about him enough to look for him. I pushed my twinge of jealousy down.

"Ha, yeah, probably," he said, smirking again. "I was reckless and let those Ma-morons grab me." He stretched out some of his muscles, appearing casual, but his stutter didn't escape my notice.

"Do you know who they are or what they want?"

"No." Immediately, I felt the lie, a stale taste on the tip of my tongue. Rolling my eyes, I rested my chin on my knees. Everyone lied. I had to remember that. Even boys with cute faces you get kidnapped with. He noticed me withdraw.

"There's so much I have to explain to you," he rushed out. "There's so much you don't know." I turned and looked him in the eye, realizing he knew something about me, about what I was.

"Then tell me," I challenged, but he never got the chance.

The door slammed open again, making both of us jump. Finn whipped into action, crouching protectively in front of me. I swore he blurred. Three large men entered the room, including the one from before. The familiar nauseating feeling washed over me, getting stronger as the men drew closer. Two of them yanked Finn forward as the other grabbed me. Zip ties appeared, and they tightened them around our wrists. I winced as the plastic dug in just a little too deep.

The men herded us out the door and up a rickety set of stairs. It was a miracle they carried all of our weight. Once we made it to the ground floor, I took in my surroundings. We were in a large warehouse smaller than the one I stayed in, though. It looked abandoned. Crates of various sizes decorated the floor, most broken in some manner. There was at least an inch of dust on everything in sight.

I tried to meet Finn's eyes, but he was watching the men as they dragged us forward. He scanned the area, and I hoped he found whatever he was looking for. I had a plan Z, but I wanted to exhaust the other twenty-five letters of the alphabet first.

Pushing my power out, several beacons of light surrounded the warehouse. Their auras were almost identical to Finn's. I masked my expression. I sensed three in total. They surrounded the building. A little piece of hope bloomed in my chest before I could squash it down. There were also several spots of sickening darkness, including the men holding us. We were walking right towards the others.