The Survival of Four

Chapter 23

It seemed like forever until I had made it back to safe grounds. Elliott jogged up to me as soon as I crossed the entrance, looking eager to bombard me with questions. "What happened to your cheek?" he asked.

"Dylan happened."

"You saw him?"

I nodded but was too lost in thought to focus much on his questions and confused expression. "He will come back soon," I informed him. "He wouldn't tell me why he is doing all of this, he only said to trust him and that he knows what he is doing."

Elliott nodded. "Then we should trust him. If he has a good reason, then maybe we can help him with whatever he is doing."

I ignored his idea. "Don't send anymore search parties out for him. He will come back when he wants. Once the groups come back, make it clear that I gave the order: no one is allowed to go looking for him."

Elliott furrowed his eyebrows. He stared at me with shock and disagreement. "Riley, Kyle told us to keep looking. What if Dylan needs our help?"

"He doesn't," I snapped at him. "Don't let anyone go searching for him. That's an order, not a suggestion. Once my brother gets back, let me know. I'll be at the head house if anyone needs anything."

I walked away before he could protest against me. I made my way to the head house like I had told the son of Ares, and calmed myself down. I sat in silence at the dining table and let myself linger in my own thoughts for what seemed like hours. I didn't know what Dylan was up to and it worried me. He could be in trouble. A part of me thought he was only being careless and not looking out for his own safety.

I wanted to call Kyle and update him on the situation. He would want to know that I ran into Dylan, who refused to come home once again. I caught myself, however, realizing he was most likely busy discussing important things with his father. He didn't get to see Hades often and I wanted him to be able to spend as much time with him as he could.

I stood up and made my way into the bathroom down the hall. The dried blood on my face made my skin feel irritated and itchy. I looked in the mirror on the wall and examined my wound. The gash wasn't too deep, but it would need to be held together with a closure plaster. I looked under the bathroom sink and found a first aid kit. I pulled it out, carefully cleaned the wound and washed all of the blood from my face. I placed a white, butterfly closure plaster on the injury, keeping it from opening back up and getting infected. After placing the kit back where I found it, I walked back through the hallway.

My brother walked through the front door, right as I walked into the dining room. "Did you really find Dylan?" I walked up to him and nodded. His pale brown eyes searched mine for answers. A moment later he gazed down to my cheek. "Did he do that to you?"

I watched his jaw tense and his body stiffen. I was beginning to hate his anger issues. "Yes, but it is fine. He didn't mean it," I told him.

"What do you mean he didn't mean it? He runs onto dangerous grounds without a weapon and is avoiding us when we try to help him. I know I haven't known him any more than a few weeks, but I know he is going crazy," my brother spoke.

I shook my head. I did think he was untrustworthy, but I didn't think he was crazy. "He told me he knows what he is doing. Apparently, he just has to take care of something, then he will come back. He promised he would come home soon."

"Are you going to let him take his position in watching over the haven until Kyle comes back? He is second in line. If something were to happen to Kyle. He has a right to claim it when he returns," my brother explained.

I shook my head. "Kyle took that title away from him. Kyle thinks he might be betraying us again."

He nodded, knowing the son of Hades could be right. "What about you? Do you trust him?"

I shook my head. I wish I trusted him. Over the past six months, he had worked on gaining all of his trust back from the last time he betrayed myself and Kyle. It only took one day for that to change. "I don't trust him," I told Carson honestly. "Not at all."

#

I walked into the head house, ready to start my daily routine. It had been almost two weeks since Kyle had left to visit his father. From what he had been telling me, he and Hades had been contacting minor gods, discussing who could possibly be threatening Safe Haven. No one had heard from nor seen Dylan since I found him in the woods a week prior. Everyone was putting their trust in him to come back when he wanted.

I stepped into the dining room of the head house and standing by the wooden table was the messenger god. As he turned to face me, I noticed the single letter in his hand. I sent a kind smile in his direction. "Since you came yesterday morning, I didn't think I would see you until a few days," I told him.

He shrugged and slipped me an uneasy grin. "I had a request to make a special, quick delivery."

He held the letter out. "Who is the lucky receiver?" I asked, grabbing the envelope from him. As soon as my eyes fell upon the name, my smile fell. "It's from my father," I realized.

Hermes nodded. "I recommend reading it immediately. My brother was eager for you to get this letter this morning."

I nodded. "I'll take it to my brother and read it with him."

The messenger god patted my back and walked toward the door. "I'll leave you to it. Have a nice day."

"You too." With that, he left, and I was alone to drown in my thoughts. Half of me wanted to rip the envelope open then and there, but the other half was scared of what was written inside.

After a long internal argument, I slipped my thumb along the seal and opened it, deciding to read it without my sibling. I pulled out the folded sheet of paper and read the calligraphy. The letter was short and straight to the point. The only information it held was that my father was coming to visit today; he was going to answer all of my questions.

***

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Any predictions??

~Emily