Celia (Old)

Chapter 8

Celia didn't sleep, she couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried. There was too much going on for her to feel the need to sleep. Rowan however cried himself to sleep, he was stressed and in denial about being adopted. Based on the noise Talon and Walter made in a different room, Celia assumed that it was now morning. After a few minutes, Walter entered the room and sat down near the entrance.
"Now, answer this question honestly or else I will send you two to the dungeon." Walter began as Celia turned around and faced Walter.
"Where are your parents located?" Walter asked Celia because Rowan was still sleeping.
"Why do you want to know?" Celia asked Walter in response.
"You are avoiding answering my question, and I won't ask again, just answer it." Walter responded with a scowl.
"Near a bridge, that is all I am telling you." Celia told Walter as he facepalmed.
"Dammit! I should have known!" He exclaimed before saying "Stupid idiot Roscuroe deciding to live in the place I know all too well, I thought he would have lived somewhere else as I believed he was smarter than that."
He then stood up and left the room as Talon entered and started rattling Rowan's cell door, shouting "WAKE UP! IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO BE FREED!"
Rowan instantly jumped awake and scrambled to his feet, standing on all fours. Talon unlocked their cells and grabbed both of them by the hoods of their sweaters. He led them back outside where he shoved them to the ground.
"You can run away if you want, we are coming back for your parents anyways." Talon said as Celia stood back up, brushing the dust and dried grass off of herself. Celia didn't even know where she and Rowan were, or where the river was. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't leave as she didn't want to risk getting lost in an unfamiliar place. Celia instead glared at Talon while Rowan remained on the ground.
"Or you can stay here and not die, well, not die yet." Talon said again with a smile as he turned around and walked away.
"I hate that kid." Rowan grumbled as he stood back up.
"So do I, but I feel bad for him. It's not his fault, he was raised that way." Celia spoke after Rowan.
"You are too soft, Celia." Rowan told Celia as he glared at her. Celia ignored Rowan to look around again, noticing that everyone was staring at them blankly, but she saw something strange. There was a human with the same collar as everyone else, but didn't have the same blank expression. She had long brown hair, pale skin, was as tall as everyone else, and wore similar blue clothing as everyone else.
"This place gives me the creeps. Let's leave." Rowan whispered into Celia's ear as he attempted to lead Celia away by grabbing her sweater. Celia continued to stare back at the human as Rowan led her away. The human then started following them slowly before Celia and Rowan were stopped by two very tall Lizens as they tried to leave. They glared at them menacingly as Rowan said "Nevermind, I guess we have to stay."
As Rowan turned around, the human stopped them and asked "You two aren't like the others, why?"
"Walter didn't give us those collars, that's why." Rowan answered in a rude tone of voice. Suddenly everyone around all corrected Rowan at once by chanting "Master Walter!" twice.
"Strange, usually he would have. He gave me one but it doesn't work on me, but I pretend like it does so he doesn't hurt me again." The human responded to Rowan as his surprised look began to fade.
"Talon said we could go free but everyone else doesn't think so." Celia told the human.
"Don't listen to Talon, he may be the son of Master Walter but he is not the boss. He holds no power." The human replied to Celia before saying "The name's Leena by the way."
"Well, nice to meet you, Leena. I am Celia and this is my brother Rowan." Celia introduced herself and Rowan to the human as she reached out her hand for a handshake. Both of them shook her hand and smiled.
"So, how did a human end up here?" Rowan asked Leena. Leena sat down on the ground, Celia and Rowan doing the same, and began "I was camping with my family then I fell asleep and woke up here."
"What happened?" Rowan blurted.
"These mind controlled Lizens must have kidnapped me, believing that I was either one of their kind or I had something to do with the Edmonton fight five years ago. I haven't been able to leave since, every time I tried I would get caught because of this tracking device these collars also have." Leena finished.
"How could he? Taking you from your family? Why?" Celia kept asking, even more angry at Walter.
"I don't know, but whoever this 'Roscuroe' fellow is, he is probably going to be killed soon as he now found his location." Leena replied to Celia again as Celia's ears perked straight up as she remembered.
"Is there something wrong?" Leena asked Celia.
"Roscuroe is my father." Celia told Leena.
"Oh, then we better stop him, somehow." Leena said. After Leena spoke, every Lizen turned and stared down at them and slowly approached, but was interrupted by the sounds of twigs breaking, Lizen hisses, and many feet running on the ground.