Love Bites *Sequel to Insanity Bites*

Chapter 12: The Calm Before The Storm

We stopped outside a run down looking gas station before reaching the campus where we were met with a small team of people dressed similarly to the man who picked us up in the military truck. 

Nobody spoke as they lead us to the dark and dingy bathrooms at the back where they attached prosthetic noses to our faces and fattened our chins. I was already wearing colored lenses and had dyed my hair black but seeing myself with a hooked nose and a slightly heavier chin made me unrecognizable. 

Even Zayn's face appeared entirely different as they sprayed his skin to a much darker color, his blonde hair now striking against the darker brown skin tone. Harry on the other hand had a bulbous nose fitted onto his face and his sharp angular jaw now lay hidden beneath a double chin. 

We both looked at each other and it took all my resolve not to burst out laughing. It was clear Harry felt the same way as I saw him smile at me for the first time since our awkward encounter on the plane. 

I quickly looked away before I ended up bursting out in laughter. My eyes flitted across the room scanning the serious expressions on the people who were making all of us look like entirely different people. Not one of them spoke or smiled, their gestures automatic and quick, almost robotic.

Soon all the humor I felt dissipated into the tension filled space that surrounded us as Kayla seemed to have a telepathic conversation with a woman who had just finished coloring her hair black. 

Kayla nodded at her and the shorter lady who looked to be in her mid forties pulled out a few tags from a small sized black bag that lay at her feet and handed them to Kayla before she began packing up. 

Kayla then passed out the tags with attached lanyards that had the words Adelaide Medical School printed on them in cursive to Arlo and Zayn. I was amazed to see that Zayn's picture on name card already had dark skin, a slightly different looking prosthetic nose and blonde hair. 

She also handed out ID's with our new appearances to all of us. I glanced down at my new pudgy face with it's hooked nose, surprised at how accurate it was and then I read my new name. Ether Macmillan.

I wondered how Kayla had been able to manage everything in such a short amount time, even Zayn stared at his tag looking impressed. 

The room was packed to the brim with the bunch of us and it soon started to feel a bit stifling. I leaned into a corner to give myself more space and watched as a tall man pulled out outfits from a green canvas bag he had been carrying. 

He handed out formal wear to Arlo and Zayn and a pair of doctors coats. Then he pulled out a grey colored janitors outfit and handed it to Niall. His long arms then disappeared into the large bag as he shuffled through the bag and finally he withdrew a nurses outfit and handed it to Kayla. 

I nodded my head silently, their plan now coming together in my eyes like adjoining pieces of a puzzle. The older lady lead Lauren, Harry and I outside to give the others space to change. It felt odd to not be able to speak to anyone but I knew the council's officers could be anywhere and the empty gas station gave me a small sense of security. 

For now.

Harry stood next to me and I could feel the tension radiating off him in tidal waves. I knew out of all of us here, he had the most to lose and therefore it made him the most tense. He tucked his hands into his jeans pockets and then withdrew them as he shifted on his feet incessantly.

I glanced down at his hands, I wanted to hold them and offer him some form of comfort but I didn't know if that would anger him after the way he reacted on the plane. He hasn't spoken to me since his out burst and I didn't want to anger him again.