EMERGING FROM NOAH'S house, I noticed that it was just past dark and the stars were beginning to appear in the sky.
Austin and I watched from the driveway as Noah got into his car and turned on the engine. Noah gave us a thumbs-up signal, and with that, Austin and I made our way over to Austin's small black car. Slipping into the car, I closed the door and adjusted the mirror to check my appearance one last time.
After Noah had come back into the room, we all decided that it would be a good idea to try to disguise ourselves as much as possible before heading over to the compound. Fortunately, Noah had plenty of black clothes from his high-school emo phase to let Austin and I pick through.
As I rummaged through his old closet, I kept imagining the shaggy blonde Noah with black eyeliner and skinny jeans. That led me to hold in silent laughter as I picked out what to wear, all the while, Noah and Austin watched my strange behavior curiously.
In the end, Austin and Noah both wore black sweatshirts and jeans. Fortunately, Noah stopped growing in high school, reaching just over six feet by the time he was eighteen. This meant that his clothes hung loose on Austin and me. Though, arguably looser on my short frame than Austin's. In fact, we couldn't find any jeans that would fit me, so I settled on a pair of black sweatpants with an adjustable waist tie that would work. I also dawned on one of Noah's black sweaters that fit oversized enough to also potentially conceal my gender.
Glancing at myself in the car mirror, I made sure I tucked every last strand of my hair underneath the black baseball cap I took from Noah's closet. Once that was done, I slipped on a pair of black sunglasses that I had found in the car's dash compartment and closed the mirror.
In the corner of my vision, I saw Austin slip his hoodie over his head and slip his own pair of sunglasses over his eyes. He caught me watching him and our eyes met behind the tint of our glasses.
"Ready?" Austin asked from the driver's seat, turning on the engine.
"Ready." I confirmed and signaled to Noah across the driveway that we were good to go.
I saw Noah nod before pulling his car out of the driveway. Following Noah's car, we backed out of the driveway and onto the road, finally heading back towards the compound.
As we drove, an eerie feeling washed over me.
With the car window slightly cracked, I could feel the chilly evening breeze against my cheek, making me shiver. Wrapping my arms around myself, I looked out of the window and towards the beach stretching along the highway.
While we were at Noah's, a strong wind had picked up, roughly tossing the palm trees decorating the California highway we drove on.
I tucked my necklace underneath my sweater and tried to focus on my breathing, telling myself this ominous feeling was just my nerves, but no matter what I did the feeling only grew. There was something about this scene that was eerily familiar, and I had a horrible feeling that something was going to go very wrong.
Glancing over at the dark ocean, I pushed the thought out of my head. I rolled down the windows further, letting the salty air sting my face, bringing me back to the first time I drove down these roads as a new intern. I remembered how much I hated the ocean back then. That day seemed so long ago, yet it had barely been two weeks.
However, unlike the first time I drove down these roads, the salty air felt like a breath of freedom rather than the sting of painful memories.
Leaning against the open window, I closed my eyes to the breeze as we drove. This time the ocean would be our salvation, a way out of this hellish place, far away from Dr. Grant and his twisted laboratory.
As time passed, the beachfront homes and palm trees faded into rocky cliffside shores and I realized with dread that we were nearly there. In confirmation, I saw the compound begin to come into sight, just barely visible among the rocky cliffs.
Suddenly, my phone rang, startling me. Austin momentarily took his eyes off the road to glance over at me as I took it out of my pocket to answer, putting it on speaker.
"Alright, I'm going to set off the fireworks on the other side of the compound, once the guards are gone, you guys go." Came Noah's voice, his breath was labored as he spoke. He was nervous.
"Stay safe Noah," I said quickly before he ended the call.
I heard Noah let out a breath from the other end of the line, "You too Lani." Came Noah's reply before the click signaling he had ended the call.
Putting my phone back into my pocket, Austin and I pulled off the road and he turned off the car. In the dark, his small black car was barely visible against the dark cliffs. There, we waited.
Just up ahead I could see the entrance to the compound, and the two burly guards that stood out front. Clad in black suits, they guarded the door with crossed arms, scanning the area behind the tinted lens of sunglasses. They looked entirely intimidating, and I truly hoped Noah's idea was going to work.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for the first explosion to start.
Within minutes, a loud boom echoed from the other side of the compound, just around the cliff slide. Another one went off and then another as thick grey smoke began to rise and curl into the starlit sky. With each explosion, the cliffside began to glow as a flame sprouted and spread across the grass-covered rock.
Noah had started a fire, a fire that was headed straight toward the compound.
What is he doing?? Trying to burn the place down with Cassian still inside?! I thought angrily, reaching for my phone with the intention of calling Noah when Austin spoke, giving me pause.
"It worked!" He shouted with relief, pointing towards where the guards were abandoning their posts by the entrance, their guns were drawn as they sought out the source of the commotion. In response to their leave, Austin immediately began getting out of the car.
"Let's go!" He called to me as I slipped out of the car, following after him.
"The fire is spreading, we'll have to be quick!" I observed, taking one more glance at the growing fire before running after Austin who was already headed towards the compound.
Slightly ahead of me, Austin rushed up to the entrance of the compound and scanned his own access badge, granting us access inside. I followed him inside and into the elevator as we went down to the main floor.
"I'm going to run to the security room to disable the cameras, you run and go get Cassian and I will meet you down there." Austin whispered to me as we rode the elevator down.
The elevator doors opened with a ding and Austin immediately stepped out, "Okay, I'll see you down there!" I answered hurriedly, taking off towards the research department where I knew Cassian was waiting.
As I ran, I heard the voices of some researchers walking down the hall towards me and quickly slipped into one of the many observation rooms along the way. Inside, I waited for their voices to disappear as they passed.
This wasn't good, there wasn't supposed to be anybody here. I thought anxiously, that eerie feeling I had in the car returning.
To be safe, I shot a quick text to Austin.
Careful, there are still employees inside.
Once I hit send, I left the room and made my way back out. Finally reaching the elevator, I made my way down and rushed to the tank. As I raced down the hallway, I noticed that the security cameras lining the walls suddenly dimmed and tilted downwards. I smiled, knowing Austin had been successful.
Reaching the tank, I quickly scanned my badge and rushed inside.
Immediately my eyes were drawn to the figure sitting against the wall at the far end of the tank. At the sound of the door opening, Cassian's blue eyes flickered up and our gazes met. His eyes narrowed and he tilted his head as he regarded me in the doorway as if I was a stranger.
I frowned for a moment before I remembered how ridiculous I looked with the sunglasses and the baseball cap.
Letting out a breath, I slipped off my sunglasses and pulled off my hat to reveal my face.
Cassian's eyes widened with recognition, and he instantly made to move towards me. To my surprise, Cassian had already shifted back to his human legs as he sat bare in the tank. In an attempt to get near me, he attempted to stand, his legs wobbling unsteadily as he braced his weight against the tank wall.
He was eager to see me, and I couldn't hold back my joy as I went over to him. "Careful!" I said quickly, rushing to stand beside him. I placed my hands on his chest for support as he stood to his full height. Once stable, he looked down at me, his long silver hair fanning around his face and brushing against my cheek.
I smiled up at him, glad that he was safe, and still overcome with joy by how obviously eager he was to see me. His blue eyes searched my face, and something in his expression softened as his gaze landed on my smile.
My breath hitched at the intensity of his warm gaze, and I became hyper aware of my hands resting against the hard muscles of his chest. His heart raced beneath my fingertips, and I found myself wondering if it was because of me.
Was I the one affecting him this way, or was it just his nerves?
His leg brushed against mine as he moved closer, pulling me from my thoughts, and I was abruptly reminded of the fact that he had legs.
Which meant he was most definitely naked.
My smile faded.