Before Jade knew it, she was on her way to an abandoned location in Alycandro's purple muscle car, and he played with his gold necklace chain once or twice. It was a crescent moon.
It all looked like a movie scene. The six boys' cars formed a line as they made their way down a secret path between tall trees.
Each car fit their personalities.
Frank drove a green Chevrolet Volt, an electric car with neon blue lightning painted on the doors.
Draco drove a red Ferrari with bat-shaped rims.
Finn drove a blue Corvette Stingray which had a long spoiler at the rear.
A chauffeur was driving Zeth's car, a golden Rolls Royce that looked like a sarcophagus while he probably ate grapes or perhaps drank champagne in the backseat. Typical Zeth.
And Everett drove a white snowplow truck with giant tires, almost a monster truck.
The smell of the forest enveloped them, and there was no sound except the rumble of the vehicles and a few Latin pop songs Jade didn't know. Alex told her that those were songs that he heard when he was still a kid living in Mexico City, but she didn't understand any of the lyrics because they were in Spanish, although she liked one called ‘Inolvidable’ which Alex translated as unforgettable and said it was from a group, something that started with an R.
She kept moving her leg nervously in the passenger seat, well aware that this was a bad idea.
Jade hadn't said a word since she jumped into his car, so the only noises were stones breaking under the tires. She wanted to fall asleep in the seat, her eyes were heavy, but her survival instinct finally kicked in, after two nights, and kept her on the alert.
It seemed like a stupid moment to finally distrust the guys.
But this was an unknown place.
She got worried.
They were really alone.
No cars, no buildings, nothing. It didn't even look like they were still in Hollow Woods.
Alycandro drove for ten minutes and finally found what looked like a path through some bushes at the side of the road. There wasn't any indication as to where this path went, but Alycandro parked next to it and unclipped his seatbelt.
"Don't worry, we didn't bring you here to kill you," he said.
Jade looked out the window and saw nothing but grass and trees. The sky was dark, and her breath fogged the glass.
"What are we doing here?" Jade asked him when she got out of the car.
"Hope your boots are not uncomfortable," he said, slamming the car door. "Follow me."
The guys led her through branches and trees.
It was hard to see where she was going through the thick forest, so she followed them.
The sound of crickets echoed around her, and the wind whispered through the leaves.
It was too quiet here.
They were all silent for most of the walk under the branches.
This was a nice and quiet place to die, at least.
"This forest scares me," Jade said.
"It was scarier when I was younger." Zeth replied, walking in front of all the boys, but relatively close to Jade, "This is the Forest of Catalos, and here I fought many Zeldrichs. An ancestor of mine, Marquess Zeth Rahman of Zeleste Island, reported the first Zeldrich sighting here since the arrival of the Guardian Gods. It is said that’s was why Duke Kade decided to hatch dragon eggs from the long abandoned and destroyed lands of Zegypt."
“You mean Egypt?” Jade raised an eyebrow.
“Zegypt,” Zeth corrected, "My ancestors came from that place. They moved to Zeleste Island just before the marble hand emerged from the ground and destroyed everything. The mighty empire of Zegypt fell in one day, and the Yeti became the new kings of all of Zagarrta. Zeleste Island was annexed to Evalon and many Rahman Dukes ruled the island until Zeth 'the Conqueror' united all of Evalon under the rule of the Rahman dynasty of kings."
"I didn't understand anything but.. Is there no other way to get to your house, guys? I’m scared," Jade shivered and everyone giggled quietly, as if they were up to something. Draco and Frank even blushed.
"There's nothing better than a scary place to get closer," Draco wiggled his eyebrows, "I can hug you if you want."
"Or I can hold your hand if it makes you feel better," Frank said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I mean, if you want me to, of course."
"There are scarier places to visit at night back in Evalon," said Zeth, “Like the Port of Spikes on Zeleste Island where the Floating Heads of the Tunebra Priests manifest after midnight, or the always cold mausoleum of The Titan, or the haunted halls of The Madhouse where the vengeful spirits of the Hills who were burned to death still manifest searching for whoever ordered the fire, or Valley of the Kings in Kizah where some say that the ghost of King Ozyrez 'the Arrowhead' Rahman still appears at the foot of the statue of King Maahel ‘the Crushed’ Rahman. It is also said that the ghost of Duchess Cadence O'Pry still manifests, singing while visiting Queen Carol O’Pry's grave. And what can we say about the mysterious disappearance of the head of the statue of Duke Kade ‘The Wise’ Rahman at the entrance of Valley of The Kings?”
"Oh! That was my fault!" Draco said and Zeth stopped walking to look over his shoulder, "What?! It was a dark night and I was flying too low and... Crash?"
"And where is the head of the statue, Draco?" Zeth asked, gritting his teeth.
"Somewhere in The Titan? Very well hidden?"
"Where exactly?" Zeth insisted.
"I don't know!" Draco threw up his hands as he shouted, "It's one of those things you hide so no one finds it but then you don't remember where you put it! It was thousands of years ago, Zeth! I was around fifteen or sixteen years old and I was just learning to fly! That was the furthest I had flown back then!”
"You're a mess with wings," Zeth rolled his eyes and kept walking.
"Hey Jade! Over here, watch your step," Alycandro entered a wooded area, and her natural scepticism arose, but she followed him.
"Argh! Look at this mess!" Zeth said, holding up a foot. "My shoes are covered in mud! You know how expensive they are?" He grunted. His trainers were black and gold, and they looked as expensive as his car.
After a few minutes, they emerged from the woods.
"That's our home," Alycandro said, pointing.
In the distance, beyond the crystalline lake in front of them, on a small rock near a cliff, a grey stone castle rose majestically. It was absolutely magnificent. A massive structure with tall towers, surrounded by a tall curtain wall. She had never seen something so creepy before, not even the campus could compare to how scary it looked, and her curiosity took over again.
"Hey! Wait for me!" she shouted when the guys began walking again. They were too fast for her; their legs were long and strong, but she caught up with them.
For Jade, walking in the middle of this dark place surrounded by six handsome and sensual men was almost like a dream, but it could also turn into a nightmare.
“We all live there," Alycandro said, "So you can't say anything to anyone."
"It's not like I have many friends to tell," she replied. "So, are you all roommates?" She asked, already gasping for breath, perhaps trying to fill the awkward silence.
“More like family," Alycandro said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Welcome to the family, I guess.”
"We are a very big family," Frank told Jade with a warm smile. His bionic legs buzzed, but then there was a sizzling robotic sound that made Jade look down.
"Are you okay, Frank?" she asked.
“My metal hand is going nuts," Frank said, his hand was buzzing and sparkling. "I feel like it's getting stuck, maybe because of the body oil."
“I know a couple things about robotics," Jade said, "But my tools are at school."
"I am so thirsty right now. Did any of you bring a water bottle?" Finn asked. Jade found it strange that he was wearing black flip-flops and shorts despite the cold, but the boy wore them so often maybe he was used to it by now.
“Nobody brought water, Finn,” Zeth said. He walked like a model on the runway among the trees. “When we get home, you can drink all you want.”