Oh my gosh, it has been way to long since I have uploaded anything at all. Sorry about that. But here is the next chapter. And I hope it is interesting and worth the wait.
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Chapter 9
"Hi there, I'm Cody by the way."
I looked at the guy, a little breathless. We had just jumped from a wall of about 20 feet high, maybe even higher, and landed safely on the ground. Yeah, I was a little breathless about that. But I then saw, after we had landed on solid grown above sea level, that he had a rope tied around his waist and from above.
Well, at least I know we didn't land on here by magic, I thought a little bitterly but my blood was pumping a little faster than usual.
"Anna," I replied back.
The boy named Cody started untying the rope and I suddenly realized that Jack and Sabel had gotten down too. Cody and the other two people had been along up on the wall appeared with them, and were also untying the rope from their waists and a pickup truck appeared through the trees and the headlights flashed towards us.
I looked around to see what the other's reaction to the truck was, but they didn't seem scared or surprised. They were with them apparently.
"Come on," said Cody, tugging on my arm when it stopped in front of us. He got on the bed of the truck and reached down to help me. I didn't like being helped like a damsel in distress who can't even climb onto a truck, but I didn't want to be rude.
I got on and Sabel followed with another girl. Jack got into the other guy who was on the wall so that there were three in the truck including the driver. But right before he had entered he asked the guy and driver, "Have they gotten most of them out?" Someone replied to low for me to hear, but then Jack said, "Okay. Tell them to start retreating."
So Jack really was leading the intruders into the school. He had been right and planned all this. Now the only thing I was wondering was about where they were taking us. If they knew about the academy, they could just as well be as bad as the people who kidnapped us. But I had no way of knowing that, just as I had no way of knowing that they weren't.
The truck started driving, quickly through the woods. It was a bit dense here; the people on the truck's bed had to duck down a bit to avoid being hit my low branches. And that was when I realized something.
"Wait, you know X?" I asked. I directed the question to Cody.
"Sure," he smiled. "He was the one who sent us here tonight. Jack included."
"So you've met him before?"
"Oh no," he shook his head and smiled at me. "He doesn't really come out and talk to us. He only speaks through phones or messengers. There are only a couple of people who've actually met him because they're at the top of the system, like Jack and Ash."
"Ash? System?"
"Yeah, system. It's what some call what we do. You know, renegade assassins. We all," he pointed to himself and the other girl," have runaway from different assassinations all over the country and world. Ash and Jack are one of the oldest people who've worked for Ash and are still actively working with him. But I think Jack should tell you more once we get back."
"Where are you taking us?" Sabel spoke up. Apparently this is what worried her, though she didn't let it show.
"Back to the main headquarters. A lot of us renegade assassins who want to actively help free others like yourself live there," spoke the girl. "I'm Helena, by the way. Welcome to the world outside your academy."
We drove for what seemed like hours.
Once we hit the highway about twenty minutes later, the truck sped away from the academy. We were in a place with a lot of trees and as we drove, Cody and the girl Helena took it to themselves to be like our tour guide.
Helena informed us we were in some part in Wyoming, but that now we were headed towards Oregon, where the headquarters was. Cody seemed to love traveling, and he pointed out whenever we entered a new state.
I was amazed at the sight before me. All my life, I'd been hauled up at the academy. I had almost never been out. And then seeing so much like this, it was great. There were some parts, like small towns where we had to stop to fill up the gas and Cody went to get us some snacks (even if no one wanted anything and Cody took it on himself to finish it all himself) I was amazed. Sad but true, a small town gas station amazed me. I had never seen these things in real life, only in movies and mentioned in books.
We were all half asleep when the car stopped and parked. We weren't at a gas station this time, we were in the middle of the woods again and nothing else. I began to worry about where they had taken us but Cody smiled happily and Helena and Sabel were already climbing down.
"Headquarters?" I asked Cody as we hopped down.
"No," he shook his head, "home."
Home for him was headquarters apparently. But I couldn't see the house or building from here. The truck headlights barely illuminated anything, only the road and beyond which they were already traveling on, and a small narrow path leading up a small hill.
The truck drove away when we were all out and it kept on going, disappearing around a corner of trees and all I could see was a bit of light that soon disappeared too.
"Come on," announced Jack as he passed by me and up the road. He led the way and I hurried to follow. Though where I had no idea where I was following him too.
I walked next to Cody, and he kept talking as we walked. The others talked quietly, but Cody didn't seem to think he should too. He talked normally, his voice ringing out into the darkness and wideness.
Alas, as we went higher up the hill, a house came into view. It was big, about four stories high and it was really wide with a porch that seemed to go all around the house. On the lawn and stairs were various things: boxing gloves, a few fake but what seemed like heavy swords for practice and a few other instruments used for training.
This was no ordinary home, I was sure. I just didn't know exactly what it was.
We quietly entered the house, and at first, you would have thought it was just a normal house. The hall we entered was a bit narrow and at the end of the hall there was a set of staircases that led upstairs and down and in between both stairs laid a door that led to the backyard. It was carpeted with a few things littering the floor like toys and different playing balls; as well the rest of the house was littered with such things. But beyond that, you could see weights lying around, a magazine about guns and fancy sports cars. There was a set of darts and knives to go along with it, with the tiniest target possible, and three knives stuck into it.
So this was a home, it was obvious, but also obviously not for normal children. They were for assassins.
"We should all get some rest," Jack announced quietly, probably as to not wake any of the others up. "The others will be home soon, so no need to worry," he said mostly to the others. Sabel and I weren't sure who the others were, but I had a pretty good guess.
"Helena, take Sabel to her room," Jack ordered the girl. She nodded and turned to Sabel, tilting her head towards the stairs, indicating if she would join her. But Sabel looked at me; she was waiting for me to decide what we should do. I was the leader here for us. But I just slightly nodded, signaling it was okay to stay here. For now.
I watched them go up the stairs quietly but quickly as Cody and the others dispersed, leaving Jack and me alone.
I looked at Jack as the guys disappeared and found him already staring at me. It was a little unnerving, not that I actually let it show. Instead, I listened as he spoke.
"I know you have no real reason to trust me," he started. And hell yes I had no reason to trust him, but I didn't say that to him. "But listen to X. He's the one who set this all up, found the Academy and set the stage for the break out. It's him to trust."
"Because I'm supposed to trust I've never seen or heard, other than through some secret texts?" I asked. "I don't know about you, but that doesn't exactly sound trust worthy." It actually sounds like he doesn't trust me.
"I know," he said. "And, don't worry. You're safe here, and you'll be able to talk to X soon."
"Tomorrow?" I asked.
He softly chuckled. "A little impatient, aren't we?"
"Just a bit," I said, only a little humorous. But mostly just dead serious.
"I don't know when. X runs on his own agenda," Jack told me. "But don't worry, you'll get to talk to him soon. But for now, I think I'll just show you to your room."
I followed him up the stairs and the third floor. I entered a long corridor with a few doors. We walked to the end of it, in front of a door that was at the end of the right side and I could see into another corridor leading into both sides that had doors on the right and windows on the left. Stairs was at the end of the left sided corridor.
It was dark and I could barely see Jack except for the little moonlight peeking in through the window behind me. Jack gestured to the room and said quietly, "This is your room. Don't worry. Sabel is close; she's the last door by the stairs in that other corridor. Fairly close, I think."
I nodded, not sure if he saw. "Jack. Do you know who it was in my room? Back at the academy, I mean."
He sighed. "I'm not entirely sure, but I'm not entirely clueless. I have a few guesses."
"You do?"
"Yes. Look, Anna. There are a lot of assassins, and not just in the country, but also all over the world. They're all brought up by the government, meant to do their dirty. And not all of them want out. There are a few . . .smart ones who do though, but they're only a few. Because not all of them can resist and not be brainwashed by the government.
"It could have been anyone from someplace else, some other country. Or, some other academy here in the country. We know of two other academies in this country, and well, you don't know this, but you've become pretty popular. Especially after that stunt."
"What do you mean I've become popular?"
"I mean you are a good assassin, for being so young. One of the best. And other people, academies, countries, might not like that. They could have sent an assassin to kill an assassin."
I felt myself not be able to breathe, my heart beating a lot faster. This was news to me. I didn't know that so many people were talking me about. I mean I knew I was a big deal at the Academy. I was their number one, but I didn't know that would cause such a problem for other people. And I have thought about an assassin going after another assassin, but I didn't think it was possible. I would have thought it'd be harder for someone to get in at the Academy, then to get out. So I didn't have much to worry about someone getting inside and trying to kill me.
But now I was proved differently. Someone did sneak in, and someone almost did kill me. So that proved that other people-assassins-did want to kill me. They wanted to take out competition. And it had to be from another country, right? Why else would someone from the same country try to take me out? Jealousy? I doubted it. We were taught not to really feel.
But I felt this. I felt . . .fear.
"And you're telling me this right now why?" I questioned Jack instead.
"Maybe," he said, "because I want you to know you can trust us. That we want you to know what's going on, we're not going to keep you in the dark. And we're going to try to help you." Before I could respond, he continued. "Get some sleep. We'll talk this all over tomorrow. You should find everything you need in the room. Good night, Anna."
I wasn't even able to tell him good night, before he was already down the corridor and stairs and was gone.
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All right, I hope you liked it. And I would appreciate it if you commented and voted. Comments always make my day and I like to know what my readers think. And the next chapter will be uploaded a lot sooner, I hope, and be a little more detailed. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Love you readers!
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Linnette