“You're such a pretty thing,
To be running from anyone.
A vision with nowhere to go."
Chapter Nineteen - “Ready To Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)”
IMMI
Sitting down in front of everyone, I was nervous. It had been three days since I last saw any of them. Excluding Em and Balt, of course.
I had no idea what to say, or what even to do. It felt a little awkward, sat here. It was silent and the only thing I could hear were the breaths of everyone. No-one spoke and I kept my eyes at the dusty floor. When I walked in, I noticed it was the same as when we came in – bare and empty. Nothing new had been added and nothing had been moved.
“Immi, how are you feeling?” Someone asked me. Looking up, I saw it was the blue-haired girl. I still didn't know what her name was.
“Uh... I'm alright... I guess.” I shrugged. “Um, I still don't know your name?”
“Bernadette.” She smiled. The corners of my lips tugged up slightly, but it wasn't a large smile. I was still wary of her – she'd held something to my throat and it had burned.
“We can't stay here any longer.” I looked up to see that Balt was speaking. He seemed to be concentrated on getting a message through. I didn't understand why we couldn't stay here. It seemed safe enough, right? I still didn't know what we were supposed to be running from either. Everyone seemed worried for my safety... except me. They all knew what the danger was but I didn't. That made me feel like I was left in the dark.
“And where do you propose we go? Gustav's house isn't safe, apparently.” Harmony asked, thankfully not avoiding the topic simply because I was here. I noticed that Gustav was glaring at Bernadette. It didn't seem like a friendly glare either. To me, it looked like a foreign emotion Gustav was giving out. It felt wrong. Gustav was someone that I imagined to be giving out happy emotions, ones that weren't meant for hurting.
“There's gotta be some other place to go. Somewhere they won't expect.” Balt said. I could see he was trying to think of a place. I remembered when Caroline attempted to teach me, she said something about lands? About separate places? Districts?
I didn't know if it was a good idea or not, but I thought I should input my idea. I mean, they were doing this because of me.
“How about you find a place in the... angel places?” I suggested. Everyone's heads sharply turned to me. There were a mixture of feelings on their faces. Some looked surprised, some looked shocked and one was just a scowl. Suddenly, I wasn't so sure of my idea any more.
“You mean angel territory?” Em asked. Territory! That was the word. I wasn't sure where it was but I do remember Caroline emphasising on the point that I should stay on angel territory or by Gustav's house.
“Are you a fucking idiot?” Saria barked harshly. “I knew you had amnesia, but didn't dear ickle Caroline teach you that demons can't go on angel territory?”
“Shut it, whore.” Caroline snarled at Saria. Harmony turned to her with disbelief and disgust on her face.
“Caroline!” Harmony hissed. Caroline ignored her and narrowed her eyes at Saria, ready to snarl other nasty words at her.
Before either could say another word, Bernadette interrupted. “It's a good idea. I think it would work.”
Everyone's attention turned to her. I was shocked, she thought it would work?
“How? Saria does have a point; we'd be dead if we stepped on your land.” Balt frowned. He'd die? I didn't like the idea of that. I had no idea how this... territory thing worked, but I didn't think he'd die! Balt couldn't! I wouldn't let them - he'd been nothing but good to me.
“Harmony's well respected. Most of the angels there have been tutored by her and will respect her decision. Gustav's probably treated some of them. One good word from them, and the angels will comply.” Bernadette shrugged. Her words flew out of her mouth fluently and she seemed confident. “Plus, it's the one place Shax and all his men won't go to. They won't risk being hunted on lands that aren't their own nor will they expect us to be there.”
“Why don't we do it then?” Em asked. Her voice was quiet but I could see she wanted to take part in this. “We'll all be safe! And then we can get Danielle and Vera to help.” Those last two names sounded familiar but I couldn't place them...
Everyone murmured and were all talking, taking the attention off me. I felt warmth over my hand. Looking down, I saw that it was Balt's hand covering my own. Twisting my hand, I intertwined our fingers and I gave him a small smile too.
“What are they talking about?” I asked. Their voices were low and seeing as we were sat quite far from them, it was hard to tell what they were discussing. Saria seemed to be in a heated argument with Marcus and Bernadette. Her reaction to everything made me wonder if she got on with anyone. So far, she just argued with everyone, and glared hatefully.
Balt concentrated on their group, before turning to me. “Whether or not to go. It's a good idea, even if there's a fatal flaw in it. Did Emily teach you about the territories?”
“No... Caroline did. It was when we meet.” I smiled at the memory of us meeting. It wasn't exactly the greatest way but I was glad. I didn't want to think about what would have happened if Balt hadn't turned up and interfered.
“Huh. I'm surprised she taught you. You're not exactly her favourite.” He chuckled to himself. I chuckled with him. Caroline... she was a weird one. I think she just preferred other people who were like her. She seemed a lot older than Emily and I, in an odd way (she definitely didn't look old). Maybe she thought we were too... immature or too young for her?
It was a few more moments before everyone's attention was brought back. Saria looked livid and everyone else, except for Bernadette and Em, seemed unsure.
“We'll leave tomorrow. We're going to angel territory!” Bernadette cheered, clapping her hands. Her face lit up at the idea. “I can't wait to see who's there.”
“They won't be happy.” Harmony told Bernadette, although it didn't bring her down. She dismissed Harmony's words of “warning”. If that's what they were intended to be.
“It'll be fine. So, Immi, I suppose we'll all have to teach you now.” I gulped and gripped Balt's hand tightly. I didn't want to know what they were going to teach me.
~ ~ * ~ ~
Hearing a door creak, I forced open my eyes. Yesterday had been tiring. I'd been taught a lot of things and it had taken up a lot of energy. I didn't understand why someone was coming in now. Unless it was Balt, asking for his top back. However, that wouldn't make sense as he'd given it to me because I felt uncomfortable in the dress. He'd said that by letting me borrow his top, I might sleep better.
Unfortunately, it wasn't Balt. It was Saria. I didn't have a good feeling about this. Everyone, except Marcus (who was on “night watch”), was resting, so what was Saria doing here in my room? I felt uneasy.
“What do you want?” I asked, sitting upright. She wasn't in here to say goodnight, that was for sure.
“Keep your voice down!” She hissed. “Look, I came to help you.”
“Help me?” I whispered, not believing her. Saria hated me, so why would she help me? Something wasn't right...
“I don't like you, you want your memories back. If I can get your memories back, the quicker you can get your wings back meaning I won't have to see you ever again.” Well, that made sense... in a way. Saria wasn't helping me, she was helping herself.
“H-how?” I was still unsure of her idea. Why would she suddenly help me? Plus, she'd approached me when no-one was here. It didn't settle right with me.
“I have a friend, who can help.” She smiled. It wasn't a smile like Balt or Em would give me. No, there was something sinister behind it.
“N-no, I'm alright.” I rejected her idea. I didn't trust Saria, not one bit. She hated me and my gut was telling me she was up to something.
“That's not your choice to make anymore, bitch.” She grinned before producing a sparkling piece of gold.
Immediately my eyes were drawn to it, and I could almost hear it calling for me. Suddenly, Saria wasn't there anymore; nothing was. It felt like when I first laid eyes on that first stone. Only it mattered.
Stretching my hand out, I tried to reach for the gold. I frowned when I was a little bit too short. Getting up, I slowly reached out for it. Each time falling a little short.
I don't exactly remember how it happened, but one moment I was inside and the next I could feel the cold wind whipping at my bare legs. There wasn't any gold and my surroundings returned to me.
The moon was shining brightly in the sky, showering a small amount of light over the other large buildings around us. None looked like they were occupied. In front of me was a black, sleek car. I didn't understand what was happening! I saw the car door swing open and out came a man. He seemed extremely familiar, and the memory of where I'd seen him came hurtling back at full force. My eyes widened and my throat closed up.
“The perfect host.” He grinned darkly and I swear that my heart stopped beating.