I didn't dare close my eyes for the remainder of the night.
Even with all the droids surrounding me, I felt scared.
I had to let them know, I had to warn them that Jupiter might be a bigger threat then anticipated.
They believed him, hell even I believed him, but the bruises on my arm completely changed that belief system.
An hour before the sun began to rise, Neptune woke up everyone and we packed up our things before heading back into the woods, still hoping to get around the river. The whole time we prepared to go, I avoided any kind of contact or interaction with Jupiter, who seemingly had returned to himself. I knew the psychotic parts of him were there though, they always were. The more I thought about it, the more I began to realize how often I looked them over. It was embarrassing. Which made me even more desperate to tell Neptune about our encounter last night. It wasn't until later in our hike though that I managed to catch her by herself, in the back of the group. The twins were taking the sides and Jupiter was in front of us, out of ear shot.
"Neptune, we need to talk, it's important," I said in a low voice once I had dropped back next to her.
"What's on your mind Abigail?" She asked as she continued to scan the area, making sure we weren't being followed.
"It's Jupiter. We had a scary encounter in the woods, and he said some things I'm worried about." At that, Neptune stopped scanning to look at me.
"Like what?" She asked, slowing down a little bit so we'd fall back more so. "He said things like he would never leave me alone even if I wanted him to, and that he was jealous of Pluto because I was his first. He was being rough with me and told me I was lying when I said I didn't know what happened in the woods with the Robbies." I glanced worriedly at Jupiter to make sure he wasn't listening. "After saying I was his, he then said that we'll see, we'll all see soon."
For a long moment then, Neptune remained quiet with a furrowed brow as she processed what I said. She seemed concerned, or at least I thought she did until she stopped walking to face me. "Look, Abigail, you've been through a lot this past couple of weeks. So, I understand why you might have a hard time trusting those your currently close to, but you need to drop this traitor thing with Jupiter. He's not a bad guy Abigail, he's a good friend who cares about you very much."
"But Neptune—"
She held up her hand for silence.
"Sometimes when Jupiter gets tense, he can be a little intense. I wouldn't concern yourself with it, especially now when we're about to fight Titan. I need you to stay on your game and stop giving your worries power over you." She rested a hand on my shoulder. "I promise you Abigail, you're perfectly safe with us. All of us. Now go catch up to Gemma, okay?"
At that I swallowed thickly. She didn't believe me, no one believed me. Maybe that meant I was wrong? Maybe I had misconstrued Jupiter's actions and words last night in the woods. He could just be angry with me for accusing him, and that's why he got a little aggressive. Not that that's a good excuse to act that, but it's better than him have ill intent.
Sighing, I nodded. "Okay."
"Neptune! We found the bridge!" Mercury then called and the two of us moved forward to catch up with the ground at the foot of a run-down bridge.
"It looks old, are you sure its okay to cross?"
Looking up, Mars then pointed beyond the trees on the other side. "It has to be if we want to get to Titan's hideout."
We all then looked up to see a castle, a literal castle, just beyond the trees. It was old, dark, and casted a menacing shadow over that half of the forest. It looked like a place immoral experiments were performed. "This is where it all began?" I asked breathlessly, sharing a look with Gemma who had paled.
"And this is where its going to end," Pluto said, grabbing my hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.
"Do you think he knows we're here?" Mercury asked, shifting her hands to two handguns.
"If he does there's no turning back now." Jupiter decided, looking at me and then smiling. Unlike all the unhinged looks he had given me lately, this one seemed more like the Jupiter I knew. Grounded and kind. I had to be wrong about him, I hoped I was wrong.
Glancing over the side of the bridge, Neptune winced. "The rivers current is strong, we should go two at time, so we don't put too much weight on the bridge," She said, and the twins stepped forward.
"Merc and I should go first, in case there's trouble on the other side." Mars volunteered with a nod in agreement from Mercury.
"Very well, step carefully." Neptune then stepped back to mine and Gemma's sides as the twins carefully stepped onto the bridge. It creaked and groaned heavily, but their footing remained solid the whole way across. Once they were safely on the other side, they took a moment to scan the area before giving Neptune a thumbs up. She then turned to the remainder of our group. "Pluto you go next, I'll send Gemma and Abigail after you, so Jupiter can depend our position on this side with me." Looking at me, Pluto then hesitantly let go of my hand and carefully pulled himself across the bridge.
Once he stepped off on the opposite side, it was time for Gemma and I to cross.
"I hate bridges." Gemma muttered, unamused as she began to help me crossed. At first, everything seemed fine, including the stability of the bridge, but then, a buzzing sound was heard, and I felt my heart tighten when dark blue spheres came flying down.
"Drifters! Get down!" Mercury screamed from the other side, but Gemma couldn't react quickly enough and one of them opened fire on the bridge.
"No! Abigail! Gemma!" I heard everyone scream in a panic as they open fired on the drifters. With in moments, the drifters fell one by one around Gemma and I as we gripped each other tightly. Once the last one fell, I found myself frowning.
"I...I thought the drifters shoot to kill?" I said in confusion as I turned to look back at Jupiter, but before I could say anything, the bridge groaned beneath my feet and I heard a loud cracking sound.
"Girls run!" Neptune yelled, right as the boards beneath us gave way from the impact of the bullets and I found myself falling. Instead of landing in the water though, I managed to grab a hold of one of the intact boards. Gemma, unfortunately, wasn't quite as lucky and fell into the strong currents of the water below.
"Gemma!" I cried out as I kicked my leg in her direction so she could grab it, but she was pulled right past me.
"Hold on Abigail! I've got you!" I heard Pluto shout as he grabbed my arm and pulled me back onto the bridge. Once I was safely up, I started crying.
"She can't swim! Gemma doesn't know how to swim!" I frantically shouted and immediately upon hearing that, Jupiter ran onto the bridge and dove off it into the water.
"Jupiter!" Neptune yelled as she also ran onto the bridge and looked over the edge. Anxiously I watched as he swam with impressive strength towards Gemma, who was struggling to stay above the water. Then just when it seemed to be too late, he grabbed her by her shirt, and pulled her into his arms.
"I've got her! I'm swimming back!" Jupiter shouted up to Neptune as he swam back towards the bridge, brilliantly fighting the current.
"Hold on Gemma! You're going to be okay!" Neptune yelled, leaning over the edge as Jupiter swam closer. Once he was almost directly under the bridge, he held Gemma up by the waist so she could grab Neptune's hand. When Neptune had her, she then pulled both them out of the water and back onto the bridge. Quickly then, we all ran off the bridge before further damage could be done, and to the safety of the other side where the twins were waiting for us anxiously.
The second we stepped on solid ground, I hugged Gemma hard. "I thought I was going to lose you, I thought I lost you. You almost died." I sobbed.
Coughing, she gripped me tightly in return. "Its okay Abigail, I'm right here. I'm okay, I'm okay thanks to Jupiter," She said, only making me hold her tighter.
"I'm a search and rescue droid, it's what I do," Jupiter said from behind Gemma, and I looked over her shoulder him.
"Thank you, Jupiter, I don't know what I'd do without you."
======================================================================================================================================================
Hey guys!
Wow, this story has been getting a lot of foot traffic lately, and I'm super happy about that! Thank you so much for all the reads and votes, I really appreciate ya'lls support :)
As for the Wattys, I've decided not to enter this year. I learned my story was eligible to late and I didn't have enough time to finish writing and editing this story. Its okay though, there's always next year!
Mari.