Chapter One

*Not edited*Not proofread*

Chapter 1— Now what?:

As the seasons get ready to change, the wind becomes much more bitter as the air around Raven Hollow gets colder. The sun sets much quicker, the sky darkens much earlier.

But the flashing lights of the fair makes the world seem a little brighter, the sounds make it seem that much livelier and chaotic.

As I sit and listen to the noises around me, watch the people who pass by smile and laugh, scream and shout, I wonder how I got to this moment. I wonder how I went from living in a cell to being here; at a fair far away from the facility, where I'm not tortured, I'm not chained up, I'm not locked away. I'm just here, and I'm free.

Really fucking free.

"Seriously, Kody?" Landon snaps me out of my daze as I munch on a pack of chips, sitting on the picnic bench. "Get up and come look for Lilah with us."

I continue to chew the Doritos as I roll my eyes. "I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

"She went to the bathroom and she's been gone almost an hour," he exasperates. It's not his tone that has me slightly anxious though, it's the sheer worry on his face. "Something's wrong, Kody."

Sighing, I push myself off the bench and wipe my crumby hands on my jeans. "Where's the shitbag?" I wonder, my eyes scanning the surrounding area.

"His name's Benny," Landon furrows his eyebrows in a frown. "But Zeke's taken him on some rides."

I nod, "Does he know anything?" Landon shakes his head. "Okay. Where are the toilets?" I ask, getting to the point.

"There's quite a few around, I don't know what ones she went to."

"Well obviously the one's closest to where we're sitting," I tell him matter-of-factly. "She probably saw them on the way to get food and went to the ones she knew the location of. So all we have to do is walk back in the direction we came in, see if we can see any toilets or signs, and if we can, then they're most likely the ones she went to."

"Jace is checking the toilets now," Landon walks after me as I leave to go look for Lilah. A total inconvenience if anyone were to ask me.

"She's probably not in them," I roll my eyes. "But at least from there I can figure out where to go next."

We walk back in the direction we came in, in silence, retracing our steps until I notice a sign pinned on one of the rides that points into the direction of the portable toilets. I look around for any other signs, but they all point in the same direction, so clearly the toilets they point to are the closets ones in this area.

Once we reach the porta-loo's — a stupid fucking name in my opinion— I look around. They're in a more secluded area, a little bit behind the rides and food-stands which is expected. You can't really see much from here, apart from the back of some rides and stands and the opening of the public woods that are situated behind the field. It's not a very big forest-area, and most people only go into the woods to walk their dogs or jog around the perimeter of it. I've only been there once and it was to walk Rey. He wasn't a fan, so I didn't take him again.

"Now what?" Landon asks as I continue to scan the area.

I try to find something that may have caught Lilah's eye, but there's nothing that would have made her wander off on her own, at least not without telling someone first. But before I have the chance to answer Landon, I get a message come through to my phone. When I check it, I notice it's from Jace.

Jace:

'Checked all the toilets, and nothing. Kept my eye out and haven't seen her. I'm with Zeke, he says he's looked around and he's text and called, but no answer. He hasn't seen her either.'

Received 21:37

"Who is it?" Landon tries to look over my shoulder. I turn my phone off and shove him away.

"Jace," I inform him as I pocket my phone, not bothering to answer my text. I know Jace will carry on searching until we find her. And he isn't clueless, he knows what to do and how to do it. "He's with Zeke and Benny. Neither of them have seen her yet, but they'll continue looking."

Landon nods his head distractedly, his eyes darting from person to person. "Okay. So what do we do? Where do we look?"

I take note of Landon's worry; his panic and distress. He won't stop fidgeting and his eyes are wide and alert. He's worried for his friend.

Lilah went to the toilet an hour ago now and hasn't been seen or heard of since, despite the calls, texts and four pairs of eyes looking for her. Knowing Lilah, she wouldn't wander off like this, especially not without telling anyone first, and she definitely wouldn't do it if it meant leaving Benny, so this is probably a lot more serious than just a misunderstanding.

But I can't tell Landon that or not only would I be dealing with an awol Lilah, I'd be dealing with a frantic and out-of-his-mind Landon. And I will not be letting that happen. So instead of worrying him further, I tell him we should split up; that he should go back to where we were eating just in case she goes back there and I'd go to some of her favourite rides.

He's reluctant, but he agrees.

So as Landon walks back to our abandoned picnic table, I head into the wooded area instead of where I said I was going; the only place that the boys haven't checked. But I don't blame them entirely. Lilah is a wuss, the last place she'd stray off to is the pitch black woods.

Jumping the fence that's flimsy and rotting, separating the field from the woodland area, I pull out my phone and use the flash torch feature so I'm able to see where the fuck I'm going, putting it on a dimmer setting as to not draw too much attention. It is much darker than I originally thought, and while the torch doesn't actually do much, it's a lot better than being entirely engulfed by darkness.

With a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach, I take small cautious steps deeper into the woods, searching for the familiar red hair and hazel eyes.

Obviously I want to find her, simply so I can stop wasting my time and get back to doing anything other than this, but there's a large part of me that hopes I don't find her, at least not here, because I've been in these situations enough times to know it never leads to anything good. If I were to find Lilah in the depth of these woods, then I doubt she'd be in good shape.

I have the urge to call out the redhead's name as I roam around, but instead I don't do that. I'm smart enough to not draw any more attention to myself than the flashlight already is. Who knows what kind of people are creeping around the woods at this hour. Even if I'm not in immediate danger, it's better to be cautious and alert than unaware and defenceless.

As I pass a lethal thorn bush that I almost run into because I'm more focused on looking for Lilah than where I'm walking, my phone vibrates with another message, but this time it isn't Jace.

Kota:

'Just spoke to Landon. He told me what's going on. I'm on my way to help look for Lilah. Where are you?'

Received: 21:51

I don't bother texting back once again. I don't have time to be conversing with Dakota, and I assume he hasn't got the time to be trying to converse with me, either.

However, five more minutes of walking and I get another text.

Kota:

'Where are you? Are you okay?'

Received 21:58.

And then another one.

Kota:

'Do you seriously think now is the time to be ignoring me?'

Received 21:58.

And another one.

Kota:

'Kody, answer me, please! I'm getting worried.'

Received: 21:59.

I roll my eyes as I type out a quick message.

In the woods looking for Lilah so far no luck.

Stop texting me.

Sent: 21:59.

Not a minute goes by before Dakota is calling my phone. I release a frustrated huff as I answer and put the device to my ear. The torch is still on and shines to my right, just barely lighting the space in front of me so I'm able to carry on walking.

"¿Que quieres?" I growl out as soon as I have the screen pressed to my face.

"Cut the attitude," he replies sternly, causing my teeth to grind together. Jace tells me I need to stop doing that, he says it's not good for my teeth.

"I'm looking for your friend if you haven't already forgotten. I don't have the time or energy to argue with you, so what do you want?" I grit out.

"Where abouts are you?" He asks. I can hear the wind blowing on his end of the line, obviously outside. I listen closer and realise the music I can hear behind me is the same music coming through the speaker of my phone and I know Dakota is already here at the fair. "I'm on my way."

I bite back my protest before it's able to leave my lips. Having an extra set of eyes could prove to be useful, especially since those pair of eyes belong to Dakota who's extremely perceptive even when he's not trying to be. And unlike Landon, I can trust Dakota to keep his head on straight and think rationally no matter what the outcome of the search is.

"If you go to the portable toilets by the candy floss stand in the far right corner of the field, the one next to the cupcake bouncy castle, and walk straight in the direction of the woods, you'll probably find me if you keep walking," I explain the best I can, trying to be simple but informative as to not confuse him. "But don't expect me to wait for you, because I won't. So if you want to catch up, you better start moving. And fast."

I hang up before he can say anything else. I don't even know if he heard my directions clearly or if he even knows what I'm on about, but I don't care all that much. As long as he knows I'm in the woods, he can figure it out from there. Besides, even if he doesn't find me, there will be one more person covering the area of the woods that I haven't.

And with that thought, I decide to message Jace and tell him to get his ass over the other side of the fence so he can help look, too. I tell him not to say anything to Landon and Zeke to prevent them from worrying too much. They're better off thinking they'll find her roaming aimlessly around the fair than being somewhere in the woods alone.

*

I look a little while longer, maybe ten minutes, with no luck. There's sticks and stones on the floor, leaves and growing weeds. The ground is dry, so no imprints to tell me if someone's been through here already. It's quiet, no sounds of any sort apart from the odd snapping of a twig underneath my boot.

Until I hear slow, clumsy footsteps coming from behind me.

I come to a halt, moving in front of a tree, pressing my back against it. There's a knife in my boot but I don't move to grab it just yet, knowing that it's most likely only Dakota due to the loudness of his movements.

I wait until the silhouette of his built physique comes into view as he unknowingly passes me. Although I can't see much, I can tell it's Dakota because of the way he walks. He doesn't slow down, or even turn around, unaware of my presence lurking in the dark.

"Enserio, you must have nine lives or something porque la cantidad the situaciones you put yourself in where death is the most probable outcomes es excepcional."

He turns to face me as I walk up beside him. His eyes scan my entire form, checking me over. But it's not me he should be worrying about. Once he's seen I'm in tip-top shame, he lets a small smile slip onto his lips. "It's cute when you switch from one language to the other."

"Gross. Fuck off," I push past him.

In seconds he returns to my side, and when I look over at him, his face is once again in its signature frown. "Any luck?"

I shoot him a weird look. "What does it look like to you?"

He glares at me sternly. "Now's not the time for your attitude, Kody."

I can tell he's frustrated and worried over the disappearance of his friend, but I can't relate to what he's feeling. Lilah's annoying, for starters, and hasn't even been missing a full hour yet. If anything, they should be celebrating the peace and quiet her absence brings.

"Why are you even here?" I question as we carry on trekking through the woods. The deeper we go, the lighter it becomes due to there being less trees as we get closer to the centre of the woodland.

"Are you seriously asking me that?" Dakota retorts. He seems off. I understand he is concerned for his redhead friend, but it feels like it's more than that. I don't care enough to ask about it though, so I don't bring it up. "Lilah is missing. Do you really think I was going to sit at home and do fuck all why she's out here alone?"

"Wherever she is, it's unlikely she's alone," I mumble out, but due to the quietness of our surroundings, Dakota hears me loud and clear.

"Really?" He looks at me disapprovingly. "Can you just not right now?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm just being realistic," I say truthfully. "If she's out here, then someone's with her. And they're probably not the best company. Who knows what could be happening to her—."

"Enough!" Dakota booms, his tone sharp and loud as he comes to a stop. I absentmindedly take a cautious step back, not realising I've moved until I take note of the distance between us. He's angry. I made him angry. "Why the fuck would you say shit like that? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

I scoff. "I can't tell whether you're naive or just plain fucking stupid. Do you really think Lilah just fucked off on her own? Of course she fucking didn't," I answer my own question. "You can have all the hope you want, you can think of only the best outcomes, but you're going to be really fucking disappointed when we find her and she isn't as okay as you thought."

He shakes his head, at a loss for words. His hands run through his hair once before he exhales lowly. "She's fine. She's going to be fine. You don't know what you're talking about," he denies.

"Believe whatever the fuck you like, I don't care. But I'm not above rubbing it in your face when you're wrong."

He frowns again. "It's almost like you want her to be hurt," he takes a step forward. My shoulders tense and my hands ball at my sides. "Are you seriously that fucked up?"

"Yeah, Kota. I hoped and prayed for Lilah to go missing and wind up dead somewhere in the fucking woods next to a fucking carnival on Hallo-fucking-ween!" I shout, frustrated at him. I don't like his accusations. I don't like that the accusations are coming from him. It pisses me off. What gives him the fucking right?

"Kody," his face softens as he reaches out for me. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just... I'm so fucking worried about her. I don't want to think—." He stops himself as I swat at his hands.

I don't answer right away. Instead, I just watch Dakota for a few short moments as I notice the raw distress that coats his features.

I don't regret what I said because it's true. I'm being realistic, preparing for the worst case scenario so there are no surprises. I'm being cautious. If that bothers him then that's his problem, not mine.

However, if I'm to listen to the little Jace-voice in my head, and see things in Dakota's point of view, then I can kind of see where his anger comes from. If someone kept yapping in my ear telling me that Jace was most likely in the woods somewhere, hurt and in danger, while all I did was slowly roam around with a phone torch, I'd flip the fucking world upside down.

But then again, fuck Dakota and his feelings, he's being naive and I'm not taking back what I said.

"Whatever. Apologise to someone who cares for it," I begin to walk away. "Now hurry up. We're not going to find her standing here."

He doesn't say anything as he follows behind me, a foot or two away. I fight the urge to tell him not to be so fucking heavy-footed because I feel like more words should not be exchanged between us for the sake of humanity. Although internally, I'm cursing his elephant feet.

As I hold out my phone to light up the path so I don't have any more run-ins with thorn bushes, a message pops up on my screen from Jace. I don't bother unlocking it, I just read the text from my lock screen.

Jace:

Hey Warrior, where are you? Are you safe? Is Dakota there yet? Any news on Lilah? Benny was asking for you two before I left. Didn't know what to tell the poor kid. I think we should give it thirty more minutes before calling it a night. Everyone's beginning to head home.

Received 22:18

"That an update on Lilah?" Dakota wonders from behind me, keeping the space between us. I slow down until he's next to me again.

"They haven't found her yet," I shake my head. "Jace says we should give it a half hour more before calling it quits."

"What?" Dakota exclaims. "No way. I'm not leaving until I've found her and I know she's okay," he grumbles roughly.

"We can't stay out all fucking night looking for Lilah when we don't even know if she's here," I counter.

Dakota looks down at me, "I never said you had to stay."

My mouth opens before snapping closed. He's right. I look forward, tearing my eyes from his blue ones. I don't know what to say, so I opt to stay quiet.

We walk for another few minutes or so in silence, neither one of us saying a word to the other. His footsteps are still annoyingly heavy and my mind wanders to all the training I went through to become as quiet and agile as I am today; the memory of the punishments and torture when mistakes were made rushing back, too.

It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about the things that went on back in the facility. As the years passed and technology improved, new experiments came to light and being trapped there became worse. Prisoners— or subjects as the guards preferred to address us as— began to die even faster,  therefore more people were being brought in to replace the ones that the facility lost.

I don't remember anybody surviving past the three month mark as we —the older subjects— began to call it. If the subjects were to make it passed the initial testing, then they were cleared for either of two things; experimenting or training. I had been one of the oh-so-lucky ones and got cleared for both. Being their longest surviving subject at somewhere around ten years, they called me their 'secret weapon'. Indestructible, they said I was.

More like unfortunate.

"Can we talk?" Dakota suddenly speaks up as I'm brought back to the present.

I look up to him with furrowed eyebrows, confused as to why he's asking me for permission to speak. He never had that decency before.

"If you must," I answer back boredly, my eyes scanning over my surroundings like they've been doing since the moment I jumped over the gate.

"It's about the kiss."

___

Authors Note

IMPORTANT: PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE TO READ.

So first of all; the prologue. If you're confused, then let me clear that up for you. It is a part of the book that has yet to happen, if you didn't get that at first. This chapter, which you've probably already guessed, takes place where the first book left off. I haven't left you waiting that long, so I hope you still remember. If you don't, then it was Halloween, everybody except Dakota, and including Jace and Benny, went to the fair and Lilah went missing.

Second of all, there will be flashbacks throughout the story, so if you see paragraphs and paragraphs of italics, then that's what it is. You guys probably already knew that though.

Also, this book will be very fast-paced? Probably not the right word to use, but a lot will be going on.

And I might be changing the characters, how I picture them, so if there are any inconsistencies with descriptions, that's why. Anyway, enjoy (: