Chapter 8

"The only good thing about this trip is that I don't have to go to class," was the first thing Jade said in the morning. She pulled herself off the floor and stretched her back.

Kalee stared at the ceiling, thinking of Aiden. She hoped he wasn't in pain; then it hit her, what did Felix want in exchange for Aiden? She turned her head in Elysian's direction to ask, but found him fast asleep. Deciding to let him sleep, she turned to Wyatt who was sitting on the edge of the opposite couch, rubbing his eyes.

"Wyatt," she whispered. He dropped his hands to look at her. "I was just wondering, why would Felix go to all the trouble to tell us about Aiden but not demand anything to release him? Do you think this is all a trap?"

Wyatt nodded; his dark, unwashed hair flopped against his brow. "Probably. It seems like something Felix would do. We have to be ready for every scenario. And just so you know, Elysian and I are not letting you two out of our sight. Stay near us whenever possible, got it?"

Kalee nodded. "Of course." She hadn't thought of doing otherwise. Terror gripped at her chest as she thought of all the things that could wrong.

Wyatt pointed at Jade. "You, too. Stay near me."

Jade laughed without humor. "Please, I'm so scared right now, I could glue myself to you," she said, voicing Kalee's own thoughts.

Wyatt nodded, satisfied with their answers. "Alright, you two get ready, I'll get Elysian up."

Kalee grabbed her overnight bag and followed Jade into the bathroom. Taking out a washcloth, she glanced at Jade who had started applying mascara to her long lashes. "Jade," she said, "how did you take it?"

Jade dropped her hand from her face to look at Kalee. "What do you mean?"

Kalee pulled at the hem of her shirt. "How did you take the news of the boys'… past?"

"Oh," Jade said. She turned back to the mirror and continued her work. "Not bad actually. I always knew there was something weird about Felix, so I wasn't very surprised when Wyatt told me about what he had done to them in the past. It's weird, you know, to think that there are actually people with powers out there. I wonder how many more there are."

"I took it badly," Kalee whispered, still stuck on the subject. "I still don't know what to think of this all. Did Wyatt show you his power?"

"No, he didn't," she said, replacing the brush in its tube before reaching for the eyeliner. "Why, did you see Elysian's?"

Kalee turned the faucet on to a gentle warm and pulled the washcloth under the flow, watching it soak up. "He changed right before my eyes and I couldn't watch. It was terrifying. And his screams. You don't know how scared I was for Elysian! I thought he was going to die." Her arm began to tremble as she turned off the faucet and wrung out the cloth. Her eyes warmed with tears at the memory. She wished she could do something for Elysian; she wished she could take away his burden. Quickly, she brushed the cloth across her face, washing away her tears.

Jade set down her eyeliner with a clack. "Yeah, I bet it was bad but I don't pity you. At least you know what we are up against now. Besides, you have to be strong! Be strong for Elysian and Aiden," she said forcefully.

Kalee's eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah, okay," she said quickly, bringing a smile to Jade's face. And Kalee smiled back in silent agreement. They were going to hold their fear inside; the boys had enough to worry about.

After a few more minutes of grooming, a groggy-eyed Elysian sauntered into the room. Kalee's eyes practically bulged out of her sockets at the sight of him. He was shirtless, revealing his hard abs and muscles. His right hand was brushing through the back of his messy, brown hair as he yawned. He was a shining god.

Jade giggled at Kalee's expression and whispered in her direction, "You like him!" Kalee threw a cotton ball at her.

Elysian stopped in his tracks, blinking at them with an adorable confused expression. At first Kalee thought that he had heard Jade's comment but then he said, "Get out. I have to piss."

"Yes, your highness," Jade said sarcastically before dropping her stuff and leaving the room.

Kalee moved to follow, but glanced over her shoulder. Her face immediately heated as he lowered his pajama bottoms; she closed her eyes just in time, avoiding seeing more than she was supposed to.

"Looking at something?" Jade chuckled into her ear.

Kalee scowled. "Shut up! I accidently looked! Besides I have Aiden and he's all I need. I didn't mean to look."

"You sound a little defensive," Jade said, a smiled played at her lips. She reached forward and placed a hand on Kalee's shoulder as she looked around. Wyatt was nowhere to be seen. He was probably in his room. "Look," she said, now getting serious, "I know that Aiden is the first guy that has ever liked you back, but you can't hold onto him just for that reason. You have to follow your instincts, your heart. If you start liking Elysian, it's not a bad thing."

"Are you saying to let Aiden go?" Kalee asked, appalled by Jade's advice. "Aiden's amazing and is the perfect guy for me. He has no complications and we like all of the same things."

Jade gave her a half smile. "But perfect isn't always perfect."

Kalee was just about to ask what she meant, when Wyatt burst from his room. A large duffle bag was slung over his shoulder and had keys in his left hand. "Okay, let's get this show on the road," he said with his eyebrows furrowed.

Kalee nodded before looking over her shoulder at Elysian. He was slipping a white band t-shirt over his head; he still looked extremely worn out. Kalee wondered if he had gotten enough sleep. She paced over to him, her gaze fixed on the dark shadows beneath his eyes.

"Are you alright, Elysian?" she asked worriedly.

He gave her a small, sad smile that made her heart flutter; an urge to hug him filled her mind, but with effort, she resisted. "Just feeling a little sick today," he said. "I did too many transformations lately."

"Oh, I didn't know you got sick," she said. "I thought the injection would prevent that."

"I'm a failure, remember?" He smiled, clearly believing his own words. Reaching down, he slipped on a pair of socks.

"You are not a failure," she whispered.

His head snapped up with eyes wide. "What?"

"You're not a failure," she said louder. She didn't care if the others heard her. "You were raised as a test subject, their first test subject. You could have easily died. But you didn't! You survived. I would call that a success, even if the results weren't intended."

Elysian stared. His mouth opened and closed as if to say something but nothing came out. He only looked at her with those deep green eyes until she couldn't handle it anymore, she turned away to see Jade and Wyatt smiling at them.

"Looks like we have a new pair of lovebirds," Wyatt taunted and nudged Jade to join in his game.

"Oh yes, we've raised them well," Jade chimed in.

"Shut up!" Elysian yelled, throwing Jade's brush at Wyatt's head.

"My brush!" Jade cried just as Wyatt yelped in surprise.

"Anyway," Kalee said, calling them back to reality. "We really have to go. Aiden's waiting."

The other three sobered, nodding silently. Kalee grabbed her bag from the couch and led the way outside and to Wyatt's old, rusty, black car. He opened the trunk and Kalee threw her bag inside.

She took a seat in the back and rested her head against the cool window and closed her eyes. This was going to be a long, stressful drive. Feeling someone slide into the seat next to her, she turned expecting to see Jade, but instead was looking into Elysian's green eyes. "Oh, you," she said quietly.

"Yeah, me," he said back with a smile. "Now move over, I want to put my feet up." He swung his feet up onto the seat and tapped his black converse against her leg expectedly.

"I can't move over, you lunatic," she cried, pushing his feet back onto the floor.

He pulled them back up, this time resting them on her lap. "I guess this will have to work," he sighed.

She gave him a glare; he grinned back. Truthfully, Kalee was happy, too happy. She felt a twinge of guilt for enjoying her time with Elysian.

Wyatt and Jade scooted into the front and the car roared to life. And soon they were on their way.

The ride was long and boring. Kalee had taken out her Ipod and listened endlessly to take her mind off things. In front of her, Jade and Wyatt talked and talked; she sensed a couple in the making. To her right, Elysian had fallen fast asleep; her legs were starting to go numb under Elysian's weight but she just shifted them slightly until she felt the blood in her legs once again. Moments after, she too, fell asleep.

Elysian yawned and rubbed his eyes. He hated sleeping in cars; his joints were stiff and uncomfortable. After blinking several times, he glanced across the car at Kalee. Her hair was strewn across her face as she slept. And her arm was wrapped around his foot which made him smile.

He leaned forwards, careful not to wake her, and gently lifted her arm off his leg. His legs were stiff and a little numb as he lifted them off her lap; he stretched in the small space, feeling a little confined.

"He's awake," Wyatt said.

Jade turned around in her seat. "We were thinking about stopping somewhere to stretch out and maybe grab some food to go," Jade whispered to him, trying not to wake her friend.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Elysian asked.

"Three hours," Wyatt replied. "We are little more than halfway there. " Wyatt glanced back at him. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, perfect," he lied. Wyatt only frowned at him before turning back to the road.

Elysian rested his head against the window and watched the trees blur by. They were getting deeper into the woodsy part of northern Minnesota and every mile aggravated him even more. He balled his hand into a fist.

He lifted his other hand to his forehead, willing away the headache that was slowly creeping through his skull. In fact, his head wasn't the only part that was aching. He gulped back a wave of sickness that brewed from his stomach. Grimacing, Elysian realized that this pain wasn't from transforming…

Suddenly a cell phone screeched its ring tone, causing all four to jump. Kalee's eyes were wide with surprise as she searched through her pockets, looking for the source of the noise. Elysian sucked in a breath; Felix wouldn't call Kalee, would he?

She finally found her phone on the seat beneath her leg. Picking it up, she stared at the screen.

"Who is it?" Elysian asked nervously. Wyatt was glancing back at her in the mirror, worriedly, while Jade stared with a clenched jaw.

After a small pause, she said, "My mom."

An audible exhale of relief echoed from everyone in the car. Jade slumped into her seat with a hand at her chest. "Don't scare me like that," Jade sighed.

"Sorry," Kalee mumbled. She pushed a button to silence the ring and pulled the phone to her ear. "Hello?" she said in false cheer.

"Hi, mom. What did you need?" She paused, listening, and glanced at Elysian. He gave a smile and a thumbs up, which she returned. "I'm doing fine. Yeah. Yeah. I said yes, mother!" She frowned in annoyance and looked down at the floor. "I'll be home in a few weeks. Chill… School's fine… Do I have to tell you a story every time you call? I'm busy!"

From the front of the car, Jade giggled. Kalee threw her a dirty look. "Yup, I've got to get to class!" And she hung up her phone without another word.

"My mom worries too much," she growled, shoving the phone into her front pocket.

Kalee looked back at Elysian once again, but as their eyes met, she quickly looked away. Her face was bright red. Elysian tilted his head in confusion but she didn't look up again.

The car slowed near a gas station. Elysian looked out the window, at the old, shabby station that they pulled into. There were four pumps, two of which in use. Behind those sat a rickety building with peeling paint and an unreadable store sign.

"What a dump," Elysian said.

"Oh well. We're stopping here. So go to the bathroom and get a snack or something because this is our only stop," Wyatt replied.

They came to a stop by one of the pumps and the four hopped out. Wyatt walked around the side and picked up the nozzle and opened the gas cap to fill up the car. Jade and Kalee began walked together in the direction of the restrooms.

Elysian stood beside his door with one hand on the car. He was feeling a little dizzy after standing up so fast. His head spun with a heavy drowsiness.

Wyatt looked up. "How are you feeling, kid? You look a little pale. Make sure you get yourself something to eat."

Elysian pushed himself off the car. "Yeah, I'm just hungry. I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday."

Wyatt waved him in the direction of the station. So Elysian turned and paced past an elderly couple who were arguing on the other side of their truck and made his way towards the front doors. But then he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket quietly.

Elysian looked around him; no one was watching. He took the phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. It was Felix.

He answered, "Yes, Felix?" He froze at what he heard. Someone was whimpering in the background while the voice on the phone chuckled.

"You know, Elysian," Felix's voice taunted, "I am started to get impatient and a little… bored. You know how I get when I'm bored."

Elysian gritted his teeth and pushed into the gas station front door. A bell on the door jingled and the cashier called a friendly, "Welcome!" Elysian ignored him as he stumbled his way into the men's bathroom. It was a single room with one toilet and a sink. He locked the door behind him and sat down on the toilet, feeling lightheaded. He coughed once to clear his tightening throat.

"Sounds like little Elysian is getting a cold," Felix crooned. "Or is it just the illness again?"

Elysian ignored his question. "I'm my way, Felix, so there is no reason to hurt Aiden."

Felix laughed. "There is plenty of reason, silly Eli."

Elysian clenched his teeth at the hated nickname. "Reasons like the ticking clock or the way he struggles," Felix continued. "You see, there are many reasons to hurt him. That is, unless, you are here as soon as possible to take his place."

Elysian coughed again. "Don't touch him," he managed between coughs. His chest trembled in pain but he pushed it aside. "I'll be there in a few hours."

"Well, for Aiden's sake, you better be. He's been having a rough night. I wonder if he can even survive a few more hours." He laughed cruelly. "He's so fun to play with that I think I may have overdone it."

Elysian dropped his head in his hand. "Felix," he growled, "I promise I'll do anything you want as long as you leave him alone."

Felix sighed dramatically. "Oh, fine. I suppose I let the little guy live, at least until you get here. Now, you better get moving before he's dead."

The line went dead. This was the second time Elysian was left listening to the eerie cry of the dial tone after one of Felix's spine-chilling messages and he was sick of it; he slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. Elysian would end this today. He would bring Aiden back for Kalee and find a way to keep his friends out of it, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

The headache pulsed in his temples and he slipped off the toilet onto his hands and knees. A wave of nausea washed over him, leaving him retching onto the white tiles. But all that he spat out was blood. The metallic taste filled his mouth and it was all he could smell; it only made him feel worse.

"Not again," he whispered. He fought back the sickness and reached into his pocket for the little box he kept with him at all times. Opening it, he pulled out a small syringe filled with a clear, smooth liquid. He took the needle and jabbed it into his side, releasing the liquid into his blood stream.

He removed it slowly, hating himself for relying on the antibiotic that his parents had created to counter the very mutation they had created. The syringe dropped from his hand and he watched it roll under the sink, feeling dead inside.

Hey hey hey! I'm glad you made it this far in my story! YAY! I would like to welcome these new people who reviewed and/or added my story: Emma Gammon, ianAArose, and Eternally Immortal. Woot woot! Oh, and I have finals and a paper due next week, so I am not sure how fast this next chapter will be out!