It had only been a few hours since Ryan left her with Trey in a little clearing not far off from the highway. He hadn’t said much to her since he mentioned the poison. He hadn’t explained why he finally chose this clearing after they had been on the road for a while. He had driven them to the clearing with a speed that an F1 racer would definitely enjoy. He then mumbled something about an antidote, a tent and coming right back before driving off. He had left them with a camping back pack and some blankets. Not knowing how to go about building a tent in the backpack, she was seated now on one of the blankets spread on the grass cradling Trey. His convulsions had stopped but when she mentioned it to Ryan on their way here, he had stared at Trey grimly ,said it was worsening and then stepped on the pedal. Trey’s labored breathing snapped her out of the reverie and she looked down at him. The poison's effect was visible on his body, dark green lines making it’s way through his body. W

Dawn came with a majestic brilliance. The sun dispersing golden and blinding rays to a still waking world. It was a beautiful sight. Hailey sat there observing the sun as it made it’s slow progression across the sky. She felt herself warm up with a contented feeling, a feeling she hadn’t known since the event of that tragic night. The fire had eventually died and still there was no sign of Ryan. As she suspected, he had simply wanted to be alone with his thoughts. Or away from her prying eyes and questions a mocking voice said to her. Hailey felt like going back into the tent to check up on Trey but she was afraid of what she might do. As things stood, she couldn’t trust herself around him. So, she sat there staring at the smoke wisps from the embers of their camp fire. Occasionally, she flung a dead leaf or twig into it and watched it flare up before turning to ashes. That was exactly how Ryan found her when he returned. He was carrying an armful of dead tree branches and parts

HAILEY’S POV“Are you serious?”. This was what she found herself saying after hearing what Ryan had said. He merely nodded his affirmation. The atrocities that the father she never really knew committed felt like arrows through her heart. How could he have done things like this? It almost seemed like fiction but the look on Ryan’s face showed that he meant every word. He was trying so hard to mask the pain he felt, occasionally he would flash a smile to make it seem like he was okay. It played over and over in her head, her father had turned a little girl into a monster. Then sent the poor girl after her birth parents. How fucked up could things get? She couldn’t really tell.“Anyways, Katerina was so pissed that she went after Trey and i. We never really got to figure out what made her so angry, the Kristovs had to fight their own daughter to protect us. We fled to my house across the street leaving them to deal with Katerina. We could barely form coherent words to explain what

The voice for some surprising reason startled her. Maybe what was more surprising was the fact that her heart suddenly seemed to start beating faster. She dismissed it as jumpiness but she knew for a fact that it had to do with the man walking towards them. With disheveled hair, old jeans and a worn out blanket draped around him, Trey Kristov still looked quite charming. No one should look this good in this Hailey thought but here he was proving how wrong she was. He walked with a slight limp and Ryan rushed to his side. He however shrugged off the attempt at help and continued his determined walk. Eventually, he made his way to the tree they had retreated to when the sun became too hot for them. He lowered himself onto one of the logs with a grimace of pain. Hailey suspected that he hurt more than he was trying to let on.“What were you guys discussing? I’m pretty sure I heard my name.” His voice had a hint of accusation and suspicion. He looked challengingly at her and then Ryan.“

RYAN’S POV It was years of training and sheer willpower that kept him still. He had nearly swung the Scimitar on Hailey Brookes. It was only someone with keen observation that would have noticed his body’s reaction and how the hand holding the blade trembled slightly. He calmed himself and then turned to her.“You shouldn’t just sneak up on someone holding a weapon”, he said. Ryan hoped that he looked as demure as possible.“That was no answer”, She replied in a flat tone.He sighed knowing it wouldn’t be that easy to shake her off.“What was your question again?”. It was her turn to sigh now.“I just wanted to know if you think the Leviathans have tracked us here”.He didn’t think, he was certain of that. All his senses were screaming flee but he couldn’t do anything.“No, I don’t think so.” To convey his lie properly, he looked her squarely in the eye. He held her gaze for a moment before looking away.“What’s with the guns and blades?”, She queried. It seemed like a Brooke trait t