"Amara, wake up!"
"Come on! You need to get up!" the person said in desperation. I grunted as the person violently shook me. As I slowly became more aware, I realized that that person was Astrid. My eyes fluttered open, and I groaned as I got up. Astrid threw a hoodie at me, which smacked me in the face, finally waking me up. I put on the hoodie and glanced at the clock.
"Why are you waking me up so early?!" I complained in a hoarse voice. Astrid was frantic and literally pushed me out the door. "Come on, Luka and Caspian just got back!"
My eyes widened in utter shock. I was fully awake now. "Why are they back so soon?"
"I don't know!" Astrid hissed. "That's why we need to move to find out!"
We broke out into a sprint, nearly colliding with a couple of doors or walls on sharp turns. Astrid got there first, bursting open the door. You could tell that this was the right place because it was the only place with a light on and loud voices could be heard from the hall. I rushed in behind Astrid, bending over to catch my breath. When I looked up, I saw many worried faces and a pool of blood. Alarmed, I pushed my way next to Wren, who was wrapping Caspian's arm.
"What happened?" I cried. Wren explained as fast as she could. "Apparently, they knew they were coming and Caspian and Luka barely made it back. Luka took the brunt of the attack. He is in worse condition than Caspian."
I barely heard her say the last part as I was already hurrying over to Luka. He was on the floor with nurses trying to stop the bleeding on various cuts and bruises. He had a large gash on his stomach that had already been stitched closed. Luka was very much awake and winced as the nurses cleaned his wounds.
One of the nurses asked me to help her and I knelt down beside her. I applied pressure until the stream of blood had ebbed. The nurses wrapped Luka's arm tightly before hurrying off to grab more supplies. I watched Luka silently. His eyes were hooded from the pain. Anger started to boil in me. I was upset not at Titus nor the brothers, but rather Archean. He had wanted Luka and Caspian to go tonight. They didn't have to, but it was obvious that Gram was pressured into sending them.
Why? Was Archean trying to make us fail? But, that wouldn't make sense. Did he have some ulterior motive? I started to drown in my thoughts, staring off into space. Luka must have finally noticed my gaze because he waved a hand in front of my face. I blinked, returning to reality.
"What are you thinking about?" Luka asked. I just smiled at Luka. "Nothing really. Just a little alarmed from all the blood on the floor, that's all."
I waved my hand, gesturing to the bloody towels and the puddle of blood around Luka. Of course, this wasn't what I actually was thinking about, but I didn't want to tell him what I had heard and witnessed, especially right now. This was not the right time nor place. He nodded in understanding.
"This much blood is never a pleasant sight," he mumbled, wincing in pain from a wound. "I have never gotten used to it."
I patted his shoulder. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Archean leaving the room with Gram in tow. "I will be right back," I told Luka. I hopped up and pushed through the crowded room to the door. I yanked it open and disappeared into the hallway.
As I stepped outside, I saw Gram just turning the corner. I sprinted after them, stopping occasionally to make sure that Archean didn't see me. I stopped behind a corner as Archean finally stopped walking. I could hear everything clearly from where I was sitting.
"Gram, you told me they would be enough!"
Gram tried to refute, but Archean cut him off. "I have put my trust in you to train them to the very best of their abilities! Obviously, you are incompetent if they could not complete such a simple task!" Archean yelled.
I frowned when I heard his words. First, he was the one that wanted just the two of them to go. And second, he was the one that wanted them to go as fast as possible which must have meant tonight. Rage roared throughout my body. I wanted to scream at Archean for his ridiculous words.
"Gram, you know that you have to get those supplies," Archean snarled. "You of all people know that Titus must pay for what he has done, and I sent you to do it for me because I trusted you! Now, I will have to entrust this task to someone else!"
"I should have known. You aren't Damien anyway. You are just a waste of my time and efforts!" Archean screamed. That's it. That was the last straw. I sprang up from my hiding spot and rushed at Archean.