The kids waited in silence for what felt like forever. Officer Thompson finally came back with a slightly stressed look, "Okay we were able to contact someone from the," He paused to think for a moment, "The Ember... kingdom. They'll be sending someone out to pick you up and bring you back."

Ash shook his head, "No, that's fine. We don't need transportation. We only really need directions."

Thompson sighed, "They insisted on sending someone here to pick you up and take you back home to the kingdom."

Astrid tilted her head, "Home? At the Ember kingdom?" She looked at Eclipse, "Did your parents agree to this?"

Eclipse paused for a moment, "No, I haven't told her about the situation," She looked towards Thompson, "Who did you talk to?"

The officer hesitated, "I talked to the king himself."

Eclipse looked at Ash with disbelieving eyes. Her father rarely answered outside calls. She knew that the man was lying to them now. They had to leave. She nodded then looked back at Thompson, "Thank you, how long will it take them to get here?"

He looked at his watch, "About two hours. Speaking of which, I need to get back to work. If you need anything, I'll be in the front office."

The kids nodded in unison and watched the officer walk out the room. Eclipse looked back and forth at the other two, "Okay, we have two hours to get out of here."

Astrid huffed, "I knew I should've stayed behind. We shouldn't have just walked blindly into an unknown clan's kingdom," She paused and then got serious again, "Okay what's the plan?"

Eclipse shrugged while standing up, "That's the thing, we don't have one yet."

Ash walked over to the door and pulled the handle, "Well, the door's unlocked. How about we just try to walk past him?"

Eclipse shook her head, "I doubt that would work. I could try."

Astrid looked around the room and sighed. She pointed to a window, "There is literally a window. We could just go through it," She opened the window and looked down with a sigh, "The building is built on a hill. We need someone to go down there and catch the other two."

Ash raised his left hand while putting his right hand where his heart was, "I will complete this dangerous task."

With that, he left the room. A few minutes later he was back in the room with a cup of water. He grinned while his face was flushed red, "Well, I have water. I'll keep us hydrated."

Eclipse sighed and walked through the door. She walked down the hall and stopped at the end while peeking around the corner. Thompson turned towards her and Eclipse's breath got caught in her throat. Thompson turned back to his work as if he didn't even see her. Eclipse continued walking slowly until she was able to slip through the front door. She made her way to the window and waved up at Astrid who was leaning out the window.

Astrid couldn't see her either. Eclipse noticed that her breathing was still shaky. She calmed her breathing and almost instantly Astrid jumped in surprise, "When did you get there?"

Eclipse just waved her hand again and Astrid lowered her feet out the window until she was holding the frame. She looked down at Eclipse for reassurance. Eclipse nodded and Astrid jumped down. Eclipse caught her but immediately dropped her while shaking her hands.

Astrid scooted herself away, "Nearly forgot. Perhaps it wouldn't have been as painful just jumping down."

Eclipse shook her head while getting ready to help Ash, "It's fine. Are you okay?"

Ash jumped down without first warning Eclipse. He fell on top of her and they both fell to the ground. Ash got up and brushed his pants off, "Yep, I'm perfectly fine. Thanks for asking."

Eclipse got up and sighed while glaring at Ash. Ash stopped smiling and mumbled his apologies. Astrid said she was fine. They started walking away from the police station while laughing a bit, not from anything being funny, but from stress.

The more they walked, the more buildings and people there were. They kept their gaze down in order not to bring attention to themselves. Ash looked behind him at the other two kids, "Do you think you're okay to fly again?"

Both girls shook their heads, Eclipse sighed "We should probably get out of this kingdom first."

Ash groaned, "Fine. Should we keep going this way or do you want to turn around?"

"Let's turn around, who knows how large this kingdom is."

They turned back to where they came from, taking an alternative route so they wouldn't pass the police station. Once they got farther away from the buildings, they all shifted and took off high into the sky. They flew above the clouds, using them as cover from the people below.

They flew for another few hours until the sun was beginning to set. They decided to land for the night. They were staying in some woods as cover. Ash slept peacefully as Astrid and Eclipse took turns patrolling the area. When Eclipse did sleep, she dreamt of a peaceful stay in a cabin. In her dream, there was another person there that didn't recognize although they did seem around the same age.

Eclipse woke up feeling refreshed and happy. The sun was just beginning to rise and the leaves were blowing gently in the wind. She got up and stretched before sifting. She stretched her wings and took a walk through the woods. She stumbled across a small pond. There was a herd of deer grazing. They stopped moving and looked towards Eclipse, unsure of her intentions. Eclipse sat down and watched the deer. Soon, they went back to grazing. One of the younger fawns was curious enough to approach Eclipse. They were nearly nose to nose when the herd started running off.

Eclipse looked behind her to see both Ash and Astrid walking towards her. She shifted back and looked at them with a smile, "Ready to go?"

Ash nodded, "Ready when you are."

Eclipse nodded then shifted back. She took off to the sky without a glance back. Despite the situation, she was happy. She could hear the other two following behind her in a v formation. She kept glancing around looking for a cabin that matched the one in her dream.

They didn't fly for long until Eclipse spotted a cabin. She made a low and happy chirping noise before diving towards the ground. She shifted as soon as she landed. She started walking towards the cabin, Ash ran up beside her, "What are we doing?"

Eclipse shrugged, "Just trust me. If I'm right, this will be good for us."

Astrid sighed, "I trust you, but what if you're wrong?"

"Then we'll leave."

Ash and Astrid stayed behind as Eclipse went to knock on the door. When no one answered, she tried to open the door and was surprised to see it was unlocked. She looked back and waved the two forward.

Ash hung back a bit but Astrid didn't really hesitate. The cabin had a warm and homely atmosphere inside. Eclipse sat down on the sofa in the living room. She pointed at the black rectangle hanging on the wall, "Either of you know what that is?"

Astrid called from the kitchen, "No clue, but hey, there's food in here."

Ash, who was just inside the door, quickly made his way to the kitchen at the mention of food. Eclipse chuckled and shook her head while standing up. She looked through the cupboards for a cup. She filled the cup with water from the sink before going back to sit on the couch.

Astrid joined her while Ash was still looking around the kitchen for something to eat. He took a few minutes before he sat in between the girls with a sandwich. The couch wasn't that big so Astrid stood up. She took a bite of an apple, "Okay, so what's your plan whenever the cabin owner comes back?"

Eclipse paused, "You know, I didn't think of that."

Ash stood up, "So you're telling me that you-"

They were interrupted by someone turning the front door handle. They all looked up. Ash stood up and got between the girls and the door. The door opened and a girl walked in. She looked to be around fifteen. The girl froze when she finally looked up to see the other kids. She took a step back, "Who are you?"