There was a tense silence as everyone set up their beds in what we had finally decided to use for our camping site. After a trek through the dense foliage of the National Park, we arrived at a small clearing in the fenced-off section, on the far side from STARKON. It had taken us most of the day to find this spot so hopefully, we wouldn't be disturbed there.

I let out a light sigh and dropped the tent pegs with a loud clang, causing all eyes to fall on me.

"Look," I started, "I'm gonna address the elephant in the room. Caleb helped us not once, not twice, but three times out there-"

"No," Brandon cut in. "He helped only you the third time-"

"So by letting him stay with us for a while," I continued, ignoring Brandon's comment. "We can return his favours and he can go on his way. I hope we can all accept him as part of the team."

Brandon shot a death glare in Caleb's general direction and stalked off into the undergrowth. I gave a worried frown and glanced back towards Caleb uncertainly but then followed Brandon's fast disappearing form.

"Brandon! Wait!" I called, pushing branches out of the way.

Brandon turned his head slightly in acknowledgement but still continued, evidently not wanting to talk.

I pushed through another bush, wincing as a thorn scratched my cheek.

"Brandon!" I called again, as I stumbled into a clearing. "Why are you being like this?"

This made him stop and whirl around.

"Why am I being like this? Why?" He rolled his eyes sarcastically, startling me because he seemed like a completely different person from the Brandon that I knew. "Oh, I wonder... Maybe it's because of the addition of a certain villain to our group?"

I blinked. Was he still on about that?

"How do you know Caleb is a villain?"

Brandon wrinkled his nose and glared at the grass distastefully. "Well he was chained up with you and he has powers. Why else would a teenage boy be found in STARKON's secret prison cells?"

I frowned, remembering the file on Caleb that I had caught a glimpse of in those mere few seconds in the control room.

"But he helped us, Brandon. Why would he help us if he's a villain?"

A dark look crossed Brandon's face shadowing his expression.

"Look Levi, we just can't trust him, ok?" He turned away, and I could tell from the tense stance of his shoulders that he wanted to say something else.

"Bran-" I tried, reaching out a hand to put on his shoulder, startled when he turned back around.

"Just..." Brandon smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Give me some time alone."

He turned and disappeared between the bushes, and this time, I didn't follow him.

~*~

I returned back through the bushes deep in thought until a bout of laughter made me glance up. Caleb and Addison had found a log to use as a makeshift seat and were laughing at some unknown joke.

I glanced around the campsite again, frowning when Aiden was nowhere to be seen.

Drifts of their conversation wafted towards me, and maybe it was me being paranoid, but I could have sworn that I heard my name. My gut twisted when Addison giggled at something Caleb said, and suddenly the air around them seemed impenetrable.

I-I'll just go find Aiden.

I turned to leave when my boot touched a branch causing a loud snap to sound. The laughter abruptly stopped and I glanced up.

"Oh, Levi! You're back!" Addison smiled, standing up from the log and walking over.

I tried a smile, taking a step back.

"Where's Aiden?" I asked, not waiting for her to answer. "I'll go uh- look for him."

A frown crossed Addison's face and the smile faded away. "What's wrong, Levi? You're acting weird." She placed a hand on my arm, stopping me from leaving.

I laughed bitterly and pulled my arm away.

"I'm acting weird? Why don't you ask that to Brandon?"

A strange expression crossed Addison's face before she smiled brightly. "Brandon... well, let's not talk about that. You said when we were still in STARKON that you'd tell us about your marvelous escape."

I managed a laugh. "I get it, I'm awesome. No need to tell me."

Addison slapped me playfully on the arm. "You wish."

We both burst into laughter and the tense moment from earlier was over and it seemed everything was normal again.

I walked with Addison back to the camp site and gave a wry smile.

"Sorry I wasn't here to set it all up. Brandon was being, you know, Brandon."

I glanced at Addison questionably when she didn't answer and caught a strange expression on her face again.

"Addison? Hello? You there?" I waved my hand in front of her face.

She blinked and gave a sheepish smile. "Wha- Oh sorry, was thinking..."

"About...?" I probed, wondering what she was thinking about that would elicit such a such an expression.

She shook her head and the expression was replaced by a bright smile. "Nothing... anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Caleb."

I stiffened. Was Addison going to berate me about him like Brandon?

"What about him?" I couldn't help it as the question came out a little accusing.

I was surprised when Addison winked and lowered her voice to a whisper.

"He's hot isn't he? What is a guy like him doing in STARKON's prison?"

I shrugged and looked away.

"Don't know," I replied shortly, busying myself with collecting a few sticks for firewood.

Addison seemed to realise I didn't want to elaborate and dropped it, causing a tense silence to descend upon the campsite.

"Uhm... there's a huge spider on the sleeping bag..." Came a voice, causing me to glance at the source of the noise.

Caleb's head came out of the open tent flap and I almost jumped.

Had he been there the whole time?

Did he hear what Addison and I were talking about?

I felt my face heat up and ducked my head, hiding my expression with my bangs.

"Let me see," Addison whispered, stepping forward cautiously. She always had a fear of spiders, but was determined to get over it on her own. Unfortunately, she was almost never successful.

Addison's form disappeared into the tent after Caleb clambered out and I held my breath. A few seconds ticked by and there was a loud shriek which caused the birds on the nearby trees to fly away. Addison scrambled out of the tent, looking absolutely petrified and I couldn't help but smother a giggle at her expression.

"I-It was so..." She stuttered, evidently regretting her decision to see the insect.

"So...?" I prompted, taking a seat on the log.

"So... big and hairy!" Addison shuddered, disgust written all over her face.

I couldn't help but laugh this time.

"You were the one who wanted to see it," I said between giggles.

She reddened as she clambered onto the log beside me, still eyeing the tent warily.

"But it was on my sleeping bag..." She whispered, going unnaturally pale. "I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight."

I laughed again, the situation with Brandon and my earlier embarrassment forgotten.

"You can sleep in mine tonight." I offered, tilting my head up to look at the pinks and reds streaked across the sky. "We can wash it tomorrow when it's morning."

Addison let out a breath, relief written over her face. "But... what about you?"

I gave a smile. "I'm not tired yet. I can keep the first watch."

Addison returned the smile gratefully and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Caleb use his powers to remove the spider from inside the tent. From where I was sitting, I could see that it was one of the biggest and hairiest spiders that I had ever seen.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing when Caleb let it hover slightly in front of Addison's face. The wind from Caleb's powers brushed Addison's bangs aside, causing her to look up. There was a brief moment of silence and then Addison screamed, shattering the silence.

A rustle in the bushes came from our right and Brandon and Aiden emerged, a frantic expression on their faces.

"We heard screaming-" Brandon panted, placing his hands on his knees before blinking at the scene before him.

Addison was standing precariously close to the edge of the log, with a large, hairy spider apparently riding a cushion of air in front of her. Caleb was standing a few feet away, an amused expression painting his face and I was currently sitting on said log, holding my stomach.

Aiden pushed his glasses further up his nose and I could have sworn he rolled his eyes.

"Just alert the whole world we're here, won't you, sis?"

Addison shot him an annoyed look, gesturing at the floating spider.

"It wasn't my fault!" she exclaimed, finally stumbling off the log and running to hide behind me.

I laughed again, feeling the tension wear away from my shoulders. If I didn't think about it for a while, it was almost like old times.

I glanced at Caleb, who was currently disposing of the spider.

Well, with the addition of Caleb.

I smiled when I saw Brandon reluctantly help Caleb carry over another log to use as a makeshift seat.

Maybe everything would be fine after all.

~*~

I woke up with a start, gasping slightly as I took in my surroundings. It took me a while to realised I had fallen asleep as I leant against a tree to keep watch.

Wait. Crap. I had fallen asleep.

A quick glance at the campsite told me that nothing was amiss, and I leant back on the tree in relief. I surveyed my surroundings again, noting how the shadows of the trees danced in the moonlight.

Everything really does look different with nightfall.

Wind whistled through the trees and I gave a soft sneeze. Figuring I should grab a jacket or sleeping bag to keep warm, I headed towards the tent that Addison and I had shared.

I slowly pulled down the zip, wincing as the loud noise echoed in the silence. Shuffling inside, I located my jumper in the darkness, about to awkwardly shuffle back out when I thought to check on Addison.

I glanced at the lump that was Addison's sleeping bag, heart stopping when I saw it was empty.

Oh wait, she's sleeping in mine because of the spider.

I leant slightly out of the tent, letting the moonlight cast itself further inside. I felt my blood run cold for the second time when I saw that it, too was empty.

Relax, Levi. She's probably at the... bathroom or something.

But I knew deep down that it wasn't true.

And when morning came, Addison was still gone.

~*~

"Did you get the girl?" A low voice resonated through the speakers of a small device.

"Yes, boss." Another voice replied, seemingly pleased with itself. "We got the girl without any trouble."

"Good." Came a short reply, and then the line was cut.

Inside the van, one man tapped the other on the shoulder.

"Uh, Nate. This wasn't the girl from earlier."

"What?!" replied Nate, attempting to twist around in the tight space of the front seat. "But she always sleeps on the right side!"

There was a pause when neither man said a word.

"... then if we don't have the girl, then who is she?!" exclaimed Nate again, banging a fist on the dashboard. "We already told the boss that we had her!"

The other man glanced worriedly at the sleeping form in the back of the van, subconsciously rubbing a bruise on his temple.

"And I don't want to confront them face on again," he added, wincing as he shifted in his seat.

A slow smile spread over Nate's face as an idea started to form.

"Well, if we're not going to them, then we'll have to make them come to us."  

a.n

So, did you figure out who 'Nate' and the other guy are? XD (Hint: read chapter 11)

Actually, thats a very big hint.

Anyways, feedback appreciated, so drop a vote and comment if you liked it. \(^o^)/ 

SpiderPrincess

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