Something loud, pounding, frantic. Thalia groaned and held a pillow over her head, too tired to care. A frantic yelling from the other side of the bedroom door awoke her from the daze.

"Thalia! Thalia, quickly! Wake up!" A familiar voice. Cassidy, without waiting for a response, threw the door open with an unusual amount of force. Startled, Thalia sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Cass? What's wrong?"

Cassidy was already rooting through the closet and preparing a backpack. "They're here. Get dressed, I'll pack you enough for you to leave for a couple of days. You can't risk a hotel, not enough people. Maybe go stay at the train station or something until all this blows over."

"What?" Thalia asked, tilting her head. She was only rarely able to leave the house without her sister trailing close behind her. Now she was being told to leave?

Cassidy looked into Thalia's eyes, causing her to freeze. The strong, impenetrable expression her sister always wore was shattered, disintegrated before her. She had on a clear mask of urgency, but behind it Thalia could tell was a weak window that was about to shatter. Cassidy quickly noticed what Thalia had seen and went back to busying herself in the closet.

Thalia immediately knew what had caused it. Cassidy was always so strong and confident, someone who everyone wanted to be, someone who was seemingly without any fears or flaws. Those were things that people of the Ember reality always excelled at.

However, no one was perfect, and no one lived without fears. Cassidy always had what Thalia knew would eat her away, that is, if it were ever brought to light. It was interesting that they shared the fear, despite their personalities being so drastically different. They were often compared to fire and water.

"What happened yesterday?" Cassidy finally broke the silence, not looking up from what she was doing.

"What?" Thalia asked.

"Don't act like nothing happened yesterday. Guardians don't just knock on random doors. Besides, you spent a lot of time in your room; you only do that if something is off."

Thalia fell silent, unsure if she should explain what happened. Cassidy was only a wrong word away from breaking, something that Thalia had never seen, nor ever wanted to. A heavy silence fell between them.

Voices could be heard drifting up from downstairs. Her mom, sounding calm and familiar, together with a second, more outgoing voice. It sounded friendly and welcoming, yet more cruel and terrifying than anything Thalia had ever heard before.

Cassidy sighed. "You should hurry before mom comes up to get you. Here." She handed Thalia the backpack, along with a small wad of cash. Thalia felt awful, though she knew there were no other options.

"What about you?"

Cassidy smiled, soft and gentle unlike her usual solar flare grins. "I'll be fine, I'll just tell mom you're staying at a friend's house for the weekend or something. You need to go." She headed over to the window, sliding open the glass. Her soft smile faded. "Hey, your stupid cat came back."

Thalia smiled a little. "Seriously? That still matters?" Cassidy scowled at the small black cat as it climbed into the room.

"It always matters. It could have rabies or something, you know."

Thalia reached out as the cat, Spade, moved closer. His hair was perfect as ever, as was his timing. He seemed to always show up when she needed someone to talk to. She assumed he did it in exchange for letting him in during cold or rainy nights, which in New York was almost always. It definitely wasn't out of friendliness, from what she could tell he was aggressive towards everyone but her. He had earned his name from a white shape down his back that stood out against the rest of his dark fur.

"Don't be silly, if you don't have rabies, then neither does he." Thalia said, forcing a smile. Cassidy did the same.

"Girls! You shouldn't keep our guest waiting!" Their mother's voice echoed up from the bottom of the stairs. Cassidy frantically grabbed Thalia's arm and pulled her over to the window.

"Now, go." Cassidy pulled her close and hugged her as if it was the last time she would be able to. Thalia felt it too, wanting to deny it, wanting to promise she would be back in a few days. The Guardians should give up if she was gone long enough, a few days would be all it took and then she would never have to worry again.

"I love you."

"I love you too, I'll see you soon!" Thalia wiped away a stray tear and hopped on the windowsill, looking behind her just in time to see Cassidy leaving the room and calling something to her mother. Thalia glanced below her for a moment onto the ground below, thanking the forces that she wasn't a morning person. Her trait would kick in whenever she was more awake, and she knew the enhanced eyesight would make the fall seem farther than it was.

She carefully climbed out onto the roof tiles that supported the window, making her way towards the car below. She momentarily thanked Cass for making her practice exiting the house this way, despite how ridiculous the neighbors likely thought it was. She prepared to jump below onto the car.

Don't be in the living room, please don't be in the living room.

She knew there was about a 50/50 chance of them being in the living room, versus their mom deciding to make breakfast for their guest in the small kitchen. If they were in the living room, they would both have a very clear shot of Thalia jumping off of the roof and onto the car hood. Not a good impression.

She moved closer to the edge of the tiles to see the window below her. Her mom was visible, wiping off a table while talking to someone out of sight. Thalia waited, watching for the moment her mom would turn her back.

"Leaving already?" A calm voice from above nearly made Thalia lose her balance. She stumbled for a moment before an arm reached out from a level above her, stabilizing her until she could stand again. "Careful, falling from that height could damage your lumbar vertebrae. Or your femur, depending on if you attempted to land."

Thalia whipped around, her eyes wide. Standing on the roof above her was a tall woman, maybe in her late twenties, with tan skin and dark hair tied back into a braid. She was wearing a professional white blouse with a black pencil skirt. Strung across her chest was a white card with a small cross and bold red text that read "Willow County Healthcare Services".

Something else, though. Thalia quickly noticed the very small, darker ring in the center of the woman's icy eyes. It could be easily mistaken as a birth defect, but it was clear to Thalia what it really was.

Some traits have a physical identifier, such as an oddly-shaped birthmark or a unique eye color. In this case, a small ring in the center of the eye signifies a truth-sensing trait. Thalia took a moment to thank whoever wrote that journal for jotting down a chart of the most common ones, and herself for taking the time to memorize it.

"Though it is pleasant up here, I believe it would be much easier to communicate on the ground, don't you think?" The woman spoke softly, holding out a hand. Thalia knew if she took it, she may never be free again. She stood there, slowly trying to form a plan. She had prepared for this her entire life, but at this moment, it seemed like everything she learned was disappearing. What now?

The woman seemed to sense her unease and slowly reached forwards, sending Thalia into an immediate fight-or-flight response. Her legs were moving before her mind was, and before either of them knew it, Thalia was back on the ground and running. Running faster than she had ever run in her life.

Shouting echoed off the houses behind her, but she did her best to ignore it. All she had to do was make it to the city. There, she could hide in the crowded subways until this was all over. If it ever would be over.

"Monraen! Please, you do not want this!" The woman's voice sounded out from the distance. Already so far away, yet still so close behind. It didn't sound like she moved. Thalia considered shouting for help, but what would she tell them? Someone from the hospital was trying to kidnap her?

She struggled to ignore the pounding in her chest. If she could make it into the treeline of the Wandering Woods, she would be safe. Guardians or not, no one wants to go in there without a map. Especially if they're alone.

The treeline was getting closer. Thalia was unsure if the woman was still following her, but she sure as the gods wasn't about to stop and check. She couldn't hear any footsteps, however the light feeling in her head was telling her that she was far from alone.

Finally there. She shoved her way past the branches, not bothering to find the path. It would be much more difficult to follow her this way, anyways. Branches and thorns tugged at the side of her loose pajamas, painfully reminding her that she never had time to change when she woke up. She forced herself to ignore them the best she could as she worked herself further into the woods. There was an old church building near the center that if she could make it to, she could hide until it was safe to go to the subway.

Making it there, though, was becoming more difficult with every step. Despite the familiar bright colors and birds chirping, it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay calm and keep running. Her legs and lungs ached and she could sense the physical and emotional weight of it all beginning to breakthrough. She couldn't let it happen, not yet. She had to stay strong.

Her trait was beginning to fire off as well. She felt her senses heightening to the point that it hurt, the sounds, the blinding sunlight, everything seemed too strong to bear. Not to mention it made the already burning sensation in her legs even stronger from her heightened sense of touch.

She began to slow down, finally giving in to exhaustion. The footsteps were definitely gone. She let out a sigh of relief and decided to take a break against one of the towering maple trees that always seemed plentiful in the area. The red leaves had always soothed her as a child and are one of the reasons she enjoyed jogging so much. Now, the leaves seemed like the only thing rooting her to earth.