Lena Matthews

"You've had 3 hours. This was the best you could come up with?" Taylor asked.

"I tried, okay?" Carter complained, throwing his hastily made banner on the floor. Jane-Anne still held up her end, unsure of what to do. Only half of the message that read , "Welcome back Kiara!" was visible.

"Guys!" I exclaimed. "She's in the elevator right now, so you need to-" Before I could warn Taylor and Carter to get along, the elevator chimed behind me. The doors opened to reveal Kiara, wearing a blue Yankees cap and the biggest smile I've ever seen.

Kiara was instantly stampeded by hugs, and Jane-Anne ended up dropping her half of the banner to join in. It crumpled to the ground as shouts and laughter filled the penthouse.

I hung back, nervous to say anything and shatter the perfect moment. When everyone eventually broke away and Kiara's eyes met mine, she tensed. I held my breath until Kiara forced herself to relax.

"It's good to see you, Lena." She said finally.

I was taking that as a win. "Took you long enough." I teased.

"You're the one who teleported without me! I had to hitchhike!" Kiara exclaimed, her initial distrust broken away. "Come on, let's go!"

"Go?" Jessica asked, crossing her arms.

"Out." Kiara clarified matter-of-factly. "We're in New York City! I want to see everything, and Taylor can show us around!"

"This place has changed a lot since I've been here." Taylor pointed out.

"You know, if you don't want to help, you can just say that." said Carter. The two were precariously close to starting yet another argument.

Everyone had been trapped in the penthouse for the past few days, trying to avoid hearing Carter and Taylor argue every time someone so much as sneezed. Jane-Anne and I had turned it into a game, and so far I was winning. I guessed that the two of them would fight three times this morning, while Jane-Anne had guessed one.

It was four and counting.

The rest of the time in the penthouse was spent staring out the large window at night (the curtains were drawn during the day) pinching myself to remember that this was all real, checking to see if Finn had bothered to text (so far nothing), and scanning the internet for information on Atalka.

Googling "Atalka" just resulted in tons of stories and articles about Jacob Wilde, who was living out the career his mother had been dreaming about. I felt bad when I stared at the pictures, but I didn't have enough energy to pity anyone except myself.

"I'm supposed to meet with Monique today. We're trying to find Aaliyah." Jessica explained.

"We don't need a chaperone to leave." said Carter. I never thought I would see him in favor of going outside during the day.

"It's safer inside," said Jessica. "This is a big city, and while that gives us some anonymity, you never know who could be around."

"I didn't leave one cage to walk into another." Kiara interjected. "I'm going out, and you guys can come with me if you want."

"You're changing first." said Taylor, warily eyeing Kiara's gray jumpsuit. "And showering."

"It's not that bad." said Kiara, pulling the collar of her jumpsuit and smelling it. Her attitude instantly changed. "Where's the shower again?"

"Come on," said Taylor, rolling her eyes as she walked up the stairs. Kiara skipped behind her like an excited puppy.

"We did it." Jane-Anne beamed. "Everyone's here." Her face fell when she noticed that no one else was smiling. "I almost forgot about Aaliyah."

"Not to mention that that place is still standing." I muttered. "Someone needs to burn Atalka Academy to the ground."

"They'll just rebuild it." Carter pointed out.

"You don't know that." I argued.

"I'm sorry, would you like to educate me on the Agency?" Carter asked.

"Carter!" Jessica admonished. "Can you please try to get along with someone in this house?"

"Hey Kiara!" Carter yelled. "We get along, right?"

"Yeah!" a small voice echoed from downstairs. Carter gave his adopted mother a satisfied thumbs up.

"Kiara doesn't get mad at anyone. She doesn't count." said Jessica.

"Look, we've been stuck in this place for days," said Carter. "We're getting a little restless, that's all. Maybe going to see the Statue of Liberty or something wouldn't be the worst idea in the world."

"He's right." I admitted, opening the laptop Jessica had left on the kitchen bar.

I googled "Atalka", which was something I did every day. And just like every other day, I saw more about Jacob Wilde's EP. As I skipped to the second page of results, I noticed a new article had been published.

Angry Father Launches Lawsuit Against State of Oregon for Atalka Disaster

No one is more angry at the loss of the gated community than Samuel Pearce, its former mayor. Today, Mr. Pearce appeared at Oregon's Supreme Court to argue the treatment of Atalkan hostiles. Among them include his wife and daughter. Pearce claims that he has been unable to contact either of them, and is fighting for transparency in the government's actions in the town of Atalka. While the case was thrown out, Pearce has expressed interest in trying again. Unfortunately, he declined to comment further.

As my eyes scrolled across the bio for Inessa Mayumi, Jane-Anne came behind me.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

I quickly closed the laptop. "Nothing."

"Okay." said Jane-Anne slowly. I suddenly realized that keeping information from Jane-Anne was just going to stress her out. I didn't need her to be left in the dark anymore.

"Listen, I need to tell you something about-"

"How do I look?" a voice called from the top of the stairs. Kiara was proudly twirling in her new clothes, while Taylor shook her head in amusement. I almost caught her smile for a second.

Kiara was wearing an obnoxious t-shirt tucked into wide-legged jeans. She skipped downstairs in her new Vans, her pigtails bouncing under the Yankees cap. Taylor followed her with a bit less energy. Her black platform boots nearly reached her knees, and actually made her taller than Kiara. As the two made it downstairs, the elevator chimed brightly, welcoming Monique inside.

"Afternoon, Sunshine." said Monique, seeing me.

"Is that going to catch on?" I asked, frustrated.

"If you keep having an attitude with me, it will." said Monique, gliding across the penthouse like she owned it. Except, technically, she did own it.

"Hey." said Jessica, pulling Monique aside. I could see her murmur a question, but couldn't make the words out.

"Did you just say coven?" Carter asked, raising his voice.

Jessica glared at Carter, but didn't bother explaining what she was talking about.

"It looks like we're just going to be distractions for you." said Kiara, a playful grin on her face. "Maybe we need to get out of your way."

"Listen, it's up to you." Monique told Jessica. "I know you're playing it safe, but we haven't had the Agency in Manhattan for about 3 years. There's this group called the Fourth Circle that makes sure they don't have a reason to come here."

Jessica sighed, but finally gave in. "If you come back to this penthouse any later than 5, I am personally hunting you down."

"I took Lena's phone, so you should be able to contact us." said Taylor, pulling my burner phone out of her purse.

"Who gave you that?" I asked, reaching for the phone. Without even looking at me, Taylor moved her arm out of my reach.

"Where are you guys going, anyway?" Monique asked.

Kiara looked at each of us before she realized that we expected her to answer the question. "I wanted to see the Statue of Liberty." She glanced at Taylor. "I thought you said that it was the first place you went to when you got here."

"You remembered that?" Taylor asked.

"If you want to go see the Statue, you're more than welcome to." said Monique, shrugging. "Just walk to Central Park West, take the subway to 59th, get on the 1 train to South Ferry Station, walk to Battery Park, and then buy tickets for the ferry at Clinton Castle. It's a really big building, I promise you won't miss it."

"Cool! We should go now!" Kiara tugged on Taylor's arm, dragging her into the elevator.

"Ki, do you remember any of Monique's directions?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, go to the castle so we can take the train to the river." said Kiara, pressing the elevator button repeatedly. "Let's move, people!"

"That definitely wasn't it." said Carter. "But good try."

"I remember." I said, grabbing a pen off the coffee table and writing the directions onto my hand. I held my palm up to Monique so she could read it.

"She got it." Monique confirmed.

Jessica pulled a silver card out of her pocket and handed it to Taylor. "If anyone so much as looks at you twice, I expect you to get back here." she warned. The elevator sounded on cue, its golden doors yawning open.

"We'll be safe," said Carter. "I promise."

We piled into the elevator, with Jane-Anne and I entering last and exiting first before waiting for the rest of the group to catch up in the lobby. Carter, Kiara, and Taylor walked ahead, with Kiara's arms linked between the two of them. So far, no one has attempted homicide.

Jane-Anne and I almost got hit by the door as it slammed shut behind the others. As we made it outside, I stepped into what remained of the sunlight. It was overcast today, but I could deal with it. Kiara walked ahead impatiently, nearly hitting oncoming traffic. Carter had to yank her back before she could get hurt.

"Guys, the sign says that Central Park is that way!" I called. Taylor turned around, acknowledging me for a split second. She nodded her head in the direction I had pointed out, and everyone followed her.

"Wow." I muttered. I was supposed to lead the way, but no one was bothering to look at me right now.

"They'll come around." said Jane-Anne, nudging me.

"Right." I agreed shortly. Now that Kiara was back, it felt like I was back to square one.

"We're the same." Jane-Anne continued. The crosswalk flashed white, and I scanning my surroundings cautiously as I made my way across the street. I nearly lost my friends in the crowd, but Kiara's loud outfit helped me keep an eye on them.

"The same? What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"We're on the outside." Jane-Anne explained. "So that means that we need to have each other's backs, no matter what."

"Uh huh." I agreed distractedly. "Guys! You just passed the station!" I yelled.

Carter had to stop and direct everyone to take the stairs to the underground. Jane-Anne and I tried to speed up, but she tripped on the stairs and I had to wait on her.

Everyone waited for us to catch up before Taylor bought us cards for the train. From there, she took over as the leader, guiding us through the overly intricate subway system. As we squeezed onto a subway car, Jane-Anne admitted that she had never seen so many people squished together in her life.

"Stand clear of the closing doors, please." an automated voice announced. As the doors slid shut, I realized that my breaths were starting to get shallow.

"Daijobu?" Jane-Anne asked me.

"What?" I asked, taken off guard. I had forgotten the stress of being enclosed. "Was that even English?"

"No." said Jane-Anne. "Japanese, duh."

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"It's like asking someone if they're okay," said Jane-Anne. Her brown eyes reflected a maturity that I forgot about way too often. She knew exactly what she was doing, and her distraction was working. "Say it." Jane-Anne prompted.

"Dadyobu." I said, my tongue stumbling over the syllables.

"No, you have to make sure that your vowels are pure." said Jane-Anne. "And keep your syllables even."

"Daiyobu." I said, my pronunciation somewhat improved.

"That was pretty good." said Jane-Anne, grinning.

The train pulled to a stop, and there was a general shuffle as people exited and boarded our subway car. There was a lot more space now, and one of the new arrivals had a saxophone strung along his shoulder.

The man set a tip jar in one of the empty seats and started to play, an energetic melody filling the subway car. A few people passed change towards the jar, but Kiara took it a step further. She started to sway with the music, and even managed to twirl as the subway took off again, not losing balance. She offered her hand out to Taylor, who accepted it begrudgingly. As the music continued, Taylor and Kiara danced along, a couple of passengers clapping in time.

The sax player seemed to notice Kiara and Taylor, and his song became more upbeat. The two girls had captured everyone's attention on the subway, and I couldn't help smiling with them.

"Hey." said Carter, breaking my focus. He was standing in front of me, his hand outstretched.

I laughed. "No way."

"Why not?" Carter asked. "No one controls us anymore."

He was right. We were all free, and it was time to act like it. I took Carter's hand, and the four of us danced carelessly on the subway like idiots who were never going to be imprisoned again.

A/N: I almost thought I wasn't going to get this chapter out but here we are! School has been a struggle recently, but I have a cabaret this week that I am super excited/nervous about. I absolutely love to sing (even if I'm not the best at it) and I will be performing a song solo for the first time since college. So yeah. I am not going to be doing Florence + The Machine any justice, but it will be a lot of fun and I get to wear a dress of just sequins. I'll let you guys know how it was when I update next week. Be warned: I consider the next chapter my last "Happy reunions!" chapter and we're gonna start diving a little deeper into the weird things that are happening in the big city. See you guys soon!

QOTD: What is your go-to song to sing?