Look out for the <>!!

Gray POV

"Gray, do you have a moment?" Else asked as she walked up to me in a small private training room at Churchwell Academy.

I nodded as I placed the staff I held in my hands on the ground, knowing exactly what she wanted me for. We had been at Churchwell for two weeks and my new life settled in place. Although I still didn't feel like I belonged here. I had made no friend, no people tried to talk to me, I was just as lonely here as I was in Jackson. People here saw me as an outsider, even though I was from here. But that didn't matter to them because I had been away for too long. I wasn't truly one of them when I spend years living on earth.

Else never fully addressed why we were here and why we had to leave so quickly from Jackson. I tried to bring it up a few times, but she always brushed it off to the side as if it wasn't important and as days melted into a week and more, I started to believe she didn't even know why we were here. Maybe it was some news she got, and she had no choice in it.

"We are meeting with the Royal family again. Are you ready?"

I nodded as I ran my hand through my hair to smooth it out, then slipped on a coat. The last meeting we had with them flew through my mind like an unwelcomed guest, causing me to frown. The Royal family were constantly fighting with one another and they could never agree on a plan of action, even though we were on a brink of war with the Darklings. It was exhausting. And as much trouble as they were, I started to think the Royal family was not worth dealing with. "I am."

She nodded with a smile as she walked out the door to the outside.

The bright light of the sun shining directly above me caused me to squint, but I made her to keep up with her. "Why do we have to go again?" It was a valid question that I would like to know. The royal family was a waste and even she knew it because she always looked exhausted when we returned from the meetings.

She threw me a look as if to say to stay quiet and that I knew better. Her silence was her answer as she walked towards her car, which was always parked past the tree line, out of sight of the students and outside the protection barrier around the school.

"I'm just saying that I find the Royal family useless," I spilled out, unable to stay silent any longer.

"Gray, please. This is standard protocol. They have always been involved in any wars."

Her comment caused me to freeze in mid walk. Other wars? I had only been aware of the one my father made, but she spoke as if there were so many more. "What other wars have there been?" I asked, realizing that I knew very little about Churchwell. We had history classes painted with rose-colored glasses, but she made me think Churchwell wasn't as perfect as students thought. I knew there were secrets of Churchwell, but I never thought about wars. If there were such a thing here, where did they fight? Suddenly, my mind was full of so many more questions.

She let out a tired sigh as she got her keys from her pocket. Already she knew she said too much and her silence was her answer to drop it as if she wasn't allowed to speak of such things herself.

I frowned at her, not liking her response. "And why do we drive? Can't you just get someone to teleport you?" There weren't many cars here at the school, but she always took hers everywhere. I didn't understand it when traveling by other means was so much faster.

"I enjoy driving," she said as the car came into view.

As we made our way to the car behind the tree line, rain started to fall. The big heavy drops hit my face with force, causing me to duct under a tree branch to dodge it for a moment. I could remember a time when I was stuck in such a heavy rain. It was years ago, but the memory still hit me like it just happened. I never thought I would leave Churchwell in such terrible weather. It was as if it wanted me to leave, and I believed it. But now I was back and I wouldn't let some rain scare me off like it did when I was young.

"Some rain, isn't this?" I chuckled to Else as I turned to face her and noticed she was trapped in what looked like an invisible box.

The panic in her eyes was overwhelming as she pounded on an invisible force, causing me to worry.

I looked around myself for the source of whatever magical being could make such a spell, but stopped when my eyes fell on my father coming out of the woods. A smirk appeared on his face as his darkened hand sparked blue electricity.

"Graywick don't move any closer to him." Else shouted as my father continued to move closer to me.

"Or what, what are you going to do, Else?" my father asked with a chuckle, as if this was funny to him. He didn't stop as he continued his path towards me. There was determination on his face, as if he knew exactly what he wanted to do. "Grayson, I just want to talk to you." His attention turned to Else again. "I am coming in peace. All I want to do is talk."

I couldn't move as I watched him close the gap between us. I was unsure if that was because of fear or because I really did want to hear what he had to say. There was a pull to him I couldn't explain. Maybe it was because he was my father and deep down, I wanted to know why he was here to talk to me.

"Graywick, I'm warning you, I will be forced to attack."

His gaze switched to Else and for a second he stopped moving before he smiled at us again. "I doubt that." He moved closer to me, then grabbed my hand, slipping a note within it. "It's great to see you again. I am glad you are back where you belong. Churchwell is your home and no one can take that from you."

I quickly stuck my hand in my pocket, keeping the note in a safe place as he looked at me with pride. "Why are you here?" I asked, although I wanted to ask so many more questions.

He opened his mouth to speak just as Else threw her dagger into my father's shoulder. He screamed out in pain as a team of Churchwell Academy guards came out from behind trees.

"Take him in." Else said, commanding the team.

They waited no time in closing in on him and in the chaos someone elbowed me in the face, causing me to fall to the ground. I scurried to the side as I watched as the group of people surrounded my father and tackled him to the ground. My father made no effort to break away and a part of me wanted to run, live another day because those men would take him in and I did not know what would happen next. What I didn't understand was why he came here to talk to me. Why now? Didn't he know he would get caught?

My father yelled again as someone put cuffs around his wrists. The cuffs glowed brightly, then constricted around his wrists. By the look on his face, I knew the cuffs were painful, but a part of me wanted to see him suffer. He caused so much damage and I wanted him to pay for that. But as the guards continued to beat him up, I couldn't help but feel sick to my stomach. He was down, but they weren't stopping.

"Gray, come, we should go," Else said as she pulled me up from the ground, dragging me from the scene.

<>

Without wasting a moment, she pulled me back to the school, within the protection of the school's barrier.

I followed her silently as I heard my father yell out. I did not look back as I ran with Else; I didn't want to see what they were doing to him, but I could only imagine. It wasn't until I made it to my small bedroom on campus when I spoke up. "Now the Royal family will have to agree on something."

With my father back, and seen by so many, they would have to finally sit down and actually make plans. I wanted to be a part of those plans, but something told me I wouldn't stand a chance of going to one of those. My father meant I was officially involved in this in all the worst possible ways.

Else nodded as she paced around my small room, trying to sort out her thoughts. "I'll be back with some tea," she said, then left without another word.

In the meantime, I was alone with my thoughts, but I was glad for that. In the silence of the small bedroom, I could think without her looking at me, judging me, wanting to know my every thought. But even I didn't know my every thought. My mind ran with that just happened. My father, the one that everyone thought was dead, came to me, wanting to speak to me.

The note came to my mind again, weighing heavily in my pocket as if it was 100 pounds. In the room's privacy, I pulled it out and read it as I sat on the corner of my bed.

Meet me in the basement tomorrow at 9PM.

I frowned at the note that was clearly written in his handwriting. I don't think I would ever forget his neat scrawl on paper. Memories of him writing letters to people hit me as I realized some things haven't changed. The word basement on the letter caused me to sink into the bed in despair. The basement was off limits for everyone. Even if I wanted to go talk to him, how could I get down there?

Breaking me from my thoughts was when Else knocked on my door frame. "Can I come in?" Else asked as she stood in the doorway holding a cup of tea in her hands.

I nodded as I put my note in my pocket, hoping she wouldn't ask about it. "Sure."

"I just wanted to check in with you," she said as she handed me a cup of tea. Her face was now more composed and, with a clear mind, she was ready to speak to me. "You're going to get a blackeye."

I nodded as I dabbed my eye, feeling the tenderness beneath my callused fingers. I got hit hard, so I expected as much. "What are they going to do with him?" I asked as I took it. Instantly, the mug warmed my hands, and I welcomed the feeling.

"They are going to take him to the basement for containment and questioning."

I couldn't help but frown at her statement. That note he gave me, he knew he was going there. He knew he would get caught. Maybe he wanted to get caught. This meant that he planned this, all of it. But I didn't understand why. What was there to gain from this? Why did he want to get caught?

"They aren't going to kill him," she said confidently.

"I didn't ask that." But it was comforting to know that he was fine, for now. I didn't quite understand why I cared, though. He was barely a father to me, so I shouldn't care, but yet I did.

She sighed as she looked out the window. Her eyes were distant as she looked out it trying to find the answers outside of this room.

"Why did he come?"

"I've been asking myself the same question," she said as she turned to face me again. By now I was good at picking apart her lies, but this statement wasn't a lie. She really had no idea why he came. A part of me knew it was because of me, but deep down I knew there was something else in this picture I wasn't getting. "He was so silent. I really thought he wouldn't come back after he talked to you and you told him no. The Darklings have been quiet too. I thought maybe things were settling down."

I nodded as I thought about the last week. She was right; the Darklings were silent. There was no sighting of them, which didn't provide any comfort to me. But something told me he was going to tell me some deep secrets if I met him tomorrow at 9 and for that, his note would be my secret. "Can I speak with him?"

She shook her head. "I can't even speak to him."

That statement frustrated me. As if why would she be placed higher than me. I was his family; he was my father. I deserved to at least say something to him. They at least owed me that. "But I'm his son."

"That doesn't matter."

"That's not fair."

"I know it's not."

I took a drink of tea and looked out the window as it continued to rain. And just like that, I made my mind. I would talk to him, I would find a way to get to the basement. I would get answers and then maybe we would get an action plan and people would start trusting me more.

"I have to go, but if you need anything you know how to reach me," she said as she walked towards the door, ready to leave me.

I nodded, eager for her to leave so I could be alone with my thoughts once again. "Thanks for the tea."

She turned to face me with a tired smile. "Any time."