New Neighbors

"What do you think you're doing Edmund?" Harold questioned as he pulled his friend back from walking into his death. They had been tasked once again to retrieve Sian but Edmund wasn't willing to do something that he had no clue about. He was already storming into a place no one dared go unless called upon when Harold caught up to him and pulled him back.

"We can't keep hurting other people for no reason" Edmund shouted. "We keep Killing people who are just like us. Elementals and we don't have a reason for doing it, it's eating me up inside. The guilt" He uttered before breaking down in tears

"I get it, you don't have to die because of it, we could always decline" Harold reminded.

"You don't get it Harold. I don't want to be part of any of this any longer. I'm leaving for good" Edmund said with a sense of finality just before Caleb walked in.

"Where would you go to?" Caleb inquired. He already knew what was up and he had also decided to leave. He detested being ordered around for one, and he was already tired of doing things that he didn't have any idea of.

"You too? Did you talk him into this?" Harold asked. He has known Edmund since they were kids and he knew Edmund had a soft spot. But the fear of his father had preyed on those feelings and had left him almost heartless. He was happy his friend was himself again but he knew running away was suicidal.

Caleb ignored the accusations and walked towards Edmund. "I know a place we could stay but it's not quite in shape" Caleb explained. He stayed with his grandmother since after the Elemental massacre ten years ago, his parents were casualties of war and he felt broken for the time but that feeling had pushed him into training to prevent any other war with the Elementals. And the only way to do that was wiping them off the surface of the earth. But now he wasn't feeling the urge to fight again. He had already started a war in himself and he had never been at rest ever since. His grandmother had passed on and now the place was his but he hadn't visited since after her funeral.

"We could leave now if you want to" Caleb added and Edmund's nodded

"Are you sure about this?" Harold questioned. He feared for his friends safety and if Edmund was leaving, then he had no reason staying here also. If they were to be hunted down, at least he would be able to provide protection, not that they needed it but he just had to convince himself to leave.

***

Sian spent majority of her nights planning on how to reunite with her friends but she didn't know where to start looking. She didn't feel at peace knowing that they could be in danger. But she forced herself to remain positive.

The past weeks have been peaceful and she was enjoying her new life quite well until she recognized their new neighbors. 'The Triumvirates' Her mind yelled. 'Could they have found me?' She just couldn't stop thinking of the possibilities sorrounding their sudden arrival.

A day passed, and soon a week and they had not even come to get acquainted with their new neighbors talk less of hunting for her. She stared at them through her window every passing day and it seemed they lived a rather normal life now. If they weren't here for her, then this was the perfect start to ask if they have had any encounter with her lost comrades. And even if things weren't as they seemed, she had gotten stronger and was very confident about herself besides, Nathaniel was around.

"Look who showed up" Caleb uttered as soon as he laid eyes on the approaching Sian. The other two had turned and were clearly astonished by her bravery and appearance. She was either demented or she wasn't in control of her movements.

"You must be brave showing your face around here" Edmund commended amidst steps to the fearless girl in front of him.

"I guess you three were kicked out over your failure. it's a good thing you're still breathing" Sian commented. "I'm not here to get into a fight with any of you, I just want to know if you've seen my friends since after you abducted me"

She tried her possible best to sound calm and friendly despite the strong hatred that brewed inside of her. She had to be nice if she ever thought of getting any information out of these three.

"We're sorry but we can't help you" Harold said almost immediately, preventing Caleb from airing out any words he had in his open mouth. He wasn't in the mood for long discussions especially with someone whom they abducted earlier to be killed without reason. He felt a bit guilty and disappointed in himself.

Harold ignored the chatting trio and focused more on an approaching figure behind the girl. He recognized the structure, but couldn't be sure. His eyes lingered longer at the sighting behind her and suddenly his mind had recalled where the familiarity originated. He was sure without a doubt, the man he had spared, Warren Stone