Chapter 15- Highschool Sweethearts

Iris spent the next week searching for the group Finn and Lily had hired. And now that she wasn't tutoring Leon, she had more time to spare. 

When had found the location of the group, she instantly set out. She paid the driver before walking towards the warehouse in the middle of a field. It was in the middle of nowhere, hours away from her house. She had told Syra's parents that she was staying with friends, just in case she was delayed and couldn't make it home before tomorrow. 

She began walking towards the warehouse with her hands in her pockets. Anyone who looked at Iris right now could tell she was annoyed. A frown staked its place on her face and her pace was impatient. She didn't want to deal with this, as it didn't have anything to do with her task. At this point she felt like she had been in this world forever, she just wanted to get all of this over with. But the more she looked into this, the stranger it was. If the fabricator of this event had means beyond this world, if they were from somewhere else, like her, then they may be a threat. And they had already made an attempt at her safety, she couldn't ignore that.

Iris swung open the large doors and met the gazes of many burly men. Most of them stared at her with confusion, but when some suspicious members immediately rose up to confront her, everyone joined. All of them were armed and a select few had guns. This would be a more difficult battle than the last time she had fought with them. Not only were there firearms, but there were many more of them. Thankfully, she was prepared. As she stepped forward to meet the attackers, she drew a gun from her jacket. 

Gunshots and screams could be heard from a mile away, though there was no one close enough to care. 

Iris put her gun away and sat down on a metal chair. She held her side as she panted, surrounded by bodies. She had done her best to train this body since she had arrived here, but it was still weaker than she was used to. Her weapon choices had also significantly narrowed compared to her original life. 

After she regained her breath, Iris slowly walked over to the only other conscious person in the building. She had recognized him, he was the leader of the group that had stopped her weeks before. Not everyone had survived that day, but he had, and it made finding information much easier. 

Similar to how she had instructional Finn to question his parents, she began asking questions that weren't directly related to her real purpose. Just questions about the group, what they did and how long they had been around. Finally, Iris decided he was sane and conscious. He was afraid, and badly hurt, but had full self-awareness.

"3 weeks ago, you and a group of 9 other men attacked me. Why?" But Iris realized this entire journey was fruitless. His eyes became blank and empty, all intelligence suddenly missing. 

"Because we were paid to." He answered.

Iris turned around and sat down on the same metal chair. She resumed pressing on her side and fell into thought. She felt a bit of satisfaction, having destroyed the group that caused her trouble, but that wasn't her purpose. She felt as if the person behind all this was circling her, watching as she danced around.

She was incredibly frustrated. She stood up and kicked the chair closest to her. Still silent, except for her rushed and angry breathing, Iris walked out of the warehouse. She started heading for the nearest town. When a friendly passerby stopped their car by her sorry figure, she accepted their ride. Once she arrived she stopped by a clinic before heading to a hotel. She could go home, but she decided to stay for a couple days and continue to investigate. She had the intuition that she wouldn't find out anything new, but she didn't have any more leads. Everything she had investigated had led to the same results, but couldn't just stop looking. She wouldn't sit idly by if there was a potential threat.

-

After a few days, Iris was back to school as usual. Being close to related people, such as Finn and Lily, might help her. She entered her first class and was surprised at the information the teacher told everybody. Finn had transferred schools. This was well within her plans, but she hadn't expected it at this time. There was only about a week until graduation, it would be alot of trouble to transfer right now. She expected him to at least wait till graduation to run away. But she had scared him too much, apparently. 

Iris continued throughout the day, until she was walking through the hallway and saw a familiar face. Annaleigh was carrying a textbook. It wasn't strange in itself, but as Iris walked closer to her, her frown deepened. Annaleigh's face was blank with no emotion. Her eyes had a familiar emptiness to them and her movements were rigid, like a puppet. 

Iris changed her path and walked directly to Annaleigh. She was prepared to grab her shoulders and question her, but as soon as Iris was in range, Annaleigh changed. It was as if she had received an instruction. She looked directly at Iris, still with that strange expression. She suddenly raised her hands up, still with the textbook in hand, and slammed it down over Iris's head. Iris was on guard and quickly avoided the attack. She struck her hand, quickly disarming Annaleigh. However, she had hit a bit harder than intended and Annaleigh screamed.

She hunched over on the ground, cradling her arm. She looked up at Iris in complete confusion, fear, and resentment. Aside from the usual, there was no outstanding hostility in her eyes. She had obviously been controlled. However, this was only obvious to Iris, the other students were whispering to their neighbors in shock.