Chapter 16

I slowly opened my eyes to a sunlit room. The morning sun was shining through the trees and reflecting through the windows onto the floor. I gently sat up, rotating my hip slightly to dull the pain from sleeping in a weird position. The pain was more annoying than actually hurting me.

I gently rubbed my eyes and stood up from the couch. I folded my blanket neatly and set it on the far right cushion of the couch. I wandered into the kitchen and pulled out eggs and a pan. I fully intended to make breakfast in bed for the entire household. I felt this pull to apologize to everyone for the way I've been acting.

I made scrambled eggs and bacon for everyone. I could hear Carter shifting in the other room, more than likely because he could smell the bacon.

I got out fifteen plates and started filling them with eggs and bacon. I picked up a plate and walked over to Carter who was starting to wake up. I gently shook him, when he came to I handed him the plate of food and gave him a big smile.

I walked back and forth for the next ten minutes taking the other fourteen plates upstairs to everyone. When I came back downstairs, Carter had finished his food and was washing his plate in the sink.

"No, no, no," I insisted as I ran over and grabbed the plate from his hands, "I'll do it, go sit down."

"You've done enough Carla, at least let me wash my plate."

"Nope," I urged with a smile, "Now go sit down and relax."

I heard his footsteps walk away behind me. I cleaned his plate and then walked upstairs to get everyone else's plates. I washed them too. Eventually everyone was finished and came downstairs. All fifteen of them came downstairs and sat in the livingroom. Hannah and Cleo tried to help me but I told them I can do it by myself. Henry left the room.

I know I can be rude sometimes, so doing this helped me feel better about the stuff I've put my friends through. Between burning down a city, falling through time, beating Ryder and Paige half to death, running off, and almost dying numerous times, I figured this was the least I could do.

After I finished I turned around to see Eclipse and Carter leaning against the table staring at me. Their hands were behind their backs and they seemed comfortable. I wondered how long they had been sitting there.

"Hello?" I asked, "Something you need? I can make more breakfast if you're still hungry."

Eclipse shook his head and smiled at me like I was stupid. Carter copied the movements almost exactly.

"What?"

"You're not thinking of running off again are you?" Carter asked, "You're not thinking about taking on this new enemy all by yourself?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you've done it before," Eclispe answered.

"And you did something out of the blue just because." Carter added, "As if you wanted us to remember you a certain way.

"I'm not allowed to be nice for no reason?" I asked as I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms. I concerningly looked at the both of them.

"We were just asking. I know you wouldn't lie with that thing around your neck and I just wanted to know," Carter answered with a shrug of his shoulders and an innocent smile.

"Well thanks." I remarked and then walked towards the back door.

"What?" Carter asked as I heard the two of them following me.

I turned, "You know? Thanks for still seeing me as a flight risk."

"Are you not?" Carter remarked, "Last time I checked, you chose to fight Ryder for literally no reason and hot yourself stuck in the future."

"Just leave me alone Carter, I'm going for a walk."

"Can I trust you to come home?" He called from a few steps behind me as i walked off the back porch and into the grass.

"Don't count on it."

"I thought you said you weren't running off again?" Carter asked.

"I wasn't planning on it until I got insulted by someone I thought was my best friend and someone who supported me," I explained without turning back. I trudged into the forest. I knew I shouldn't have reacted the way I did but I was sick of being treated like a runaway prisoner. I ran south towards San Diego. The sun was all the way up in the sky by the time I reached the city. I sat down in the grass and just sat quietly. I laid back at watched the clouds as I thought.

I guess I really was a runaway prisoner. They don't trust me. You know what? I wouldn't trust me either. I've done some of the worst half-thought, messed up stuff. I've carried out stuff that go against what I believe. For what? To save my friends? To create a "better life."

No.

I could've been peaceful.

The other future, they got off the island by asking, not killing people. They never fought with Valerie.

"Ugh what have I done?" I growled to myself.

At least I'm alive instead of missing.

Except I am missing. I ran off from my friend, from my family. I'm sitting in a field by myself.

A twig snapped in the distance accompanied by rustling of grass.

Not alone. I'm not alone.

I slowly lifted my head to look at why was in the grass. It was too high for me to see. Whoever it was, they were trying to hide themselves.

I shifted to better protect myself. Gently putting my paw on the ground, I wiped half the field's grass. It wasn't a person, It was a... thing. I stopped breathing as I looked at this thing on the other side of the field. Tall. Extremely tall, at least ten or eleven feet tall. That's twice my height. He, it, whatever it is was muscular to the point of being able to flick me and knock me out. It wore scars like he had been through hundreds of battles. Two, cut up, bat-like wings came from his back. The wounds at which they sat atop of made it look like they ripped themselves from his back. His face seemed like a human's. Spikes pierced his skin, poking out in every direction, mostly on his arms and chin. He looked like a human porcupine with wings.

Shivers ran down my back for the first time in a while. I froze. Within a few minutes he walked into the forest and I started slowly walking through the tall grass towards the cabin. Carter met me by the treeline.

"I saw it too," Carter sighed as he looked over at the adjacent treeline.

I just silently nodded as I shifted down and looked at him.

"How did you know where I was?" I asked.

"You either run down the beach or over here and I saw the direction you ran in. You know I didnt mean to hurt your feelings right?"

"I didn't plan on running off, I just wanted to cool down," I explained.

"Carla, you don't have to apologize. I knew why you walked away, it was the appropriate thing to do. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"I know you didn't," I answered as I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled, "But hey, we've got a new problem that needs our attention currently. I have a bad feeling about whatever that is."

"Yeah, me too. I think we should go get training started asap."

"Then let's go."