Apprentices: New Moon

Abort the Mission

“CYRUS!” I yell into the phone, hoping that I’m loud enough to make him hear me. Beelzebub flinches beside me, looking at me with those big green eyes. They’re scared. More than I’ve ever seen them.

Still nothing. I keep hearing the screams and the screeches, until finally … Silence. The call is still ongoing, but I’m afraid to even squeal. I stare at the screen, barely even breathing. My chest feels like someone just sat on it and I realize that I’m in shock.

I have no idea for how long this lasts, but I’m starting to feel a numb kind of pain inside my muscles. It’s spreading throughout my body, from the strange posture that I’m in. I blink.

If what I just witnessed is real … I won’t get a response if I call his name again. I won’t be able to talk to him about this mission. I won’t be able to change his mind and call the damn thing off. I can feel a shiver starting to overtake my body.

In the next moment, tears are streaming down my face silently, and the screen starts dancing in front of my eyes from how much I’m shaking. My cat is still staring at me in complete silence, like she knows that making a sound will seal the event that we just witnessed.

“Eva … Are you still there?” I suddenly hear his voice travel to my ears. I stare at the phone in surprise, thinking that my mind is trying to protect me. That I’m hallucinating. “Eva, damn it, talk to me!” he calls me again, this time with much more determination.

His voice makes Bubba get up and let out a happy meow, striding towards me to rub her head against the phone. And it’s the one thing that finally makes me realize that my mind isn’t playing tricks on me. “Cyrus, you’re … You’re alive,” I breathe out in relief, covering my mouth with my hand to prevent myself from sobbing.

“I’m okay. But the rest of my squad is …” he trails off, unable to finish the sentence. I stare at the phone with wide eyes, then let myself cry out loud. I just witnessed another murderous spree of soulthieves, thinking that Cyrus was amongst the deceased.

“Please, come back,” I beg him, not caring about anything else right now, but being able to hold him. I beg him, despite knowing what his response is going to be.

He stays quiet for some time, before replying to my plea. “I can’t. I’m the only one left in this city to protect the humans,” he murmurs, before letting out a sound that sounds a lot like … He’s crying. And it breaks me to hear him falling apart like this.

“Cyrus, you need to get out of there, so we can find another solution. This isn’t working, do you hear me? You might be protecting them temporarily, but in the end, it’s only going to result in all of us becoming monsters and feeding on humans too!” I burst out, unable to believe that he can’t see reason even in a moment like this.

He contemplates my words in silence again, and I already think he’s going to hang up on me, when he finally responds. “I’m coming. You were right, this isn’t working. Get to Hugh and make sure he sends out a message to every team that’s out there. They have to abort the mission,” he gives in, sounding like he’s put himself back together.

I breathe out in relief, another sob cutting through me, but this time from relief. “I’ll do that. I’ll do anything, Cyrus, just come back to me, please,” I plead him, then finally unclench one hand from the phone, to pet Bubba.

“I’ll call you again, when I’m out of the city,” he lets me know, then draws in a sharp breath. “I love you, Evelyn,” he then adds in a much softer tone, making me melt from inside out.

“Don’t forget. I love you, too. Drive safely,” I murmur, then wait for him to hang up. Once he does, I lift Beelzebub of my lap, before she gets too comfortable, then get changed. I’m not striding into the Headquarters, while wearing my pajamas.

I’m anxious about Cyrus, because I have a feeling like he’s still in danger, but I still push that worry under the surface and leave his office. I take Bubba with me, walking her on her leash, because I’m really not in the mood to chase my cat around the grounds, in case she feels like having a night walk.

Once I get to the door, I burst inside without even knocking. It’s not like anyone’s guarding it anymore. Everyone is too busy protecting the world from the undead army of soulthieves, that are under Amelia’s command. Like having so many soulthieves out there wasn’t enough already.

It’s a little quieter and less crowded here during the night, but I have a feeling that I’m still going to find Hugh here. The man barely gets any sleep. I soon spot him, surrounded by a number of other warriors.

I stride over to him, my cat walking in front of me like she owns the damn place. I get a few weird glances as they see I brought my pet with me, but I’m not risking it. Amelia is still trying to hurt me, so I’m not risking my cat being left alone, now that no one is there to watch over her. Besides, it’s not like I don’t have her here during the day.

Hugh lifts his gaze from the desk only as he realizes that no one’s paying attention to him anymore. He stiffens, then frowns as he notices me coming over. He straightens up and commands for everyone to give us some space, then comes out from behind the desk.

“Evelyn. To what do I own the pleasure?” he wonders politely, but I don’t respond to him immediately. I wait for the other warriors to get far away that I make sure they won’t hear us. I really don’t want anyone else meddling themselves into this conversation.

Finally, I look straight into his eyes and say: “I just talked to Cyrus. His squad was under attack and he’s the only survivor. I told him about the data, and he told me to get a message to you. Call every team that’s still out there and tell them to abort the mission.”

The warrior stares at me in surprise for a few long moments, before playfully bumping my shoulder. “It’s about damn time. I didn’t think anyone could change his mind, but you proved me wrong once again. You sure are a Pierce,” he responds, making a small smile appear on my face, but it doesn’t stay for long.

“He almost died, I’m not playing around anymore. We’re going to find another way,” I murmur, then step a little closer to make sure no one else hears us. “I’m going to try to kill one,” I say.

Hugh stares at me in confusion for a few long moments, then widens his eyes. “You don’t mean …” he trails off, clearly not wanting to suggest anything that I don’t have in mind. But I know that he’s able to tell exactly what I’m talking about. I nod.

“Yeah. I mean a soulthief,” I confirm his suspicions, making him draw in a quick, sharp breath. Then, he shakes his head in one rapid movement, like he’s trying to chase the thoughts away. Finally, he pulls himself back together.

“Okay, let’s not stride too far away from the task. I have a mission to call off,” he then says, making me nod in confirmation.

“Of course. I’ll help you out,” I tell him, already striding to his desk to find the list of all squads and their leaders. Then, I go into the system to find the phone numbers and start writing them down. While I do that, Hugh starts calling them, one after one, telling them all the same sentence. Abort the mission.

Not a single leader of the squad questions the command. In fact, most of them sound relieved that this is happening. This mission shouldn’t even begin in the first place, but I can’t blame Cyrus and the Elite for wanting to protect the human world too. However, we can’t throw ourselves into doom like this. We have to find another way. And we will. I’m sure of it.

Once it’s done, Hugh practically collapses into his office chair. I sit beside him, sending him a sympathetic gaze. “We’ll get through this,” I assure him. He glances at me, looking tired more than anything else.

“How can you be so sure?” he asks, then shakes his head. “And destroying a soulthief? No one’s ever done it before. There’s a reason why. They’re indestructible,” he continues, almost sounding like he’s trying to patronize me. Well, I won’t let him.

“Listen to me. Believing that we’ll come out of this war as winners, is the only thing that keeps me going. And nothing’s indestructible. Not even a damn monster that’s been terrorizing us since our very existence. I will find a way. If she found a way to control them, there has to be a way to destroy them, too,” I tell him sharply.

He raises his eyebrows, then asks: “And how are you planning to destroy one? Where will you even begin?”

I breathe out, then reply in the form of complete serenity: “Amelia tried to destroy them before she figured out a way how to control them. I’ll start with her research. I’m sure it contains something useful and I might find something that she missed. She might’ve gotten really close without even realizing it.”

Hugh stares at me in surprise, then blinks as he pulls himself back together. “You know what, girl, there’s one thing that’s true for all you Pierce women. You’re so damn stubborn,” he tells me, already making me narrow my eyes at him. Before I’m even able to open my mouth, he already continues. “But in times like these … We’d need at least a couple hundred more of you,” he adds, making me smirk.

“There’s only so much of us that you can handle,” I remark, making him chuckle. Despite the light-heartedness of the moment, I can feel the heavy weight inside my chest, not letting me breathe properly. I’m still waiting for Cyrus’s call. I hope it’s going to come soon, or else I’m going to lose my mind.

Just like he could hear my thoughts from two hundred miles away, he calls in that very second. I jump as my phone rings, answering the moment I see his name on the screen. “Hey, where are you?” I ask as I pick up.

“Hey, I’m in the Hummer,” he replies, and I can make out the sound of a revving machine in the background. “I just got to the highway. I left Cleveland behind. I … I burned the bodies,” he then adds with a little more hesitation, pain evident inside his voice.

“It’s okay, Cyrus. You had no other choice,” I murmur, my heart aching as I hear the guilt inside his voice. “Just come back safely. I’ll be waiting for you in the Headquarters,” I assure him.

“No, you don’t have to stay up so late again, I’ll be there in three hours,” he protests, his voice wavering as he speaks. He’s barely keeping himself together.

I glance at Hugh for a moment, who’s watching me with curious eyes. I know he’s hanging onto my every word, trying to figure out what’s going on. “No. I’ll wait. In fact, I won’t even hang up. We’ll stay on call until you get here. I’m not leaving anything to chance. I’ll put you on speaker, so you can talk to us,” I speak up.

Before he’s able to protest, I already put the phone down and tap on the button that makes everyone hear him. Hugh uses the chance as soon as he gets it. “Cyrus, hey … How far are you?” he asks, pretending like he doesn’t know it.

My boyfriend still answers, telling him that he just got out of Cleveland. I sigh, glad that Hugh is keeping him busy. Soon, it’s not just Hugh. The warriors that were gathered around the table earlier, join the conversation.

Suddenly, the desk is so filled up, that I can barely breathe anymore. And my cat seems to be getting the same, suffocating feeling. Still, we stay on that chair, listening, sometimes talking too. But I don’t want to join the conversation too much, because they’re all doing such a good job at distracting him from the thoughts that I’m sure are circulating through his head.

He’s going to come back, alright. But he’s going to be filled with guilt. He’s the one, who gave out the order for the mission. It’s going to be haunting him. I’m sure of it. What I’m not sure of, is if I’ll be able to help him forgive himself.