Wide Awake - Academy of the Fallen Series (16 page)

THIRTY-ONE

Getting out of the Academy was the easy part.  Daniels had arranged for a car, which they would definitely need to get Kayla to the church.  The difficult part was that although Hunter had the ability to become invisible to human eyes, and so did the angels, Kayla would be seen, unless HE was able to shield her and that was almost impossible to accomplish.  It just took too much from him and he had only done it once before, only for seconds.

Once they reached the hospital
, becoming invisible was what they did.  It
was nighttime, there was less staff, and visiting hours were definitely over.

Hunter didn’t need to summon Chase.  He was there, right next to Kayla, and he was telling her a story about Hunter.

“What is going on?”  Daniels asked.

Chase looked at Hunter, ignoring everyone but him.  “Just trying to keep her from going
farther
into the
Otherworld
.  I noticed that talking to her about –“ he hesitated.  “Talking to her helps.”

“Can you help us getting her out of here?”  Hunter asked Chase.

“Doesn’t seem like I have a choice.  But, as much as I hate to say this, I want to go to the Academy with you.  You will need my help for more things than you can imagine.”

“You are not welcome at the Academy, Chase,” said Daniels.

Hunter faced Daniels.  “He has been taking care of her.  He has been taking care of your daughter, and this is how you repay him?”

The two fallen angels who were there to help were surprised by the revelation that Kayla was Daniels’ daughter.  As far as they knew, she was one of the haunted.  Chased by demons and ghosts, much like they believed was the case with Hunter; only Hunter had been to the
Otherworld
and that made him different from the others.

It wasn’t uncommon for the Fallen to go and get the haunted when things got out of hand.  They would usually send one of the messengers to talk to the parents saying there was a clinic that could help and would transfer them to the Academy.

At the Academy, they would be assigned one of the Fallen to watch over them.  Once the Fallen was ready, them along with their haunted human would go back into the real world to face those creatures.

“We should have known there was something,”
one of the angels thought. 
“We never just take someone like this… without a plan, without precautions.”

“Mr. Chambers!”  Daniels warned him.  “I told you, Chase is not welcomed there.  We try to shield the ‘other’ kids as much as we can, him being there with approval will scare them... it will be madness.  Now enough with this, we have to go.”

Hunter knew that was an argument he would never win.  “Chase, will you please help us leave the hospital?  I will find a way to stay in contact with you.”

“There is little I can do, Hunter.  You will have to shield her.”

Daniels moved closer.  “I can do that.”

Hunter looked at him surprised.  He thought that
shielding others
was
something
only he could do.  Daniels tried.  The others tried, but they all knew that wasn’t working.

Chase just watched them, arms crossed and looking bored.  “Hunter has to be the one to do it.”

The fallen looked surprised.  “Why?  He is no stronger than us.  If anything, he is weaker.  Besides, he is only one of the haunted, he can’t do that.”

Daniels just froze in place.

Chase faced him.  “Does it really matter why?  You need to get her to the Academy, so just get on with it.”

Daniels gave Hunter a nod.

Hunter moved toward Kayla’s bed, carefully picking her up in his arms.  Something about the way he did that, made Daniels feel awkward, but she was shielded as soon as Hunter picked her up, so he didn’t say anything.

Hunter carried her to the car, followed by the others, including Chase.  Hunter carefully put Kayla in the backseat.  Everyone was already in the car, and somehow, the only seat left for Hunter was the passenger front seat.  Hunter was barely able to get in the car.  What he had done had weakened him even more than he anticipated.

Before they drove off, Chase approached Hunter.  “You need to be with her… I mean, all the time.  There is a connection with the two of you.  I could guess what it is, but I’m sure you will deny it.  Let’s just say that whatever this connection is, it is keeping her from going deeper into the Otherworld.”

Hunter couldn’t make sense of it.  Looking puzzled, he nodded.  Daniels drove off.

No one said anything during the ride to the church.

Once they got there, Hunter was too weak to carry Kayla, but either way, at this point there was no need to shield her.

Daniels picked up his daughter, overwhelmed by how much she had grown; by how much she looked like her mother.

They were just about to enter the church when Benjamin appeared, blocking their entrance.

THIRTY-TWO

Daniels couldn’t risk the fallen knowing more than they already did.  As soon as he laid eyes on Benjamin, he ordered them to hurry through the side door and to wait for him inside the Academy.

“But--?”  One of the fallen started to protest.

“I have this handled.  Just go!”  Daniels ordered.

They did as they were told.  Hunter was appalled by how Daniels had just put Kayla’s life in even more danger, all to just protect his family secrets.

Benjamin let the others go.  He seemed stronger now, much stronger.

Daniels asked Hunter to hold Kayla, and then glanced at Benjamin, who stared at him with a certain satisfaction.

“What do you want, Ben?”

“You know very well what I want, Stepfather.  Revenge for my father, of course.”  Benjamin grinned.  “Honestly, I wonder if I should add revenge for my mother to that list as well…”

“Your mother is still alive, Ben.  She just… left.”

His grin grew wider.  “Not surprised.  Of course, I already knew that… but still…”

“You already got your revenge, Ben.  Look at your sister!  What have you done?”

“Well, Stepfather, you don’t seem as affected by it as I would have expected, and until you are… I will not be done.”

“Ben—“

“Don’t bother.  I have other things to attend to for the next couple of months.  Kayla here was of much help to me.  Well, at least her friend and ‘mother’ were.”

Hunter knew he was talking about Ashley and Kelly, and just the thought of it sickened him.  He knew that one way or another, he would have to bring Daniels up to date on what had happened, especially
about
Ashley, and that her only chance would be to be brought in to the Academy.

As if reading Hunter’s mind, Benjamin said “And don’t bothered bringing all of the ones affected by me into this place you have.  Trust me, this place is not as protected as you seem to believe.”

Benjamin looked back at the Academy, smiled, and left.

THIRTY-THREE

None of Benjamin’s threats worked on Daniels.  He believed the Academy was strong enough to keep him out.

Once past the main gate, Daniels carried his daughter in, looking at her as if she were the same little girl that he had to leave behind.  He now wondered how the place that he tried to keep her away from, to keep her safe from, turned out to be the only place that could keep her safe.  He just wanted her to have a normal life, but now, he was angry for wasting so many of those years that he could have spent watching his daughter grow up.

They took her to the infirmary.  After Daniels dismissed everyone, he looked from his daughter to Hunter, who watched her with concern and said, “We have much to talk about, but most importantly, what happened between you and my daughter?”

Hunter looked lost.  “Nothing happened, Sir.”

“You are lying, there is something… some kind of connection.”

Hunter sighed. 

“You think you love her,” accused Daniel.

“No.  I just – no, I don’t love her… not like that.”

“You are right about that.  You are too young for love.”

“I just… I care about her, that is all.”

The way he said it, Daniels knew he was lying.  There was more to that.

“Just go to your room, Hunter.  You have classes tomorrow.  Same schedule as before.”

“I can’t, Sir.  I have to stay with her.  Chase said—“

“Chase knows nothing, Hunter.  Now, go!  You can see her again tomorrow.”

“But, Sir—“

“Don’t push it, or you won’t be seeing her at all.”

Hunter was frustrated but he left, going straight to his room.

Ethan got to the room at the same time, and of course, he had already heard the gossip.

“So, Mr. Daniel’s daughter, huh?”  Ethan asked.

“Leave it alone!”  Hunter growled.

Ethan put both hands up agreeing to just let it go.

Hunter surprised him when he spoke.  As if he had just woke up and realized his surroundings.  “Mr. Daniels—“

“What about him?”  Ethan asked.

“I always thought of him as just one of the haunted, how come he runs this place?  How come he can do things that only the Fallen can?”

Ethan shook his head.  “From what I hear, you are the first of the haunted to ever realize that, which is incredible if you ask me.  Anyway, Daniels plays both sides of the field.  Why do you think he couldn’t summon your friend himself?  He can sense, talk to and see him, but he can’t summon anyone.  He is not one of the haunted.  He may play like he is for his own weird reasons, but he is one of us.”

Hunter gasped.  “But Kayla, so she is a—“

Ethan continued.  “Yes, she is a Nephilim.”

“But she can summon them…”

Ethan looked impressed.  “That must have been an ability that she mastered.  That is very unusual, but not impossible.  For some reason, I have a feeling you helped her with that.”

Hunter turned around and went toward the door.

“Where are you going?”  Ethan asked.

“If she is a Nephilim, she is even in more danger than I thought.  She can’t be left in the Otherworld, they will all go after her.”

“There is nothing you can do.”

“I need to get to the infirmary.  Can you help?”

Ethan hesitated.  “You know what kind of trouble I can get in for that?”

Hunter was agitated, frustrated.  “Look, if you help me, I will help you get out of here.”

Ethan doubted that was true, that anything could be done, but seeing Hunter that desperate, he
finally
agreed.

***

Daniels was no longer there, there was only one nurse, one of the fallen, and she was in the room with Kayla.

While Hunter hid, Ethan walked in, telling her there was an emergency with Hunter in their room. 

The nurse took a look at Kayla, figured she would be okay for a few minutes and left with Ethan.

Hunter walked in the room and quickly approached Kayla, he held her hand in his and whispered in her ear.  “Kayla, it is Hunter.  I need you to come back.  I need you to at least stay away from anything dark.”  Ugh.  ‘
I wish there was a way to tell if you can hear me.’

At that moment, Hunter felt her hand squeeze his.

He smiled.  “Just please, Kayla.  Try to stay away from anything dark.  I thought of something I could do to bring you back.  I just need you to hang on.”

“Hunter,” he heard Kayla say in a low voice.  He was still looking at her, but her eyes were still closed.  She wasn’t moving. 

“Kayla?  I heard you.  Say something!”

Daniels walked in, surprising Hunter.  “What is going on here?”  He asked.

Hunter, realizing that he was still holding her hand, quickly let go.

“I heard something.  She called me, said my name.”

Daniels looked from Hunter to Kayla, and then to the monitors that she was hooked up to, realizing that her heart beat was uneven.

“You need to leave, Hunter.  Whatever you were saying, or maybe you just being here
,
must be causing her stress.”

Hunter snapped.  “You think that is the reason her heart is racing?  Well, it is not.  After it all happened… after Benjamin attacked her, her spirit was still around.  It wasn’t until the Doctors took her away from me that she went to—well, you know where she went to.”

Daniels looked as if he was deep in thought.  “That doesn’t make any sense.  You wouldn’t have the power to keep her here.  You are just—“

Hunter cut him off, finishing his sentence, “I’m just one of the haunted, unlike you, who just pretend to be one.”

“You are out of line, Mr. Chambers!”  Daniels said.  “You need to leave!”

“Hunter,” it was Kayla’s weak voice calling his name again.

Daniels froze in place.

“You heard it too, didn’t you?”  Hunter asked.

“We need to get her back,” Hunter said.  “I have an idea on how to do that.”

Daniels looked at Hunter, doubtful.  “She needs to find the way back on her own.  No one can help her.”

“That is not true.  I found my way back once.  If she can really hear me, I can walk her through it, I can pull her back.”

Daniels considered it.  “But you will have to summon her to pull her back.  If things go wrong… you can end up in the Otherworld with Kayla.”

Hunter looked determined.  “I’m willing to take the risk.”

Daniels finally agreed.  “Okay, but I will be here with you.”

“I can’t focus if you are here.  That will not work.”

Daniels was getting frustrated now.  “Fine, but that door stays open.  I will intervene if there are any problems.”

Hunter quickly agreed and rushed Daniels out of the room.