Chapter 22: The Cure

    Faye cradled Thalia's head as she watched Denarius anxiously talking with the healer.  Thalia's breathing had steadied, but she still wasn't waking up.

    "Come on, Thalia," Faye whispered.  But her eye remained closed.

    "I'm afraid that there is only one cure that can help her, since you are so reluctant to let me know her animal form," the healer said with a dark glare at Denarius.

    "What cure?" Denarius asked, crossing his arms.

    "It is one of the oldest flowers on this planet.  The Golden Daffodil.  The

flower will cure anything, and since we don't really know what's going on with the Queen, it is our best bet."

    "Where can I find this flower?" 

    "It's last sighting was over the mountains in an abandoned sanctuary."

    "What did the sanctuary hold?" Faye asked, looking up.

    "We cared for animals separated from their human form there.  We taught them how to live in their animal forms and accept their new life.  It was also used to treat any contagious illness.  But it has long been abandoned since Anoteros built cities near it.  A Golden Daffodil might still be in there.  They had a whole garden of them for healing people."

    "Then I'll go," Faye said, placing Thalia's head back on her pillow and standing up.

    "What?  No!"  Denarius exclaimed, walking to her. "I am going, and that's that.  You have to stay here and make sure Thalia is safe."

    "But if the city is next to it then there is a risk of Chasers being there!" Faye countered.

    "So?  I'll go in my animal form so they don't spot me."

    "You've already been captured before, and they most likely have pictures of you.  Your animal form won't do you any good.  But my animal is much smaller and quieter.  Also, they haven't seen me before."

    "The girl has a point," the healer said.

    "You need to stay back and watch Thalia," Faye continued. "You've known her longer than me and you can protect her much better than I can.  I haven't even begun my combat classes yet."

    "Fine.  But if you aren't back by sunset I am sending a party out to search for you."

    "Okay.  Now, where do I need to head?"

    The healer led Faye outside and pointed southward.  "The sanctuary is roughly that way.  But if your animal is a bird then you might be able to see better."

    "I am a falcon," Faye said, changing into her form and lifting into the sky.  She swirled around the healers head while he instructed her on how to get into the sanctuary, get the flower, and get out.

    "The lever is on the fourth closest tree, and the lever to get out is by the healing beds," the healer finished.

    Faye nodded and took off into the sky.  She spread her wings, catching

the wind and soaring.  She held her eyes strictly south and they searched for any ruins.

    After a few minutes, Faye could see the tall towers of an Anoterian city looming ahead through the clouds.  She flew closer to the trees to avoid being seen.

    Finally, she reached the abandoned sanctuary just outside the city.  She dived under the trees and landed in a tree branch not too far from the ruins.  She had stopped because she heard voices.

    "Maybe it's hidden under rubble," said a very familiar voice. "And it would take hours to clear these rocks."

    Faye gasped and flew closer.  

    Abraham!

    "Unless," came another familiar voice.  Cameron got up and ran to the tree she was hiding in.  She quickly flapped away and looked to see him searching the branches.

    "What are Cameron and Abraham doing here?  Together?  They hate each other!" Faye wondered inside her head. "Maybe it has something to do with Cameron's mission.  Maybe he told Abraham that he's searching for our mother.  But that means that he also told him about her being a Beast and me being one!  What is Cameron thinking?"

    "The Chasers are almost here!" Abraham called and Faye watched as Cameron looked down at something below him.  She moved to see what it was.  

    He was looking at a hole in the ground that had been covered with what 

looked like a grass trapdoor.

    Cameron made a motion with his hand to Abraham but Faye saw someone else come out from between the rubble piles.  She looked like a girl her age and had dark skin and long black hair tipped with blue.  

    "Who the heck is she?" Faye asked inside her head. "is she one of Abraham's friends?  No, she can't be, I have seen all her friends and I know all the kids at school.  Then, who is she?"

    Abraham and the mysterious girl came to Cameron and he showed them the entrance into the bunker.  Faye kept watching the girl, trying to figure out who in the world she was.

    Cameron helped the girl into the hole and Abraham went down.  Cameron was last and he closed the door before Faye heard even more 

voices.  These belonged to the Chasers and scientists coming to the sanctuary to search it again.

    Then, Faye realized that Abraham was a Chaser.  The scout, Kaylan, had told her so.  So Cameron and the other girl were in danger.  Abraham was probably going to call the Chasers into the bunker so they capture Cameron.

    Faye flew to the lever branch and quickly shifted to her human form to pull it.  The hole opened again and she slipped inside and closed the trapdoor behind her.

    Inside, she changed back into her falcon form.  Her mission was to retrieve the Golden Daffodil and bring it back to save Thalia, not catch up with Cameron.  She snuck into a room where the other three were looking

around.

    It was small and covered in cobwebs and Faye heard the squeak of rats somewhere.  Her old fear came rushing back and she quickly hopped to a table, unnoticed.  

    Suddenly, Abraham walked to the table she was on, probably to search it.  She froze and he stared at her.  Faye tried her best not to blink as Abraham chuckled and said, "The Beasts are very good artists.  This statue almost looks real."

    He moved on and Faye breathed a sigh of relief.  The three left the room to search another and Faye went in a different direction.  The healer had told her to go follow the smell of pollen and she would find the growing room where the daffodils were.

    So Faye used her nose and followed the scent into a room where there were many overturned tables.  Clods of dirt lay on the floor and were scattered everywhere.  Dead plants and flowers lay at Faye's talons and she scanned the room for any daffodils.  Suddenly, a light glow caught her eyes and Faye walked toward a table laying on its side.  Behind it was a Golden Daffodil slowing a bright yellow.  Its stem was golden and it was still alive.  But Faye would have to turn human and escape the bunker in her human form if she was to get the flower outside.  So Faye turned human and was about to grab the stem once she heard voices.

    "Do you smell that?  That room smells like pollen," said the mysterious girl's voice.  "Let's check it out, Cam."

                            Chapter 23: A Heated Meeting

    Faye quickly switched back to falcon form and scurried under a large pot.

    "Wow," said the girl as she bent down to examine the dead flowers scattered across the floor. "They must have grown flowers here.  But I wonder which ones.  And why would they need to grow flowers anyway?"

    "They could be for some sort of healing potion or something," Cameron said. 

    "So, can you tell me what we're looking for?"

    Faye listened closely, she also wanted to know why Cameron was here

and who the girl was.

    "Um, okay, listen, Abby.  I haven't been completely honest with you since you arrived."

    "Oh no!" Faye thought in her head. "He's gonna tell her everything!  Abby, who is she though?"

    "I know that we were really close back in the old school.  But since then I have met new people and  made new friends.  One of them is a girl named Faye.  She is Abraham's sister.  But she is so cool and I liked her a lot."

    "Were you two as close as you and I were in middle school?" Abby asked, taking Cameron's hand.

    "No, we weren't dating or anything.  I honestly don't even think that Faye likes me as much as I like her."

    Faye stood watching and listening.  Her mind was confused and angry. "Cameron had a girlfriend and he didn't tell me!  But he just said that he liked me a lot.  So he must not like Abby anymore.  But then why are they holding hands!  But wait, don't I like Denarius?  He's the perfect one for me."

    But Faye still couldn't help feeling a little jealousy because, even if she didn't want to admit it, she did like Cameron too.  But ever since she had met Denarius and found out she was a Beast she had acted as if Cameron wasn't important.

    "Are you two still friends?" Abby asked.

    "Well . . . here's the secret part.  But I will only tell you if you swear that you will not tell anyone."

    Abby giggled, "Anything for you, Cam."

    "Okay.  Faye recently found out that she's a Beast."

    Abby's eyes widened and she was about to open her mouth once Cameron covered it and said quickly, "You swore, Abby, you cannot tell anyone!  Just calmly ask your questions and I will calmly answer them."

    He removed his hand and Abby regained her composure before saying, "You're friends with a Beast?"

    "Yes.  In fact, this whole mission is to find Faye's mother, who is also a Beast.  But she was separated from her human form and is now a roaming animal.  Which is why we are here looking for any trace of her.  There, your question is answered," Cameron said rather quickly.

    There was a moment of silence.  "So," Abby finally started, "your friend

and Abraham's mother is a Beast, and your friend is a Beast.  Is Abraham a Beast?"

    "What, no, I don't know."

    "Okay . . . Thank you, Cam, for telling me all of this.  I honestly knew that something wasn't right, and I felt that all those years apart had broken our trust.  But this proves that you do trust me, and I promise not to tell a soul."

    Faye leaned to see them just as Abby got up on tippy-toe and kissed Cameron on the cheek.  She then took his hand and they walked out of the room together.

    Now Faye was really angry.  And she didn't even know why!

    Was it possible that she actually did like like Cameron?  Or did she just not like Abby at all?

    "Come on Faye," she spoke quietly to herself. "You're here for the flower.  The more time I waste the less likely it is that Thalia will survive."

    Faye changed to human and grabbed the flower.  She wrapped it in her purple shawl, protecting the petals and stem.  Then she ran from the room, listening carefully for the voices of the other three in the bunker.  

    "How are we supposed to get out of here anyway?" came Abraham's voice from the right.

    Faye ran left and recalled that the healer had said the exit was by the healing beds.  She just hoped that it didn't take her right into the sanctuary ruins where Chasers were patrolling.  But it didn't matter.  Once she got outside she could easily clutch the wrapped up flower and fly back to the village.

    Faye finally made it to a large room where there were beds carved into the cave walls and unlit candles sitting by them.  She searched the wall and found that one of the torches lining it was moveable.

    Faye pulled it and a trapdoor in the wall swung open.  As it did so it let out a loud creak that echoed through the bunker.

    "What was that?" called Abraham.  "Does this place have ghosts?"

    "No," said a voice that sounded much nearer. "It came from in here."

    Faye was frozen.  She just stood there as Cameron walked into the room.  He froze as soon as he saw her.

    They just stared at each other.

    "Cam, was there actually a ghost?" Abby asked as she came in and stopped once she saw Faye.

    "Oh, who are you?" she asked. "Wait, you look like Abraham, which means . . . OMG!  You're the Beast girl!"

    "Abby, calm down," Cameron said.  "I told you, she isn't savage."

    "Well, she is for leaving you all sad and alone."

    "I didn't leave him.  Cameron wanted to leave," Faye fought back.

    "Leave where?" asked Abraham, striding into the room.  "Oh hello my not-so-human sister."

    "Well, it turns out, Baby Ham, that you are a Beast just as much as I am," Faye said with a grin.

    "Baby Ham?" Abby turned and gave a questioning glance at Abraham.

    Abraham stood still.  Then he laughed. "You're bluffing!"

    Faye just stood and grinned and watched as Abraham's face fell.  He 

turned and walked out of the room, groaning.

    "Faye," said Cameron. "What are you doing here?"

    "Thalia's sick and I need this flower to cure her.  But don't worry, I'm leaving now.  So now you can catch up on being Abby's boyfriend."

    "How do you know my name?" Abby said, stepping back.

    "I heard you two in the plant room.  I was in my falcon form," Faye said, her anger rising. "You think I'm a bad friend, Cameron?  Well, you never told me you had a girlfriend!"

    "Like you would have cared!  Faye I know you, you-"

    "No!  You do not know anything about me!  You keep acting like your protecting me!  But you just can't stand being without me!  But now that your precious Abby is back you don't need me!"

    Faye, shaking with rage, quickly crawled into the tunnel in the wall and slammed the trapdoor closed behind her.  The tunnel led her to an exit in the forest far enough from the ruins that she was unseen.

    Then she heard a clamor behind her and turned to look at the abandoned sanctuary where the Chasers were scurrying around.

    "Oh no," Faye thought. "They must have heard our argument through the ground."

    They had found the trapdoor leading inside and now they exited the same way, pulling three people up with them.

    Abraham, Cameron, and Abby were bound and brought to a tree to be tied up.  They were left there, not far from where Faye was standing, watching the proceedings.