Chapter 3 part 2

The road was unclear and they were skeptical of who they would meet, but Noah insisted that they continued. They were far from the city but nothing would stop Noah from finding Dr. Henricks. Noah knew it would take them about 10 hours to get where they needed to be and it was already a little past two in the afternoon.

"We're going to the city! The lights, they're always so mesmerizing," Emma beamed with excitement.

"I know, and I reckon the food is amazing," Troy added on.

"This isn't a field trip, you two. We're going there with a purpose," Noah corrected.

Emma smiled, "That doesn't mean we can't enjoy the scenery on the way."

The wind had died down and the cold chill of autumn had gone away. Lily checked the temperature on her phone, Noah had given it back to her as they left Dr. Daniel's. It was 24.44 degrees Celsius but it felt warmer. They walked on a dirt pathway through a plethora of trees. Noah led them this way for a reason. If they were to get caught by the wrong people there'd be no more hope. The world would end.

[Two years earlier]

"Why do you want them," Noah asked as he sat on the edge of his bed. Dr. Ivano stood at the doorway, facing the young child.

"I do not want them," Ivano started to explain, "I need them. The world has too much power. Technology is at its finest." He walked towards Noah and took a seat next to him. He gently picked up subject #23 and put him in his lap. Ivano treated Noah as a son. He cared for him, but he also used him. The experiments, the test, Noah grew to think that was all he was good for. "With their power and your combined everything will be better. The world will be safe, we will all be safe." Noah knew not to ask more. They sat there in silence until Dr. Ivano stood up, Noah still in his arms. He laid the boy down on the soft mattress and exited the room, without a sound.

The white room that Noah was kept in held nothing but a bed with clean white sheets and a large mirror which he learned to realize was a two-way.

A laboratory that floated in the sky, a place with more power then the entire galaxy, took orders from one man. If you disobeyed him, you'd die by the power he possessed. Illusion, trickery. That's all he was and he made sure everyone knew that. The amount of needles, blood tests, visits to other realms, could not compete with how sickening his games were. He would create realities that seemed so real and then take you from it only to bring you back to the hell he created. A laboratory that floated in the sky, run by the God of Death's child.

But when their most valued subject left that power started to fade. Though Dr. Ivano still had his powers he lost his life's work. Building Angelina was his only resort. He needed that child back in order to complete his mission.

[Present]

The woods were quiet, only the sound of their steps and Mavericks soft barks at the animals could be heard. It was almost too quiet. The forest was huge, they had been walking in it for over an hour. Noah started to believe that had taken a wrong turn. He turned around and snatched Lily's phone from her hands.

"Hay!" Lily said with anger.

"Yeah, yeah, calm down, Fireplace." Lily hated that nickname the minute it left Noah's mouth but she decided it wasn't worth her time and just let it go.

"That way," Noah said, pointing to the left of them. "We got to go left." He handed her phone back to her and went the way he pointed. The rest followed without hesitation.

"So you don't know where we're going?" Lily asked as she sped up to walk at the same pace as Noah.

"Well I do now."

"For the last hour you have been leading us in the wrong direction."

"Well, you could have checked which direction we were going in the first place."

"You didn't ask me."

"You're an adult, you shouldn't need a child acting like your parental guardian." Lily knew she lost the argument so instead of leading herself to further humiliation she dropped the topic. She heard Emma snicker from behind her. She despised Emma, she didn't really know why but she couldn't stand the kid. Though her enthusiasm was a good distraction from the real world it was unnecessary.

They now had to continue their way through the woods. They felt trapped, no exit could be seen. They followed Noah afraid that if they lost sight of him they would be completely lost. The afternoon sun shined through the tops of the trees, lighting their path. The ground was still damp from the rain before, their shoes and boots squished into the earth. They didn't know where this path would lead to and only hoped that they wouldn't be led to somewhere they don't want to be. Emma and Troy played with Maverick, throwing sticks ahead of them and having him bring them back, while also running with him by their side. Noah had taken Lily's phone again, using it to keep on track. They needed to stay west. Once they got out of these woods they'd find a skyline and take it down into The Neon City. Lily was the only one of them who still had pounds on her so she knew she would have to pay for all the expenses.

It took them a while but soon Noah was met with the sight of a black paved road and the smell of the city.