"Wait, you're telling me that they actually have a job for us? We've been waiting for like, what, three weeks? Why now?" Axel said.

"Yes. And I can't tell you that. I'm not authorized to tell you really anything, for that matter," The FFA man said. "Only that you are needed at headquarters right away."

Axel scratched his head and purses his lips in a half frown.

"Are you going to come?" the FFA man asked impatiently.

Instead of answering the man, Axel looked over at Celestia. "What do you think?"

"Hey, what about me?" Kyle grumbled, butting in. I smothered a smile that threatened to come forth.

Both Axel and Celestia ignored him. They stared at one another for almost a minute, and I could have sworn they were talking telepathically for how tense their looks were.

But eventually the looks were broken and Celestia answered. "I say we go with him. I mean, if he's lying and this is a trap, we can just use him for leverage or kill him." The man's eyes widened slightly at her words. "But," she continued, "if it isn't then we have what we've been waiting for."

"Okay then," Axel nodded, "Let's do this. Pack up guys."

At his word, Kyle and Celestia began collecting what I assumed to be their belongings. I noticed Celest shove a large amount of knives into her pack, while Kyle stuffed his pack full of energy bars and canned foods.

While Axel packed up his own stuff, I walked over to him. I don't know what he expected me to do, but if I could, I would be going with. I had heard about this underground place and knew that my kids might be there. that small hope was enough for me to risk it. Otherwise, I had nothing else to go on.

"What's up?" Axel acknowledged me once I was closer.

"What's... going to happen?" I asked slowly.

"Huh?" He sent me a weird look as if he didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what's going on?"

He seemed to realized then what I was talking about. His eyes grew larger and he stopped what he was doing to stand and face me. "Oh, man, sorry. I totally forgot that you have no clue what's going on. Well, we're going to go help these guys take down the people who did all that horrible stuff to you. So... well, you can come with if you want, but you don't have to. I mean, we could probably use a guy like you."

I pretended to consider it, even though I had already decided. "I'll come."

"Cool. Have all your stuff packed?"

"I don't have anything."

Axel's cheeks turned red and he awkwardly laughed. "Oh yeah, hehe. Okay, well... good." Then he turned back to what he was doing. I left him be, going to stand by the wall while I waited.

[]

"How far is this place, anyway?" Kyle asked with an annoyed tone.

I smirked ever so slightly, hoping that in the fading light no one would be able to see it. That kid just cracked me up.

"Shut it, Kyle. We'll get there when we get there," Axel grumbled, hoisting his pack further up his back.

"It shouldn't be too much further," the FFA man said from the front of the group. He was leading while Celest, Kyle and Axel went after him. I stayed towards the back of the group to just observe and watch.

"Good, cause my feet are killing me," Kyle added, ignoring Axel's order.

As we trudged along what seemed to be the secluded woods that surrounded the compound where I had been taken, I realized something. I had no clue where we were. None. If I managed to get my kids out from this place, then I would have no way of getting back home!

I picked up my pace until I was at the front of the group and walking in stride with our guide. He glanced at me, but didn't say anything.

"Can you tell me where we are?" I asked casually. He raised a bushy eyebrow and sent me a look that I couldn't decipher. I pretended not to noticed and waited for him to answer.

"You don't know?" he finally said, not trying to hide his surprise.

"Would I be asking you if I did?" I replied.

I heard Kyle snigger from behind.

The man shrugged. "I guess not. But I figured if you were with those clowns that you'd have known. They've been around here for quite a while."

"Hey, how did you know that?" Axel butt in, coming to the other side of the man.

Once again he shrugged. "We've been watching you guys."

"What?" Axel, Celest, and Kyle exclaimed in unison.

The man didn't say anything, just nodded.

"Then how come it took you so long to come and get us?" Celest demanded.

"Yeah," Kyle added.

"We didn't need you until now," the man said simply.

The three friends fell silent, probably weighing his words. If I were them, I probably would have felt the same. I mean, wow, that was quite the news. They had seemed to want this for a while, and to find out something like this had to be shocking.

"So...?" I said after a few minutes of silence.

"We're on the outskirts of Davenport."

That sentence hit me like a rock. I stopped walking. "What?"

The man stopped and turned to me, his face showing his confusion. "Are you okay?" he asked, probably seeing my face which probably looked either really pale or really red. Either way, it showed that I was confused, embarrassed, and upset. And I had every right to be! Davenport? That was in Illinois! I wasn't from Illinois. I was from Michigan. Michigan was where I was taken. And Michigan was where I had thought I was the whole time.

"So... we're in Illinois, correct?" I asked a bit shakily.

"Yes."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and noticed it was Axel. "Where did you think we were?"

I swallowed and managed to unclench my fists, running a hand through my hair. "Grand Rapids. Michigan."

Axel let out an uneasy laugh; he must have thought I was joking. But I looked at him, and he instantly stopped.

"You're serious," he said.

"Yeah. That's where I live. That's where I was taken. I guess I just thought that... well..." I didn't know how to finish.

"Sorry, man..." Axel mumbled. He wouldn't look me in the eyes. Nobody would. I sighed and rubbed my eyes vigorously.

"Whatever. Let's just keep going," I finally said, wishing this nightmare would just go away. How was I supposed to get home now? And not to mention my two kids as well. I had no money. Nothing.

This mission just seemed more hopeless by the minute.

Hello guys! Once again, I apologize for taking over a week (which is my usual update time). This time I don't have a school excuse to give you :) I've just been focusing on my novel right now, and as a result I've been kind of forgetting about all these stories on Wattpad. So sorry about that. Also, I'm getting ready for NaNoWriMo which is coming up in little over a week (for those of you who don't know what NaNoWriMo is, it stands for National Novel Writing Month and it is where you pledge to write 50,000 words, the average length of a novel, in the month of November. Go to NaNoWriMo.com if you want to check it out!) So I have been busy with that.

But anyways, I appreciate all the feedback received! Have an awesome weekend!

Ithildae