Chapter Eight

"Are you ready for the move son?" I heard my father calling to me as I finished tapping off my last box of stuff. I rubbed my temples, trying to push back the pressure in my head from the hangover I had given myself. I had finished a bottle of whiskey on top of the three drinks I had at the club last night. I took a bite from the breakfast sandwich Dillon had brought me this morning after he had come to brief me on some basic security procedures and realize just how hungover I was. I had told him about the stranger, and he told me the breakfast was my consolation prize as a joke.

"Yes Father, I'm ready, where is it we are moving to now?" I asked, I hadn't forgotten the name of the little town, but I hoped my faked interest would hide the fact that I had been there just last night. My father didn't need to know about my reckless behavior the night before. And he definitely did not need to know about the stranger that consumed my thoughts.

"It's called Skymoore Falls." My father reminded me as he helped me move my boxes to the car. "We are going to need your help moving everything and making sure everyone is comfortable and agrees on their room arrangements. Dillon went ahead to secure the location; he can help with boxes there. He added, reminding me of the responsibility that came with this move. I knew how important this was for our protection program that I would one day take over and how much it meant for our people who were dwindling in numbers. Amber's survival implied the possibility of continuing the Old Ones. Crazy how a couple thousand strangers in those war tunnels had dwindled down to just Amber and I able to reproduce, I thought to myself.

"I know father; I am ready to help. Does anyone else need help moving their boxes into the moving trucks?" We had decided that since fourteen people moving in one house would be a tad bit suspicious, we would have everyone's personal belongings delivered first so it just looked like the three of us had a plethora of items and have the members of the program move in at night so no one would be aware of them.

"No, everything is all set, your belongings were the last to load, now let's get on the road so we can get there and start unloading everything to make the new home inhabitable for bed tonight." My father said and I agreed.

It was an uneventful drive and an uneventful rest of the day. As soon as we got to the new home we began unloading and unpacking everyone's furniture so they would have somewhere to sleep, and they would only have to take care of unpacking their clothing and personal items. Although it was a lot of demanding work, the day went smoothly, everything was all set that night for everyone to move in under the radar. My parents reminded me of the story I would follow so I could be enrolled in the school and not draw too much attention. I was to cover my tattoos and blend in. Amber could have no idea what was going on yet, we didn't want to frighten her. The people with the blank masks were getting too close for our comfort though so they wanted someone there to watch over her and protect her, , as the heir of the protection program and the right age to fit in at the high school, I was the first choice. Tomorrow was my first day and I wasn't entirely thrilled because I had already completed my schooling, but I had to pretend like I hadn't. I was given a picture of Amber so I knew who I was protecting and a class schedule.

******

My first day of classes was uneventful, as planned I had several classes with Amber to make sure I was in an optimal position to watch over and protect her. I saw her in person for the first time that morning, she was a timid little thing. She accidentally brushed her shoulder past me in the hallway, she emanated the sweet smells of amber, ironically enough, and vanilla. That smell felt familiar, I thought I recognized it from the club the other night... It couldn't possibly be though, could it? The pressure must be getting to me already. I shook my head to clear the scent from my brain. She apologized, being too embarrassed to look up at me as she spoke. I'd never felt so drawn to comfort someone before. She was so innocent and unknowing of the dangers that lurked around her. In that moment, I was glad it was me here to protect her and not someone else. Now I just had to keep secret that Amber may have been my masquerade partner. I had balled my hands up at my sides to keep from reaching out to her.

We talked very briefly in our photography and science classes and that was about it. Amber seemed like a very studious type of person; she was smart, that was for sure. She was beautiful too and so unaware of it. She was so naive as to who she was, not by choice of course. I wondered how she would take the news when it came time. I thought about how I was born into this lifestyle and just thought it was normal for us all to live side by side, I couldn't imagine being so in the dark and having no idea.

"Dillon, can I tell you something?" I asked as he and I discussed the days events.

"Sure man, whatcha got?" He replied, now giving me his full attention.

"Well, you remember that girl from the party?" I started, he nodded before I continued, "I, um, I think she might have been Amber." His eyes widened and a grin spread across his face.

"No way! How do you know?" Dillon exclaimed.

"This is going to sound crazy, but her scent, and these sparks I feel when our skin touches. I feel a pull to her, something I have never felt to anyone before." I explained.

"What are you going to do?" He asked.

"Absolutely nothing," I looked at him seriously, "Tell no one." He nodded in understanding. "Thank you. I need to ignore those feelings until she's safe." I said aloud.

"Those feelings sound like you found your soulmate." Dillon clapped me on the back. I shook my head.

"Isn't that all just old legend?" People weren't made for a specific other person, were they?

"Well, ask your parents about it sometime, think about Amber's parents. Margaret and Jonathon were soulmates. Why couldn't you two be? It would be so fitting for the last two Old Ones who can reproduce to be soulmates." Dillon pointed out, smirking.

Nothing interesting happened over the next few weeks, during classes I tried to get to know Amber a little bit without raising suspicion. I made sure to hide my pull to her, from her and my parents alike, it was enough to drive me wild. To sit next to her and not be able to tell her all the things I knew about her true family. To tell her that I was here to protect her. Her parents visited us regularly to work out the plans and help us place her room so she would like where she was moving into. Her parents, well foster parents, were very polite people and didn't seem off put by our differences. It was nice we could be ourselves here and they wanted that for Amber as well. I was asked to help paint and move furniture here and there over the weeks so that the room came together. I had to admit it was a very well put together, almost rustic looking room, it had a vintage feel with modern touches.

"Well, everything is all set for when Amber moves in." My mother said as she finished making the bed, but she looked worried.

"Is everything alright Mother?" I asked, wondering what she would be worried about when we finished Amber's room in plenty of time for her move in.

"Well Colin," She started hesitantly. "There's a slight obstacle for Amber's smooth transition, there's a group of Blank Faces here and they have their eyes on Amber. Even Dillon stepping in to keep an eye on things won't be enough to ensure her safety. We need to work harder than before to protect her and we are going to have to bring her into the program's custody sooner than anticipated. Her safety is now our number one priority, okay?" She said than gave me a moment to process it all. I nodded in response.

"How long do you think we have left for her to still be safe away from here?" I asked my mother.

"It's a matter of days we think." She said confirming the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. How had I missed them? Were they near the school ever? Could there be students or staff involved in the Blank Faces?

"Okay, I'll make sure I'm always near her at school just to be sure." I spoke.

"Yes, we have the researchers in the program to see if anyone in the school has a background with the Blank Faces. Forget the plan of going to classes just go to the ones you have with her and make sure you keep eyes on her the whole school day, we need to make sure she is well protected and watched after." My mother added and she led the way to the office for us to check if there was anyone in particular within the school we should keep tabs on.

The office was dimly lit, a big, dark wood desk sat in the back corner of the room. I looked at all the books I had become familiar with when I was completing my studies that lined the bookshelves that had been built into the walls. Astrid, a member of the protection program's research staff and one of my closest friends, was sitting at the desk typing furiously away on the computer with a concerned look on her face. "Well guys, there's some bad news..." Astrid began. "The Blank Faces could be located within the school; the principle is actually a former Blank Face. We know better than anyone that once a Blank Face, always a Blank Face." She finished talking and continued typing. "It seems like he's been inactive in the Blank Face community since the exact day of Amber's birth, meaning he could've laid low so he could make this final stand against the Old Ones." She explained finally looking up at us. I felt a tinge of panic at that... I knew what that could mean for me, I had to be on higher guard than ever.

"Thank you, Astrid, keep up the good work and see if there is anyone else we should be worried about, and Colin I think we need a new plan. Things are far worse than we anticipated. "My mother turned to me rubbing her brow. She wore a stressed expression. "Let's go find your father." She added as she nodded at Astrid and headed toward the door.

We found my father a short time later and explained the situation so we could come up with a plan. We decided on moving up Amber's move in date to tonight. It wouldn't be as smooth of a transition, but we couldn't risk her getting hurt, our job is to protect, and we could no longer do that until she was in the program's custody. We would go for a walk and collect her before night fell.

"I'll call her foster parents and tell them what's going on." My father said before heading out of the room. My mother and I sent the orders to the house staff to fill Amber's iodine fridge and prepare a meal in her honor. Once we were done with that, my father met back up with us and we headed out as a family. Aside from the blue-grey of the sky and the slight chill of the wind, it was a nice day... But I had an eerie feeling inside of me, I felt a little concerned. I pushed those thoughts aside to focus on the task at hand: Protecting Amber.

It didn't take long to reach Amber's house, where luckily, she was already outside. My parents and I kept walking as we approached as if we were heading home from a walk, I smiled and her and motioned her to follow. Fortunately, she did. We walked briskly toward the house until the last thing we wanted happened...