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[Finally…] (Eva)

It felt as if it had been so long, too long, but finally, they had caught up.

Now the only thing Anlesa had to do was take the children out of here and–

[Eva, don’t get your hopes up too fast.] Syrus was here to get Eva back down to the ground. [Look again.]

Through the crack of the thick wooden boards of the building. Only two children, Susan and Billy, were in the building.

[No…] (Eva)

No matter where their eyes darted, Jerry was nowhere in sight.

It wasn’t the worst-case scenario, but it wasn’t close to the best case either.

[Will we just have to find him as well.] (Syrus)

[What do we do with these two?] (Luna)

[Is that even a question?] (Eva)

[Yes, it is.] Syrus replied. [If we take these two away now, what do you think will happen with Jerry?]

With Jerry not being in this building, the difficulty of bringing all the children home increased. The reason why he was split was unknown to them; it could be a suppression and control tactic, or perhaps he was misbehaving and was locked away as punishment.

[So we just have to leave them here without hope?] (Eva)

[I didn’t say without hope.] (Syrus)

They quickly scoped out the remainder of the area, and the cost was clear. Anlesa quickly moved to the door of the building, which was locked shut.

[Eva, support me.] Syrus put her hand into their sleeve and pulled on the wire.

[Okay.] (Eva)

Syrus used some of Eva’s wire to pick the lock.

[Got it.] (Syrus)

Before the door opened, she changed her facial features to those of what the children knew, the Syrus disguise.

When she walked in, neither kid looked up.

“I didn’t come here, sneak in, all to break you guys out just to be ignored,” Syrus said.

Susan and Billy finally looked up. Both children looked considerably tired, but as they saw the familiar face, their eyes brightened.

Luna put a finger over her lip. “Quietly.”

She walked towards them, making sure to close the door behind her.

Syrus crouched down in front of them.

They were in the same clothes that they had last seen them in. It appeared they had been fed and given water, but with both looking exhausted, Anlesa was unsure what treatment they had received.

“I would like to take you two away now, but… Jerry’s not here.”

The two children look downtrodden at that statement. Not because they couldn’t escape now, but because Jerry was not here with them.

“I… will need you to explain what happened and when Jerry left.”

Billy nodded. “We… were spying on the church.”

Syrus informed them that she knew about that and asked what the people who took them looked like.

Susan answered, “There were three.”

The children explained the people who took them away.

They wore a uniform that was mostly black with gold trims around the neck.

[Luna?] (Eva)

[Still under the archbishops in authority, basically the max in status one can be while still considered a regular priest. Though they are usually given individual special permission, relating to what and where their work is. They are still called priests, but are referred to as Rooks.] (Luna)

[Chess pun?] (Syrus)

[I don’t know where it came from. Possibly, the term is one made by the people and not the church, as it is not used in any official capacity.] (Luna)

The first was a man with long golden hair styled in sharp curls who possessed bright green eyes. The second was a bald woman with sharp black eyes. The third was another man, elderly, with aged grey hair and blue eyes. Susan referred to the first man as what she thought a fairy tale noble would look like; she also described the woman as a sharp block, as if she would cut apart everything she touched, and nothing would go past her. Billy explained the elderly man as someone who appeared nice but had a bastard's eye. They weren’t able to be more descriptive in their appearance, but they were able to provide what the three called each other.

With that answered, Anlesa had three more questions.

“Do they know where you three were from?”

Susan answered, “No, we made no reference to the rest of our family and used fake names for each other.”

Eva questioned, “Fake names?”

Billy nodded, “Ella’s idea, if we were doing anything dangerous, to not use our real names… I went by Barry, Susan went by Ruby, and Jerry went by Ben.”

A small smile appeared on Syrus’s face. “Honestly, that’s the best news I have heard all day.”

The next question was, “Why did they take you?”

Both children shook their heads.

Billy answered, “We don’t know…”

Neither wanted to give the true answer.

Anlesa knew they were lying, as there was no way these priests would go forth with this kidnapping unless they found something. Even if the children didn’t know what exactly, they would have an inkling.

“It was Jerry, wasn’t it?” Syrus decided to prod for an answer. It was the only likely reason she felt for why they would want to be quiet about their kidnapping.

Both children’s reactions to her question gave it away.

“I’m not blaming him, and I’m definitely not going to not save him because of that. I just needed to know if it was because of him they took you three.”

It took a moment, but Billy answered, “Yes, it was… they read his attribute and found something… They read mine as well… Apparently it's Plant?”

Syrus rubbed his head. “Good one. I will give you some tips for that later.”

Finally, she asked her last question. “When did they take Jerry, and do you expect him to be back?” The latter part was if those priests let them know if he was coming back.

Susan replied. “No, no word on his return, but he was taken away for misbehaving. However, I think that was more of an excuse for us, based on what I heard. I think they wanted him alone and to use us as leverage…”

“Smart conclusion.” Said Syrus. She wasn’t too surprised that Susan might have heard something useful. She had learned many times that even when it was known a person might have better hearing, no one ever understood how good it could be. Of course, Susan’s ability had the potential to far outclass Syrus’ with training.

[I think that is everything.] (Syrus)

Anlesa began to stand up; they were on a limited clock.

“Actually, I have two more questions.” Syrus paused mid-standing up. “Quick ones. Has there been anyone else who has seen you? And do you need to escape now?”

“We have walked past a few priests, but they were no different from the townsfolk. Completely uninterested.” Said Billy, he didn’t answer the second part.

Susan responded to the second question. “If that means it becomes harder for Jerry to escape, then no, we are fine staying here.”

“What brave people you are.” Said Luna. “Don’t worry, it won’t be long.”

Anlesa left the building and locked the door behind her. They didn’t want to, but they had to leave the conversation short. The children were intelligent and understood that she had to leave. They made the mature decision for their situation, but that also hurt Anlesa in a way.

Priests and nuns began moving once prayer had finished. Anlesa had already switched their face to the priest disguise they were using.

They moved off to a corner, mapping out the area but also looking for wherever Jerry might’ve been kept.

[So, plan, loud or quiet?] Syrus asked the internal group.

[Is that even a question?] Eva knew she was missing something. Syrus wouldn’t ask that otherwise, but why would they even choose the loud approach?

[Loud can ensure people are distracted from what we are doing. We don’t have to make a scene at the start either; it can be at the end as we are escaping from the city.] (Syrus)

[I see…] (Eva)

[A loud approach also grants us the ability to cause disappearances with less scrutiny.] (Luna)

[I understand, so they won’t notice the children being gone.] (Eva)

[That, and masking the dead bodies we will be leaving behind.] (Luna)