Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

What have I done?!

I bet Fabian hates me now, and he has every right to! I've messed up before, but not this badly!

I can hear him sobbing on the other side of the door, and I've never felt so guilty about anything in my life. I hurt him, he hit his head! And on top of that, I yelled some equally, if not more so, damaging things...

"Fabian?" I tried, biting my lip. Only silence greeted me, alongside the occasional choking sob. I could use my key, but I don't want him to hate me even more right now...

"Fabian please... I'm so, so sorry" I tried again, and this time, I got a reply.

"No! I'm scared, Chase! I thought you were on my side, but you're the same as all those other nasty vampires that took my leap, my family, away from me! One minute you're nice to me, but it's as if I'm walking around glass shards because you suddenly flip out on me, both of you! All I wanted was to help those still trapped. If I hadn't escaped, you wouldn't have met me and I wouldn't be here. So why not give someone else the chance to find a place to belong, away from the horrors of the lab?!"

I sighed, dropping my head down onto the door. He's right. Maybe I am becoming the type of person I hate the most. Maybe I am becoming more like my father and his men, cruel and cold. No- I refuse to become like them!

"Fabian, I'm not like them, and neither is Zion. We're outcasts, because we're not like them. Liliana is due to take father's role next, when it should be us. Not that we want that role- I'm just trying to get my point across. I know I apologise a lot, but I truly am sorry for hurting you and saying nasty things. So can I come in?"

Again, only silence greeted me, this time without Fabian's sobs accompanying it. I stood outside the door for what felt like an age, before giving in and turning the key in the lock.

Pushing the door aside, at first glance I couldn't see Fabian. But what caught my eye was the open window, and the sheet of paper on the bed. I made my way towards it.

Picking it up, I quickly scanned the messy, scrawled writing.

I'm sorry too - I've gone to help them. It'll put my mind at rest, and hopefully stop the nightmares. I'll be fine, Lukah has been helping me with this plan. I know you aren't on the best terms but he'll keep me alive, he swears by it. I'll free everyone, then I'll come back. 4 hours max, including travel. If I don't come back, I'm probably dead so don't bother finding me. And for the record, I'm still mad.

Apology accepted, trust denied. You're going to have to try very, very hard to win me back over after this.

Love y-

Fabian.

On no. Oh no. Is he stupid?! After all I said, he goes back anyway?! No, maybe I caused this. By getting angry I forced his hand, when I could have opted to go with him when I knew he wasn't going to back down about it.

Right - me and my brother are going to have to go on a rescue mission. Operation save the little shit.

No- operation save our beloved. That's more like it.

"ZION!" I yelled, pausing for a response. When none came, I stormed up to the spare bedroom where I know he likes to sleep. The coldest, darkest room in the whole house. Turning the handle I found it to be locked. Huh, that's weird. He never locks the door.

Furrowing my brow, I got out my keys and began to search for the right one. My hands shook as I fumbled with the keys, trying to insert it into the locking mechanism. My mind is working in overdrive- why has he locked the door? Why isn't he answering me?!

I just hope he's okay.

I made it to the clearing where I was due to meet Lukah, and to my surprise he was on time, for once.

I had a suspicion that Zion or Chase might find my plan no matter how well hidden, so I wrote down the wrong dates. But as soon as Chase decides he's had enough waiting for me to respond to him again, I know he'll barge in and find my note. And then they'll come after me, so I need to do this fast. I only left the note as a back up, because I still don't entirely trust Lukah.

"Come on, we haven't got all day!" Lukah sighed impatiently, motioning for me to follow him into the trees, to where I knew the woodland eventually meet the dirt track road. "If we get the timings wrong, this plan falls apart!"

His cold eyes seemed to bore into me, tracking and analysing my every move as he stood waiting for me to catch up to him.

Despite him screwing me over and being so nasty to me in the past, I've decided to put my faith in him. He seemed so sincere when he talked about bringing the lab down...

Taking in the fresh air, I let out a sigh. I love going out into the gardens, it reminds me of the picnics we used to have at the leap house...

Shaking my head to clear the nostalgic thoughts, I rounded the corner into the orchard, which was my favourite place as it is the only part of the gardens out of the sight of the main house. Everywhere else it's as if eyes are on you all the time, even when nobody is watching at all.

"Hey" a voice suddenly piped up, and a man appeared from behind one of the garden's tall hedges. I started to back away, turning on my heel to run.

"No, Fabian, please don't run from me. I can help you bring down the HTL" he insisted.

I turned around again, curious about what he proposed. Why did he wish to bring down the HTL? I thought he was Dr Redi's perfect little lapdog who wanted nothing more than to please his master.

"Is that so? And why, tell me, should trust ? After all the times you've hurt me, my family and my soon to be mates, why should I go to you for help?" I hissed, getting ready to leave. But it seems like he had a response to that very question ready. Well, I guess he came prepared.

"You shouldn't trust me. In fact, you shouldn't trust anyone in this life, because everyone has the potential to fuck you over. But I have insider information. I can get you inside the lab without being seen. I can take you to the power room, where all the power for all the cells is connected. I can help you free the others"

I eyes him warily. "And what will you get out of this?"

He shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. "Freedom. I'm tired of being the perfect test subject. I want to live my life, find a mate, settle down..."

I frowned. The picture of Lukah and 'settling down' didn't fit in the same mental image, no matter how hard I tried.

"Fabian? Are you going to get in?" Lukah's voice questioned, breaking my flashback. I nodded, realising I had been mindlessly walking and was now stood at a car, staring straight ahead.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking" I responded quickly, getting into the car and doing up my seatbelt. Lukah smiled, but in that smile I could almost make out... guilt? I'm not sure, but something was masked just beneath the surface.

He slammed the door shut, and a sense of finality overcame me at the sound of the slam. It's going to be a long journey.