Chapter Six:

Stephen POV:

"Alright, so you guys can start in the morning, split into four and spread out a little. Guardians will be up top so you can feel a little safer. Keep applying the stuff to cover your scent until you leave out. Get some rest and some food. Twelve hour shifts each so you'll need your energy." Collin said loudly. As they all departed I took a deep breath. "Shall we go see what our ladies are doing?" Devin asked. "How about I fill you guys in on the others." Xander replied walking up with Jackson and Tye. "Oh this should be good." Collin muttered. ''They've come up with really good plans and it is overly safe to say they are thriving." Jackson said. "One even caught an infected." Tye said, catching all of our attention. "They did what?" Pierce asked. "Why aren't we there now then?" Austin asked. "Because it's already dead, it was gross honestly like a puddle of tar." Xander replied. "That doesn't sound very appealing. Is that what normally happens to them?" I asked. "Yes, once their bodies shut down because of the infection that over takes their blood. I haven't ever seen one actually die though so I'm not sure if they just melt of explode." Xander replied, shrugging his shoulders. I felt my face scrunch up at the thought of it. It sounds absolutely disgusting. "How are things on this end?" Jackson asked. "They are good. We got a team of trackers together, split into teams but they will start tomorrow. I told Baine to have the others rest." I replied.

Xander and Jackson looked at each other. "Good call, I was going to send out a fresh team but we are stretched a little thin right now." Xander replied. "I'm not sure if he listened though Qetsiyah seemed highly on edge earlier in the office and to be honest they look flat out exhausted." I replied. "What did Qetsiyah do?" Xander asked. "She was a little snippy, nothing major." Devin replied. "She is always snippy, more so when she is tired or hungry. I'll talk with her." Xander replied. "I'm pretty sure Alley has already told Ambrosia if they are with them." I replied. "Good point, I'll go make sure they are going to stay in for the night, catch you guys later." Xander said before running off. "I can't believe they caught an infected? Are the grounds and stuff still protected?" Austin asked. "Yes, and they've added a little juice to it." Jackson replied. "Do they need anything?" Josh asked. "No, I'll scan all the papers and stuff over to you guys so you can see for yourself. They've honestly come up with a really good structure." Jackson replied. "That is good to hear, maybe next month we can all go so we can see it." Collin said. "We can make that happen, let's go." Jackson said, walking towards the house. When we rounded the corner I could see all the ladies sitting on a blanket smiling and laughing.

It was nice to see them like that, sucks we don't know for how long though. "What are you ladies up to?" I asked, sitting down behind Alley. She leaned back into me and I smelled her hair, I swear I couldn't get enough of her. "We were just talking about getting the kids and stuff together." Alley replied. "That would be nice, we were talking about doing something for the guardians." Collin said. "That would be so nice, I'm sure we can think of something." Ambrosia replied with a smile. "They have been running on fumes lately, I'll make some stuff up for them." Pythia added. "I went by to see Lillith, she's got things running very well over there." I replied. "Yeah she keeps everyone on a very strict schedule. Did she get you what you needed?" Pythia asked. "Yes, without question although I didn't realize you guys made stuff for specific scents." I said, shaking my head. "Ah yes, we thought it would be better that way. We never know where any of us will go so they've been traveling around gathering things." Pythia replied. It was a smart idea to do. I just never thought of doing something like that. "It's smart to do. Kudos to you guys, maybe we can be taught?" Emma asked. "Of course you can as long as you have a witch nearby." Pythia replied.

One thing was for sure, we were not stretched thin on any type of witches. "Yeah of course, I can talk to the house leader. Thank you." Emma said with a smile. "No need to thank me, this is what we are here for. The more you guys know the better it will be." Pythia replied. "Alright so we have a game plan but when are we going to start taking action? I can't help but think about the kids that are stuck with them." Charlotte huffed. "Let's say we give it another week before we sneak over there and see things for ourselves?" Alley asked, looking around. "A week is better than a month but I swear if I see a kid get hurt I'll blow the entire place up." Diane muttered, making me chuckle. One thing the women did best was look after kids and if kids were in trouble they were the first ones to show up. "Alright, how about we all meet everyday this week, get the reports and then we can formulate a plan of attack." Alley said, standing to her feet. "That sounds like a good plan to me, we need to get the kids anyways." Collin replied. "We gotta get dinner ready. See you guys tomorrow." Pythia said, waving at us before she left. "Let's go pick up the kids and get dinner ready." I whispered in Alleys ear. We waved everyone goodbye before we walked off. "Did you have fun with the girls?" I asked.

"I did, it was nice to be able to sit and talk with them." Alley replied with a small smile. "What's wrong princess?" I asked. "Just what Charlotte said. Could you imagine what those kids are going through over there?" Alley asked. "No, I couldn't but we will get them soon enough, just keep it in your head that we will get them but we have to have a plan first." I said. "I know, it's just hard to push that thought away." Alley replied, leaning her head in to me. She was right, those kids didn't do anything to deserve whatever treatment they are going through but it was even worse to think that they could possibly be dead. I had to keep that thought very far from my mind because that was the last thing I wanted but now we needed to come up with a plan