Something Planned

            JR had barely driven two kilometers before he pulled back the sleeve of his shirt to expose his left forearm. It was veined with glowing green crystal, and his skin burned slightly though he had learnt the hard way not to scratch.

            He drove back to the ruined mansion where he had found the crystal, intent on discovering what had happened the night before. He had been listening to the news all day and every time the story of the impaled people came on, he had a sickening feeling and a vision of him pounding the ground.

            It took him a few minutes to find the entrance when he arrived at the mansion. This time there was nothing to guide him and his memory was foggy, only bits and pieces seemed familiar.

            JR got to the room where he had found the crystal but it was empty, even the light that had been in the hallways and rooms were gone. JR thought for a moment that his mind had played tricks on him, but the crystal veins on his left arm reminded him that something had happened.

            JR stayed there for an hour, looking around the room, sitting, and looking around again, before he finally gave up. On his way out he heard a whisper, as quite as a breeze, and the voice said ‘They will betray you.’

            He stopped dead, the hair on the back of his head standing on end. He turned around slowly but was greeted by the empty room once more. Exhaling, he shook his head and made his way back to his car.

            Danny arrived home in the very early hours of the morning. Ian hadn’t slept at all that night, half because Danny wasn’t there and half because of their assignment. Danny was so tired that as soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep. Ian stroked her head and back as he was wont to do while she slept and he was awake, but when the sun came through his window, he got up quietly and headed downstairs to make breakfast.

            As he cooked he looked back on the events of the past week, especially two days ago. He didn’t really know what had happened, why he had gone off on Ed like he had. It was unlike Ian to show too much of what he truly felt, even to his closest friends.

            The truth of it was, though, he feared failing those he loved. He had failed Sarah and that had cost him dearly, she was dead and Ed was broken. There was no way he would allow that to happen again.

  “Morning,” said Ed and sat down at the kitchen island.

  “Morning,” Ian replied, placing a cup of coffee in front of him.

  “Remember when this was normal?” Ed asked as he took a sip from his mug.

  “Nothing was ever normal,” said Ian with a smile.

  “Morning,” said Devon as he came down the stairs.

  “Morning,” greeted the other two.

  “So, are you going to grace us with an ingenious plan or what?” asked Dev as Ian placed a cup of coffee in front of him.

  “And why is it I have to think out our planes?” asked Ian.

  “Coz you’re the genius,” said Ed with a grin.

  “Then we’re in trouble.” said Ian.

            As they ate breakfast they discussed what they had learned yesterday while they did recon. They knew the patrols were armed with silenced weapons and were few and far between. A number of holes existed in their patterns and even on the premises.

            They had a few entrances to choose from; the main entrance wasn’t too heavily guarded but it would not be discreet. The roof wasn’t too bad of an idea as long as they could be quick about it. Or they could enter through the cellar.

            Ian had only scouted a little of the inside through the cellar entrance but they had no idea where the package was, so getting inside would only be half the problem. They also had no idea how many mercenaries were inside the sawmill though Ian remembered seeing only one near the cellar entrance inside.

            JR dreaded opening the door. He had been out all night and he knew as soon as he entered, Ian would be there to question him. He slowly reached for the doorknob before remembering his rolled up sleeve, so he covered his left arm first before entering the house.

            He opened the door quickly, entered just as fast and closed the door behind him. He strode across the living room, throwing a quick glance over to the others as they sat around the kitchen island discussing something, and continued up the stairs without the others calling after him.

            JR rushed into his room, locked the door behind him and headed to his dresser, where he stared at himself in the mirror. He could see the faint glow of the crystal through his shirt.

  “They will leave you,” said the voice again and JR noticed a set of glowing green eyes floating behind him.

            He spun around, nearly knocking everything off of his dresser, but saw no eyes. He was relieved yet his heart did not stop pounding for minutes afterwards.

            For most of the day, Ian, Dev, and Ed remained at home. They prepared dinner together, and when Danny got home, they ate together. At ten o’clock they said goodbye to Danny and JR, got in Ed’s car and drove to the pub where they had parked the night before.

            They waited for a while in the pub, each ordering a drink but none of them drinking anything. They had decided on leaving one by one so as to appear less suspicious. First Devon left, followed five minutes later Ian, and finally Ed.

            Once outside, Ed walked over to his car and got his equipment out of the trunk before heading over to the rendezvous point where Ian and Dev were waiting. They were all dressed in their standard infiltration gear, black from head to toe, balaclavas and tactical sunglasses on.

  “Okay, you guy’s ready?” asked Ian.

  “As ready as we can be,” said Ed.

  “Let’s do this,” said Dev.

  “Good, we all know what to do,” said Ian and placed his hand in their midst, holing his ring finger in towards his palm.

Devon put in his hand, placing it above Ian’s, also with his ring finger curled inwards. Ed followed suit, but had no need of curling a finger. They broke and headed towards the sawmill.