to the bottom didn’t have any glasses and the one above I couldn’t reach. I tried to step onto the counter to get but the cabinet door opened before I could. I gasped and turned around. Darrton was standing there behind me, a glass in his hand.
“Are you okay?”
Embarrassed, I grabbed the glass filled it up with tap water and gulped it down. I dropped the glass into the sink and placed my face in my hands. I felt a sudden breeze on my side and I realized I was still in my towel. “Don’t look!” I screamed. I pulled it up from my waist where it had fallen and my whole body started to heat. “Don’t look!”
“I’m not, Lizzie!” he shouted back.
My face was red and when I turned around Darrton had his hand over his face and was turned away from me. “Okay, my towels up now. You can look.
He turned back and cocked an eyebrow. “What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing...I was just...my parents called the cops, Darrton.”
“I presumed they would. That is why I got you a fake ID. So that they couldn’t track you down. Do not call anyone, either. They may be able to track you. We can’t let them find us just yet, especially before tonight.”
“Why tonight? What are we doing tonight that is so important?”
He looked like he was debating whether to tell me something or not. “I’ll tell you later.” He pointed toward a plate of food on the table. “That is yours. Eat up and calm down, okay?”
I nodded my head. Darrton grabbed his wallet off of the table and started toward the door. “Where the hell do you think you are going without me?”
“I have to find Ian. Or at least get a message to him somehow.”
“Well, let me get dressed then, I’ll come with you.” I started toward the bed where my bag was but Darrton stopped me.
“You can’t come. I want you to stay hidden and safe. If they find me with you it will only make it worse.”
“You’re leaving me alone?”
“I have to. You can’t come. There is a swimming pool down stairs, TV, and food. I’ve programmed my number into your phone. Please, if anything happens call me. And please do not call anyone you know. Do not answer the phone, either. We have to stay hidden. Just for a little while.”
“And how do you know how to use a phone?”
Darrton’s lip pulled up into a smile. “The man at Verizon showed me how to put a number in my phone. He showed me how to take a picture also. He deserves a raise. I’m not a fast learner but he still was very patient with me.”
“Well, someone is moving up in the world.”
He smiled but then it turned into a frown. “This is serious, Elizabeth. If anyone knocks on the door, do not answer. Do you understand? Call me if anyone besides housekeeping shows up here. I doubt they will. I didn’t see them following us, but they are sneaky.”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. If I wasn’t scared before I was now.
Darrton sighed and walked toward me. His hand on my bare shoulder made my body weak. I bit my tongue to keep calm. “Do you understand, Elizabeth?”
There was that name again...Elizabeth. I shivered. “Yes, I understand.”
“I will be back tonight and be ready when I am.”
“I thought we couldn’t risk going out?”
He smiled. “I have a surprise. It will be dark and easier to hide.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
He walked toward the door and shut it. I was alone.
***
After drying my hair and getting dressed, I plopped down onto the bed and turned on the TV. My cell had been blowing up so I just shut it off. I couldn’t see another text from my mother begging me to call her. I skimmed through the channels and it seemed news was on all of them. I stopped on a local news channel. There were pictures of the war that had been going on in Israel.
“We are speaking with a child that supposedly saw the cause of the madness,” said a woman dressed in a business suit.
This pulled my attention. The child was battered and bruised. He had tear stains down his tanned face. He spoke in some foreign language, but a translator was beside him. “He was big. He waved his hand and everyone started screaming and hurting each other. He had wings,” the translator said. I watched the child’s face as he spoke. He