Chapter Thirty Three

*Keothi*


“Excuse me, what?” Drake looked at me, completely lost.
Caleb started laughing, “Can you guys actually do that? Like literally do it? Not just pretend?”
“You have all your memories back?” I laughed, looking at Caleb.
“Not all of them, they’re coming back though. Drake has been unlocking a bit at a time. It takes too much out of him to do it all at once and honestly it’s super shocking on my end.” Caleb laughed.
“Anyone care to explain what you mean by you and Ariya can switch?” Drake cut in.
I laughed, “I totally thought you knew when we were younger. Ari and I used ‘Switch’ and pretended to be one another. We looked so alike even as little kids it was hard for you guys to tell. Ivan was the only one who was able to tell instantly no matter what. I have no idea how he could, but he could. But we would basically swap with each other. We did it more for fun.”
“Keo, that was when you guys were little, you would literally switch. What makes you think you guys can switch now? While you 2 still look similar, you are different in a lot more ways than before.” Drake said.
“Drake is right, your builds are different. While you have similar scars and your hair is about the same length but styled differently, you have a tattoo on your face Keo. Oh and let's not forget the other obvious difference, Ariya has boobs now which is an automatic giveaway that you are 2 different people.” Caleb added.
“Our body types might be different, but if Ari and I wanted to we could probably switch places and still fool the 2 of you. Probably not Ivan. I still can’t figure out how or why.” I said, thinking out loud.
Caleb laughed, “I can guess as to why. But that’s not for me to tell you. That’s for Ivan to let you all know. I’m staying out of that one.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, looking at Caleb, “Hmph. Even still. I’m not talking about a body switch. I don’t think I could break in and literally swap places with her. I’m pretty sure they’d notice that. But Ari and I have always been close. If I can talk to her face to face in her mind, I’m pretty sure our souls could swap. It probably wouldn’t last for a long time. But I’m pretty sure it can be done. It’s at least worth a shot.”
Drake had his hand on his chin, thinking hard about what I just said. “It is worth a shot, but Keo, you realize you’re saying that you’re going to be tortured instead right?”
“If it means easing up the pressure on Ari, I’ll take all the torture. But you and I both know that only Ari is going to be able to finish unlocking the lock on Ivan’s mind. It’s the only way he’s going to get his memories back. After he does, they can get out of there.” I said.
“We need to fill you in on the plan so you know what is supposed to happen as things progress. But Keo, your mind is going to get locked right after. No one can figure this out. If they do, it's over.” Drake said.
“Well get to tell me already, because I have an idea.” I said.
Drake and Caleb took their time laying out the plan to me. There were parts that I really hoped would happen. While there were other parts I absolutely did not want happening. Ariya was extremely smart. If you so much as pointed out a slight possibility, she was able to come up with a plan to handle it. For some reason that was how she always was. No matter what happened, she just handled it. Sure she would stress out for a minute on some stuff and sure she would have emotions with things too, but Ari was always able to handle whatever was thrown at her. No matter what. She always adapted. She always found a way. I was sure she could handle the torture and I was sure that she would come out of it stronger than ever but she didn’t need to always handle everything on her own.
It was the same when we were little. One or both of our parents would be gone periodically and Ariya would step up. She didn’t like to, but she would. She would try to take over the role that was left open all the time. She didn’t handle it alone though. I wouldn’t let her. I was always there to help out. That wasn’t about to change. I knew I would be able to switch places with her. She wasn’t going to like it though. But she would deal with it. Payback for shoving me out the door. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it but I would figure it out. I had to. Ariya wasn’t about to handle this on her own.
After Drake and Caleb finished filling me in on the plan, I added a couple more ideas and obstacles. Ariya had pretty much covered everything. I only added some crazy possibilities and added some potential solutions. Drake locked everything in my mind right after. We couldn’t wait for later because if something happened, we needed to be prepared.
“So how did you manage to get caught?” Drake asked me after he was done.
“I kinda just let myself get caught…” I said looking down, knowing that Drake was about to be angry with me.
“You did what?!” Drake growled at me.
“I’m sorry. I had a gut feeling that I should let them take me. So I fought like I wasn’t a vampire. I wasn’t instantly healing at the time because it had been a while so I appeared to be human. So when I ran into them I just let them capture me.” I said, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“But why?” Drake breathed.
“I told you, it was a gut feeling. Just something telling me that we would get some answers, that I would be able to find her if I let them take me. I would like to point out that I wasn’t wrong.” I laughed.
“I mean we would have found her. She might not have turned if you had stayed.” Drake whispered.
I looked down, “I realize that now. I think it needed to happen that way though. We wouldn’t have been able to start unlocking Ivan’s memories if it didn’t happen this way. And Ariya might not have gotten the information that she got either. Granted, we have no idea what it is as of right now. But after hearing what the plan is, it has to be important. That could change the game.”
“So what happened while you were there, Keo?” Drake asked.
“They tied me to a chair. I’m guessing they implanted the shadows when they came in periodically to check on me. But that was after I had been there for around 24 hours. Shortly after Ari showed up. I almost gave it away the second I saw her. I was surprised to see her and she showed me instantly that she had turned.” I started to tell them.
“Wait, she showed you she turned? Did they see?” Caleb asked, surprised.
“No, her back was to them. I think she was just trying to tell me that she did. That she knew who’s side she was on. But I think it was her way of letting me know it was her as well. After that she had to question me. I had to take a little bit of a beating to make it look believable. But I could tell she didn’t want to. She punches even harder now than when we were little.” I laughed.
Caleb laughed with me, “Try sparring with her and teaching her. She doesn’t know what less than 100% means.”
“So what you’re saying is she kicked your ass, Keo?” Drake laughed.
“Absolutely.” I laughed with him.
“How long has it been since Ariya was taken?” Caleb asked, eager to move the plan along.
“About 24 hours.” Drake said.
“We need to reach out to her then.” I said.
“We’ll cover you if needed.” Caleb said.
Drake nodded. He stayed in the chair he was in and put his hands together ready to reach out to Ariya. The room went silent as Drake concentrated. Caleb and I, alert to the sounds outside. We only needed to touch Drake to let him know if he needed to come back sooner. It was only a precaution, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Minutes passed as Drake stayed completely still. I thought he was in contact with Ariya but I was wrong. Drake’s nose started bleeding and his eyebrows furrowed together. I looked at Caleb concerned. We’d never seen this happen before. Only if someone was trying to break into our mind but never when we tried to reach out to each other.
A force blew into the room throwing Drake backwards, separating his hands. Caleb and I stared at him wide-eyed. Drake cursed under his breath.
“What was that?” Caleb asked.
“What happened?” I asked at the same time.
“I’m blocked. I don’t understand it. But I can’t reach Ariya. It’s like she’s not there.” Drake said, his voice full of concern.