I’m already freaked out over the fact that this Clara person looks exactly like Snow and now she’s telling me she’s here to help us? What a day this is turning out to be!

“So, Clara, what exactly are you helping us with?” Xinexa asks.

Clara’s face pales slightly, she sighs again. She then takes a breath and speaks slowly,

“There. Will. Be. A. War,”

Obviously, they’d already heard this information from the Mittz but it’s still shocking to hear it again. A war? I’m still in high school, I’m still a kid, I haven’t even had my first kiss and this stranger is saying there’s going to be a war? That can’t really be true, can it? Now I’m freaking out? Is it my fault? I swear I didn’t do anything. I just-

“Why is there going to be a war?” Mauven, who was lurking behind Xinexa asks.

Clara scoffs, “Don’t tell me you know nothing about the Lox and Baer Conflict?”

They know of this conflict because the Mittz told them but they actually don’t know any proper details. What could be so bad that these families are going into war? A loud cough rings out next to Xinexa. Then, there was a series of smaller coughs. The Lox siblings were all coughing except for Peri. Weird.

“Portia and Petra, you guys know right?” Clara addresses the twins.

How does she know the twins? What’s up with all these secrets everywhere?

“How do you know them?” asks Lexy, yet again beating Xinexa to the question.

Clara raises a brow and surveys the group and sees that the Lox siblings, Fork, and Xinexa were also waiting for the answer and sighs,

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“Really guys? I go to your school; I’m usually driving with the twins in the morning? Seriously no one knows?! We’re basically cousins,”

That made sense seeing as Maleficent was Clara’s grandmother and the twins’ mother although that technically made the twins Clara’s aunt.

“How old are you anyway Clara?” Fork asks,

Clara looks over at Fork and replies, “I’m sixteen but let’s not worry about my age and stuff now, let’s just get moving because I’m sure the Bears have picked up your location by now and are probably tracking you,”

They all groaned. With all this excitement they’d been forced from their sleep were now all groggy. Despite their grogginess, they begin packing up their tents and things and put them into the RV. The little men that came with Clara were still lurking in the shadows and she beckoned to them. They walked over to us, and Clara decided to introduce them,

“Everyone, these are my friends: Mack, Dan, Nick, Carl, Frank, Mat, and Chris, they were with me at the Woods Home for Troubled Girls before I moved in with the twins,”

Troubled girls? Looking back at who she originally believed to be a heptad of little men Xinexa saw, now that they’d removed their hoods, that they’re actually a heptad of average-sized teenage girls! But their names sound a bit…off for teenage girls?

“Are your names short for anything?” Xinexa asks.

The seven girls all nod and begin calling out their full names one by one,

“I’m Makayla,”

“I’m Daniella,”

“I’m Nicola,”

“I’m Carla,”

“I’m Francesca,”

“I’m Matilda,”

“I’m Christiana,”

No wonder they prefer to stick with one-syllable nicknames, I’d probably mix all those up. After they’d all fully introduced themselves they head over to the RV.

“We don’t have space for all these new passengers so how are we going to travel?” Mauven is the one who asks this whilst looking at the interior of the vehicle.

Clara shakes her head, chuckling,

“We have bikes don’t worry about it. How’d you think we got here?”

They all hop into their respective vehicles and begin moving. After about an hour and a half of driving we arrive at a large warehouse. There were no markings on the building to explain what it was or what was inside. Ignoring how sketchy the place looks, they all leave their vehicles and walk up to it. The Lox siblings stay at the front of group while Clara and her crew stay in the back, for defense. Peri is the first to the door, she knocks, and they all freeze, waiting to see what will happen next.

Suddenly, Peri is gone. They all rush forward to scan the area. In the place where Peri was standing is a large, gaping, hole. Xinexa looks down, at their feet is what appears to be an endless dark abyss.