We Three

Time To Go

Covyn had been halfway through Grei's third journal; its contents decently organized for a man who'd always seemed to lose track of any conversation after two sentences. The first journal held scribbles of the human anatomy and the changes that occurred after one was infected. The second held notes about the first vaccine, and the possible origins of the first Infected. Nothing that pointed to a possible motive for a killer. Covyn sighed internally, grateful for the ability to skim and flip. Even if nothing was found, this stuff might come in handy later. A quiet clearing of the throat caused Covyn to look up from their place.

Gull stood in the doorway with red rimmed eyes, soft brown hair tousled from restless hands.

"Hey," he said in a gravelly voice. "Want a reading buddy? I've never gotten a chance to read these later ones."

"Sure." Covyn pulled the rest of the journals out from their places and moved half towards Gull, who had shuffled awkwardly towards the desk. Covyn had never known what to think of Gull. Covyn knew they had a mutual love of reading and talent for retainment, but other than that, only that he liked Roone the best of all the Batair siblings. Covyn cleared their throat awkwardly as Gull made a move to lean against a clear wall.

"Did you want the chair?" A small bit of pain flashed in Gull's eyes as he shook his head, sending Covyn a small smile. He leaned forward to pick up the fourth journal, the first one with homemade paper, and leaned against the wall to peruse. They fell into a comfortable silence as Covyn returned to their journal. Cause and effect of the second strain. Wait... Covyn's eyes widened as they focused on the journal.

Test #73-- The corpse has re-re-animated. Eye color has changed to a bright green. The use of chemical 36b was successful. WARNING: keep away from---

"Oh my god." Covyn's head snapped up at Gull's outburst from the wall. Their confused icy blues locked eyes with frightened brown ones. Silently, Gull swept every journal into a nearby bag and threw it over his shoulder.

"Covyn, we need to get everyone off this island. I'll explain later."

***

"What's going on?" Roone's tone demanded the answers everyone was looking for. He looked to Covyn first, hoping to give Gull some time to catch his breath. Covyn shrugged.

"Haroon. He's what's goin' on." Gull said before taking a final giant breath. Roone stiffened.

"Leon? The power hungry jerk that Kira left back on the mainland?" West asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, well, actually, he never really left. It was Grei who volunteered to make sure he had no way of following us before we left." Gull explained. "But he did the exact opposite. He brought him back."

"How do you know?" Roone asked.

"Well-- it came straight from the horse's mouth. I guess sometimes Grei's research doubled as a time for reflection." Gull answered. West snorted, causing the group to turn towards him.

"What? That was...vaguely funny." Gull let out a sigh of frustration- turning a journal around in his hands, a movement that drew Roone's eyes. He opened to a crudely drawn map of an island with markings of mushroom clouds peppering the space.

"Is that it, then?" Roone asked, unable to tear his gaze away.

"One of them." Covyn piped up. "I have another, and Gull has the other three in his bag. We'll explain on the way."

"We need to get off of New Apriga." Gull said, snapping the journal closed as he glanced around the shack. "Unless you've found something worth looking into that can't be carried, I suggest that we start moving."

"Right. Um, why?" Roone asked, snatching his discovery from the water bottles, intending to check its contents as soon as he could.

"Because a lunatic's gonna blow every last one of you off the face of the earth!" A gruff voice intervened as a shadow blocked out the remaining light filtering through the doorway. Roone knew that voice. They all did. Haroon Leon.

The man of the hour towered above them at 6'5". His eyes held the standard dark eye bags underneath that only deepened the crazed look within them. The smirk that he sported was one of cracked lips, and coupled with the machine gun that he held in his hands, he truly looked deranged.

In the single moment of shocked silence, Roone managed to catch the gaze of the person standing the closest to the lunatic currently blocking their own escape route. Covyn. Eyes full of fear, they nodded to Roone before ducking and ramming their body into the legs of said lunatic. Gull, catching on, latched onto his arms and pulled. Then, it was chaos. Leon fell forward, the momentum from the unexpected force of Gull pulling at his arms giving him no opportunity to steady himself, and crashed to the ground on top of Covyn. Leon's momentum caused Gull to fall over on top of them, as he was still clutching an arm. West turned quickly to Roone, mouthing a quick "Kira" before jumping onto the fallen giants' back, narrowly missing Gull's head, and scrambling hastily out of the shack.

Covyn tried their best to scramble out from underneath the giant mass of the man, but Leon had maintained enough sense to catch a leg before they were fully free. Roone came flying at Leon with the closed folding chair, smacking him right in the face with such force he swore later that he'd heard the crunch of a bone breaking.

Gull, who had barely dodged Roone's improvised weapon, popped up from the ground he'd rolled to with such speed that Roone's head spun. He'd grabbed Covyn's wrist and pulled them out of the door to the shack so that only Roone and Leon remained. Even lying on the ground unconscious, Leon was an intimidating presence that made Roone sweat. In another moment of impulsivity, he stopped. 

He didn't fully know why he'd stopped to look instead of escaping the cramped shed, but he used the opportunity to yank the machine gun from Leon's grasp. Leon groaned, and Roone hit him over the head once again for good measure before fleeing with the others. If Leon's ravings were anything to go off of, they needed to get as far away from this island as possible.