Found (Book 1 of the Haven's Army Trilogy) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 16

The next day was cloudy. No one laughed or ran around. I was amazed at how many people were affected by what had happened.

I was in charge of bringing meals to James. The first time, Katie accompanied me. She yelled at him after he asked to help her since she was the only healer on board. She ended up storming out.

I got to know James really well. After talking to him, I couldn't ever see him as the type to abuse someone. He was actually very kind.

As I was leaving after his dinner, he stopped me.

"Charlotte?" he asked. I turned to him. "The Book. I thought I'd tell you. It's even closer with The Halo than The Hospital or The Shore. Be careful, ok?"

I looked into his bright blue eyes and nodded. "Of course." I smiled.

He smiled back.

After a long moment, I turned and left.

Andrew came up to me. "So how's your boyfriend?" he asked. I raised an eyebrow in question. His laugh was fake. "James. You spend so much time with him."

I rolled my eyes. "He doesn't have any friends. I'm keeping him company."

Andrew grinned and left. There was no sparkle in his eyes. I just rolled my eyes and made my way to bed.

*******

The Book was an interesting little town. The roofs sloped downward and the streets were only wide enough for three people to pass each other. There was a huge brown building in the very middle.

I hopped into the rowboat. I brought Kathryn and James with me, despite everyone's fears of him betraying us. He wasn't a fighter anyway. Kathryn and I could take him if we needed to.

We floated under the dock and pushed the boat onto the sand underneath to hide it.

I stepped into the bright sun. Kathryn and James followed behind me.

I noticed there weren't many people out. Even more, there were only adults.

"Hey!" We turned to the voice. It was a tough man, obviously meant to later teach at the Victory. "What do you think you're doing?"

My heart began to pound. I reached for my sole knife but decided otherwise.

He stepped up close. Then he cocked his head. "Oh? A student to teach for The Victory?" His hand shot forward and I stepped to the side. He looked amused. "You're learning well." He got into a ready position. I did so as well. He was challenging me.

His foot came flying at my face. I ducked. He punched at me and I stepped aside, sending him forward toward Kathryn. Instinctively, she ducked to the side and grabbed his arm, flipping him onto the ground. He laid there for a moment, looking surprised. "Wait, you're..."

"Run!" I told Kathryn and James. We began to run, the man right on our heels.

"Why is he attacking us?" James asked, breathing hard.

"He challenged me," I said. "Then Kathryn pulled that move on him. People from The Gear aren't supposed to be able to fight that well. He's realized who we might be."

"What are you kids doing?"

We turned our heads to the right and slowed. A man with blonde hair, green eyes, and glasses was walking toward us. He had a blue suit on and was trailed by a girl a little older than me who looked exactly like him. They were nothing like I'd ever seen before.

But there was such a powerful force resonating from them. This girl was definitely the special one. The man gave off the same feeling as I got around Ronnie.