switched off light. jean kirstein ff.

seven.

seven.

i tied the lace of my right sneaker and, after slinging my backpack over my shoulder, i quickly left the room. i was alone in the apartment because everyone else had already left, so i ran downstairs until i reached the street, where two soldiers from liberio were chatting and smoking a cigarette.

i ignored them completely and ran towards liberio's entrance. we were finally going home and i couldn't have been more eager. despite all the worries i had in my head, especially the fact that yelena and zeke knew each other, i couldn't help but be happy that i had had such a restful night.

when i woke up, i remembered that conversation between those two, but i couldn't tell if it had been a dream or if it had really happened. so i decided to forget it for the moment and talk about it with pieck once we got to the shelter, since she also wanted to tell me everything they had talked about with magath.

i hoped, above all, that it was a plan to get annie back, because even though the attempts to get her back had stopped, i couldn't stop thinking constantly about her, worrying about her and wishing she was all right. i had to hold back the urge to leave the shelter every day and go and look for her, even if it was just on my own.

i arrived at the entrance, where a few cars were waiting for us to leave. they were going to escort us to the shelter and then go to a town to the south. i was surprised that they actually would.

"have you got all?" pieck asked me when i reached them. i nodded.

"i'm a bit hungry, to be honest" i replied and she rolled her eyes. "do you think dad would make us friedcakes if i asked him?"

"he probably would" she smiled. "you know what he's like"

"you're right" i agreed. dad would always cook us everything we asked. he loved cooking, and specially for his daughters. "dad's great" i whispered. "unlike you" i showed her my tongue, remembering those times she tried cooking but failed at the attempt.

"hahaha" she faked a laugh. "you better don't speak too loud" she stretched out her arm and reached a loose lock of my hair to tuck it behind my ear. then, she looked for a hair band around her wrist and gave it to me. "hasn't colt told you your hair tied up looks a lot better?" i grabbed the hair band from her hand but snorted before punching her arm nicely.

"you have a death wish, haven't you" i whispered to a smiley pieck. i passed her by and reached the car's door to enter it. i was eager to leave that place as soon as possible.

i looked at the hair band pieck had given me. i already had mine in my bag but i was too lazy to rummage through and find it so i used hers and tied my hair back in a low and loose ponytail. pieck soon entered the car, taking the seat next to me, just like last time.

however, reiner was with us too, taking the passenger's next to the driver, and instead of the woman that accompanied us the first time, there was a bearded man, probably in his forties. he didn't say a word to us. he just looked at us two through the rear view mirror and showed a small, scary grin.

"where's zeke?" i asked pieck, totally ignoring that man, whose presence creeped me out.

"he's in the front car with yelena" she answered, looking at me. i nodded and looked at my bag next to my feet. i got everything there, because i didn't feel it was necessary to carry the knife in my sleeve. pieck, on the other hand, kept hers in a belt in her right thigh, sheathed, and a gun in her left one.

once everyone was ready, the car started and we made our way outside liberio. i wished i would never visit it again.

i counted up to five cars leaving the city. i wondered what they would doing in that city they were visiting. but then i remembered what they used to be like and guessed they would probably slave other shelters.