Shadows of Our Pasts

Chapter 12 - Vengeance

After breakfast, I left the group in the library as I went back to the kitchen to clean up our mess. 

I smiled to myself as I washed the dishes, remembering the looks of amazement on their faces when I brought them to the intricate double wooden doors of my library. I couldn't blame them though - I admit, it was quite unique. The tall wooden doors were embroidered with complex silver designs weaving in and out of the carvings, and its silver bars (instead of normal doorknobs) completed the Victorianesque appearance. 

Their expressions were already amusing before, but they practically dropped their jaws whenever I pushed the handles and let the doors swing open. It was quite a large room, complete with a sitting area. 

I merely giggled, told them to make themselves at home, and then came back here to the kitchen to clean. 

A light tapping on the entrance of the hallway drew my attention to it, only to see Cry leaning against the wall, watching me. I offered a smile, my head tilting in silent question of what he needed. 

"Hey, you need any help with that?" He smiled back, already rolling up his sleeves. 

"Oh, don't worry about it, I can take care of it! You guys are my guests," I shook my head at him, finishing up with the plate I was holding and putting it on the drying rack. 

He stepped forward anyway, grabbing an extra dish towel and picking the plate up. "Please, I want to. You wash, I'll dry, 'kay?" 

I gave in, knowing he wouldn't let me deny the help. Instead, I nodded, handing him another plate as I finished washing it. 

"So, when you said you had a nice library, I didn't realize it was going to look like that." 

I laughed at his bewilderment, continuing the conversation as we did the dishes. "Well, I love books. My family was all bookworms too, so we've had the library for as long as I can remember. But, I'm the one who made it mine by redesigning the doors and the furniture to make it look more like a Victorian style. Well, that and the fact that it's my house now, and my family is gone," I shrugged, handing him a cup for him to dry. 

"Victorian style?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's something I picked up - well, fell in love with, really - when I lived in the UK."  

"The UK? I didn't know our fearless leader was foreign. You don't have an accent or anything," he nudged me with his elbow playfully as we finished the last few utensils. 

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me, Cry." I raised an eyebrow as I nudged him back, but indulged in his curiosities anyway. "I was born here, but I lived in quite a few different places and countries growing up. Besides this, England was where I kept going back to the most, so it's been the most influential for me."

In the middle of our conversation, my walkie-talkie suddenly crackled to life, immediately making me jump into action as I hurriedly shut the water off and turned up the volume on the walkie to hear what was being said. 

"Hawn to Fox, come in Foxy!" The voice of my second-in-command came crackling through the walkie in a panicked shout. 

"Fox here, what's going on? Are you safe?" 

"Oh thank God you answered, they found us-" the walkie shut off for a moment, and the panic in my heart grew tenfold in those few seconds of silence. Cry shouted for the rest of the boys as I raced upstairs, holstering my pistol and grabbing my go-bag of weapons while I waited for Hawk to start talking again. "They found us while we were on our way to you, we- we tried to run, we did run but they...oh God, they still..." 

There was a pang in my heart, fearing the worst. The way he was yelling told me they didn't all make it out okay. By this point I could hear footsteps racing up the stairs behind me as I grabbed my leather jacket and threw it on before picking the walkie up again. 

"Stay where you are Hawk, I need you to just tell me what happened and tell me where you are. I'll come out to help you, just tell me what happened." Cry's boys filed into the room, with him in tow as they watched me rush around the room, ready for a battle. I motioned for them to grab their own weapons as I awaited Hawk's response. 

"No!"

"Hawk I can help-"

"You can't come here, what if they find you? I don't know if we've gotten far enough away yet, I can't let them get to you, I won't have it. They already got to them, you need to stay away, you need to-"

"Blake!" I cut my old friend off, trying to do anything I could to stop his panic. "I need you to calm down and tell me where you are."

He knew it wasn't just a suggestion, but an order, and he finally complied. "The r-restaurant by the old Walmart..."

"The diner?" 

"Y-yeah." 

I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it wasn't too far. I could get there quickly, I could keep them safe. "Tell me what happened, okay?" 

I could hear Blake sighing and taking deep breaths before speaking. "As I said, we were attacked. Ambushed. 10 minutes after we left our house, they found us somehow- but they don't know the location of your house or my house. We fought but they had like 30 people, we were hugely outnumbered. They...we..." He paused, taking another deep breath. I could hear his throat trying to close up on him, choking on his own emotions. 

"How many?" I clenched my fist, resting it against the window. "How many of ours?" 

"Three KIA. We...we couldn't escape fast enough. I- I'm...I'm so sorry..."

"Who?" 

"I'm so sorry Z..." 

"Blake, who?!" I practically shouted, ignoring the motions of Jund and Russ, who flinched at my tone. 

I heard him take another shaky breath over the walkie- it was clear he was crying. "Clay and Hazel..." My heart hurt just hearing him, but I needed him to keep talking to me. 

"The last?" 

Cry's group was fully armed by now, each with some sort of pistol and a combat knife as I threw my bow over my shoulder and clipped my quiver to my pants. 

The walkie went dead for a few moments before he clicked it on again to answer, doing his best to maintain a calm voice - at least calm enough for me to understand him. 

"The third...it...it was Levi.." 

He took a sharp breath this time as he started crying again. My eyes widened and I froze, clenching my fists so hard I almost broke the skin of my palms. I didn't know what to say. I was at a loss for words, not knowing how to console one of the closest people in my life. I wasn't even there in person to comfort him, what could I possibly do? 

What can you even do to help someone who just witnessed his little brother get murdered? 

I couldn't possibly find the right words. 

But when words fail, actions prevail. 

I threw open the window, a deadly look in my eyes. "We're on our way. Stay put, stay hidden. Fox, over and out." 

There was no response as I turned to the boys who all held determined expressions, wanting to help in any way they can. 

I held an expression of vengeance. 

They will pay.