i usually dont cry, and if i do, i never seek comfort for it. but hearing matt say those words killed me, and i buried my head in alex's chest crying my eyes out. i thought he'd push me away, but he did the opposite, wraaping his arms around me and smoothing down my hair. and as i sobbed harder, soaking his shirt, i felt what i thought was rain drops on my head. when i looked up i saw he was crying too, much quieter than i was. he was looking down at matt, and as if he had some sort of epiphany, he quickly pulled me off of him and walked over to matt.
"no one gets left behind," alex said with quivering lips. and with a bit of struggling at first, he lifted matt up and somehow managed to drape him around his shoulders like a human boa. i thought he was going to drop him, but he kept his balance. alex looked at me, huffing from the weight of matt on his shoulders.
"alright, we gotta run now," he said. he was trying to prepare me for it, but i really think he said that to prepare himself. we took off, running as fast as our legs would carry us to the gate. i still have no idea how alex did it, but he got there carrying matt the whole way. when we got to the gate, i was surprised to see the reverend, johnny, and brian still there.
"thought you guys left," i huffed, out of breath.
"nah, nobody gets left behind," brian smiled.
"plus, we didnt know where to go," johnny laughed. the reverend slapped him upside the head.
"alright," alex interrupted them, "we gotta get matt over."
"what happened to him?"
"he was shot."
alex picked matt up, steadying him on his feet.
"matt, do you think you'll be able to get up at all?" he asked the shaking body.
"i'll try."
"ok, i'll be right behind you."
they started up, matt in front, and alex right below him, one hand on matt's body to steady him.
"come on zacky!" alex yelled, and i went up behind them. when we got to the top, alex looked down at the three bodies awaiting us.
"alright, you guys better catch matt." they nodded, but i could tell they were really nervous about that. they stood in a circle...well, more of a triangle, arms opened up. once they were ready, alex helped matt over, and more or less dropped him down to them. i held my breath, but luckily the reverend and brian caught him; johnny had moved out of the way. me and alex hopped over next, landing hard on the ground.
"should've told them to catch us too," alex laughed, helping me off the ground. once on our feet, alex picked up matt and again and started heading towards a long road.
"where are we going?" brian whined, as we ran further and further down.
"we're almost there, just hold on," alex replied, breathing heavily as he adjusted matt's weight. we ran so far until we came across a black van parked along the side.
"that's it!" alex shrieked happily, running faster than he had been. we all raced to catch up. when we finally got there, the sliding back door opened, and two guys were inside. a bigger guy sat in the drivers seat and next to him was a little guy, a really little guy. he was smaller than johnny! we climbed inside quickly, laying matt on one of the seats while the rest of us squished into the second row. alex went up front, sitting on the passenger's seat with the little guy. they laughed, and all hugged each other.
"guys, this is brandon and dan. i called them up today and told them we were getting out, so they came here to wait for us!" he beamed. i smiled back, waving at three saviors. one got us out, and two making sure we'd be long gone from there. as we drove off into the distance, i pushed my way to the seat by matt. i lifted up his head, placing it back down on my lap. i scratched his head as we drove faster. we drifted off into sleep and when we woke it was dawn. i was glad to see he was already awake, and he actually looked better. turns out that alex had stitched him up while i slept.
"how are you feeling?"
he looked around at everyone in the car, and i followed his eyes. the reverend, johnny and brian were sleeping in the back seat, all squished up together. johnny was nuzzled in the middle, drooling on brian's shoulder. gross. in the front alex and dan slept. dan was seated on his lap, his head rested against his chest. he looked like a kid wrapped in alex's arms. i laughed a bit at the sight. when my eyes returned to matt he was staring out the window at the rising sun. the sky was turning shades of pink and blue as it rose. he looked back at me, cat eyes glittering in the light.
"free."
