To Fall is to Die

Chapter Twelve (Isa)

Isa took a bite of her apple, the juice spilling down her chin as if it was bleeding. She looked out over the cafeteria, gathering all of the information that she could see.

That small girl, the one who had refused to go on earlier. Dawn. She kept on looking back at them, her face pleading. Immediately, Isa could see it. Dawn wanted help, and no one was going to give her her any. It was every team for themselves, and Isa was going to help make sure of that.

More likely than not, it was Dawn's group that would become the first to go. They were too weak and relied too much on others. The ones that were strong on their own were a different story.

Isa pricked her ears, trying to overhear some of the muttered conversations swirling around in the cafeteria.

"Stop! Leave me alone!" A muted cry from the far side of the cafeteria. A small boy was there, seated next to two girls. The taller girl was the nasty one, she had his wrist pinned on the table.

"Who are they?" Isa asked her team, angling her head towards the group on the far side. Faze was already looking that way and Lydia followed their gaze.

Faze opened his mouth to speak but Lydia cut him to it. "Liliana, Dahlia, and Andrew. A really tough group, if you ask me."

"Thoughts?" Isa set her apple down, looking towards Faze. "Strengths? Weaknesses?"

Faze contemplated the group and took another bite before answering. "They have a strong leader who can make decisions, but the dynamics of their group are flawed. A group to watch out for, but a group that can't work as a team."

"And we have to succeed where the others aren't." Isa locked her gaze with Lydia, trying to make the girl understand. "We need to work together, collaborate, become one unit, otherwise we fall."

Faze jumped in. "We go down fighting as singles or we take to the skies as a team."

Lydia gave a small nod, but she didn't meet Isa's eyes. "Okay. But if we are to go down at all, I want to finish my food first."

Isa chuckled as Lydia tucked back into her bowl of mac and cheese. This was the way a group was supposed to feel. This was friendship, and she loved it.