The Purge

Pt. 13

The hideout was exactly what you'd expect when someone said "abandoned warehouse". Colourful graffiti was painted on several buildings, some of them tags and some works of art. Cracked concrete covered with leaves and debris echoed the footsteps of the group. Tall, metal support beams held up the high ceiling made up of steel scaffolding. Multiple windows were shattered, revealing dingy rooms. Lights flickered overhead and there was a faint sound of water dripping. The air was cold and damp, the kind that sends shivers down spines.

"This place sure is abandoned." Max remarked softly, taking everything in.

"I swear to god if a fucking zombie appears out of nowhere I'm gonna cry," Lucas said, looking around the space cautiously.

Bang!

Lucas jumped and clutched the nearest thing, which happened to be Sam. Sam awkwardly patted Lucas' shoulder and muttered several half-hearted reassurances.

Laughter rang out around the dingy hide-out. Max turned around, searching for the source of the noise. Alissa and Ava were doubled over, clutching their stomachs, laughing at Lucas' reaction. Next to them was the car, the handle of the door still held in Ava's hand. Max joined in as Lucas stood up and shoved Sam away, trying to regain his dignity. It clearly didn't work as his face was flushed an embarrassed pink. The three girls were still doubled over, now with tears streaming down their faces.

"Ok, haha, very funny," Lucas ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh I thought it was," Alissa replied, wiping away her tears and trying to calm her breathing.

Sam rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed. If he's scared of a car door slamming, then how will he get through the purge? Sam pondered. He considered voicing his concerns. But he then thought back to the day in his trailer. When he asked Alissa who she trusted she instantly said his name. She said that she's kill herself if anything happened to him. As much as Sam didn't want to admit it, Alissa cared about Lucas. He couldn't risk kicking him out. Not when their bond was that strong.

Instead, Sam decided to setup. "I've got some supplies in the boot. I think we should sort through them and make sure everyone knows what we've got to work with."

The group gathered around the back of the car. With a satisfying click, Sam unlocked the boot. Lucas, Max and Ava gawked at what was inside.

Inside lay equipment of all kinds, ranging from high tech computers, to first-aid kits. Several guns were scattered around through the boot with buckets of ammo propped up next to them.

Sam, clearly very comfortable with the stash, picked up a small hand gun. Looking over it briefly, he strapped on a gun holster, and safely tucked the gun into it.

Ava reached for a black case, the contents of which were several knifes ranging in size. She let out a soft breath as she examined the blades. In her hands, the knives looked dainty and dangerous. She moved towards a propped up old slab of wood. With a slight grunt, she threw the knife. It lodged itself perfectly into the wood.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Sam asked.

Ava simply shrugged. "I was home alone after watching the Hunger Games. Thought I'd give it a try."

Max's eyes lay on the computers. She reached for one and smoothed her hand across the top of it. "This I can work with." Clearly impressed, she sat on an empty crate and opened the computer. It was fully charged, so Max plugged in her headphones and started hurriedly typing.

Lucas stood in front of the boot, looking over everything carefully. Occasionally, he'd reach out to touch something and then bring his hand back quickly.

Lucas felt a set of warm arms around his waist and he smiled to himself. He spun around to see Alissa looking up at him.

"Having trouble picking something?" She asked softly, a slight smile on her lips.

Lucas nodded solemnly.

"Me too," Alissa sat herself on the lip of the boot.

There was silence as the two looked over all of the equipment.

"Why did this have to happen? What type of psycho would do this to innocent people?" Alissa asked suddenly, loud enough for everyone to hear and focus on them. Alissa didn't realise, or she just didn't care, her focus remained solely on Lucas. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I definitely don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to be a part of this. I just- I just wish that everything could be back to normal. It's only been a day and there's already been a shooting. It's only been a day and hundreds of people have been hurt. It's only been a day and people have died Lucas. They've died." She took a shaky breath.

"And you almost did too." Lucas replied, a tear running down his cheek. "The thought of losing you terrified me. It made me realise that I will do anything and everything in my power to keep you alive. But it also made me realise, what if I can't? I wasn't there when you got shot. I wasn't there when you were making these plans. I wasn't there when your parents..." He trailed off.

Tears trickled down both Alissa and Lucas' cheeks as they embraced each other.

"But what about when you got in that fight with Tyler?" Sam asked. Alissa shot him a look that could kill, but he simply ignored it. "You didn't seem to mind leaving Alissa alone then."

Lucas stepped away from Alissa and turned to face Sam. "Yeah, I was protecting her, dipshit. If she'd stayed there she would've gotten hurt. And why the fuck were you listening into our conversation?"

"Jeez ok," Sam raised his hands up in surrender and walked backwards. Everyone went back to whatever they were doing before, leaving Alissa and Lucas in front of the inventory.

"What about this?" Alissa held up a baseball bat, trying to cool off the tension. "You could probably do some serious damage with this."

Lucas gently took it from her hands, feeling the smoothness of the wood against his skin. He spun it around a couple of times, feeling the weight.

"Yeah, this will work," Lucas said, looking over the bat. "Thanks Liss."

Alissa smiled at the nickname.

"What about you? What are you going to use?" Lucas asked, noticing that Alissa hadn't even touched something for herself.

"I'm not using anything." She replied simply.

Lucas tucked a strand of hair behind Alissa's ear. When he spoke, his voice was soft and understanding. "But you have to. You have to be able to protect yourself."

"I know but," She paused before speaking again. "But I know what it feels like to get hurt. I felt that pain nearly every day. I know what it feels like to never be safe in my own home. I can't stand the thought of putting someone else in pain."

Lucas' eyes fell on a bruise on her cheek. He knew it wasn't there from the shooting. "Liss, I understand but if you don't pick something to protect yourself, you're going to end up getting even more hurt." He took her hand. "It doesn't have to be a weapon, it could be something like a computer or a lock-pick. Just please choose something."

Alissa looked up at Lucas. "Do I have to pick today?" She asked quietly.

Lucas shook his head and smiled down at her. "Of course not." He gave her a squeeze on the shoulder and walked away to explore more of the warehouse.

Alissa silently cursed herself. She didn't want to be seen as the baby of her group or the least capable. But deep down she couldn't shake the feeling that she's useless. A burden. She hated feeling weak. She hated feeling scared but she was, that she couldn't deny.

Alissa looked over the contents of the boot one last time before closing it. She'll choose something. Eventually. But today, she knew, was not the day.