Chaos Theorem

Chapter 12: Like Sisters

I continued to stare at Kat's name on the leaderboard, and I thought more thoroughly about what I'd just thought... forgotten me? No, there was no way. She'd be fighting. She was that sort of person who didn't let things like that go.
And that gave me comfort.
What did not give me comfort was when I realised that Nate, Will and Tricky were not at the top of the leaderboard beside her. My eyes widened. Did the train crash? They couldn't be..?
"Guys, there's supposed to be four of them!" I gasped, clasping a hand to my mouth. There was no way. There was just no way...
"How many are there?" Ava asked, looking up and putting her phone away.
"Just one. That Kat McGuffin, she was my friend..." I whimpered, starting to assume the worst.
Alpha clapped me on the shoulder, "They're probably all dead, so stop worrying."
"Alpha!" Ava snapped, "Ignore him, I'm sure they're ok!"
"They might have just gotten separated. Bet it happens all the time. Like you, for example." Adam added.
"And it's not like we've seen many other people, this place is huge! I- I'm sure they're fine, Penny! We can go find them together!" Matt nodded, giving me a supportive thumbs up.
"We could also retrace your steps, I guess? Do you even know where you were?" Yenn finished.
Alpha decided that they weren't done though, popping in to say, "There is a lot we could do to find them. Actually finding them could be an issue, though."
I was suprised how now the two were on my side after being against stepping aside from their previous plan beforehand. It was a good feeling. It reminded me that there were good people in the world. But...
"But I can't pull you guys away from what you're doing here. The camp is safe. Travelling, especially at night, will certainly not be. I don't want any blood on my hands, thank you very much." I shook my head, smiling sadly and thanking them all silently.
"Well, we can't just leave you, dude." Matt shrugged, and then turned to Stella, "Okie dokie! We're off, Stella, so come on, let's go!"
Stella stood up, staring in a fixed direction and not focusing on anything. I looked form Stella to Matt and then ran a hand through my hair, slightly stressed now.
"Are you sure?" I chuckled nervously.
"Absolutely. We're on your side!" Ava grinned.
I beamed. I'd never been so grateful, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Since you know the way out, I'll guess you'll be leading the way, then."
Ava waved me forward, "Yeah. Just follow us, it's actually not too far..."

**KAT**

Will and Tricky were confused as to why Nate was walking slightly ahead of us. We were walking away from the burger restaurant and not coming back; this was uncharted territory. Surely we should be sticking together?
That's what they would have thought. But I knew that this was because I'd left the restaurant and, what, broken his trust? We hardly knew each other! This was ridiculous. If he was going to say something, then he'd have to be the one to say it.
"I don't understand why he's mad at you," Will shrugged, "I thought that what you did was pretty epic."
And of course they knew. I told them before Nate could twist it to make me the bad guy.
"Thanks, but it wasn't epic. At all. I put people in danger. No wonder he's mad at me." I smiled grimly, watching him walk silently.
"Doesn't mean he's not overreacting." Tricky added, "He'll come around. I'm sure."
I couldn't believe they were being nice to me. In the end, Nate was right, and I was just a hazard. I should've left. It would've made things better. That empty pit inside of me contained a demon, and it was telling me that I was no good. I knew for a fact that the demon looked just like me.
A tear fell, just one. I wiped it away with a quivering finger before either of the others saw. But then another one came. And more. And more. And then I found that I was now crying in the middle of the street.
"Oh, Kat..." Tricky comforted me.
"I miss her! We didn't even know each other that well, but- but I can't believe she's gone, and that I basically let it happen! What sort of person does that make me?!" I bawled, hugging myself and standing still.
"We're all each other have," Tricky reminded me, "Really, you two must've been like sisters."
I couldn't listen to what she was saying anymore. I just closed my eyes, hugged myself and wept. It was wrong that I felt embarrassed, but I knew that everyone was watching me and I only had so much self-confidence.
Soon, I wasn't the only person hugging me, and two more arms enveloped me. I didn't open my eyes to see who it was at first, just taking in the moment. You could imagine my surprise when I opened my eyes and saw Nate standing there.
"I'm sorry I was weird about you leaving. That wasn't fair." Nate frowned.
"No, you're right. I was... selfish. I'm sorry..." I blubbered.
"You're not selfish, not at all! You're selfless, Kat, you're selfless. Don't forget that." Nate assured me.
And I started crying again, and this time all three came in to hug me, my sadness fading away like a bad dream...

**PENNY**

The burger restaurant had already been deserted; we were too late. But no dead bodies was a good sign; if they were dead they were dead far away from here... which honestly wasn't great. But we could use this area for ourselves to rest and it not be weird.
Yenn appeared beside me, looking at the empty room, "Are there any signs that they were here?"
I gestured behind us, "Well, there were more burgers before I left, but-"
"SERIOUSLY, GUYS?!" Yenn shouted, throwing his hands in the air and glaring at them.
Because beside the burgers, Ava, Matt and Alpha were munching on them behind them. Alpha's face was smeared with ketchup, and his curly brown hair was bouncing and his beard was getting dirty from how fast he was eating. Ava took a bite and just closed her eyes and looked up, silent. Matt, without his mask on, was eating slowly now. He was tanned and handsome, with soft brown hair.
"We're so hungry, let us have this!" Alpha spoke, muffled from the meat and bread.
Adam took a step away from them and pointed awkwardly, "I'm not with them."
Stella continued to be silent, and stared at the wall. I looked at her, worried, but there wasn't a lot I could do. I looked at Yenn for comfort about the whole situation, but he was still looking at the others, stoic and silent.

**KAT**

Smile like you mean it~
An instrumental riff.
Smile like you mean it!
It was a great song, underrated and not talked about enough in the general music scene. The burger I was eating made me feel slightly better, and the aesthetic of the empty street whose floor I was staring at heightened my mood. Everywhere we'd been was empty.
And it was cold. I hated the cold.
And my shivers continued, as we arrived at our next landmark, this one much weirder than the last. The grass there was an oddly dark green, the fences were black, metal and sharp enough to imaple someone, and the trees were tall but melancholy looking. But it was the tombstones my eyes were drawn to. We'd ended up at a graveyard. And as we all entered, I could have sworn the air got colder still...
"What on earth?" I muttered under my breath.
Suddenly, something grabbed my shoulder. I screamed, but quickly stopped when I saw it was just Will, who had jumped back, frightened. He put a finger to his mouth, telling me to shush. I nodded.
I removed an earbud and whispered, "What's going on?"
"Do you hear that?" Will asked, looking left to right fearfully. I looked behind him and saw that Nate and Tricky were doing the same thing. What had I missed?
"I don't hear anything. Should I be hearing anything?" I asked quickly, looking around spontaneously too. Ghosts? Ghouls? I really want in the mood for that right now.
And when I turned right, I gasped, because now I was greeted to three men with literal guns. I lifted my arms in the air, and started to walk backwards, falling into Will and knocking us both over.
Will looked up in the direction I was looking, and let out a tiny yelp, leaping up and moving behind Tricky and Nate. I leapt up and joined them.
"Give us all of your food. Now." the tallest of the three men instructed meanly.
"No way!" I argued, shaking my head angrily.
"How long have you even been following us for?" Tricky asked, looking at the guns and shrinking under their aim.
The shortest of the three men turned to me and grinned, "Pretty robot you were fighting back there. Got some free points out of it, and now free food! You're like a lucky penny. We just follow you and good things happen!"
Nate looked at me, his eyes narrowing, before turning back to the men, "You can't just go and take our stuff!"
The men continued to argue with Nate, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I'd lead them here. We were either going to get shot or starve now, and it'd be all my fault. Why do I do such stupid things? And why do I make friends with people and then don't tell them how ridiculous I am?
Tricky nudged me, and I was finally able to focus on her, "Kat."
"Yeah?" I whispered back, watching the men all the time.
"Do you think that's dangerous?"
And then Tricky pointed to the side of all of us, and I looked in that direction. A thick mist was closing in on us on all sides, and it was impossible to see through and impossible to know if it was dangerous, like Tricky had asked.
All seven of us jumped when all of our phones entered us into a game at the same time. Oh no. We were trapped in a game with people with weapons!
"Game. Attribute: Brain." our phones stated, and I started to shake my head in fear, "Dig up the grave containing a button that will stop the poisonous mist. Maps to all of the grave sites will appear on your phones shortly."
The three men dropped their guns and looked at each other frantically, arguing amongst themselves. Nate turned to me. It seemed that nothing had changed; as far as he was concerned, this was my fault. Again.

To be continued...