Soldier

Chapter 5: Alex

We reached the passage way leading to the next sector. We've been in complete silence after our encounter. The next sector ahead of us is the partner dorms. The vibrations and sounds of the conflict outside had stopped, into an eerie silence. I hope that means the battle stopped. We walked into the next sector through the large entrance in front of us, onto the wide catwalk that circles the entire second floor of the section.

The doors to the dorm rooms are separated every few feet away from each other in a perfect balance throughout the spiral. I looked down at the tables and a shop entrance with a sign is pasted on the window that reads "Get our finest weapons, 50% off!!!" on the bottom level. The sector seems completely desolate, no one here, from what I can see. The lights are off too. The entire building is dark. There is only the faint light from the hallway. Even that makes the room barely visible. Jace and Evan slowed their pace to walk right in front of me and Kairi. Evan let go of one hand on his gun to unclip its ammo cartridge. He let it fall to the ground carelessly, as it hit the metal floor and echoed throughout the empty space for a few seconds. It clanked against the metal catwalk.

Lights turned on ahead and below us on the bottom floor as soon as the sound stopped. The light blinded me for a second.

A man's voice screamed "Holt!" before the sector lights started to flicker on again. The entire room illuminated to show many of the other students with rifles and flashlights kneeling in front of us. Each of them kept their weapons pointed at us. The tallest of the group stood from his crouched position. He's a slender man, with short cut brown hair, and gleaming brown eyes. His muscled arms strained out of his jacket to where the sleeves were cut off, and solid legs under his camo pants. He raised his hand in the air.

"Cease fire! They're friendlies."

The sound of metal clinked down simultaneously. A group of students stood up and ran to the door behind us. A few others walked downstairs or into rooms. The tall student who is probably the leader looked to the side to be greeted by female student. She held onto his arms and told him something. Probably his partner, this is the partner dormitories after all.

It's a relief that we found some peace. For an odd reason though, I feel weary, and a little tired. I looked at Kairi. She looked back at me with her confident smile. Her expression turned to one more concerned.

"A, are you okay? You look tired."

She laid me down softly against the railing. My chest is still hurting and throbbing, but I should be okay. I managed to smile.

"I'm fine. J..Just a little tired is all."

I lied about how I really feel. Kairy kneeled down beside me, and placed her hand on my forehead to check my temperature. Jace and Evan walked up to us. Jace looked at me worriedly.

"Hey, you okay?"

I looked up to see him. His hands are still shaking. I can see the fear in his eyes.

"Yea, I'm fine. But you're the one I'm worried about. Is everything alright Jace?" I asked him, because even if I'm in pain, my friends are more important to me then myself. Yet he looks agitated. He looked down at me. He gritted his teeth and scolded.

"Why do you always do that!!? Worry about yourself sometimes!"

He gripped his gun tighter.

"I'm perfectly fine. You're the one who needs help!! You're always helping me, defending me, even if it hurts you... You're my best friend, and I don't want to see you get hurt, to see you die! Think about yourself, what you've got to live for!"

Evan turned on him with a hard glare.

"That's enough Jace!"

I looked down. I thought of all the times I had helped him. I guess Jace just wants to help me. He cares, and here I am oblivious to his feelings. I'm an idiot aren't I?