Lethal Love

Diana

After Elise left, the very atmosphere changed. It was like she took all the stress and worry along with her.

I hope she's all right. She left in such a hurry...

I walked along side Kiara, unsure what to say or do. I'd never been around people for so long, nor had I ever had this much freedom before. It was different, but it was a nice kind of different.

No one said all that much, but that was okay. It wasn't awkward like most people liked to think, but rather a comfortable sort of silence.

Naturally, I didn't expect it to last long, but I didn't expect to be right.

I began to realize that it was a little too quiet. We had just escaped from a high-security prison, and Elise and Kelsi had both been acting cautiously, and almost fearfully. That alone was enough to set my instincts on edge. The silence along with my jumping nerves caused my heart to pound and nerves to race.

There was a light snap of a twig, and I jumped, immediately scanning the area to my left. I paused, scanning the underbrush carefully for any signs of danger. There was a slight rustle to my other side, which had me spinning that way. I began to realize that this was not just my nerves, something was going to happen.

"Wait!" I called out to Kiara and Kelsi, allowing my eyes to scan widely.

"What is it, Diana?"

They'd both stopped, and Kiara was watching me with confusion mixed with curiosity.

"There's something out there. I think we're being watched."

There was a moment of silence while the three of us stood in a triangle-shaped formation, our backs in the middle, and scanned our surroundings for the impeding danger. There was another rustle, and then two people came out; a woman from one side, and a man from the other. The woman had fiery red hair, and blue eyes. She looked to be around twenty, and she was wearing all dark clothing. The man was younger, looking to be about eightteen, with black hair that fell into his eyes, and forest green eyes. His right eye had a scar that went from his eyebrow down to the bottom of his nose.

The woman stepped forward, "Well done. Sorry for the scare, it was a small test of mine to judge your instincts. You passed." She smiled at us, "I'm Rachael, and this is Adam. We're from the resistance."

The boy, Adam, nodded at us, and moved to stand beside Rachael.

"We heard the two strongest subjects were breaking out of the enemy's compound today, so we hurried out to find you. I'm glad to see you are safe."

I looked between the two of them, then glanced over at Elise. She was staring at them in shock.

"The resistance...so you do exist."

"We are very real, and we need your help."

Kiara spoke up, "You need our help? For what?"

Adam looked at her, "The resistance is trying to bring down the GKE and established peace and freedom over the people of Redwood. However, we lack in both members and strength."

Rachael nodded, "Adam is correct. We need your assistance to bring justice to all of humanity. Will you join us? We can offer you full protection and immunity in exchange for you support."

I glanced at the others. I wasn't sure whether we could trust them, so I waited for their judgement.

"....All right. Count us in."

I looked up at Kelsi, and then nodded at Rachael and Adam. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kiara nod as well.

Rachael beamed and motioned with her hand. "All right, follow us. We'll introduce you to the others."

We followed them through the woods, to a seemingly empty clearing. I was about to say something, when Adam walked to the edge of the clearing, pulled up some thick covering that matched the grass perfectly, revealing a set of stairs heading into the earth.

Rachael smiled apologetically at us, "I'm sure you could live without stepping foot underground again, but it's really the only place we can hide."

No one said anything, and Rachael led us inside, Adam bringing up the rear, pulling the heavy latch shut from inside.

We walked along a narrow path sloping gently down. The walls were lined by blazing torches, giving us enough light to see where we walked. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, we hit a large open clearing, which was filled with natural light from small holes in the ceiling. Little caves and outcroppings of rock seemed to serve as homes for the people who lived here, and a few sheep could be seen trotting around the center of the clearing. Women sat around on small rocks, knitting with wool or weaving baskets, while their kids played and laughed. Men sharpened swords, polished guns, and sheared sheep.

Rachael followed my gaze. "We don't have a ton of members, but these are all refugees who joined us. Now tell me, what are your names?"

"Kelsi."

"Kiara."

"Diana."

Rachael nodded and smiled, "Welcome to the resistance."