Anarchy [ Watty's 2016 ]

XVI: Jade

After I shoved everything back into my bag, Alex and I ran back to the cabin as quickly as possible. "What is it?" Alex huffed out the question.

"I'm—not quite sure," I admitted, talking between breaths. We'd walked farther than I'd thought. "Someone was shouting over the comm—I think it was Will's mic, but it definitely wasn't Will. Which means, CORE sent backup to the school. And they found the underground, which also means—"

"They're in danger," Alex finished, sounding worried. "We have to help them."

I slowed a little. "Yeah, but...the Director? He's there, too."

"Then Will's in even more trouble than we thought!" Alex protested; she sounded slightly panicked—I wondered why. "C'mon!"

She rushed ahead, leaving me struggling to catch up, stumbling in the dim moonlight. How in the hell can someone who's suffered as much injury as she has this last week possibly have this much stamina? I was slightly impressed by it, honestly. Especially given that, early in the week, she'd complained about me walking too fast for my own good.

As if in response to my thoughts, when I did catch up, she was doubled over by the door, coughing. "Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

She waved off the question; the coughing subsided, and she said, "Fine. It's just a little bit of agony whenever I cough, now."

I laughed nervously. "Well, better not keep waiting. Let's go in."

To make matters worse, Damien—the bastard—had woken up and was shouting obscenities that would've made a sailor blush. Mordekai and Taylor were struggling to keep him still.

"Oh, hey. Nice of you guys to show up. Where've you been hiding?" Mordekai asked absently when he noticed us. "No matter. Asshole extraordinaire is awake, if you haven't noticed."

I snorted. Alex edged backwards—in doing so, she bumped into a floor lamp, nearly knocking it over; in response, the lamp decided it didn't want to deal with her shit and wobbled around threateningly, resulting in one pissed off lamp and one blushing Alex. I could hear her muttering angrily under her breath. "Stupid lamp, no need to be an asshole."

It took every ounce of willpower for me to avoid laughing like a maniac. I managed to keep a straight face while saying, "And I guess you heard the comm, too?"

Mordekai nodded. "Get this—he woke up right when we got the message. Weird, huh?"

I couldn't help but agree. It was rather strange. "We should get back there, right? And help? We can't just let the CORE take everyone without a fight."

"Yeah, uh, I'm afraid I can't let you do that, kids." Taylor's gaze was cold and calculated. "It ain't worth the risk."

I don't know why I reacted like I did, but I got angry. How dare she tell us, people she barely knew, what we could and couldn't do. "It's our friend we're talking about! In fact, he might as well be part of the dysfunctional family we make up!" I snapped. "I'm not letting him get captured—or worse, killed!"

"Yeah, we'll I ain't letting y'all get killed, neither," Taylor retorted.

"Well, how would you feel if it was your friend? You'd want to save them, wouldn't you? Besides, I don't even know you. Who died and made you queen?"

Taylor's expression darkened, but she raised her hands defensively. "Calm down, kid. Just accept the fact that you can't save everyone, okay?"

Mordekai nodded understandingly. I growled in frustration. "Well, if nobody else is going to help Will, I'll do it!" I shouted and stormed out of the cabin...

...and stormed right back in thirty seconds later. "Well, maybe I won't help him!" I shouted in the same tone as I'd announced my departure.

"Uh, hey?" Will waved shyly as he walked through the door. "What'd I miss?"