Battle Scars

Chapter five; Nova

"Hey where is Filos?" Spencer asks in a worried tone. The whole store is filled with silence as the two of us look around frantically. I stand up and run down isle five where we had left him, and as I'm getting closer to the end of the isle I see he isn't there.

"What the HELL!" Spencer yells, "We can't leave that flirt boy anywhere by himself for even a second without him getting out". Spencer kicks the handcuffs that are on the ground and throws her hands on top of her head while she grunts.

"We need to split up and look for him. he can't leave the store anyway since the rain will give him a chemical burn so he could not have gone anywhere far." I reassure Spencer.

"okay," she replies, "I will keep an eye out here and you can go check the back to see if he is hiding out there". We run in opposite directions down the isle now scared for what may happen. I come up to the back door only to find that it is wide open.

"Filos?" I call out now terrified that maybe he got hurt on our hands. The room has been throw apart with papers on the floor and and drawers opened and torn into.

I hear a small muffled yell from a small door in the corner of the room that looked to be where the loading docs are. I slowly make my way to the door, my shoes crunching on glass and wrappers with every step. I take hold of the cold handle and a small shiver goes up my spine. my heart is beating like I'm running a marathon as I open the door.

"STOP!" Is yelled out into the small garage. I can't see who yelled it though, because there are huge crates spread across the width of the floor. "I didn't mean to. I swear it was an accident and I meant no harm." I hear a familiar voice say with a huff.

"BULLSHIT!" a deep voice yells and then a grunt echos through the whole garage. I slowly slip my back pack off and place it on the ground.

"Please, Please don't hurt me." The familiar voice begs, and I pull my gun out and extend my arms down with it while I creep to the edge of the large crate in front of me.

"You fucking took our food and invaded our territory!" The deep voice yells and a small whimper follows it.

I look around the corner and see Filos on the ground beat up and wrapping his arms around his head. A very tall and muscular man is standing above him with a knife out and his fist ready to punch. I quickly throw my gun up and step around the crate.

"Drop your knife and back up." I calmly tell the man even though I'm scared as hell. The knife is dropped and there is a clinking sound echoing through the garage area. "Why are you here?" I ask the man hoping to god he isn't a terrorist like a lot of people are nowadays.

"This fucking prick took food from my groups camp and left some of us to starve." The man says in his deep aggressive voice.

Filos pulls himself across the floor and up to my side where he is still trembling with fear.

"Who the fuck are you guys?" The man remarks while trying to make himself look bigger.

"This is Luke and my name is Anne." I lie hoping he takes it.

"Well Anne, I will be back with my friends. You better not mess with us ever again because we will be looking for you." He threatens us and turns around to walk away. I'm breathing heavy as I wait five minutes so I know he is gone. I bend down to Filos and rub his back a little.

"Come here, I will help you in and then you can tell me everything I need to know about that man." I tell him softly and also help him up.

"N-Nova? Why did you lie about our names?" Filoses voice trembles and he looks me straight in the eyes.

"Filos, names have power. That man will try to find us again by asking others if they know a Luke or Anne. We are better off if people like him don't know our names." I explain now walking with him back to the inside. I open the door only to see my copper haired girl who is worried in the middle of the room.

"Oh my god!" Spencer exclaims, "what happened? Did you beat him for self defense?" I laugh a little as I set Filos in the chair next to us.

"Spencer we better grab what we can and get the hell out. I just had an encounter with someone from that gang Filos told us about. This man beat him up and pulled a knife on us." I explain to Spencer as I put my gun in the cup holder part of my bag.

"I knew Filos was trouble," Spencer mutters to herself before turning to me, "Nova I think we should leave for California sooner that two weeks, because if we stay here any longer that gang could find and kill us". I look to Filos thinking about Sepncers idea.

"Okay. I guess it's good to leave sooner than later." I respond as I walk over to Filos.

"I'm going too. I can't stay here or I will die." Filos says in a rush with panic still in his voice.

"Fine." Spencer says annoyed, " only if you promise to help us and not to run off". Filos shakes his head yes but doesn't respond. We are now making our way down isle five once more. I grab three veggie bars and one box of gram crackers that I would usually find in an old persons pantry.

The rain has finally stopped, but the storm has just begun. We all walk side by side down road back to my house.