The Battles End (#wattys2016)

Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Make Me

I sat in my chair at the courthouse council room. My hand on my forehead, and elbow on the table. There was this small tat, tat, tat, as my foot tapped. Several other members tried to talk over each other as I was fuming, impatient, and couldn't get the image of the ruins of Bentford out of my mind.

I was shaking slightly. Looking at the smoke roll from the buildings. Bow stood beside me, trying to pull me from my shock like state.
"Bow!" Nate yelled from the gate. "We gotta problem!"
Bow turned back to me, putting his hands on my shoulders. I tensed, almost reliving the past for a moment. "Aahana, we need to go sweetheart." He gently lifted me up, before steering me to where Nate was.
"We got spotters sayin we have Hells Angels movin toward home. They're gettin to the red zone."
"Shit." Bow cursed. That was enough to cause me to snap out of it. Bow normally didn't curse. If he did that meant something was up. Realization hit me, that if a threat was moving toward home, then they were getting closer to CJ and Angel.

"We need too-"
"Maybe we can talk-"
"If we trade-"
"Hide everyone, act like we aren't here-"
"Fight back-"
"Rally up-"
"Don't give them what they want-"
"Stand up to them-"

All the suggestions echoed in my skull. I dug my fingers into my hair, before abruptly standing.
I almost got everyone's attention. "Enough!" I got from in front of my chair, walking behind everyone else. Bow was at the front of the room, but not in his seat.
"Hope?" Bow questioned as I slowly walked toward him.
"I'm sick of being kept in the dark. Alright I get it, there's shit you don't want me to get mixed up in. But if you ask me, I can take care of myself, thank you very much." I paused for a second. "Yeah, I got some stuff I'd rather not have you know either, but eventually you knew. I am part of this council, this town, this community. The least I deserve is to know what you've been hiding from me since day one."
"You weren't even awake-" someone tried to interject.
"Shut up." I snapped, before looking back at Bow. "I need to start gettin a little cooperation from your part here. Cause shit can't get done if no one is on the same page." I stood still, a ways from Bow, standing my ground. We stared each other down for several, tension filled moments. Then the older man broke eye contact.
"Meeting adjourned. Go be with your families. We'll play it by ear." What he said was final.
I felt betrayed. Embarrassed, but most of all, lied to. My glare mixed with anger and shock. He still wouldn't tell me! My face must have been turning red as I imagined myself strangling someone.
"That goes for you too." There was no emotion in Bow's voice. I might as well have been speaking to a complete stranger.
"This isn't over." I warned, but Bow had already left, shutting the door behind him.

I paced the room fuming. It eventually got to the point I grabbed the empty mug in front of my chair and threw it. There was a twinge of satisfaction as there was a crash when it hit the wall. The fragments clinked on the hardwood floor, some breaking even more.
"You happy now?" A voice sounded from the doorway. Ian leaned in the doorframe, I hadn't noticed him there. He sounded calm, but his body language spoke otherwise. That was when I looked out the window. My eyes widened as Ian stood next to me, shocked just as much as I. There were motorcycles trucks, and an RV.
"Shit."

*Note- (to avoid confusion) Sunny goes by Hawna, Aahana, and Hope*
~3rd~

Hawna darted out of the room, her friend right behind. They were the only ones not at the gates, watching the Saviors ride on in like they owned the place. On their quest to everyone else, Aahana stopped at Kiera's throwing the door open, and finding a gun in her face. It took Keira a second to calm down enough to put it down. Aahana was patient.
She put a hand on Keira's shoulder. "Find Nate or John, and get as many kids to the underground as you can. With parent permission." Hawna didn't even wait for a nod before closing the door and running to the crowd. She daily slipped through other people, but Ian got caught up. He took his own way, much slower than Hawna's way. There were Saviors already out of the vehicles, all with weapons. A few of them went up to the RV. It was hard to pinpoint who was in charge, but Aahana knew who they were, or at least, who they belonged to. A man with buzzed ginger hair almost strutted back and forth at the front of the crowd. He was showing already they owned everyone.