Escape

Chapter Fifteen

My eyes flutter open to black. Three questions come to mind.

Where am I?

Why is it so dark?

Who am I?

And then, on some sort of predetermined que, it comes to me.

My name is Bryna Lexington. I was born a twin of Brian Lexington, a minute and thirty-six seconds after him to Lila and John Lexington on April third, 2010.

A war ravaged in 2016 that went on for ten years, and it killed my parents and brother.

I'm a rebel, a part of a group trying to make it to freedom. And my group is gone - disappeared. I remember the explosion. A man my age - Aaron, I think? - threw himself over me and protected me as the world grew dark. And that's it.

"Brie?" a voice asks. Aaron. "Where are you?"

I open my mouth, but it feels like someone's stuffed cotton in my mouth. I try flexing my fingers, giving myself a mental assessment, then swallow. "Here," I croak.

Shuffling, and then a hand on my leg, running up my side, and to my face. "This you?" he asks.

I hum. "Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

Well, that's a loaded question. "Sure." That works.

I feel myself lifted up and into Aaron's arms as he drags me backwards. I'm propped against a wall. 

Aaron's hands skim my body, looking for injuries. "Does anything hurt?" he asks.

"No."

"Can you give me something other than monosyllabic answers?"

"I can try," I answer. Even in the dark I can sense his smile. "Where are we?"

"No clue. We were here when I woke up."

"Great," I remark dryly. "How are you doing?"

"Eh, head hurts. And my back. But other then that, I'm peachy."

"Where're the others?"

"Not sure. I think it's just us." He's silent for a moment, and I hear his vulnerability when he speaks again. "What if Lea's hurt?" he asks.

And now I can't be the emotional one, because I have to take charge. "She's not," I say confidently. "Brian, Alex and her weren't near the explosion. Brian's not going to let anything happen to her. Neither will Alex."

"What about Justin?"

"They will kill Justin if he goes anywhere near her with intent to harm her," I say. 

"Brie..."

"Aaron," I say gently, "I know it's bothering you that your sister is out there without you. But I can promise you that Brian will make sure she's safe. What that means is that you and I are on our own, because wherever we are, they're not coming back for us. Right now, we need to worry about us. That is the only thing we can worry about, because otherwise we can't get back to your sister, and I can't get back to the twins. Can you just help me with this here first?"

I can tell he's trying not to panic when I hear his heavy breathing. I straighten and reach for his hand which rests on the ground between us. I grab his hand and intertwine our fingers, squeezing his hand. 

"I..."  His breathing calms as he realizes what I'm doing, and I wait for him to clear his throat before removing my hand. "Sorry. I just... I keep imagining what could happen to her."