Avenge Me

Riding The Midnight Train

All Aria could hear was shouts that turned into mumbles and dark shadows across her eyelids.

The car had bright white sides that blinded Aria momentarily. She was spread out on a thin bed and noticed Asher and Lethalia whispering harshly to each other at the foot of her cot. She moved her head slowly and saw Flint with a huddle of siblings surrounding him on a bench attached to the car. He raised his head somberly to look at his bed-ridden sister and held a finger to his mouth, telling her to be silent. Aria closed her eyes to ensure that Asher and Lethalia would not see her awake and eventually fell asleep.

Aria awoke again to the car bumping over an uneven road. Flint had his arms around Bow and Arrow and was sleeping. Asher and Lethalia were nowhere to be seen. Through the windshield, Aria could see the Persistence building growing in the distance. She took a quick scan of the area and carefully sat up from her bed. She dared to dangle her legs over the cot and tentatively let them reach the ground. Her bare feet met the cold metal interior and she looked up to see her combat boots on the opposite side of the room atop a pile of accessories from her outfit. She tried to stand, but fell over with exhaustion.

The patter of fast footsteps warned her that someone was approaching. A door behind her opened and Asher appeared. ¨Enjoying the ride? It's quite fancy, as you can see.¨

¨Where are we going?¨

¨Home.¨

¨So, we're going nowhere?¨

Asher only responded with a scowl as his smirk disappeared. He left the room and slid closed behind him. A faint click signaled to her that it had been locked.

Aria turned her attention back to the windshield. She hadn't noticed before, but a thin layer of protective glass separated her from the driver and passenger. And as they neared base, the driver took a sudden left away from the building. They continued to drive farther away from it and Aria slowly became more paranoid. She knocked on the glass and the passenger turned to look at her. Marshall stared at her with dead eyes. Aria tried to use her hands to ask him where they were going, but eventually gave up when Marshall turned back around and waved a hand at her to dismiss it.

Aria sat back down on the pull out cot in defeat. Eventually, she forced herself to sleep and to attempt to ignore the current events.

Something screeched up against the vehicle. Aria covered her ears in reflex and winced. Marshall in front of her calmly reached into the glove box and brought out two pairs of industrial ear mufflers. One for him and the driver. Aria was left by herself. She brought herself to walk to the bench lining the wall. She stood on top of it and saw a familiar white van scraping against the car she was in. She could see Radio's signature sunglasses in the driver's seat. She smiled and looked over at Marshall who was staring straight ahead, his lips in a tight line. Lethalia and Asher burst from the back of the car, "Stop the car." Lethalia yelled. Marshall looked back at her in confusion. "Now." She demanded. He looked the driver next to him and nodded. Within seconds, the car had completely stopped. The unsuspecting rebels sped off in front. "Reverse!" The driver immediately complied to Lethalia's order. They drove away from the van. Aria pressed her face to the window and tried to wave to Radio. Suddenly, the van sped in a circle and turned to the long car. Once they got closer, Blood Moon jumped out from the back and latched himself onto the car Aria was in.