The Four - Book 2

Chapter 19

Lana

We were closer to the destination than I thought. It only took me about five hours after I left that morning, after Jasper shook me awake and told me I should leave before Aira and Juris did.

Then I left.

And now I'm here.

As I stand in the land that used to be my home, and as I stare at the large building, I wonder. What the hell were we thinking of doing once we got here? To just knock on the door and hope Paytah answers?

I know that we didn't really come to rescue Paytah, the odds are one in a million. Maybe Aira and Juris thought we could, but there's no way.

Guess I'm just here to say hi. But really, I'm here to save Aira and Juris, and also see Paytah once more.

I walk so I'm even closer to the building now. I stand there and watch as guards come running at me, guns pointed at my head. I raise my hands up, palms facing me so they know I won't use my element. But they aren't calm until they grab me forcefully and walk me into the building. I stay silent the whole way, until they push me into a room and shut it.

I check my surroundings. It's an all white room, and to the left is all glass, with people I can see on the other side. There's a woman, the one I thought could be Paytah's mother,  standing right at the glass, and people in the back sitting at tables, observing.

But I ignore them, because I stare at the boy across the room from me. Messy dark brown hair, tangled and in knots of blood. Tall, but incredibly skinny, his ribs noticeable through his shirt, his collar bone sticking out. Scares all over his body, and blood stained on his skin. Eyes that aren't orange or red, but a yellowish. It's the first time I've ever seen yellow eyes, but that's not what scares me.

It's the wild that's in them.

"Paytah," I whisper, ignoring his rough shape. I smile at him and start to walk, but I stop when I notice his hands are behind his back. I think that maybe his hands are tied, but I glance at the woman and see her smiling.

I take a step back.

"Glad you came early," I hear the woman say. I take a glance at Paytah again, who's eyes are watering. It looks as though he's in his own world.

"What's happening," I ask calmly.

The woman can't seem to stop smiling. She looks at Paytah. "He's going to end it."

At those words, Paytah's arms come out from behind his back. And in his right hand-

He holds a gun.

I suck in a sharp breath as I watch the gun in his hand, which is trembling badly. He looks down at it, and for the first time since he was taken, we make eye contact.

I tell myself that it was worth leaving Juris and Aira behind, because I don't think they could stand to see Paytah like this.

"Paytah, wait-"

"End it." I hear the women say, and Paytah shuts his eyes at he lifts the gun higher until it's pointed at me. I look at him, trying my best to stay calm. He's shaking so badly he'll have to take a couple shots to kill me.

"Paytah, it's Lana. It's me." I say, staring right at him, although I can barely look at him without feeling the urge to cry. How has he gotten this beat up and skinny in only a few days? The thought scares me senseless.

"Your mother is wrong." I say, and that catches everyone off guard. I know I'm right when I see his mother stare at me strangely for a moment.

"She wants us all dead. Paytah, listen to me-"

"End her." His mother blurts out loudly. Paytah seems to be confused, looking at me and his mother. Back and forth.

"It's me, you know that. It's Lana. Don't shoot." I say, starting to get a bit nervous. Whatever his mother did, he can't control.

And a uncontrollable Paytah is a dangerous one.

"Hey, Paytah, please." I whisper. He's got the gun right up to my forehead now.

"End her, dammit!" His mother yells.

"No, Paytah, it's me! Lana!"

Everyone goes silent when Paytah sobs. I watch as tears fall from his eyes. He looks at his mother, then at me. He raises the gun, but it's not at me.

He has the gun pressed against his head.

He stares into my soul as the gun is pushed into his temple. The wild in his eyes are gone, replaced with sorrow and helplessness. I look back nervously. I can tell everyone is shocked, nobody saw this coming.

"Easy, Paytah," I whisper, so quiet I don't think he hears it. More tears fall from his eyes, his finger is wrapped cooly around the trigger.

Now tears are welling up in my eyes. It's not the fact that he almost shot me, or that his mother has done something to him that makes him want to kill me.

It's the fact that he would end his life just to end this pain, that's what kills me inside.

"End it." I look over and see his mother. She probably doesn't care who dies first. Hell, she probably enjoys this.

"Paytah, listen to me. Please," I say, and his eyes are rested on me, just as the finger is to the trigger.

"You can't do this. I'm not the enemy, and neither are you," I point to the glass wall, "they are. They are the enemy. And you can't let them control you." It's almost unbearable to watch him struggle. Whatever is going on through his mind, he's lost. So lost.

I'm unsure on what to do, but something pops up in my mind that I told myself earlier. I told myself once I see him I was going to kiss him, no matter what. So I smile, and that confuses him even more. I take slow steps forward, making sure he doesn't feel threatened to press the trigger. I walk up so close I could press my lips against his right now.

And I do.

He stammers back a little, and doesn't kiss back, but at this point who cares. For once, I feel like this is the real Paytah. Not the boy who's been beaten and starved and confused.

I let go, and see that he's lowered the gun. He stares at me, and I watch as his eyes turns into a light orange. He watches as I point to the glass window.

"They are the enemy."

And a second after, Paytah shoots at the glass.

It cracks, but it's not enough to break. Immediately guards come rushing in, but I don't care, I barely even feel them grabbing my arms and throwing them behind my back. Because I see Paytah right across from me, ribs sticking out, guards forcefully tying his arms, but I ignore that.

Because I see the real Paytah smile.

•••

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Well, 2 chapters left in book 2!!!!!!

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