Chapter 9

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~Lauren's POV~

As I continue to shoot the closest gun to the PK380, I think I also continue to impress Vanoss. Sure, I can't throw knives for shit. But I can do hand-to-hand combat with them. And I can shoot hand guns almost perfectly. So I'm at least decent at something. "Alright. I know we don't need to do anymore handguns." he says, grabbing the gun from my hand. "Let's move on to snipers, Aks, stuff like that." Evan says, then leads me to another table full of guns.

He picks up an AK-47 and hands it to me. I hold it in position as if I were to shoot and wait for him to make adjustments. But, he never did. "What're you waiting for?" he asks. "For you to make adjustments." I say, not moving from my current position. "Just shoot. I have faith in you." he replies. I nod, then aim at the arm of the target. I shoot once, then check to see how many shots are left. About 8. 

I shoot another in the chest, then the stomach. "Alright." he tells me, then takes the gun away from me again. "It seems you only need help with knives. We'll practice those when your hand gets better, so don't stress over that. But from what it seems like, you'll either be a sniper with Moo, Dathi, Driodd, Terroriser, and Bryce, or a chopper companion for Lui. He needs someone to take the side gun. But we'll figure that out later on." he tells me.

I nod, then ask "Why can't I just practice some combat now." and begin to take the wrap off my wrist. I can tell he's shocked at my actions. "Because, your wrist needs to relax." he replies softly. I shake my head. "I'm sure I'll be fine. If not, then it was my fault for being so hard headed." I say. "Which is why I'm here. I'm not going to let you be hard headed." he says, then quickly adds in "Or anyone else in the group for that matter." 

I sigh and shake my head. I quickly go to punch his mask, only to be blocked. "No means no." he orders. I smirk and throw another punch. This time making contact with face. I hear him growl, so I just smile wider. I know he can't see it, but I know he knows that I am smiling. He grabs my bad arm first and pins it behind my back. I begin to hit him with my right arm again, but he just grabs my wrist. 

I kick him in the legs, making his grip tighten. "Stop it." he says. I laugh at how childish he's being, and quickly turn around. His hands lose grip of my arms, giving me a quick advantage. I immediately shove him aside and start running. I hear him running behind me, so I look back. I see him about a grabbing length behind me, so I curve a quick left and stop. He runs past me, so I run the other way. "Dammit!" I hear him yell, making me laugh. 

"Gotta be smart, Vanoss!" I yell back. I look behind me, only to see nothing. I slow my pace and eventually fully stop. I look around, only seeing everyone else. I turn back around, only to have him put his hand over my mouth and pull me to his torso. "Rule #1. Never turn your back on the enemy." he says. I can hear the grin in his voice. I bite his hand, which results him in moving it. I slide to the ground ad quickly pick myself back up.

"That's the advantage of my size." I say, then run right up to him. As I slow to a jog, a big gush of cold wind blows through, taking my mask with it. I begin running to catch it, only to trip over a small hole in the ground. I land with a thud on the cold grass, then get back up and look around for it. My breathing starts quickening as I see it nowhere in sight. Yet, my feet still jet off running. I run passed Del, Wildcat, Lui, Dathi, Mini, Basically, but I'm finally stopped by Vanoss. Who apparently was ahead of me and I had no idea. 

"What're you doing?" he asks with heavy breaths. "I. Need. That. Mask" I say, with heavy breaths as well. "We'll get you a new one. It's okay." he tells me. "No. You don't understand! That mask is the most important thing to me! I need it!" I yell at him with a few tears going down my face. I take in a shaky breath as I shrink into Evan's jacket. I sit in a squat on the ground and just cry. Like I did the day my mom passed. 

I cry. I just sit there and cry. I'm guessing for everything that's happened in my life. I lost my mom, my home, many other homes, I've been abducted multiple times, I can't get a real meal, I can't keep friends, I have no friends in fact. My only family is Jon. Even so, I'm not his actual family anymore. Or, he doesn't treat me like I am. I have nothing. I am nothing. "Lauren." I hear Evan's voice cut in. I look up at him with blurry vision.

"You're amazing. You're so much to all of us. Jonathon loves you, you're his only family as well. Even so, you have us. You have me, Mini, Wildcat, Basically, Moo, Delirious, Droidd, Bryce, Dathi, and everyone else I forgot to mention. We're your family now. You have a home with us. Anything you want to eat at anytime." he tells me. I wipe my eyes, only to see he also doesn't have his mask. His face looks so concerned. I'm also guessing I said my thoughts aloud.

"It's not the same.." I mumble. I watch as sadness fills his face even more. A few more tears slip down my cheek, but it doesn't get far before Evan wipes it away with his thumb. I sniffle and pull deeper into his coat. "It's not good to cry in the middle of winter. It's an easy way to catch a cold." he says, then pulls me to him for more warmth. I hear footsteps approach us, so I turn and see Delirious, Wildcat, Mini, Bryce, and Moo. 

Delirious kneels to me and pulls me to him as well. "What's wrong 'lil sis?" he asks, making me stifle a smile. "No, you're supposed to be upset. No smiling." he orders so seriously. I laugh at him, making Evan smile. Jon stands up, lifting me with him. I watch as Evan stands up as well, then helps Jon put me on his shoulders. He begins to run, making me find something to hold onto. "Nope!" he yells, knowing what I was trying to do.

He spins around, making me scream. "Jonathon!" I yell. He laughs his insane laugh, so I laugh as well. "Ready?" he asks, stopping completely. "For what....?" I ask nervously. Right then, he lets go of my legs, forcing me to fall back. I scream, but I quickly stop. "Ah, you thought I would really let him drop you? How cute." Evan says. I see Jon has my legs again as Evan holds my head. Del sets my legs down, so I stand and get my balance.

"So much for training." I say, giggling. Del and Evan both nod. 

~~~~~

Chapter 9! I remembered this timmme! Lol, sorry for the slow update on this chapter. I have no excuses for this being late XD

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!

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~WildLadd

~Met Behind the Masks~Where stories live. Discover now