Royal Blood

Chapter Twenty Four

"Do you honestly believe that this could be one of the camps?" I ask Jasper a few minutes later once we have backed out onto the street again and out of their view.

"It looks like one, or at least what I imagine one to look out. In fact, I bet this whole city is full of rebels. Didn't you say before that the A Group had been attacking the Cold Lands?" Jasper asks me.

Quietly I say to him, "that is what we were told by the mayor here. They were worried that the attacks would spread further. Looking back, they had every right to be worried."

I cannot get the image of the 'rebel camp' out of my mind. The field must have stretched out for miles and miles, further than what they eye can see or what the mind can imagine. Filling this field were tents, flimsy little tents that were all touching each other. Smoke was also rising in the air from where people must have been creating bonfires, or something of the sort. It did not look like a pleasant place to live and that is coming from a girl who has slept in old, abandoned sewers.

To change the subject I ask, "What are we going to do about Max. I mean, how is he going to find us?"

"We'll just have to wait for him and hope he finds us here." Jasper says to me.

The two of us sit down on the corner of a street which is facing away from the rebel camp. There is not much to look at, other than the houses that are facing us which seem to be deserted as it is. No one looks to live in them as the front windows have been smashed through and tiles are missing from the roof. I wouldn't want to live there either.

I sit and watch the house as there is nothing else to do. Nothing exciting happens other than the wind seems to be picking up. Night soon falls and suddenly it is really hard to see anything. Due to the fires at the camp, a thick fog has now set.

"Jasper, we are never going to see Max in this. Maybe we should walk back towards the train station? He could be waiting for us near there." I point out.

"We can't, it's too risky to walk back that way. How empty do you think that house is?" He says, changing the subject.

"I don't know but I'd guess quite empty. We have been sat out here for hours and nobody has entered it left the building... and it also doesn't look safe to live in." I tell him.

"Lets go in then." Jasper says and before I can reply he is already up and walking towards the house.

Pulling on his arm, I whisper "what are you doing?"

"Well we can't stay on the street all night. We will look for Max in the morning." Unsure of what I should do, I just follow him up the stairs at the front of the house and watch as he tries to pick the lock on the front of the door.

"Oi, what you doin' up there? That ain't your 'ouse." Someone yells at us through the darkness of the night.

"Sorry sir, we were lost you see so we were knocking on this door to see if anyone was in who could help us." I make up on the spot.

"Huh, unlikely story missus. I've seen folks like you two before. Come with me." The voice, which sounds like a mans, says to us.

Jasper and I walk down the steps to find a small but round man smirking at us.

"We get folks like you all the time at the moment, ever since Crow did that broadcast on the telly. You want to join us don't you? Sick of the queen I bet."

"You can say that again." I mutter under my breath.

Because we have no other choice, the two of us follow the man into the rebel camp which is lit up with fires but filled with smoke.