Rebel Born [FIRST DRAFT]

Chapter 20: Desire for Strength

The blue skies were covered up by stormy grey clouds. Thunder rumbled in the distance, but it didn't compare to the thundering that was heard when the bomb, that destroyed the building we were currently rummaging through, went off.

I'm not exactly sure what we were looking for. We were grasping on straws, wishing for a miracle that Max had survived that explosion. We just kept searching. We flipped over boulders of concrete, we dug through concrete and steel.

None of us had stopped crying since it happened. My nose was completely blocked and I kept breathing dust into the lungs, making me cough uncontrollably. There was a lack of oxygen around me and I felt like I was hyperventilating. All of our fingers were bloodied but we paid no heed.

Officials showed up eventually and had to tear us away from the mass of rubble. They coaxed us into a limo and drove us to the usual hospital in Sector 3. No one said anything the entire ride. I kept my focus on my bloody fingers. Guilt built up in my chest.

This was all my fault.

I clenched my fingers into a fist and my shoulder wracked with silent sobs. Vanessa wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. By the time we had got to the hospital, my tears have stopped but my mind was dulled once again.

I followed the others into the hospital mindlessly and did as I was asked without any complaint. We were given a room each in the hospital even though we weren't that injured. I sat on my bed staring at my now bandaged fingers. They said something along the lines of taking care of us while they find another house for us and figure some things out.

The door to my room slammed open and someone came running in. The person stopped by my bed and leaned against their knees breathing heavily. I glanced over before returning my gaze to my fingers. It was Christopher.

"I heard about..." he started but trailed off. I could feel his eyes searching my face for clues and information. I shadowed my eyes with my fringe and nodded in the slightest way. I heard his breath hitch before he dropped down to sit on the bed as well beside me.

I felt myself shaking again as tears threatened to fall back out. I didn't want to cry. Not in front of Christopher.

Without warning, Christopher grabbed onto my shoulders, turned me and pulled me into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. I froze at his movements. "I may not have known them as long as you have," he started to speak in a quiet voice, "but I know they were amazing people. People who would have done anything for the ones that they love. And, knowing them, they wouldn't want the people they love to cry over them. But it's okay to cry. Cry out all your tears now and then look to the future. They may have left the world but they still live on in our hearts."

Tears had already begun to snake down my cheeks before he had even finished speaking. My hands grabbed a fistful of his shirt as my body shook from my sobs. Christopher's arms wrapped around me tighter. For the first time since my dad had begun to abuse me, my cries were audible.

"You're a strong girl, Amelia," Christopher continues, his voice slightly drowned out by my sobs, "but even you deserve days when you can let yourself be weak."

I must have cried myself to sleep because I woke up in the bed, the blanket tucked under my chin. I pushed myself up into a sitting position and stretched, testing out different areas of my body to see which part still ached. My injuries were mainly minor cuts and small bruises, but there were sections on my back and chest that were covered with giant, purple bruises. I leaned back against the headboard, scenes from yesterday flashing into my mind. I closed my breath and took in a shaky breath.

It was my fault that Cossette and Max had died. I had broken my promise with Cossette and I couldn't save Max either. But I can't just sit around and mope. I won't let something like this happen again. And to do that, I need to get stronger.