𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒚 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 | 𝘼 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙀𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙁𝙖𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙘

Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ９

Laura's POV

"Alright everyone, we're heading out right now. No more exceptions, so let's go!" Chris ordered everyone.

"Yes sir!" The team answered in unison.

"Laura, stay close to me. We have things we need to talk about," Chris told me, as he handed me my S.T.A.R.S. knife back. I took it from him, placing it back into my sheath. Then, I pocketed the TerraSave switchblade.

"Okay," I acknowledged him.

Chris and I left the dark alleyway, heading out with the rest of the team. We all began walking down the wide and abandoned street, covered with nothing but debris, blood, and corpses. While Piers, Moira, Rebecca, and the rest of the team walked ahead, Chris and I treaded at a slower pace, right behind everyone else. Besides, I couldn't blame for him for being skeptical of me at first. It takes time to process things like this. Sometimes, I think he's still doubtful of me.

"Where are we going anyway?" I asked Chris, as he grabbed something out of his pocket. It was some sort of PDA. He opened up a digital map on it—showing a small, red, glowing dot on the grid.

"We're heading to the rendezvous point at Lake Union park just a few miles north of here. That's where the evacuation point is, we have until 12:30 a.m. before the evac helicopters take off. So, while you and Moira get extracted and leave the city, Alpha team and I will stay behind to look for Claire and to continue our mission here," Chris explained to me, then he turned off his PDA—placing it back into his pocket.

'If Chris thinks that he can easily just ship me and Moira off to safety on some helicopter out of the city, he's gonna have a very hard time in doing so. There's no way I'm leaving without my mother.'

"No way, I'm staying," I objected.

"This is not up for discussion Laura. It's too dangerous to stay here."

"I know that, but I can help! I know this city like the back of my hand. You won't be able to navigate through the city without my help. Plus, there's no way I'm leaving without my mother," I argued.

"I understand that you want to find her too Laura, but she would be crushed if anything bad happened to you. I'm doing this to protect you," Chris claimed.

"I would be literally crushed too if anything bad happened to her, especially on my birthday. Besides, I can take care of myself Chris. I'm not a baby, I'm sixteen. Practically an adult." I spat back, before walking ahead of him.

After our little heated argument, there was silence between us for awhile, as we all kept walking along the street. Chris caught up to me, speaking up,

"You're a lot like your mother, Laura. Like a mini version of her."

I directed my gaze back at him. "I am...?" I asked him.