Chaos 76 [COMPLETE]

Chapter 10

Madalyn P.O.V

I gasped for breath and sat up sharply. My head throbbed with a dull ringing and made it hard to focus. Through a the dim light I saw Alex sitting next to me on a small stool next to the cot I was laying on. A million questions buzzed in my head. Where was I? Why was Alex shirtless with a bond around his arm? And most importantly, was Jack okay?

Alex saw I was awake and smiled at me without humor or kindness. His eyes looked broken. Jack's capture was taking its toll on both of us. I rubbed my head and touched his hand lightly.

"You okay?" I asked.

He snorted a bitter laugh. "What do you mean? I should be asking you. You're the one with heat stroke and you're the one who was dehydrated. You should be dead."

I was taken aback by his tone. "Alex... is something wrong?"

"Sorry Madalyn..." he bit his lip and I noticed his eyes were starting to fill with tears. "It's just... I miss Jack and I hope he's okay."

"Me too Alex." I sighed. "But... where are we?"

He cleared his throat and suddenly seemed to realize he was shirtless. "Yeah um, so I accidentally got shot in the arm by this girl and she felt really bad so she took me to her shelter with her brother... and their dad knew my dad because they worked together for the CPO."

"Wait... what?" I shook my head.

"Basically we're safe... for now. But you should rest." He sighed and tried to lean back, forgetting he was on a stool. He flailed before getting his balance.

I lay down and smiled up at Alex. He grinned back at me and got up and walked to a separate room of the small, dark, underground shelter.

I was just drifting off when the door opened and a man and girl came in silently. Her brother had shaggy black hair and bright green eyes... he had a slim, muscular form, much like Jacks, and tanned skin. He looked kind of like a surfer,which made the girl look very different.

She had long blonde hair and big blue eyes that darted around nervously. Her eyes, however, were not the average blue... they were ice blue, cold and disorienting. She saw me and smiled sympathetically. She whispered something to her brothers and walked over to me.

"Hi... you must be Madalyn." She said quietly.

I sat up again and pushed back my matted and tangled hair. "Yeah. I'm afraid my first impression is rather... ragged."

She laughed and sat on the stool Alex had left. "Look, about your friends arm... I-"

"Hey," I interrupted her. "We all get scared. I get it."

She heaved a long sigh. "Okay, well... I've helped out a lot of people lately and you two are welcome to stay as long as you need to. But um... sorry you guys can't have your own space."

I blinked at her and finally realized her bizarre conclusion. "Oh! Woah, no... Alex and I aren't dating."

"Oh... okay. He never really said anything about your relationship status, he only briefly mentioned a guy named... Jack?" She folded her hands.

At the mention of his name, I had to brace myself. All the memories of the kiss in Vegas came back to me. Was he even alive? Was he a reciter now? Would I ever see him again? My bottom lip began quivering uncontrollably.

She straightened and held out her hand. "Well, I'm Stellar. It's nice to meet you." She stood and began to walk back to her brothers and Alex. Suddenly she turned and looked at me questionably. "You haven't seen two boys running around lately have you? Sandy hair... around 14 years old... people call them the Docker boys?"

I pursed my lips and shook my head. "No... sorry."

This whole apocalypse was ripping families apart and taking more lives than any previous terrorist attack. This family was the perfect example. Except that not everyone was this lucky. Some families were living on the destroyed streets... withstanding the cold and heat. I tried to consider myself lucky but... without Jack... nothing felt the same.

I slept for hours until the sharp jolt of bombs woke me abruptly. I pushed myself off the cot and stumbled around the dark room screaming Alex's name above the noise. Suddenly he caught me in his arms and pulled me into a corner.

Sure we'd never been best friends, but with Jack gone, neither of us had anyone else. I clung to him and he held me gently until the ear shattering blasts subsided.

My feet began to wobble and he caught me as I collapsed. He sat me on the cot and looked as concerned as Jack would have.

I laughed lightly as he pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. "What's with all the flustering over me?"

He glanced down at me and grinned. "I have to preserve you until we can rescue Jack. Besides... I promised to take care of you."

"I can take perfect care of myself thank you. Once Jack comes back I'll be perfectly fine." I crossed my arms.

We both knew it was insane to think that Jack might just show up but it kept the memory of him alive. Alex slumped against the wall and rested his head on it, rubbing his wounded arm.

"Madalyn..." he began. "Is there some way you can get Jack free?"

I shook my head. "How can I do anything?"

"I dunno. Hack into the Chaos computer and delete Jack from the system?" He laughed. "What am I saying? I don't even know what I'm saying."

I furrowed my eyebrows and glanced at him. "Alex... you might honestly be onto something."

He looked up at me and snorted. "Please."

"No I'm serious. I can hack into anything of only I had a computer." I sat up.

I was being insane and reckless, but I was desperate for Jack to come back to me.

Suddenly the door burst open and Stellar ran in. "Are you guys okay? I thought the bombings stopped days ago."

Alex, still looking baffled at his revelation, gazed at her with glazed eyes.

I turned to her. "Where are your brothers?"

"Luke and Justin are still scavenging. Why?"

I bit my lip and stared up at her. "I might be able to save Jack."