The Survivors

Chapter 3

Cole walked into the kitchen wearing only a towel.

"Ugh, Cole, gross," I groaned, shielding my eyes from him.

"What? Can't handle this?" he said, flexing his abs, revealing a faint six pack.

I stuck my finger in my mouth to mime gagging.

He rolled his eyes and flipped his brown hair at me, sending a spray of water flying at me.

"Ugh, dammit, Cole, you're about to get kicked out of the kitchen!" I said, wiping off the water. "You seen Avery?"

"Nah."

"Gee, you're a big help."

I deduced that she was out hunting, since her baseball bat was missing and so were her hunting boots. I grabbed my bag and stuffed my knife in it, just in case.

I zipped up my riding boots and opened the door. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, come get me."

"Sure thing," Cole said, flexing his abs again.

I rolled my eyes and slammed the door behind me.

"Avery?!" I called for the nth time. I'd already been gone seven minutes and no sign of her.

Suddenly, I heard her scream from my left, then a gunshot.

I sprinted faster than Usain Bolt, the runner from like a century ago, and found her on the forest floor, with her stomach redder than her hair.

"Oh my God, Avery, what happened?!" I screamed. But I knew what happened.

She weakly turned her head. "In... the... tree!"

I looked up to see a familiar black haired boy. His feet were propped up on a branch, and he was sharpening a stick with a switchblade.

Harrison laughed. "Damn girl, you are stupid." He now spoke with an accent, something of Irish.

"What the hell?!" I cried. Avery didn't have much time left.

"Wow. Do you not recognize foreshadowing? Well, seeing as I shot her, I'll explain to Avery and you, I guess, what's up," he said, pulling his legs down from the upper branch. He pulled his shotgun out and aimed it at me. "And don't think of running. When I was fifteen, my parents were killed by the Government. Executed because they were head of the black market. Almost got shot myself, but I bargained with them to work for them. I was recruited and assigned... you."

His cold eyes fell on me. "Why me?" I asked sharply.

He hopped down from the tree and walked close to me, the barrel of his gun poking into my stomach. "You stupid little girl. Only seventeen. Why your brother? He worked with my parents and yours too. Why didn't you help?"

"Because I wasn't stupid," I snapped. "Majority rules, whether they're right or wrong. I wasn't going against what was wrong when death was implied."

Harrison fake-gasped and clutched a hand to his chest. "How non-heroic of you!"

"Bite me!"

"Maybe later. Well, I had to befriend you. And what better way than getting stuck in your trap? It'd made you think I was stupid. Then to be so kind as to fix up your cut!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the tube with the gel. "Whoops! I seem to have given you gel hydrogen peroxide!"

"You bastard!"

"Everyone. Every single person you knew didn't trust me. Well, except Cole, but he's a dumbass."

"Watch it!"

"But you still trusted me!" he continued, ignoring me. "This isn't too surpising, is it?"