Haven's Army

Chapter 4

Arthur's prediction was correct. Once the ship was visible, three people rushed up to us and secured Arthur. They began shoving him forward towards the ship.

"Be gentle," I called after them. "You don't want him to lose his temper. He could kill you all in one move if he wanted to."

After that, they handled him like a very fragile nuclear bomb.

• • • • • • • • • • •

I approached Kathryn for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Why did you do it?" I asked.

"Do what?" she asked.

"Why did you leave Daniel without so much as a 'See you' when you could die out here? Never see him again?"

"Why bother dating Nathan?" she retorted. "You have the same chances of living that I do."

"Yeah, but..." I shook my head. "You're changing the subject again. Answer me."

She sighed. "Fine. Look, we had a deal, Daniel and I. I knew I would have low chances of surviving so I told him after the dance, we would have to stop seeing each other, if you know what I mean. I wanted to separate myself a little before I left to my quite possible doom. The dance was our last real time together." She huffed. "Then the Angels came. I knew I had to break things off then and there, and Daniel agreed. He wasn't supposed to kiss me on the cheek. We've broken up, but I can't stop regretting it."

I nodded. "I'm sorry. Thanks for telling me."

She gave a sad smile.

Dennis came up to us. "Arthur has requested to see you." I was surprised when he referred to him by his real name, not 'the prisoner' like most people.

We made our way across the deck of the ship and down the stairs. When we got down to the cell, Nathan was already there, leaning up against the wall next to the cell. I noticed he now wore Nathaniel's necklace around his own neck. Arthur was sitting in the cell, healthy as ever but not so clean. He seemed to be well fed, which surprised me. Most of the group treated him like dirt itself. Actually, worse than dirt. Nathan himself didn't look too happy to be with Arthur.

"Hey Arthur," I greeted with a short wave. "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright. How about you?"

"About the same."

"What did you need?" Kathryn asked.

Arthur shrugged. "Can I not request company? I'm bored."

Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Great. Babysitting."

Arthur looked slightly offended but he kept it to himself.

I sighed. "So Arthur, what's life like in the cell?"

He shrugged. "Not bad. It's not like I'm malnourished. Cecelia makes sure of that."

"Cecelia?" I asked.

He nodded. "She's been really kind to me. Same with that Dennis kid. I think it's because of her but I can't be sure." He shrugged.

It was weird hearing him call Dennis 'kid.'

Out of nowhere, an Angel appeared in the doorway. We prepared to attack.

"Don't worry," Arthur said. "He's only a messenger Angel. See the green dot on his mask?"

"If you want to kill me," the Angel said with a bow, "you're welcome to." He stood straight again. "You won't get your message. And I'm sure you'll want to hear it."