The Story of the Wild Ones

Chapter 16

Willow POV

The next day, I woke up just as the sun was rising. I walked into the kitchen and saw Andy there, eating a piece

of bread. "Good morning," I greeted. "Morning," he replied, a mouth full of bread. "How are you?" I asked. He shrugged. I noticed his eyes were bloodshot, probably from his nightmare. Unsure of what else to do, I wrapped my arms around his waist. He hugged back, whispering a "Thank you" into my ear.

"When do you think we're going to fight?" I asked. Andy sighed, shaking his head. "I wish it could just end. No violence or anything. I can't..." he choked. He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. I guessed he was trying to fight back tears. "I can't lose anyone else," he said quietly. "Hey," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're not losing anyone. It's about fifty of us against, what, ten FEAR shadows? We're going to win." "But not all of us can go to battle," he pointed out. "Still, we're going to outnumber them," I replied.

He opened his mouth to say something when six objects came flying in through the entryway. We jumped back and stared at the objects on the floor. I picked one up and examined it. It was the symbol we had painted on all of the huts, turned into a pendant on a necklace. I smiled as I turned it around in my hands. "Legion of the Black," I whispered to myself. I turned around and showed Andy. "We are united," I said. "We are united, and we will win."

Later that day, after everyone had gone out except me because I said I didn't feel well, I walked into the main room and saw Andy sitting there, holding a picture of his sister and singing softly. Not wanting to disturb him, I just stood there and watched him.

"I pray for mourning, I swear I'll never let you die.

These saints within us, can bring this moment back to life.

And my heart's held high with this battle cry I'll march on,

On the horizon, we will, resurrect the sun."

He stopped and turned to look at me. "I used to sing her this every time Hysteria would be in a battle. I was telling her I hoped I'd always be her protector, and that we need to press on no matter what. I guess I failed at that," he said with a sniffle. "Well think of it as after ten years of you protecting her, she's now watching over you," I told him. He smiled down at the picture. "Yeah," he said.

I walked over and sat beside him, resting my head on his shoulder. "She was pretty," I commented. "It's not like you can say she was ugly, I'm right here," Andy joked. "Yeah, I know," I giggled, "But it's true." "Yeah, she was," he sighed.

Andy suddenly turned to me. "This," he said. "This?" I asked, confused. "This is why I get so mad when you just run off. I don't want you to end up like her," he choked out, a tear falling down his face. I gave him another hug. It's hard to see him like this. He's so strong and brave for being 22. He appears so much older and mature, having taken on the role of being a leader of the Legion of the Black. But no matter how brave and strong he is, he still breaks sometimes.

"You're not going to lose me. Not anytime soon," I whispered to him.

**Author's note**

I'm sorry it's so short! It's kind of a filler chapter too, I guess I just didn't really know what to write. Here it is anyways, and I hope you liked it somehow.

Btw, if you didn't already know, the song Andy was singing to Ellie's picture is linked to the side (and yes, I know some of the lyrics are wrong. I didn't make this video, and it was hard to find one with the right pitch, right speed and the right lyrics). It's one of my favorites off "Wretched and Divine", along with New Year's Day. What's yours? Comment, I'm interested to know.