Sparked (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twelve

Luke

I awoke the pain. It wasn't as bad as the night before, but it still hurt. Maybe Bronwyn had treated my wounds. I sat up groggily.
Bronwyn was asleep next to me and Andrea was on watch. We were in a cave.
"Andrea," I hissed. "Did Bronwyn put you on watch?" "I volunteered," She replied.
"You okay?" I asked. "You're not acting like yourself. I thought you needed beauty sleep." I couldn't hide the bitterness in my tone as I moved so I sat next to her.
"I'm fine. I'm trying to do more things so you'll like me again. So you'll want me back," She said.
I sighed. "It doesn't work like that, Andrea."
"But it can."
"It can't"
"Why not?"
"Because you used me. Aunt Marcy used to say this about one of my other exes; once a cheater, always a cheater." I had made the mistake of calling her my Aunt again.
Andrea rolled her eyes. We were silent for a moment.
"How did we get here?" She asked quietly. "Luke, baby, what's going on?"
I didn't respond.
Andrea cleared her throat. "I mean, I how did you kill that man so easily? I always thought Vienna would end up being a serial killer, not you."
I grinned. "That's real nice. She actually wants to be a song writer."
"Just a song writer? Not a singer?"
"She used to want to be the lead singer of her own band. Hayley Williams was her idol. Then, when she was eleven, we moved to Kansas and she became friends with this girl. Oh, she was toxic."
"Even worse than Vienna?"
"Vienna isn't that mean. She's just overly sarcastic and really doesn't care about anyone's feelings. Anyway, she shared her dream with this girl and she tore her down instantly. Whenever a song she knew came on the radio and she sang along, her friend screamed that her ears were bleeding. She said things like it was the worst sound she'd ever heard, when it reality, Vienna's a good singer. Eventually, she'd had enough and just gave up."
"That's horrible," Andrea said.
I nodded.
Somebody sat down next to me. It was Bronwyn. I smiled. "Good morning."
"'Morning, Luke," She replied. "Anything interesting happen?"
"No," Andrea replied, glaring at Bronwyn. "How're your wounds?" Bronwyn asked me. "They still hurt, but I'll be fine," I replied.
Bronwyn sighed. "If only Mother Dust was here."
Andrea looked at her in disbelief. "Who?"
Bronwyn laughed.
"Andrea, we'll find somewhere to drop you off, then Bronwyn and I will go find Vienna and the others," I said.
Andrea frowned and leaned towards me. "I'm coming with you," She snapped. I leaned away from her. "You're not peculiar, though," I replied. "So?" She challenged. "It doesn't matter, Lukas." I flinched at the poison in her voice when she used my real name.
"I don't want you getting dragged into this," I told her.
"I'm coming."
"Andrea, you can't."
"I can and I will."
"You're not meant to be apart of this world!"
She flinched and I immediately felt guilty.
"I am, Luke," She whispered. "I am because you are."
"You two aren't together anymore," Bronwyn pointed out.
Andrea turned on her. "Shut up, girl. You don't even know him! You don't know me! You have no clue what we've been through-"
"What we went through was a lie," I interrupted.
It was quiet.
"We should go," Bronwyn said, standing up.
"No," Andrea argued. "I want to know what's going on. Why Luke can control lightning? What is a peculiar? Who were those people?"
Bronwyn sighed and sat back down. "It's a lot to explain. Some of us are born with interesting abilities. Those born with the abilities are peculiars. Luke can control lightning because he's one of us. Those people back there were wights. They're Hollowgasts that've consumed enough peculiar souls to somewhat return to their human state."
"What's a Hollowgast?"
"Let's just say that they're an experiment gone wrong."
"How far are we from the headquarters?" I asked.
"Not far. Andrea and I couldn't carry you for a long time, but I think we're safe here. Well, for now," Bronwyn replied.
"Let's get going," Andrea said. "For real this time."
"Luke," Bronwyn said. "You'll be able to make it? With your leg injury?"
I nodded. "I'll survive."
"Do we have any weapons?" Andrea asked. "The gun," I said. "And our peculiarities. Who's ready to track down Vienna and the other peculiars?"
We got the our stuff together and headed off into the sunset.