Nocturne ➸ Ben Parish

15

     EVAN LEFT AT DAWN. He gave himself up. He told us that Vosch only wanted him. Cassie tried to stop him, but it didn't work out too well.
     Ben went outside to see what was left of the cabin.
     I watched as Cassie cleaned Megan's scraped knee. I guess she did land on the concrete. Nugget still sat in the corner, facing the wall. His oh-so-beloved bear was face down in the rubble near the entrance.
     A few tears slipped down Cassie's face. For a moment I actually felt bad for her. She was foolish enough to love a silencer.
     Ben made his way back into the basement. I hesitated in letting him take my gun, but I knew I could trust him not to shoot me. He stepped aside to reveal my sister. He took my gun so I wouldn't shoot her. Cassie shot up.
     "Leave your gun at the top of the stairs." she demanded.
     Marika listened, but somehow I still felt unsafe. I had finally figured out what 'enhancement' was. The others would turn people into emotionless things with killer instincts, 100% accuracy, and the inability to feel pain. The emotionless part wasn't too hard for Marika.
     "Why'd you come back?" I asked.
     "Vosch sent a cleanup crew. They were supposed to kill whoever lived through the blast." she responded.
     "So you killed them." I finished.
     It didn't really matter. Any one else would've done it if she hadn't.
     "That's not all." she added, "Their pilot should be back soon to pick them up."
     "I'm going with you." I told her.
     "We're only going to the caverns." she responded, trying to get me to stay.
     I shrugged, "I'm still going."
     She rolled her eyes.
     "Find a soldier. You're going to need their uniform." she raised an eyebrow.
     I nodded.
     "I can't stop you, can I?" Ben questioned as my sister left the room.
     I shook my head.
     He pulled me into an embrace, "Don't get shot."
I smiled, "I won't"

     I nearly puked trying to put on the oversized uniform. Marika didn't seem to mind that she was wearing a dead person's clothes. We've both seen worse. I slung their rifle over my shoulder and stashed my hand gun in the waistband of the uniform.
     The plan was to hide. My sister would have to be buried because of The 12th System. The rest of us would hide under the few blankets that didn't dissolve in the blast.
     Marika's temporary grave had already been dug by Ben and Cassie. I couldn't watch, it reminded me too much of Dumbo's grave back in Urbana.
You did what you could. Somehow, I just didn't believe myself anymore. You didn't do enough. You let him die.
     "You okay?" Ben placed a hand on my shoulder.
     I nodded, "Just hoping the owner of this uniform doesn't come back to haunt me for stealing it."
     I couldn't even make up a good lie. Calm down. You can't freak out now, you have a job to do.
"Be careful." he leaned down, pressing his lips against my forehead.
I wrapped my arms around him. He always found a way to make me want to stay, but I needed to do everything I could in order to get closer to Vosch.
Plus Cassie is already burying your sister. A hose stuck out of the ground so she would be able to breathe. Even with the enhancement, I still doubted that she could escape.
As soon as we could hear the chopper, the rest of us threw the blankets over our heads. The helicopter landed in front of the rubble. I saw someone run past me. Discarding the blanket, I hurried to join my sister. God, she's fast.
By the time I was halfway, the chopper was already taking off. I jumped up and held on to a ledge. A hand reached down and pulled me into the aircraft.
"Thanks." I muttered.
The pilot turned to face us.
I flashed a smile.
He glanced at Marika, "It's you."
"It's me." she confirmed.
I raised an eyebrow. How the hell do they know each other. The pilot's horrified expression gave me a clue.
"How's your finger?" she asked.
"Why should I tell you?" he replied with another question.
"Just trying to help." she answered.
"You helped enough when you broke it." he spat.
She now stood right behind his seat.
"You're going to take us to the Ohio Caverns." she almost sounded like a hypnotist.
"Why the hell would I do that?" he laughed.
She shoved a thumb into one of his eyes. He screamed, but she didn't give up until he agreed to fly us there. I watched in shock as blood dripped onto my stolen boots. Our one-eyed pilot.

EDITED

Make sure to leave a vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter!