Shoplifter: E.O.W Series, Book 1

Chapter 12: Lights out.

I was awakened several hours later by an arm roughly shaking my shoulder.  Cam and Joan are standing over us.

"Whoa, Cuddle party." Coos Cam.

"A cuddle puddle." Chuckles Joan. I look down and see Noah curled up comfortably beside me, his head on my shoulder and upper chest. I nudge him with my shoulder and he jumps up, a chortled snort escaping  through his nose and mouth. The boy looks around, blushing hard as he realizes that everyone is looking at him. I make a gentle groan at the stinging numbness shooting up my arm and rub the sleep from my eyes.

"Cam." No, I don't want to get called a dumb ass. "No wait, Joan. What are you guys doing here?"  Cameron answers before Joan even has chance to open her mouth.

"Blind is calling everyone back to the Templum, something happened. We still can't find Aiden. Hurry up dumb ass!" So much for that. We jump to our feet and take off running down foot trials and less populated back ways so our running won't warrant too many odd looks. It seems every time I go somewhere with Cam we end up running.  I look beside me as I struggle to keep up with Cam, I still feel half asleep and my body is exhausted. The grogginess passes passes and I push myself to move faster so I can speak to him.

"Birdee is Birdee,  He's fine. He just did something bat-shit crazy that made him forget to report." We race back home and as we burst through the doors we see Blind standing on the platform. An agitated crowd shifts below him. As we cut through the small herd of people Blind yells at us with a booming voice that rings out louder than the heavy metal door slamming shut behind us. The frightening tone makes tells us all that he is only adressing me.

"Where the fuck were you!" He roars.

"We passed out in the park, we've been scouting and running since dawn." His expression changes at the word running, it's as if he knows what we were running from.

"Why were you sleeping in the park!" Yells someone in the back of the room.

"We had to lose someone." I yell blindly into the crowd, a respose like that never raises any brows in this place. The crowd begins to rumble uncomfortably.

"Were they Black Crosse?" I  assume that means Blind taught the others about our new enemies were.

"Yeah he tailed us with a knife for almost a mile before we lost him." The rumbling grows.

"SHIT!" He yells, this is the first time I have ever seen Blind lose his composure in the many months I have known him. I join the crowd in feeling uneasy. He returns to the edge of the balcony.  "There has been a murder, one of those Black Cross bastards shot someone two sections from here and the cops are searching the city." A section is a rectangle of eight city blocks, only we divide the city this way to pinpoint each others locations without using technology. The shooting wasn't far from here. Blind turns and kicks a metal pole, cursing in Latin. I don't know the words but you can tell when someone is swearing in any language. Roan pushes her way to my side as Blind speaks again. "I need everyone to be here as fast as possible and to hunker out the night, don't use any of the big kitchen lights, we can all eat in the morning. Lights out by eight, so we don't make too much light."

"Where is Aiden?"

"Still no word from him yet."

"Fucking hell! Where is he." She hisses through gritted teeth. As if on cue Aiden bursts through the doors.  He was supposed to be scouting by himself for the better part of the day, but he was supposed to be back three hours ago. The same time Noah and I were supposed to come back. He gasps, winded and beet-red in the face, that's never a good sign. The twenty-five year old was a good runner and only becomes winded like this when he is forced far beyond his limit. Blind turns his attention to the man, looking puzzled. He returns to the edge of the metal pipe banister. Forgetting all greetings and formalities, Blind yells down to the man who can't make it more than halfway up the stairs.