Changed

Chapter Fourteen

"They're soldiers Raya! Soldiers!" Veda could feel the panic rise, which caused her stomach to churn uncontrollably to where she could have puked. Veda put her hands on her stomach while she tried to calm herself and watched Raya as she fixed her hair calmly in the mirror.

    "Trust me Veda, if they were once soldiers they aren't any more. You can tell by how starved they are that meals are few and far between, that's never the case for an active soldier in this day and age." Raya assured her as she turned away from the mirror to face her, smiling warmly as she did.

    "We are going to be okay, Veda. I'm going to take care of everything." Raya promised before turning to open the bathroom door they had been hiding behind as the boys in the other room got ready. They came out and Veda was immediately hit with a damp towel by Jasper. She jumped back in disgust, earning amused laughs from the others.

    The rest of them either had their own towels draped around their shoulders or held them in their hands as they waited for Veda and Raya to vacate the bathroom. "At least there isn't such a bad stink as there was last night." Raya sniffed and Veda laughed softly to herself as she kneeled beside her bag.

    "At least none of us kept anyone up because of our snoring." Jasper shot back and Raya gave him a playful glare, earning some chuckles from the others with the exception of Walter and Veda who were quickly lost in their own thoughts.

    After the guys had dried off, Jax nodded to each one of them in turn and they all separated in different directions to go do unforeseen tasks. Veda and Raya watched them as Jasper and Ryker went into the bathroom while Jax and Walter began to tear apart the room before them.

    "What are you doing?" Veda asked softly. Jax winked at her but said nothing more as he pulled open drawers and the small fridge that held waters beneath the dresser in the front of the room. Veda watched him pull out all of the waters for a minute before she turned to see Walter yank the quilt off of one of the beds and spread it across the floor before pilling the waters in the middle of it.

    After a minute or so Jasper and Ryker came out of the bathroom with unused soaps and towels which they deposited on top of the waters before walking over to open the window they had come into the room through. Veda looked to Raya for an explanation but she just shrugged before picking at the tips of her nails and humming.

    Jax began to tie the corners of the quilt together before he began to speak, "Okay, Ryker, Walter, and Veda will take this stuff and the backpacks back to the spot in the woods we started out in yesterday. Jasper, Raya, and I will go into town to see if we can get more supplies. It should be easier now that we have a girl." Veda felt unease at the plan and quickly shook her head.

    "W-Why do Raya and I have to split up again?" Veda stuttered as she reached to fiddle with her gear-shaped necklace once again. The clicking noises as the gears on the necklace turned soothed Veda ever so slightly and she felt her shoulders loosen and fall slightly.

    "I'm sorry sweetheart but we need the best actors we have. Ryker will keep you two safe and we'll meet you back there soon. Don't get caught." The last part was directed to Ryker who was clearly the leader of their small group as everyone began to stand.

    Jax handed Ryker the quilt, which had been fastened into a sort of sack, and he flung it over his shoulder as Veda walked over to take up her backpack. Walter took Raya's and

The both followed Ryker to the window where he began to climb out onto the fire escape before turning to offer Veda a hand.

    Veda stopped to look back at Raya who gave her an encouraging nod. Veda let out a sigh and nodded back before taking Ryker's hand and stepping out onto the creaking metal that teased at falling away at any moment.

    Ryker pulled Veda back to give Walter room to go down first. Veda watched as Walter's shaking hands took hold of the ladder rungs and immediately calmed, allowing him to climb down with ease, quicker than Veda was comfortable with.

    Ryker let Veda go down next and she shakily made it to the bottom where Walter helped lower her to the ground and she was finally able to breathe normally. Veda didn't get long to catch her breath before Ryker jumped down beside them and rushed them back the way they had come the night before.

    They were met with quite a few more people than they had the night before and quite a few more questioning stares but no one stopped them. They didn't try to hide from view like they had the night before and made it to the woods in record time.

    They took things slower once they were out of sight and picked their way through the roots and underbrush silently. Veda took that time to take in Walter. She hadn't been around him as much as the others and he seemed to be the most similar to her compared to the others.

    He seemed quiet and paranoid, constantly flinching at the slightest noise that even Veda didn't notice or let bother her. He wore white like the others and dark black dress pants with mud and holes covering them. Unlike the others he also had suspenders to hold up his pants.

    Veda looked over to see Ryker glancing over at Walter every now and again nervously, as if he were a ticking time bomb about to be set off. Those looks made Veda nervous and she was almost relieve to find the spot they had been the day before.

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Oh goodness I'm sorry if it's filled with mistakes and all sorts of weird stuff but I'm going to be out for the next three days and I want to have three chapters ready for all of those days so some of this may be a bit rushed but I'm doing my best to have both quality and quantity. If I'm luck I may even get an extra chapter in at some point so I won't have to write so much the day I get back.

I still hope y'all have enjoyed this chapter and please feel free to tell me what you think!!!