Project X - Agents & Assassins [COMPLETE]

Chapter 20

They had walked around in silence for about an hour when they arrived at the forest in the outskirts of town. They didn't step too deep in it, not willing to risk the chance of losing their way but Felix assured them he knew this forest like the palm of his hand. It was early in the morning and unfortunately, none of them had suspected the cold weather. In fact, in the forest it was clear to see that they were stumbling into Fall and leaves were turning orange, red and yellow and covered the humid dirt beneath them. Kalea sighed as she watched the sky collecting her hopeless puff of air. Felix groaned as he pushed himself back on his feet and pointed towards a little, white dot in the distance. 'There it is,' he said. Once they got a closer look at the dot they all noticed it was an abandoned, white cabin with a few smashed windows. Ivy grew over their hiding place and for a moment they all forgot they were in pain and complete exhaustion. Felix silently quickened his steps and walked to the front door. He didn't have to push hard in fact, the door opened without any effort. Felix beckoned the rest to come in and they didn't hesitate at the thought of shelter. It was very well maintained, to everyone's surprise. The cabin was furnished with a small table, a couch, a few chairs and a fireplace. Scarlett didn't hesitate and immediately plumped down on the couch. Felix followed her example and Kalea took a chair. Richard closed the door behind them and gave a zealous look at the fireplace. 'I'll go get some wood,' he said as he turned back around and left the cabin. 'Are you okay?', Kalea asked directed to Felix who looked as if he'd run a marathon. He gave a doubting nod before giving the wall in front of him a blank stare. 'Where did you find this place?', asked Scarlett, now a bit more concerned for her fellow fugitive. Felix sighed, detaching his eyes from the lifeless wall and spoke, 'my dad built it when I was younger. We spent our vacations here.'

Scarlett understood that Felix probably didn't want to talk about it, but Kalea's curiosity became triggered. 'But it looks abandoned, doesn't it? Don't you come back here to spent the holidays anymore?'

Felix shrugged his shoulders and put his hands under his legs. Scarlett, who understood his body language tried giving Kalea a he-doesn't want-to-talk-about-it look but Kalea's eyes were now completely fixed on Felix, leaving Scarlett unnoticed. 'It's okay if you don't want to talk about it,' Scarlett interrupted, preventing Kalea to ask any more questions. The door to the cabin opened, startling the three teens. Richard stood in the doorway with a pile of wood in his arms clutched to his chest and exhaustion on his face. He dropped the pile in a basket next to the fireplace and sat down in the chair next to Kalea. Scarlett still wasn't sure about Richard, something in her guts told her not to trust him and he had communicated so little to them. She wasn't even sure why he tended to do this. Richard sighed as he nonchalantly stroked his fingers through his hair. 'I'm sorry,' he said with a hoarse voice, 'for everything.'

Kalea nodded and smiled at him, 'it's fine.'

Scarlett, on the other hand, did not take an apology for granted and raised from the couch. 'Can we talk, Richard? Privately?'

Richard looked at Scarlett and noticed the same fire in her eyes he received from Kalea when she got angry. He gave Scarlett a small nod, stood up and followed her outside the cabin. He closed the door behind him and only now inspected the girl before him; the girl where all the fuss was about. She had bright auburn hair which was pulled back into a tight braid and forest green eyes. Apart from that she wasn't much smaller than him and was athletically built. 'An apology isn't enough,' Scarlett stated firmly. She didn't detach her eyes from Richard's and it made him slightly uncomfortable. Richard shrugged his shoulders and grinned. 'I didn't hit you that hard.'

'This isn't about me,' Scarlett interrupted. She noticed that Richard wanted to ease the mood between them but she was on to that. 'This is about the two inside. Especially the boy.'

Richard's face turned from grinning to apologetic. 'I told you I was sorry,' he said quietly after a long pause of silence. Scarlett sighed.

'He is mentally instable and is heavily traumatized. Sorry isn't going to be enough,' she said.

Richard shook his head and desperately tried finding a proper way out of this conversation. He looked around the forest around them and only saw the trees looking down on him. For a moment, he thought the trees might be judging him, for all that he had done to this group. He quickly removed all these thoughts and leaned against the wall of the cabin. 'What do you suppose I'd do?', he asked. Scarlett pointed her finger in Richard's chest. Even though it wasn't supposed to hurt, Richard felt with what anger and force that finger pointed at him. 'You should figure that out on your own. All I want to know, is what you have done to him that made him so worn out.'

'It's fine,' said Felix when he had opened the door. 'We have thin walls,' he continued, 'so if you're going to talk about me do it more than 500 meters away from the cabin.'

Both Richard and Scarlett stared down at their feet, hiding their shame and concern.

'I'll make fire,' Richard said, thus cutting away from the subject. 'I'll get the food,' Felix said. Scarlett could see Kalea jump up from the couch now as well. 'I'll help,' she said directed to Felix. Scarlett sat back down on the couch and felt how the pain in her body and muscles increased. She turned and lay down, her eyes staring at the ceiling. She missed her dad, she missed her house and she desperately wanted to go home. Especially in this group, she had the feeling she was the only normal person around here to make tactical and good decisions. Richard succeeded in putting on a small fire and quickly, the entire cabin was filled with the warm waves of the fire. He turned around and saw Scarlett lying on the couch, her thoughts far away and her eyes closed.