Divided

Chapter Twenty Three

Thalia

I look out the window of the truck, wondering how in the world I survived what just happened. Cat sits next to me, and she looks down at her black boots, her dark brown hair draped over her shoulder. I still haven't seen Ras, and I'm just praying that he's alive. 

"Rough attack, huh?" Cat finally breaks the silence, asking the only four people that remain in our group.

"Yeah." I say quietly, the sun shining down on my face. The wind whips through my hair, but I'm too depressed to enjoy the feeling. Then I realize something. "Cat?" I ask.

"Yeah?" She replies, looking up at me.

"Do you remember seeing a girl with blonde hair and green eyes?" I ask. Cat looks deep in thought for a second.

"No, I don't." She says. 

"Oh." I manage to whisper. I don't know why, but there was one sliver of hope in me that someone had seen Jackie there, just as some confirmation that she's healthy. That she's okay.

"I'm sorry." Cat says. "Was that someone important to you who you haven't seen with us yet? Because I'm sure she'll turn up." Cat tries to reassure me, but I shake my head.

"No, she won't." I whisper firmly. Cat cocks her head.

"I know she will." She says.

"No she won't!" I yell. The truck becomes silent. I sigh. "She won't turn up because, because she's a Macsar." I admit. Cat gasps.

"You have a friend who's a Macsar?" She asks in disbelief.

"Had." I say. "Two years ago, we got in a fight, and I, just let her go. I haven't seen her since." I say. Cat looks down and I listen to the hum of the engine.

"Then why should you care about her?" Cat scoffs. I sigh again.

"Because the reason we got in a fight was because of this new girl in our group, Robin. Her and Robin didn't get along, and Jackie got mad because I didn't care. She said she didn't like Robin one time when she came over to my house, and then," I trail off, unable to continue through the mix of emotions I'm feeling.

"I'm sorry." Cat says, and I feel the the girl in shotgun staring at me.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." I say with a shake of my head. "If anyone should be sorry for what happened, it should be me. For what I did. But the truth is, I can't change it, so why bother thinking about it?" I ask. The truck stops, and I climb out. I see the gray prison standing tall and ominous in front of us, casting a shadow over us. I take in my last breath of fresh air for a while, and then a man pushes Cat and I inside.

The air is cold, at least twenty degrees cooler than outside. I shiver, and we're pushed into the training facility. I groan, and the man leaves. Cat and I are surrounded by dozens of other people who survived the attack, some not looking so good. I am almost completely unscathed, except for a gash down my arm from the window next to me being shattered. We watch everyone filter in, and I look desperately for Ras. Cat walks over to me.

"Expecting someone?" She asks, her eyes have a humorous glint in them.

"Yeah, a guy named Ras." I say. Her eyes widen.

"Ras?" She asks, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Yeah." I say, tearing my eyes away from the crowd. "Do you know him?" I ask, looking into her eyes.

"He used to be my cell mate a few years back, he was very nice. I assume by the way you're looking for him so intensely that he's still the same." She says. I nod, still scanning the crowd. Then I see him.

"Ras!" I scream, running into the crowd. He looks up, and holds an arm out, stopping me from leaping into his arms. I see him up close, and see that he looks horrible. His left eye is swollen shut, and burns are on his right arm, and his left arm has terrible gashes all around them.

"What happened?" I ask in concern. He shakes his head.

"The truck I was riding in was completely destroyed. I was lucky enough to jump out right before it burst into flames, but not lucky enough to escape some burns." He explains. "I'm the only survivor from my truck, I had to run through the woods, where I ran into a wall of brambles and got a few gashes. I finally caught up to the trucks and got a ride in the back, but when I jumped in my eye hit a remaining torpedo-like weapon, giving me this." He points to his eye, and I nod.

"I'm so sorry." I say sympathetically, unsure of what else to say.

"It's okay. You have nothing to be sorry about. The past is the past, if you can't change it then don't be sad about it." He says. I nod, thinking about Jackie. We're silent, then I look up at him.

"Hey, there's an old buddy of yours that I met, and I think you'll want to see her." I say with a smile. He cocks his head, and I giggle. "Come on!" I yell in excitement, and start to push through the crowd, back to where Cat is waiting for me to return. I turn my head, and see Ras jogging behind me, doing his best to keep up. I see Cat, and wave my hand so that she can see me. "Cat!" I yell over the commotion around me. "Cat!" She turns, and I wave my hand so that she can see me.

"Thalia! There you are!" Then her eyes fall on Ras. Her eyes become soft, and a smile stretches across her face. "Ras." She whispers breathlessly. She runs over and hugs him, and he winces. "Oh, sorry!" She giggles awkwardly, looking at his wounds.

"Cat, I thought I saw Rose." He whispers so low that I have to strain my ears to hear him. Their faces become somber, and I know I shouldn't be listening, but I do anyway.

"Ras, that's impossible. You couldn't have." Cat replies in the same low voice.

"It  looked almost exactly like her, except older. I only saw her for a split second but..." Cat looks him in the eye.

"Ras, you didn't see Rose. You have bad memories about her, people see people and things when they have bad memories relating to them." Cat tries to persuade him, but he just shakes his head.

"But this felt so real." He whispers, his voice getting lower.

"You didn't see Rose, Ras." Cat whispers firmly. Ras looks her in the eye.

"How do you know?" He asks.

"Because the police proved that she's dead."