Take Back the Light

Chapter 15

When the Shane Gang referred to what happened with Twist, the word "lucky" definitely wasn't the first thing to come to mind. But that's what they had been- lucky.

Lucky that Kord, Trixie, and Pronto were able to fend off Blakk's workers and take down Diablos Nacho. Lucky that Eli had gotten the upper hand when fighting Twist. And lucky that Alana hadn't been completely flattened by the rockfall.

However, instead of being somber about their close call, the gang (mostly encouraged by Alana) decided to look on the bright side. It was a shame Twist had betrayed them, and despite the pain that each member of the Shane Gang couldn't help but feel when things got quiet, they would always wish things could have turned out differently. But Alana had experience with dwelling on the past, and she knew it wouldn't lead anywhere good.

As Alana sat in the training room, which was beneath the living room and completely encased by the mushroom-tree holding up the hideout, she couldn't help but think, training is a way better way to handle things.

When Will had disappeared, she had been at her lowest. Days were spent laying curling up in the bean bag chair, staring blankly at the living room. It wasn't literally empty by any means. Her slugs kept her company. But whenever she saw the portrait of Will and Eli hanging on the wall, Alana would stare up at his blue eyes and warm smile and understand a whole new meaning to the word empty.

A ten-year-old little girl living in a huge hideout with only the company of her slugs, wondering how it could feel like her life was over before it really started.

She'd been like that for a year. There was gold in the hideout she used for food, whenever she felt like eating, and some of Will's old friends that knew about her helped out. Grendel would drive by once a week with a packed meal, talk to Alana for an hour or so (he would do the talking. Alana would only give noncommittal responses), then leave for the Forge.

Then, one day when she was forced to travel to a store to get food, she had a wakeup call initiated by meeting an old friend. From then on, Alana did her best to carry on with her life and not let the story end there.

Now, instead of moping around and waiting for someone else to talk some sense into her, Alana was coping with her emotions with the help of the punching bag in the training room.

She was never much of a hand-to-hand fighter, although now that they knew Blakk had someone like Twist on his side, the gang decided they should try to brush up on their skills. Her slugs, rather uninterested in any training that didn't involve a blaster, lounged around the training room, playing around as Alana released her anger into the punching bag, her mind churning with the once-dormant memories Twist had brought up inside her.

Thump.

Alana stood hidden in the shadows of the mushroom-tree forest, watching as the small building was evacuated. Steely gray walls with scarlet details, boxing in terrible secrets.

Thump.

"Where's the kid that was delivering the dark water?"

"I think she's still inside!"

"I'm not going back in there!"

Thump.

Alana ducked through the crumbling building. Either Blakk had cut corners or Gav was more powerful than she thought- maybe a mix of both.

"Hello?" she cried, ducking as a ceiling panel clattered to the ground next to her. "Is there still someone in here?"

She whipped around as she heard a cough to her right, and when she saw the last worker, her heart leapt into her throat.