Broken Apart

Chapter 6

I grabbed my brothers arm and yanked him aside, all while trying to keep myself aloft. His strong grip wrapped around my forearm. Together, we hobbled back into what was left of the shop; hiding ourselves behind a pile of debris.

"What happened to them? How did you get here?" I bombarded him with questions.

"Robin. Relax, ill tell you everything; once I fix that ankle of yours." He dove his fist into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of oil. "This is disinfectant. I was bringing it back from The Dome for mom."

"How did you get to The Dome?" I demanded, my lip trembling. The Dome had several trains running from it, one going to every Colony and back. If you needed food or medicine; you went to The Dome. Finnick must have been sneaking out. Or did my parents know?

"Let me help you and then I'll talk!" his shaking hand flew over my ankle, sprinkling clear oil over it. It didn't sting, it felt relieving.

"Spill it."

"Mom and dad never liked The Colonies. They wanted to leave and find a new way to live; a world where everyone can live in peace. Dad despised Adira. Mom had the idea of isolation for us. Shortly after that, we started to run out of food, medicine, and other essentials. I volunteered to go out every week and gather supplies from The Dome to keep you, James and Lilly alive."

"That's why you were at The Dome today."

"No, not today. Mom and dad had suspicions about the bomb; they knew something no one else did. They sent me out for something after they found out James and you had gone. They wanted to keep Lilly, I wasn't sure why. I knew you'd find a way to survive this bomb, Robin."

"Who are those girls then?" I lowered my voice, and twisted myself, peeking over the debris at the girls. They both looked about the same age as Finnick but seemed tougher.

"Astrid and Myra, found then on the border. Thought I'd bring them in when I came back."

"Smart." My voice was weak, small.

"Hey, sweetie." Said a voice. I stood and peered around the pile of rubble, careful not to put pressure on my ankle.

"You must be Astrid?" I grabbed the pipe and limped out from behind the rubble.

"That's me."

"I'm Robin." I forced a smile, pushing a strand of charcoal hair out of my field of vision. I let myself fly away; my mind quickly drifting. My ash and cinder covered skin. Corinna's frayed lilac hair. Finnick, my brother, standing at my side and squeezing my shoulder. I took in deep breath and closed my eyes.

A gust of wind blew past me, almost knocking over my weak form. I winced and regained my balance with the help of Finnick and Astrid. I opened my eyes and looked around again. The rubble burned its image into the back of my eye lids. I couldn't remove the sight. Piles rose into small hills, creating a rough terrain.

I pushed myself forward, ignoring the protests of Myra, Astrid and Finnick; James, Ash and Corrina where no where to be seen. I couldn't hear their words. My ankle burned and throbbed, but I was determined to see what had happened to the rest of the Colony.

I propelled myself, miraculously not falling on face. I let the pipe fall at my side and I pushed myself to my feet, pulling myself by crawling up a rise. My limbs burned.

My chest heaved as I pulled myself up. I reached the top, not daring to look up yet. Wrapping my hands around a bunch of wire, I yanked myself to a flat piece of concrete that sat at the top. My gaze rose, slowly, toward the sky.

I held my breath, stopping it from flowing into my brittle lungs. As far as I could see, there was nothing besides debris and rubble. I let out a small sob, pulling myself up onto my elbows.

"Good thing we hated this place; If they weren't going to blow it up, I was going to."

I forced a laugh around my choking, looking sideways at Corinna. She was sitting with her legs crossed and her hands behind her, holding her up, looking out at the world we now had. Her shoulder length lilac hair was now pulled back into a pony tail with a copper wire. I pulled my sleeves over my fingers and pushed them up my cheeks.

"Where will we go now?" I asked, pulling myself up and twisting my body so I was sitting with my legs crossed like Corinna. She took in a shaky breath before looking to me.

"Our families may be dead, but we aren't. We can't stay here and mourn forever. In the morning, we will head out toward the Outward Lands. There must be a Renegade camp there somewhere."

"You're right." I leaned closer to her and laid my head on her shoulder. She slung her arm across my shoulder and pressed her chin into my head. 

"Robin!" a voice screeched. I ripped my head from Corinna's shoulder and looked behind me. Ash stood there, clearly nervous yet excited.

"What?" I twisted myself back around and started barreling down the hill with Corinna at my side. Once I reached the bottom, I grabbed my pipe and hobbled toward Ash. "What's wrong?"

"We cant find James!"