Left Alone

Kane's Past

Chapter Ten

Jesse's POV

I watched them walk away and fought the sadness that nearly overwhelmed me. I hadn't seen my old friend in such a long time. The last time.... hadn't been pleasant. He would never believe me, though. I could tell that nothing had changed. I could still see the fear and pain in his eyes. It angered me.

He had no right judge me. I did what I had to, and didn't deserve this distrust. I was innocent.

He would never see it that way. He still considered me a traitor, a murderer. And he had the nerve to come back here.

With her.

Sky, he called her. What an unusual name. I remembered how she glared at me. She was defiant, hard-headed, and stubborn. She annoyed me by challenging me. We were in the middle of the end of the world for Christ's sake and she wanted to argue with me? Sky.

What a beautiful name.

"Alright," I said out loud to distract me from my thoughts. "Let's go back." They had been silent during the interaction, allowing me to do my duty, which was lead. I knew they would have questions for me, and I was not looking forward to answering them. It was a touchy subject, before I met them. I had a feeling that I would just leave them feeling more confused.

Angel was the last to depart. I walked over to her and gripped her waiting hand. Because of her blindness, she constantly needed my guidance, something of which I was happy to give her. She tugged lightly, bringing me down to her height. I sighed. Here we go.

"Are you okay?" She asked. I started, surprised that this was her first question. Gripping her shoulders, I smiled.

"Yeah kiddo," I told her. "I'm alright." Liar.

"Good." Her eyes were unfocused, but I could tell that she was trying to get a read on me. Not going to happen. "The group will ambush you. They don't understand. Neither do I."

"I know," I told her. "I will answer your questions." There was a moment as silence as I waited for her response.

"Those people were weird."

I laughed. "Yeah, they were. Don't worry though, they're gone."

"I don't think so."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"That girl..." she started. "She won't give up. I can tell. She wants answers too. I don't think that boy will give them to her, so she will come back."

I swallows my fear. "She won't." I was certain of it. I made sure to scare her the moment I figured out that she could be a threat. I don't know how I first overlooked it. Perhaps the shock of seeing my old friend distracted me. But when she made herself known...

I couldn't believe that she dared to speak to me like she did. When I finally got a good look at her, I was stunned. She had auburn hair, which had been tied back messily and hung at the nape of her neck. She had sea green eyes that were startling. I'd noticed how they turned almost gray when she was angry. She was short but muscular, for a girl. It just proves what the end of the world can do to you. Her drab clothing was something I did not expect. Even Kane wore more comfortable clothes- a simple T-shirt and sweatpants. Her long shirt went down to about halfway to her knees and her pants were obviously two sizes too big. I had felt bad for her, up until she opened her mouth.

"Jesse," Angel whispered. I snapped back to reality, trying to shake my head of those thoughts. There was no reason to be thinking of her that way. I had my kids to take care of. "Come on, everyone is waiting."