Left Alone

Loyalty

Chapter Thirteen

Jesse's POV

I watched as Kane mentally tried to figure out a way to convince me to help him. Well, too bad. There were just too many reasons why I should let her die, the top of the list being that she was threat to my kids. I couldn't let anything happen to them; they looked up to me.

"Why won't you help me?" he blurted helplessly. I smirked.

"Give a reason- a good reason- as to why I should," I retorted, emphasizing my point. He blubbered for a second, but I cut him off by walking away.

"Wait!" he called. I halted for some unknown reason and turned to face my enemy. He looked defeated, pathetic, and I sympathized for him. He used to be a close friend of mine and now here we were, face to face, eyeing each other with a mixture of distaste and regret.

"What did you think was going to happen?" I found myself saying. My body moved in front of him, tense with anger. My fists clenched tightly and I could feel my nails digging into my palms. I was going to blow and we both knew it. He unconsciously took a step back, recognizing my intimidating stance. "Did you really expect me to forgive you for nearly getting me killed?"

"Me?" He squeaked, surprised. I laughed humorlessly.

"Yeah, you." I stabbed my finger at him. "You turned me into your parents! They would have killed me!"

"You killed Liam!" He shouted back. "It is only fair!"

"Look around you!" I commanded. "There is no such thing as fair! We are in the middle of a goddamn war with the goddamn armageddon pressing down on us! None of this is fucking fair!"

"So that's you answer? You come up with some wild conspiracy theories, Jesse," Kane snarled. "The only thing happening is a depression, something this world has already seen. The only thing abnormal about it is you. You and your little band of freaks-"

"Don't you dare talk about those kids!" I was going to kill him. He could not-would not- talk about my kids like that. They were not freaks, they were people. "How dare you."

"Enough," a voice rang out.

"Hue?" I turned towards the girl, anger evident in the way I clenched my fists. She had the nerve to look undeterred. I growled at her. "Get back home. Now."

"Stop it, Jesse," she snapped. "You are no better than him."

Well, that struck a nerve.

"Go back now!" I roared.

"She needs our help," she argued. "We may live the life of a recluse, but at least most of us still have our humanity."

"Humanity has been burned to ash," I replied sharply. Hue shoved past me to take Sky in her arms. She was so small.

"Enough with your conspiracy theories. You're freaking everyone out." With that, she began to walk back to the tree. I gritted my teeth and followed. When we reached the tree, I took Sky. It was only right that I gain some semblance of control back, regardless of being disobeyed by my second-in-command. I grunted when I saw Kane watching the sleeping girl anxiously. He had no idea.

"Well," I said to him. "This freak is about to save your precious girlfriend. I will bring her back to you when I'm done."

"You will do no such thing!" Kane yelled.

At the same time, Hue just had to say, "Oh, he's coming in."

I glared at her. "No," I spat through gritted teeth. "He's not. You don't have a say in this, Hue, so shut up."

"How old are you?" She challenged. Then, much to my annoyance, she grabbed Kane's hand and pulled him closer to the tree so he could climb. He did so without hesitation and Hue soon followed, nimbly finding the footholds that she was so familiar with. I stood there, chagrined and pissed. I was in charge, damn it.

"Are you coming?" Hue shouted down to me. I glared and she smirked before disappearing. Heaving a heavy sigh, I followed up, holding Sky steady with one hand and propelling myself upward with the other. It only required a little bit of shifting to keep her in place, but nothing unbearable. She was too thin.

"Is she going to be okay?" Kane asked hesitantly, once I slid inside my home. I suddenly had a flashback to when we were kids. Kane and I were competing with slingshots to see who can shoot the farthest. Kane accidentally shot a bird right out of the sky. It was a woodpecker. Immediately, we ran over to it to see that it was still alive, breathing harshly after having the wind knocked out of her. He had asked the same question then, in the same voice. He was scared and ashamed.

Like back then, I replied, "We're about to find out." Kane nodded, never looking at me.

I knew what was wrong with her, and I knew that she would be fine. At least, she would be physically. Mentally, however, I wasn't sure how she could handle it. Obviously, she knew she was sick. You can't go about eighteen years of your life without having an idea about who you are. It's amazing that she was able to hide it so well. Normally, I would have picked up on it. It was good that she hadn't exposed herself though, because then she would have been captured and killed.

Hell, she still might, I thought, feeling a strong urge to protect her. Only this time it wouldn't be the agents who are after her.

"Let's get her to the healing room," Hue suggested gently. My head snapped up to meet her searching eyes. It was then that I realized I had been staring at Sky's features. Damn, I wondered how much time went by. Kane was watching me suspiciously so I smiled at him like an asshole. He glared.

"Let's go." My voice bounced off the walls, creating an echo. Hue and I turned down a hallway. I could hear Kane stumbling behind us. I smiled. This was my home, hidden underground so that no one could get through here. It was a labyrinth, created by the earthly creatures of the dark. I had been lucky that Sal and Minny had fallen down that tree and found this place. It took a while to figure out my way around and now it was like second nature.

"This place is a fucking maze," Kane breathed. I chuckled. Turing left, I followed the hall until we came to the healing room. I gently set Sky down on the table, her soft hair brushing against my skin. I gulped and suppressed the shivers. Her eyes were closed, hiding from me that focused energy that had once dominated them. My gaze swept over her features, from her straight nose to her pale cheeks, down to her soft, full lips. I swallowed again.

"All right," I announced, my voice hoarse. "It's time." Hue came to stand by me, moving Sky's dark hair from her neck. Kane moved closer, but then seemed to think better of it and moved to the corner to sit in a fold-out chair. I silently thanked him for the space. I didn't think I could go through with this with him looming over me like Death.

"We should warn him," Hue whispered to me. I nodded. This was the first time tonight that I actually agreed with her. Kane used to be my friend, so despite the fact that we hated each other now, I felt like I owe him this. This was for Sky too. She deserved to have a head start when the truth was revealed.

"Kane," I said quietly. Turning, I found him staring at Sky with a protective but concerned look on his face. I felt a stab of jealousy, something I hadn't felt since I'd first met Kane. I cleared my throat, trying to get on with it. "You need to know something about Sky."

"What do you know about her?" He asked snidely. I glared at him.

"More than you," I shot back. Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck. I couldn't make this situation worse, for Sky's sake. "I want you to promise me something. I know you don't go back on your promises."

"What is it?" He wanted to know. I could tell he was intrigued. I looked him dead in the eye.

"You can't kill her."

"I would never."

"I have your word?" I pressed. He wanted her alive so bad, I wanted to make sure that the feeling wouldn't change. He nodded. Watching his face for any sign of malicious intent, I told him the truth. "Sky is a hostile."