We Are Courageous {BOOK 1}

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Casper stops dead in his tracks as he sits the water down and looks at our group.

A serious expression paints his olive-colored features. The expression is grim and unnerving, given our situation. "Listen to me," he says with a firm look, "We go willingly. We can't fight our way out of this. No guns, no knives. We keep them concealed."

"What?" I exclaim, concerned over all. "They will kill us!"

"Or they take us right to their headquarters." Willow says after analyzing the situation. "Casper is right. No weapons should be used."

Avery huffs. "For once I'm in agreement with Bay, but fine. No weapons and we get our ass handed to us. Sounds like a great plan. Fun stuff!"

Casper ignores her remark. "Let's get this over with."

+++

As the group nears the horde of Jotunn that have entered the store, a tingling sensation of temptation settles over me. How I would love to catch these creatures off guard, to unmask the beings and expose them for what they really are. However, I would not be one to go against orders, there was too much Pure State in me. If I so much as even fired a shot from my gun, they would kill us dead in seconds flat. I need to resist the temptation and follow along with the plan. The plan to hope that they still wouldn't kill us on sight. Maybe we were more valuable to the Warriors than we thought. Maybe we were a necessity they needed, so much so that they would take us alive rather than in a body bag.

Bunk ducks his head low as we draw nearer to our fate. In front of us, the Jotunn are having people turn every which way, comparing their profile to that of the pictures. Those who wore a hat or glasses were asked to remove them, in case it was a disguise. Every person passed the inspection, free to leave, unlike we would be able to.

Casper reaches over and pushes Diego to the back of the group, as if it would help the boy escape. We are all fugitives and we will all be found out, one way or another. Every exit being watched, no stone left unturned. Our luck is about to run out.

Then, our group gets divided up, each person getting filed to a different line and steered towards a different Jotunn. My heart races, my feet feeling as if they are planted in cement, unable to take a step forward or backward. I feel stuck, and I hate feeling stuck.

"Next person." The muffled voice comes from the Warrior in front of me.

Its voice doesn't sound like I expected it too. Its voice resembles that of a heavy smoker, gruff and hard to understand, like it has a buildup of phlegm in his throat. It sounds so human, yet at the same time, it sounds so inhumane. My hands shake as I fight the urge to keep from reaching out and snatching the helmet off of the Warrior who ultimately will decide my fate.

"Next."

I look around me, the feeling to grab my gun becomes more and more apparent. I fight the urge and lift my stooped head to look at the tinted visor. My eyes look away from the Jotunn to find Casper. There he is, about to step into the clutches of a Jotunn, when his eyes meet mine and he gives me a firm nod, signaling to do as the Warrior says. My eyes frantically search for the others. There I see that we all approach a Jotunn at the same time. 

No commotion could save us now. Our fate would be sealed.