The Apostate Trials

Chapter 7

A/N: So yeah, things aren't looking so hot for poor Miles...or Noah.

       Folly. Guilt. Incredulity. All these emotions engulfed him in newly found heights of unparalleled rage, a strident mixture of twists and pulls that viciously battled for supremacy in his mind and heart, caged his dormant soul; the transitory moments that passed after that were of the longest blurs he'd ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

       It felt like thirty seconds. Seconds spent frozen. Seconds spent pacing. Seconds spent silently watching on as Lilly did her absolute best to rehabilitate Miles' quickly fading life-force, her hands bloodied as she made use of literally every medical tool at her disposal.

Some, like Noah, were actually worried for Miles' well-being─others for what would happen should he die. But they all shared one thing in common; they faulted Noah for what happened.

"This is all your fault," Shouted Rosary, the first words she'd spoken to him in quite a while. "If Rylan wasn't caught off-guard by you then none of this would be happening! We'd all be safe!" Everyone quickly sided with her.

"Yeah! It is his fault!"
"I knew trusting him was a bad idea!"
"He's going to get us all killed!"

       And as much as Noah hated to admit it, each and every one of them was right. It was all his fault─he deserved their anger. Their hatred. Every bit of it. The more they shouted things in his ear, the more certain he became.

I should've just listened to him, He thought several of times over. If we had just stayed put...

"All of us would be dead," Nikki commented, as if reading his thoughts. The group cast their weary gazes onto her, silent. "A vast majority of girls in that group wielded mini-guns. If we weren't the ones to attack first then all of us would've been effortlessly slaughtered in only a matter of seconds." It was the first time Noah had heard her voice so up-close and in person. It was soft, had a gentle delicacy to it. But somehow it remained firm. "The ones you should be pointing fingers at are yourselves. We outnumbered them seventeen to eight, yet over half of you decided to stay here and cower in fear. You're all quick to wag your tails and point your fingers, but I haven't spotted any of you actually being the ones to go out and take action. It's pathetic."

"That still doesn't change anything," Rosary said. Then, "Things would've been different with Rylan─"

"Well they weren't. While you were too busy riding his balls, we were out there risking our lives," Nikki's tenor grew heated, her eyes narrow. "And honestly, that outfit you're wearing is vulgar and disgusting. Why don't you go slip into something more comfortable, like a coma?"

Many quickly cleared the way for Rosary as she brought herself mere inches away from Nikki's face. "I bet you think you're just hilarious, don't you? We'd all have been a lot better off if you were the one who committed suicide instead."

"If I wanted to commit suicide, I'd jump off your ego and land on your IQ." Nikki didn't miss a beat. "How about you shock me by actually saying something intelligent?"

Rosary rolled her eye, clearly annoyed. "What does my IQ have to do with anything?"

"I have neither the tolerance nor the crayons to explain it to you..." With her sigh, Nikki's stoic expression returned, an act Rosary appeared to be ready to kill for; Lilly was between the two before things could escalate any further.

Everyone turned their expectant gazes onto her, even the two. She quivered from such simultaneous attention all at once. Her voice came out low and shaky. "I did everything I could─and with any hope, Miles should be back on his feet tomorrow. The bullet pierced clean─" But the celebration of the others is what so abruptly cut her off.