Trained One ✓

Chapter 01

**Note** This is the second book of the Rebel One series. Please make sure to check that out before reading this. I hope you like it! I've had this just waiting in my head for so long now! By the way, this is from Travis' point of view. ENJOY!!!!! Vote, comment, tell your friends, and smile :)

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Travis.

"This has got to be a dumb idea. Tell me it's a dumb idea," I muttered to Cameron as we slinked along the building's corner.

"All of your ideas are stupid, Travis."

Offensive.

"Come on, while we know where he is," Cameron added and started running to the cover of the next building's doorstep before any of Sterling's guys spotted us advancing. I trailed after him, looking left and right.

Was I worried?

Yes.

This one the first chances we had in months to get Sterling out of his little security bubble of a house and I didn't want to miss the opportunity. He had gone off the rails. The city was littered with his minions and they destroyed everything they touched, quite literally. I ran up the stoop behind Cameron, bumping into the stair handrail and a piece of it broke off and clattered loudly to the floor.

"Would you shut up for five minutes?" Cameron snapped and glared at me and then the broken handrail on the ground. Chaos was going on around us but heaven forbid I make a noise. 

"I didn't!" I argued.

He was on edge too.

Sterling had taken over more and more areas of Melkin and wasn't going to be happy until everything was his. Until everyone was under him. Until this town was nothing more than ashy remains.

"If you ruin this..." he said before turning back around to face our target.

I sighed. I wanted to take Sterling down just as much as Cameron. It had been a few years since I dropped Lacey off at the hospital but my anger was just as strong still. In the time it took Ben to drive me there and back that night, Sterling's men had gotten the advantage and Cameron had to fall back. Sterling took it as a sign that he was stronger than us and just snapped.

We tried to keep to ourselves and mind our own business but his attacks were on the regular. Every time we tried to leave the town, something came up.

I jumped up and down a few times, shaking out my limbs. Cameron, who apparently wanted me to be as quiet as a ghost, groaned.

Gunfire rang through the skies as Sterling shot from high in the next building down at people below. Sterling's gang and ours were down here and I don't even think he knew which he was shooting at. As long as he shot something, it boosted his ego.

"Let's go," Cameron said as Finn drew some of the guys from the door away for us to run inside. I turned my earpiece on and squinted inside the grey building. All of the commotion was upstairs and Cameron booked it in that direction.

I didn't stop sprinting until we found. With the commotion and his eagerness to be an asshole, he didn't hear us come up.

"What the hell," Sterling yelled as Cameron punched him from behind. The surprise caused his gun to go off and we both ducked back behind the stair wall.

"You have some nerve," he added while ducking behind one of the walls.

I paused behind the stairway, trying to listen for any movement with my gun at the ready. I just needed one shot. That's all.

Cameron started shooting with his own but I peeked around the corner and couldn't see Sterling, just his minions. They weren't who I wanted.

Gravel and dust shot up around me and I ducked back for a second. When I looked out again, I started to see a sliver of his face and pulled my gun out.

"Guys!" Finn screamed through the ear piece. "Get out now. Now!"

Cameron pulled back. "What?" It wasn't a question. It was a 'tell me what you're talking about or you're dead' demand.

"They've got explosives. They've got my explosives. How the hell--"

"I don't care," Cameron said.

The building shook and a low rumbling filled the air. I looked at Cameron uneasily.

Sterling started screaming. "I'm up here, you dumbass! What did you do?"

"Shit." I started sprinting down the stairs, taking two at a time with Cameron right behind me. The walls were creaking.

Annabeth's voice came through, "The place is crumbling."

"They started a fire. Get out before it catches the other explosives they chucked in there," Finn yelled.

"Come on, come on, come on," I said, not going as fast as I wanted.

I stopped hearing Cameron's footsteps and turned around as debris fell around him, knocking into his body. Multiple stairs between us broke as the walls fell down onto it. Cameron jumped back to avoid the bits of stairs barely holding on and looked all around, holding onto his side where he was hit.

"Get out," Finn yelled.

"Just go, Travis," Cameron said as I pulled at some of the debris to clear his path.

"I'm not leaving you," I told Cameron before coughing and shielding my face from the dust and ash.

Above us some of Sterling's guys started yelling about the stairs being out and no where to go. They weren't helping me any.

"Cops," Ben said urgently on the earpieces. "Cops are coming."

The fire was making its way through the building and fast. Smoke was thick in the air as everything heated up.

"I'm telling you, go!" Cameron ordered as more fell down around us.

"I won't lose you, too."

Then, everything got loud.