-The Banditos-

-Chapter Seven-

The petal is the same colour as what the Banditos wear, which means Nico can't see it, although he notices something moving in his peripheral vision. It stops him for a second and he retracts his arm.

I look up at the walls of the ravine and see a few people stood there, staring down. They also wear yellow. They must be Banditos, but I've never seen them before.

Suddenly, more Banditos appear and throw out more yellow petals. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of petals start to fall through the ravine and onto me and Nico. The bright yellow around me gives me a strange sense of hope and power. Nico looks up at the falling petals that must just be black to him and he freezes. It's the most expression I've ever seen on his face. It's dread, maybe even fear.

Then I understand. It's a distraction. This is my chance to run.

I break out into a sprint with the last remaining energy I have, straight to the end of the ravine. Everything inside me burns but it's either that or I get dragged back to DEMA by my collar and thrown to Keons to be killed.

Nico has noticed now, and he slowly gaining on me. However, he doesn't seem as fast as last time, he almost hesitant and wary.

I reach the end of the ravine and scramble up the hill as fast as my body lets me. Halfway up, I look down and see Nico has come to a halt, staring up at the Banditos on the ledges. His horse shakes its head nervously and paces back and forth. He looks at me in defeat and it's almost satisfying. I smirk back down at him and continue my climb.

I reach the top and Chloe rushes to my aid, helping to pull me up.

"June? Are you okay?" She asks, frantically. I nod, dusting off myself.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What happened?" I ask. She moves aside to reveal where we are.

Its a campsite. Tents are built up and fires are dotted around, burning. Logs are placed in circles, presumably to sit on. In the center is a black, burnt car.

A girl in a camo jacket with yellow tape placed on it comes over. She has grey eyes and brown hair. She has freckles across the bridge of her nose and on her cheeks. With a serious expression she says,

"Welcome to Trench."

She holds a hand out for me to shake. She has yellow tape around her fingers like a ring. I hesitantly shake it.

"Thank you?"

"I'm Emse. I'm a Bandito. Just like you." She explains, "We've managed to survive out here for years and we're glad to have new members."

"I'm June." I state, "And I'm very confused right now but that's fine."

"All will be explained soon." She says, smiling slightly. She looks over at Chloe, "And you are?"

"I'm Chloe. June's best friend. And I am also very confused."

"Where are the others?" I ask her, realising Seth, Jemma and the rest of the Banditos are nowhere to be seen.

"They're in the camp." Esme tells us, starting to walk towards the burnt car. Me and Chloe look at each other and then follow her.

Once we reach the car in an awkward silence, I see a lot of Banditos I recognise. Some of them are talking to the Banditos from this camp and other are crying. Maybe they lost someone on the run from Nico. I see Seth is sat down on one of the logs. His head hangs low and he stares at his feet.

"Seth?" Chloe calls out to him. He looks up sadly, "Are you okay?"

"They...they got Jemma." He says. My stomach sinks. She was one of the people who's been taken back to DEMA. Confident, cocky Jemma...gone. And now she's left to the wrath of the bishops.

"Seth...I'm so sorry." Chloe mutters, sitting beside him and putting an arm around him. Seth and Jemma were close. I imagine he feels bad for being able to make it but her not.

It makes me angry. That she got dragged back to DEMA and now has to deal with the consequences. It makes me angry that I couldn't save her.

Seth looks over at Chloe sadly, tears forming in his eyes. I can't blame him. He's been under so much stress recently he was bound to breakdown.

Esme clears her throat beside me, "I don't know if this is best time but what were your plans after leaving DEMA?"

"I...don't really know to be honest." I say, "I'm not really sure what life is like outside of it. Where you in DEMA at one point?"

She shakes her head, "I was luckily enough to be born outside of there. I've been in Trench my entire life. When Josh escaped, some of the Banditos swore to stay here and help the other Banditos in DEMA. I knew Josh actually. And his friend Tyler."

"What happened to them?" I ask.

"No one really knows. In the first few days he arrived, Tyler was dragged back to DEMA. Of course, Josh went after him like any best friend would." She look beside us across the ravine of Trench and to the skyline of DEMA, "They never came back. God knows what happened to them or if they're still in there after twenty years."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I'll let you get back to your friend. If you need me, I'll probably be in the biggest tent." She says. I nod and she leaves. I walk over to Seth and Chloe and sit beside Chloe.

We're finally out. It's weird. The air feels fresher and the rain feels crisper. A fire is burning in front of me and the orange embers flicker into the air and disappear. I look over to DEMA. The sun is rising from behind it and it's almost beautiful. The sun shines through the Towers of DEMA, casting a silhouette.

I sigh, thinking of how there are still Banditos in there. How Diego is still in there.

"You okay?" Chloe asks me, he arm not around Seth anymore. He stares into the fire, his face filled with thought.

"Yeah...it's just kind of...overwhelming, you know." She nods in agreement, staring off into the distance.

"Yeah...it's like...everything feels...brighter. More alive." She always gets it, "In fact, I feel more alive."

"Where do you think we'll go after this?" I question, pulling a piece of grass from the ground and twirling it around my fingers.

"I don't know. Somewhere better than DEMA hopefully. Just...normal civilisation sounds good to me." I hum in agreement.

I look across from me and see Sarah and Elissa. Sarah has her head on Elissa's lap and they look to be talking between themselves, smiling every so often. They look so happy. And even if I don't really know them well, it makes me happy.

Chloe yawn and rests her head on her hand, "You tired?"

"It'd be hard not to be after all that running." I reply. I slide down off the log and rest my back against it. Chloe does the same and closes her eyes, leaning against me.

Hopefully, it doesn't rain tonight.