Left Alone

Rude Awakening

Chapter Nineteen

Sky's POV

We've been walking for hours now and Kane hasn't said a word. His eyes are trained ahead as if he's looking for something, a solution. The tension surrounding us is palpable and I feel an irrational urge to break the silence to get him to talk. I know it won't help, though. I know he needs his space in order to come to terms with what I am. Our talk before had been short and sweet. We had left the group and walked into the trees for about ten minutes before Kane said it was safe. I had waited for him to yell or make a move to hurt me, but it never came. He just stared at me as if I was a stranger to him. I had taken this opportunity to study him. His eyes were bloodshot and a new wound ran from his eye to his cheekbone. His mouth was set in a grim hard line and when I'd looked closely, I saw his hands shaking. Still, he did nothing. Dust covered his jeans up to his knees, so I'd guessed he'd gotten closer to 11-S, the block closest to my previous destination. He went back to the desert.

I've wanted to confront him about it, but he was determined to make the rest of this journey in silence. I felt a pang in my gut as I remembered his words.

"So," he'd started. His eyes zeroed in on mine and it had made me feel uncomfortable. Overwhelmed, I felt the urge to explain to him.

"I didn't know, okay?" I stated rudely. Not exactly the way to win him over. I frowned, surprised. A few weeks ago, I would have given anything to rid myself of him. Now, I would do anything to make him stay. "I didn't know that I am a hostile. I just thought... Well, I didn't really think anything. I tried to ignore it as best as I could-"

"Stop," he commanded. I watched him got any sign of a reaction. He sighed, loathing reflecting in his eyes. It scared me for a second, before vanishing altogether. This was Kane. I knew him. If he wanted to fight, I would take him on.

"I understand if you hate me, Kane," I said softly. "I don't want to fight you. But if you need to get it off of your chest, then fine." I waited, fists clenched, for him to come at me. He didn't, but his next words had my stomach clenching, worse than any punch would have been.

And now, we walked in silence, unable to voice the horrible, unspeakable truth that surrounded us like a blanket. Those words weighed down on me, making it hard to lift up my feet. The weight was too much for me to handle. The sob I've been holding back is lodged in my throat, waiting to be freed. I wished more than anything that it wasn't true, even though it had really been the only option from the start.

Kane slowed down his pace so that we were shoulder to shoulder. Well, shoulder to head. He was much taller than me. His hands were clenched in tight fists and his eyes never once darted in my direction. With effort, words once again escaped his lips, softly, and with a calm he had possessed back when confronting me in the clearing. "We are about to reach 2-B. We need to stick to the wall until we see an opening." I swallowed the lump in my throat along with my pride, my anger, and my regret.

"If we stay north, there's an opening the west side."

He nodded. "Fine. We'll get there by midday, but I think we should rest first and go when it's dark out." I agreed. We found a safe place to stay the night and set up camp in a tree. The higher up you go, the more the leaves and branches hide you.

During the night, a few agents walked around below us, looking for hostiles. Since we were closer to 2-B, more agents popping up was likely. This knowledge settled on my skin like dust, making me all the more aware of the seriousness of our situation. Not that these agents were hard asses. I watched as two joked around back and forth, pretending to shoot each other. It was a game called Agent and Hostile. The agent always won. I gritted my teeth at their ignorance. Killing a hostile was a prize to them. The fame that came with killing people was remarkable, even I had to say so. The only problem was that they had no idea what a hostile really was. Their banter kept me up for most of the night since no one wanted to venture too far out that night. It had something to do with a superstition about hostiles being stronger under a full moon. Seriously, what the hell does the moon determine?

After a fitful night, Kane and I awoke at dawn to continue our journey. It took us longer than it usually would because there were so many agents crawling around. Unlike the agents from last night, these meant business. At one point, I had been afraid that we were found. We were hiding in a tree and Kane slipped. I grabbed him and helped him up, but it was already too late.

"Hold it," one agent said, freezing at the sound Kane had made. I closed my eyes. "Did you guys hear something?" Just then, our saving grace bursted from his hiding place and took off, unaware that he had not made the disturbance. The agent who had stopped simply pointed his gun and fired, bringing down the young boy. Without another word, the agents walked on.

By midnight, we came up to the wall of 2-B. Its oppressing demeanor sent a shiver down my spine. The emotion coursing through me had been too much. I felt dizzy with it. It had nothing to do with my hunger, because I took what little the boy could give me. He was suffering anyway.

"Sky, stop this," Kane said, gripping my arm tightly. He was still upset, didn't even thank me for saving his ass. "You'll get us both killed. Then how will we save Star?"

The reason why we came to 2-B wasn't because Star was here. No, he was gone. But a friend of Kane's was here who could help us get him back. He had done it before. My conversation with Kane came rushing back, causing me to lose my balance.

"Shut up, Sky," Kane had said. "This isn't about you and me. Remember that this whole thing was about Star. Do you remember him? Listen to me. I know where your brother is." I had instantly perked up, all thoughts about my conflict with Kane evaporating. My gut twisted, worried about finding out the truth. Kane paused, and I was too impatient at the time to wait.

"What is it?" I demanded. I had to know.

"You're not going to like it," he had said quietly.