fire starter | l.s [1]

twenty-six

Ruby stepped back from the hug, her arms falling loosely at her sides. I watched as her lips parted slightly and her eyes glassed over in fear. The girl looked over at Zu, who was sitting quietly, playing with the fingertips of her yellow gloves.  

"What did you say?" She asked quietly.

"We need to get out of here Ruby. You were right. It isn't safe," I whispered back, keeping a close eye on Zu.

"What happened?" She folded her arms over her chest, worry washing over her features. 

"That's not important. What's important is we get Li and Chubs, then get the hell away from here," I reply, brushing off her question. 

She nodded slowly, agreeing to go find Chubs and Liam while I stayed and packed up our stuff. Ruby squeezed my arm softly before quickly zipping past me into the night. Pressing my lips together, I pushed the thought of what Clancy had done to me to the back of my mind.

No more crying. Crying is what got me into this situation, caring about my past is what got me here. And getting out was what I needed to do. Releasing the tension that built up in my chest with a sigh, I quickly knelt down in front of Zu. Her large dark eyes stared at me with worry as I explained to her what was happening. 

We speedily collected out belongings and threw them into our backpacks. We also shoved a few thin blankets into the mix, just in case we ever found ourselves in need of them. Zipping up the bags was a whole other challenge, and I almost screamed out in frustration but I couldn't let my bottled up emotions get the better of me at this point. 

I slung the lightest bag around Zu's small shoulders and fixed up her clothing. My lips trembled as I stared at the innocent girl, wondering what her life would be like without all of this mess. I brought my hand up to her hair and brushed my fingers through it, muttering a soft apology. 

"You guys ready?" Ruby called as she appeared at the end of the bed, Chubs, and Liam following in suit.

"Yeah," I sighed softly, turning away from the little girl.

There were dark circles under Liam's eyes and his usual breathtaking blue orbs were dull with exhaustion. I offered a sad smile as we shared a quick glance. He returned almost immediately. Worry was evident on his face, the same with Chubs. But there was no time to explain. Clancy would be looking for me by now.

"I know an area that isn't being guarded. If we're lucky, we can sneak out that way," Liam informed, pulling the straps on his bag.

The group mumbled an agreement as Zu reached up to lace her fingers with mine. Giving her hand a light squeeze, I followed the others out of the tent for the last time. 

At this point, the campus was busy eating dinner which gave us a good window of hope and opportunity. We managed to guide ourselves through the maze of children, it seemed as though we weren't drawing too much attention to ourselves. 

My hands had become clammy and there was no denying I was scared. My heart pounded loudly in my ears, reminding me that my anxiety was lurking in the back of my mind. Loud growls echoed from my stomach as we neared an opening between two shipping containers, a waft of freshly cooked soup assaulting my nostrils.

Liam had taken the front now, his large frame blocking what was in front of us. So when he stopped suddenly, I couldn't deny the strong urge to puke. Zu's petite fingers squeezed mine causing me to look down. Her eyes were glassy, and her lips trembled. I pulled her closer into my side, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

"You really thought getting away would be that easy?" Clancy's voice sent chills down my spine. 

"Let us leave," Liam demanded.