Ablaze »»DARKEST MINDS««

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
THE SAFE HOUSE
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Rain falls from the clouds in a light shower, bringing a much needed relief from the previous downpour that plagued the area. We all stand in the mud facing each other, battered, bruised, and exhausted, as Dane holds a gun up to Conor's head. Conor's hands shake as he holds them above his head. My hands clutch Bo closer to me, like my body could possibly save him from the disaster-ridden world around us, as I feel my boots sinking slightly into the sopping ground.

"Dane, he just saved us! Put the gun down!" Marcy exclaims, daring a step closer to him. Her hands ball into fists at her sides as she stares at him with wide, ferocious eyes.

"I'm on your side, dude," Conor mutters. Dane's grip on the gun weakens, but a thought seems to cross his mind and he straightens up again, his glare returning.

"Why are you helping us? You're one of them."

"No, I'm not. I'm from the Children's League."

"What?" Dane stares, bewildered, at Conor. The hand holding the gun falls to his side.

"What's the Children's League?" I ask. Dane finally tears his eyes away from Conor to acknowledge me. But, before he can say a word, Marcy beats him to it.

"How about we have this nice chat later when we aren't in danger of being killed?!"

Dane sighs and glances at the sky. "Marcy's right," he looks back down at each of us, "we need to go before backup shows up."

He leads the way towards the edge of the woods and everyone follows but Conor. I hesitantly stop trekking through the mud and look back at him, confused. He points his thumb over his back, towards the suburbs on the other side of the mall.

"I know a place where we could stay for the night," he says. Dane stops, and so do Marcy and Falcon. Bo tightens his grip on my coat as we find ourselves at another stand still.

"Why should we trust you?"

"Because we can't afford not to," I answer for him. Conor glances at me and gives me a thankful nod. He addresses the rest of the group again.

"A couple of my buddies from the Children's League are camped out in one of the abandoned houses in town. It's safe there, and they have food. It's better than the woods."

I close my eyes for a moment and reach out for Conor's mind. I just need to make sure he doesn't have any ulterior motives. As I weave through his brain, being careful not to look too long at any of his personal memories, I stumble upon the image of two people in a suburban house. I watch the scene play out without noticing anything fishy going on. I detach from his mind and blink a few times to recalibrate myself. 

"He's telling the truth." Everyone looks at me. Dane is the only one who doesn't look confused; he looks at me with a slowly crumbling resolve. I know he wants to do what's best for us, that's all he ever wants. And being lead by a stranger who just shot three guys without hesitation or remorse into what could possibly be an ambush didn't seem too safe.

But there's no denying what I saw in Conor's memories. He's telling the truth. Dane just needs one last push and he'll cave.

I step closer to him and look him straight in the eyes. His eyes study me closely, flickering between the two of mine. A line forms between his eyebrows.