Sectored Off

III. Trixan

Eden woke up to a bright light on her face. Slowly turning over to face her brother, her heart skipped a beat. He wasn't there. She shot up, frantically scanning the vicinity with her eyes.

"Stone?" she said in a hushed voice. She was now on her feet and looked around the tree that was used as her bed. No sign of the little boy.

"Sto-" Eden was cut off by the sound of rustling leaves in the distance. She pressed her back against the tree and grabbed the gun from her waistband. The sound was getting closer and Eden was prepared for the worst.

As a figure emerged from the brush, she pointed the pistol at them. Her stance was firm and ready to fight. But to her surprise, it was Stonell. He gasped as soon as he saw the gun pointed in his direction.

"Stone?" Eden was thoroughly confused. But he wasn't alone. A bigger figure followed behind him, a teenaged boy.

Eden snatched her brother and drew him closer. Her gun was still pointed in the direction where Stone was standing just seconds ago. The stranger held both hands up in surrender.

"Woah, woah-" he began to plead.

"Who are you?" Eden angrily asked.

"Trixan. I was showing your little brother about the trees." he explained. His tall stance was slightly intimidating and his scruffy hair told Eden that he had been living outside of a sector for a while.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, but you need to leave." Eden said through gritted teeth.

"Eden, he's my friend-"

"Stone, hush!" Eden snapped.

Breaking the argument, a helicopter was heard above. The boy lunged at the siblings and tackled them to the ground. In the act, Edens pistol was knocked out of her hand. As the noise continued, the boy whispered "Don't move." to Stone and Eden. Neither made the slightest noise.

Once the sound ceased, the boy slowly hopped off the ground. He extended his hand to help Eden up, but she scoffed and stood up on her own.

"What was that?" Stone asked.

"The government. They ride around in helicopters all day looking for survivors." he answered. Eden acted like she wasn't fazed by the statement but, she was. She had never heard of a 'helicopter'.

Trixan wiped off the dirt and leaves from his black jeans and combed his long hair back with his hand. He had a gentle face and a crooked nose. Most likely from never healing after a break.

"Where are y'all from?" he asked.

"Lincoln," Eden answered with no emotion. Her glare could burn a hole through someone.

"So around here. I'm far from home. I'm from Jefferson, it's south of here, previously central Florida." he explained. Eden recognized that word. Florida. It bordered Georgia, but was indeed far. A little over 400 miles from where Lincoln is- or was.

"The government came to Lincoln yesterday." Stone stated slightly quivering.

"Yeah your sister here is covered in dry blood. I'm sorry." Trixan looked Eden in the eyes as she touched her cheek. The same one she had smeared her own mothers blood.

Eden vigorously scrubbed her face with her hand in attempt to remove the blood. But it was no use. Her cheek began to feel raw from the rubbing.

"Here," Trixan pulled out a dark green canister and unscrewed the lid. He pull out a wet cloth and approached Eden. When he was inches away from her face, Eden pulled away.

She took the cloth from his hand and said, "I'll do it myself." She gently wiped her cheek a few times until she figured the dried blood was gone. The cloth now had a brownish tint to it from Eden's blood stained cheek. She handed it back to Trixan.

He stuffed it back into the canister and put it in his backpack.

Eden collected her bag, gun still in hand, and grabbed Stones hand. The two began to walk away from the boy.

"Where are y'all heading?" she heard a voice ask.

She ignored him until he caught up to her and gently touched her arm. Eden was not fond of this gesture. She whipped around facing him and staring at him dead in the eyes, anger plastered on her face.

"Away from here, and don't even think about following us." Eden warned. Her glare was deadly and her anger was causing her whole body to shake.

Trixan's eyebrows furrowed, "Maybe we could stick together, if we're going to the same place."

Eden rolled her eyes in annoyance and continued her walk still holding her brothers small hand. She had hoped that this boy would leave them alone but she was proven wrong when footsteps followed behind her.

"Why can't he come with us, Eden?" Stone asked trying to keep up with his sister.

"Stonell, we don't know him, he could here to hurt us." she answered in a hushed voice.

"But he's not! He's nice and gave you a cloth!" Stone shouted with a bit of a pant in his voice.

"Stop it-" Eden began to scold her younger brother when she felt him stop and forcefully pull his hand away from her grasp. She rolled her eyes and attempted to grab his small hand again but Stone had other plans. He crossed his arms over his chest with a huff.

"If Trixan doesn't come then I'm not either!" Stone shouted loudly. Trixan was standing a few feet behind him looking at the little boy. Eden met Trixan's gaze to see him now staring back at her. Neither of the teenagers held any emotion on their face.

Eden grabbed Stone's hand and said a quick "Let's go," to Trixan.