Storm

Chapter Thirty-Seven

We'd packed everything up and were headed back towards the red brick building of the middle school.

Sleeping last night had been difficult -- and not just because it was a crappy car I was trying to sleep in. Sure, that didn't help, but my thoughts made everything much worse.

I couldn't stand the thought that we were truly hopeless. I just wanted to save them. I wanted to save everyone. Back when I was alone, things were easier, I didn't have to worry about anyone else...

But now...

I understood somewhat how Asten must have felt when gangs had taken his brother from him.

And that was a whole other area that I didn't even know what to say about. I felt horrid. I wanted to hug him and  tell him it'd be all right even though I knew it wouldn't.

I also felt guilt. All this time, I'd worried so much about surviving, about keeping everyone protected and living for the next day that I'd completely forgotten his brother. I doubted he ever had -- he'd just never mentioned it. He probably knew how hard it would be to find him now. We were on the other side of the country from wherever his brother was. Honestly, even years of searching for him could lead to nothing turning up.

At least with January and Kyan and them, we knew they had to be somewhere in the Equator.

Or dead.

But I tried not to think about that possibility.

Even if things were hopeless, that didn't mean I was going to give up. Because what else did we have to do? Keep surviving the next day and the next until slowly our numbers dwindled and I was alone again trying to survive and dealing with the pain of losing everyone.

Not that I'd ever let myself lose Asten. We'd been through too much together. It'd been far too much. And no matter how much I worried about our survival and our friends...

I still remembered him. His lips. The feeling of his hair brushing against my fingers.

Okay, stop that. Nope. I tried to not think about that, because even if we were like...a thing...it's not like we could act on it or anything. Max was with us. We had bigger things to worry about.

And I still hadn't even asked him what that whole event had meant to him. What if he'd only kissed me to relieve stress or something?

Anyway, this time, we were prepared with weapons, food, and our wills. If they tried to capture us again, we would not go easily. And, we'd have to be quite confident to get them to listen and agree with what we were about to ask of them.

It'd be a longshot but...

I had hope.

As we entered through the wooden doors, willingly this time, we were met immediately with shocked stares from young kids sitting on the edge of the hallways, each with guns in hand. A couple were playing cards. Others had seemed to be eating lunch and talking, but most were at full attention due to our sudden appearance.

There was a loud rumble from down the hall, someone shouting while many footsteps followed. I heard the same dark-haired boy as before shout, "What the hell! You let them walk in?" while some other quieter feminine voice whispered some explanation.

The dark-haired boy turned the corner and stormed towards us. He didn't look happy. Based on the multiple armed guards lining up behind him, this wasn't going to be a happy reunion.

"What in the world are you guys thinking?! Do you want to die? Because I could easily shoot you all now." He grabbed a gun from a kid standing near him. The boy, only 12 didn't even flinch.

I put my hands up in front of me slowly. "Look. I understand your angry, but we had to come back. We have to ask for something."

He shook his head in wild frustration. "Seriously?! Angry is not close to how I feel. You don't even know what you've done here. Letting you out was a mistake, and now I'm dealing with the consequences from the others."

The way he said the others made me realize something -- he wasn't the only one in charge here.

Which was further proven when three more figures turned the corner and walked down the hall towards us.

"Evan stand down," shouted one of the three figures. It was a girl with curly dark hair and intelligent brown eyes who looked about the dark haired boy's -- now who I know was called Evan's -- age. She looked furious.

The other two -- a bright redheaded girl with freckles who looked around fifteen and an older boy with black hair and a deep frown -- stood back, weapons in hand, allowing the girl to take care of it.

"Ava, you don't understand," Evan commented, seeming both shocked at her presence and a little bothered.

The girl, Ava, stepped towards him and took the gun from his hand, throwing it on the ground. I realized then that she wasn't holding one either. I'd thought Evan had been in charge, but Ava exhibited a strong leader-like presence that made me want to follow her.

"Sorry about him. We only just returned to find that he's not been taking as good care of this place as he promised."

Evan crossed his arms angrily, but didn't say a word. I was guessing the two of them would talk later.

The girl let out a sigh, and whatever anger she'd been feeling seemed to flee. She walked towards me and held a hand stiffly out for me to shake.

"I'm Ava. And whatever it is you want...it better be worth our time."