Peppermint And Gunpowder

Chapter Forty-One: Rope Whistle

"Would you like a drink?" I look over my shoulder at Cherri, who's been staying with us the past two days. He's quiet and never smiles, a distant man.

"Yes, please." He pinches his lips together and nods. I grab six brown bottles by the neck and hand one to each of the boys and a grape soda to Gracie, who sits on her knees beside Kobra on the floor against the sofa and plays with Kitty loosely. She leans her head on Kobra's shoulder and he wraps his arm around her small frame.

I sit on the arm of the sofa beside Poison and stretch my arm along the back and flick Jet's head, who was sitting between Poison and Cherri with papers spread across his lap. He turns and sticks his tongue out.

Poison moves slightly and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. I laugh softly, leaning my forehead on the top of his head. He laughs as well before pulling away and continuing the conversation.

I lean against Poison's shoulder and listen to the conversation spoken in code. Poison's hand rests right above my knee, his arm couldn't reach all the way around, and just sits in one spot, unmoving.

"If we split up we could cover more ground, but we could also be taken out easier. If we all move as a pack we have the advantage of numbers, but we only have one chance." Cherri points to one of the papers in Jet's hands.

"I think teams would be best, there's safety in numbers." Jet says, biting his upper lip in thought.

"There's also death in numbers, Jet, it's called a massacre." Kobra murmurs under his breath, visibly shaken.

Gracie sees this and gets up on her knees and sits on his lap, wrapping her frail arms around his neck.

"You'll be okay, Kobra." She says, looking up at him with her big brown eyes. "You're strong and smart, you always outsmart Ghoul..." She trails off and glances up at Ghoul who watches with an offended look. "Sorry, Ghoul, but it's true."

"She's right." Poison laughs. "Kobra is one of the smartest ones of us."

"That sentence alone shows you're not one of the smartest." Ghoul counters.

Poison shrugs. "I know I'm an idiot so your point is invalid." Ghoul rolls his eyes.

"Can we please get back on topic?" Jet gives Poison a look of annoyance while Ghoul makes faces behind his back. Jet turns and the tables are turned to Poison making faces at Ghoul.

"How the hell are you guys leading a revolution?" Cherri asks, shaking his head in disdain.

Gracie watches Cherri with a surprised look on her face before doubling over in laughter. Everyone follows after, not laughing at Cherri's words but Gracie's reaction.

"But seriously, we'll be okay. There's always a risk with what we do, and this is no different." Poison leans down and claps Kobra's shoulder. The joy on his face had worn off and the fear slips back onto his tanned features.

Gracie still sits on Kobra's lap, but now she looks as if she's trying to climb up his torso. She wraps her arms around his neck and snuggles into him. She pulls back and pulls a whistle she always wears around her neck and bound by a rope.

She looks at it before holding it out to Kobra. He tilts his head and furrows his brows and takes the whistle and rope from Gracie's little hand.

"What is this for? This is your favourite whistle." He glances down from the whistle then up to Gracie again.

"I know, it's a good luck whistle. You wear it during the attack, you'll be okay." She looks up with her big brown eyes, an innocent smile playing on chapped lips.

Kobra looks at the fraying rope and twirls it around his fingers. He makes a fist with his hands and clenches it tightly.

"Thank you, Gracie." Kobra smiles softly.

"You know you have to wear it, right?" She sits on his legs and pulls his hand into her lap, little fingers pulling apart his fist and takes the rope and whistle from his grasp. "Like this, silly." She gently lays the rope around his neck and guides the whistle down.

On Gracie the rope whistle falls halfway down her belly, but on Kobra it only comes mid chest.

Gracie smiles at the rope whistle then up at Kobra again before settling herself on his lap and curling into his chest, thumb resting between her front teeth.

She's picked the habit up again since our capture and captivity at BLI, I think it soothes her. I don't think she ever realizes that she does it.

While looking at Gracie, I swear that I saw the twinge of a smile on Cherri's lips.

My eyes or mind may have been playing tricks on me, but the look on Cherri's face was undeniable. A look that isn't sorrow or pain, but longing for something that once was.

Maybe he had a family, a little girl just like Gracie. A wife or someone he loved and they loved him. Maybe then he was happy, maybe he wasn't a man who never smiled.

I see his face now, lines forming around his mouth and eyes. Signs of age and survival. A story written across his face.

I know how horrible it is to live your life knowing there was no one there with you. People say they can live on their own, that they don't need anyone else. They are lying.

People need people to live. People need others to laugh with and to love. People need something to live for.

For the longest time, I had nothing to live for. I was merely surviving because surviving was the only thing I knew how to do.

I wonder if Cherri is like that now. I wonder if he sees others as a threat or a constant reminder of what he once had.

I'd been lost in my own thoughts for far too long when I am drawn back to the conversation.

"When do we start?" Poison looks at Jet. Though Poison is our leader, Jet is an unspoken genius. Poison is so mad he's sane, but Jet thinks in a way no one else understands. He guides us through our plans and life.

"I want to go as soon as possible," Cherri says solemnly. "The longer we wait, the more risk we have of being discovered. We need to go soon."

"Two days." Ghoul says. We look over to him, sprawled over the arm chair with his legs strewn over one arm and watches us with sideways eyes. "That gives us tomorrow to get ready. Get weapons, finalize plans, get Gracie to safety."

"That's a good idea." Poison looks up at me. "What do you think, Mercury?"

I take a deep breath and sigh, worry and fear settling inside my stomach.

"I say we go in two days." I wear a fake smile and a false sense of security.

Poison nods along with my words and declares the attack will commence in two days time.