Flashf0rward

Chapter 22: Heated Words

Ivy

Once we crested the hill that lead into Sanctuary, I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding in. It felt like so long since I'd last been here, and now I was finally back, safe and sound. No one had spoken the entire ride back, and I found myself avoiding Wren and Connor's gazes. I knew that I was the centre of everything that had happened.

As soon as we got into view of the front gates, Sparrow rushed up to all of us, her eyes wide as she saw me. "Oh thank God, you're alright." Wren nodded. "Once we get inside, lock the gate tight. I want double security on it for the next few days." Sparrow gave a wary look, then nodded and rushed back.

Our horses walked back inside, and we hitched them all as the gate closed. Katrina, Julie, Max, and Duncan walked up to us, as did several other people. "Ivy! You made it." Katrina said with a gentle sigh, and we all dismounted from our horses. Yuko was looking around at all of the people with wide eyes. Clearly, she hadn't been around this many in a long time.

Katrina noticed her, and she stared at me. "Who's this?" I looked down at Yuko, then back at Katrina. "She's the one who sent out the distress signal. Her name's Yuko. She's...one of us." I said, and Katrina's eyes widened. She smiled and then walked over to her. "Hey, sweetie...I'm Katrina. I'm gonna help you get settled in a house, ok?" Nodding, Yuko walked over to her, then looked back at me. I smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I won't be far."

As Katrina took Yuko away, Julie and Max walked up to me. Max was still in his form that I'd seen a few days ago, and he had a worried look on his face. "Jeez, don't ever scare me like that again, jerk." He crossed his arms, looking a bit upset, but had a twinkle in his eye that made me know he was alright. Julie hugged me tightly. "When the radio cut off, I thought..." I shook my head. "There's no need to worry, guys. I'm fine."

I heard Wren's voice speak up. "Ivy!" I turned to him, and he motioned briskly to me to follow him. Sighing, I looked at Max and Julie. "I'll see you guys later, ok?" They nodded, and I walked over to him. "Macleod, you too." Wren said, and Connor looked up. I heard a sigh come from his direction, and he followed us towards the town hall.

After making our way into the meeting room, I sat down, Wren and Jude looking at the two of us. A moment of silence passed, and Jude crossed his arms. "You two have a lot of explaining to do." I stood up. "Before you say anything, I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, about meeting Matthias, or anything. I just wanted to help..."

Wren simply sat in his chair, not saying anything, his hands clasped together in front of his mouth. Jude sighed and looked down. "Look, Ivy, I get it. You feel like you're obligated to do something every time something happens because of your past. I understand that. When the Singularity happening, my training kicked in, and I tried to do as much as I could to help people. But there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity."

He stared into my eyes. "You took valuable resources without permission, diverted our time and attention to finding you, made an unknown and untrustworthy force aware of our location, and not to mention had everyone in the village talking about what the hell was going on." Jude shook his head. "That's not to say we don't appreciate what you did for that girl, but you ultimately caused more trouble than you solved."

The words cut into me like a knife, and I could feel frustration rising in my chest. "I had to do what I thought was right! I can't call myself a good person if I just stand by while someone like Yuko is calling for help! She had been on her own for years, Jude. No one to help, no family, nothing. I wouldn't be able to live with myself!"

Suddenly, Wren looked up at me. "Enough!" I could see the seriousness and anger on his face, something I'd never seen from him before. It was enough to stop me in my tracks. "Ivy, you have done enough damage already. The fact that you were out there alone with Connor was bad enough, but now you've given everyone here even more things to worry about with that maniac Matthias, who by the way is a psychopathic metahuman!"

Connor, upon hearing his name, groaned out loud. "Oh, here it comes. Now you're gonna start blaming me for this, huh? Well guess what, "Leader", I knew as much about this as you did. Your sister is quite the wordsmith, isn't she?" Wren suddenly clenched his fist, and I could see smoke starting to come out of it. "You talk about her like that again, and I'll make sure that eye of yours stays shut."

Growling, Connor stood up in his chair and stared Wren down. "Bring it on, punk." Jude stepped in between them. "That's enough! Both of you!" That seemed to be enough to calm Wren down, as he sat back in his chair. Connor did the same, but he kept his eye on Wren, a sneer still on his face.

The room was quiet once again as we all collected ourselves. Wren spoke calmly. "Ivy, I'm sorry, but you've gone far enough. Starting today, I'm no longer allowing you access outside of the village. You'll stay here and help out everyone with their chores." My eyes widened. "What?! You can't be serious! What're you, grounding me?!"

Wren stared back at me. "Until you learn what it means to be responsible and think of others instead of yourself, yes, you could say that." I leaned forwards, hate for my brother raging in my body, an unnatural and new feeling I didn't enjoy having. "This is crap, and you know it! You know I'm right, and so would Dad!"

The words slipped out of my mouth before I could bite them back, and I immediately regretted what I said. Wren stared at me with wide eyes, and I could see the hurt look on his face. I'd gone too far. Without another word, he stood up and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Jude sighed. "I think you both should head back to your cabins."

Standing there and feeling like the biggest jerk in the world, I nodded slightly and walked out, heading back to my place. I could see Connor walk past me without a word, heading towards his small, one-room cabin. As I walked through the main village, I couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was staring at me. I hated it. As soon as I got home, I walked into my room without talking to Julie, locked the door, collapsed onto my bed, and started crying into my pillow.