Deep Down

Exploration

We were walking back to the rusted old vehicle, the sun itself was still in hiding but the blazing rays made an appearance over the crumbling buildings. The talk that we shared comforted me a lot, and it seemed as if only two minutes had flown by us. Dakota was most likely up, Devina as well. I was slightly nervous to head back because I wanted to avoid any possible confrontation.

"Aiden, thank you so much for the talk." I started a conversation as the fence was in sight.

"No problem, just know that I'm always here for you." He paused. "We all are, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. Even Devina."

"Yeah..." A sigh left my lips. "Uhm... will you ever tell me about... my past? What I was like and what happened? Why Devina dislikes me?" My voice trembled as I nervously asked.

"Good question." Aiden laughed. "Yeah, just gotta wait for the right moment."

I hummed in response and looked at the rough ground beneath our feet as we walked. Both of our socks were worn out, slowly developing holes in the heels. I hope that we get shoes soon, and maybe some food too if that's an option. But with the money that Devina had found yesterday, I'm sure that we can get some stuff with that.

The beige colors of the cracked cement had a blue hue looming over them from the sky, the sky that was always so calming and beautiful. Even though we had that talk, the nightmare still remained in my head. I appreciated the comfort from Aiden more than anything, but remembering the flashes of the faces, feeling the cold needles penetrate my skin, and the voices all sent shivers throughout my entire body.

It was simply terrifying.

Once we arrived at the fence, Aiden helped me get over the fence before himself, and I was greeted with a tight hug from Dakota. I ruffled his hair and smiled at him, my feet quickly feeling the change from cement to grass, it went through my mismatched socks. As always, the blonde boy that was clinging to me held a bright and loving smile.

"Hailey, Aiden, where were you guys?" He asked while bouncing up and down, moving to Aiden for his hug.

"We just had a talk, that's all." The older male responded.

"But you didn't wake me up to inform me?" The oldest of the group, Devina, asked with her hands resting on her hips.

"Sorry, Vale was still on the night shift and we thought it would be alright. We didn't go far." I responded, and Vale gently put a hand on the female's shoulder in an attempt to let her know that it was alright.

The colored female let out a 'tsk' and took a deep breath in, running a hand through her bob-length hair. "We have to come up with a plan for today, we have some money and I'm positive that we can do something with it. There's also the issue that money is going to run out quickly, so it's best if we can figure out more ways to get a little more in our pockets."

Vale bit his lip nervously. "The city... is it crowded?" He asked with a shaky voice. "In some parts... why?" Devina answered with a question.

"Someone wouldn't notice if we bump into them, would they? If they have a wallet in their back pocket?" The quiet twin looked around nervously. "If we do that, Aiden and I can take care of it. You've been doing a lot for us, Devina. This is the least that we can do." Vale suggested with a slightly trembling voice, his twin brother nodded in agreement.

Devina let out a sigh and pressed her lips together deep in thought. Then she started biting her cheek, a habit I've noticed that she does when she's thinking or gets nervous. She took in a deep breath and her chocolate orbs gazed towards the ground. We were all waiting on her answer, which was reasonable since she was usually the one who took on the stress of doing the job.