Skye Crying

05 ║ Amara

~ Broken: Adjective ~

Having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order.

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Clip Five - Amara's POV:

The night passed quickly. For the first time in months I didn't have any nightmares interrupt my sleep. Instead of being a comforting turn of events, it makes the ever-present ball of fear in my stomach grow much, much heavier. 

The sun had barely appeared, lone, watery rays filtering through the broken city that surrounds our camp. I always started my mornings like this, on top of the sturdy wall that surrounds our camp and keeps the Mendeni out. Watching the sun come up and dissipate the darkness that the night brought, watching it illuminate even the darkest of places, gives me a tiny shred of hope each morning. 

That shred of hope got me through the devastating days after I found my mother dead on the street, her insides splattered on the surrounding debris. I can still remember the sticky feel of her still-warm blood that covered my hands as I held her in my arms and shrieked for her to wake up. That was my first glimpse into the horrible, disgusting torture that the Mendeni put their victims through. I didn't recover from the shock for weeks, refusing to talk to anyone and waking up screaming my throat raw and sobbing for a mom that I knew would never come back. All those horrific memories were brought to the surface as I thought about Sierra.

I could only pray half heartedly, to a god that didn't seem to care, that she would be safe.

"Amara!" I looked over the side of the wall to see Flint waving at me from the ground, gesturing for me to come down. I quickly climb down the metal ladder and reach the ground, dust flying around my already dirty combat boots. 

"Hey, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about Sierra." His electric blue eyes lock onto my dark brown ones and I can see the sympathy in them, but unlike the type of sympathy I usually receive, this is sincere. I fell my face heating up despite my best efforts to remain cool, but thankfully he doesn't seen to notice. He reaches for my hands and our fingers intertwine. My breath hitches as he leans forward, but my asshole of a brother interrupts us.

"Amara! Get over here!" Flint instantly lets go at the sound of Cole's voice, his cheeks flushing a light pink. I feel the ghost of a smile flits across my face but it quickly vanishes as I see the look on Cole's face, like he's bracing himself to deliver terrible news. 

I jog over to him, noting how the other four food scouts are huddled around him, nervously whispering among themselves, casting anxious looks in my direction. This must be about Sierra.

Dammit.

When I reached them Cole instantly pulled me to his side, whispering in my ear and ignoring the dirty looks the scouts were giving us.

"The gates are going to open in five minutes, and when they do the scouts are going to join us in going out to search for Sierra." I stop breathing for a minute. Nobody ever leaves camp except for the food scouts and the builders who go out once a month to get supplies for our bunkers and the surrounding wall. I had never left camp since all those months ago when I had found my mom on the streets of this cursed city. This was absolutely insane, but I have to admit that I was burning to go and find Sierra. I had to know what happened to her.

I looked my brother in the eye, finding worry and apprehension. "Okay. Let's do it." He seemed relieved at my calm response and nodded, turning to talk to the four scouts behind him. I take off towards the small metal shed that holds our limited number of weapons, yanking the door open and glancing at the sky nervously. I knew that I only had a few minutes till we had to leave, and we couldn't risk anyone catching us leaving. 

Cole was the leader of the camp, making sure that all the people that CAP kicked out of Central were picked up before the Mendeni could get to them first, but we had picked up some older men who weren't as keen to follow his leadership  as some of the younger kids we found on the outskirts of Central's Wall. If they say him flouting one of our strictest rules, to never, EVER, leave the camp, there'd be trouble for sure, and we couldn't afford that right now.

I grab two standard pistols and two daggers that are longer then what we normally have. I figured a little extra length never hurt anyone. I strap the pistols onto my hips and the daggers onto my thighs. I quickly pull my vivid red hair back into a loose ponytail and bring the hood of my black jacket up over my face. The last thing I need right now is to stand out in this dying city that's crawling with bloodthirsty Mendeni. 

I head out to see the gate slowly opening soundlessly, and I sprint across the thankfully empty camp to join Cole and the scouts. As the gate opens I can clearly see the impressive destruction to this once bustling city. Buildings have fallen into massive heaps of dust and debris while some remain standing, windows broken and half of it eaten away by weather and time. The morning sun, now fully risen, is blinding and it illuminates the huge amount of dust floating through the air. 

The scouts and Cole have all pulled black masks over their mouths and noses to filter the dust in the air and I do the same. Cole shoots me a look that clearly says Are you sure your ready for this?

I don't answer. I look out at the ghost city and take a deep breath, pushing all of my emotions down deep beneath the surface. Emotion is dangerous. It's what got my mother killed. And I'm about to find out if it took my best friend away from me too.

I run out into the wasteland and don't look back.

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