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Part 5: Layla

I sat on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the camp, a blanket wrapped tightly around myself. A cold wind pushed at my hair, causing it to blow in my face. I ignored it, too distracted by my own thoughts.

   So the MR universe was real. I guess we should've realized that by now, seeing as Cranks were real. How did it never occur to us? Another thought sent my heart pounding. What if the Avenger Haven was legit?

'Thor? Real?' I thought, then pushed that idea away.

It just wasn't possible. Footsteps sounded behind me, and I glanced over to see who it was. I suppressed a groan. It was Daniel. He came up next to me, looking down at me.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No," I replied, knowing it would be rude to turn him away. "Go ahead."

He sat down next to me, letting out a sigh. Snow began to gently fall around us, causing me to pull the blanket tighter around myself. I tried to stay deep in my thoughts, not wanting to talk to Daniel. Sure, he was pretty cute, but I just didn't have feelings for him as he did for me. But he broke through my thoughts, forcing me to talk.

"It's all pretty crazy, huh?" he said, not looking at me.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"So, I guess this means we're outcasts of New Haven," he continued. "There's no way O'Donnely is gonna let us come back."

Through all the panic, I had forgotten about O'Donnely. "Oh, yeah," I replied. "I guess we're kinda stuck here."

Daniel voiced my fears. "Unless they kick us out."

I bit my lip, not wanting to think of that alternative. I pushed the idea away and stood up. "They won't."

   With that I walked away, leaving Daniel alone on the cliff.

~ * ~

   "I want to see my sister!" I shouted at the man who was guarding the entrance. I was tired, sore, and not in the mood for this guy's bullcrap.

He looked really annoyed. "I can't let you do that, ma'am," he replied. "Not until it's assured that she's safe to be around."

I clenched my fists, gritting my teeth. "She's perfectly fine."

He shook his head, about to say something, when Newt came walking up. "Oh, let her go in," he said. "Like she said, her sister is fine."

The guard looked like he wanted to protest, but stepped aside, opening a way for me to get in. I shot Newt a grateful look, then slipped into the tent, trying to avoid eye contact with the guard. Rose was awake, sitting up in her cot. She had been trying to examine her wound, then jerked her head up when I entered.

"Oh," she said, looking relieved. "It's just you."

"Who did you think I was?"

She rolled her eyes. I noticed her face looked a bit gaunt, and alarm pierced me. "That stupid guard out there," she replied, lowering her voice. "He kept on peeking in, checking on me. Said he was just 'making sure I was okay'. But I bet he was just checking to see if I had become a Crank yet."

"Maybe you should eat something," I said, worry tainting my voice.

She shrugged. "I'm fine."

"No," I replied. "I'm gonna ask Thomas if you can eat something."

"Why? I said I'm fine."

I began to leave. "You don't look fine."

Rose sighed and didn't bother to argue anymore. She seemed exhausted. I left the tent and looked around for Thomas, spotting him looking over something on a table with Minho. I made my way over to them, still finding it hard to believe that they were real and not fictional characters that their actors had played.

"Rose needs to eat," I said, stopping in front of them. They both looked up at me, then glanced at each other.

"Okay," Thomas said. "Minho, can you go let Fry know?"

Minho nodded and walked off, leaving me with Thomas. I tried to not act like I was looking at the papers on the table from the corner of my eye. It looked like a map. A certain spot was circled in red, but before I could figure out where it was, Thomas picked the map up and rolled it shut. I quickly glanced away, hoping he didn't notice me looking at it.

"Fry'll take care of your sister," he said. "Don't worry."

"Thanks," I said, looking at him. I decided to be honest with him. "So, when are you guys gonna kick us out?"

Thomas raised his eyebrows. "Kick you out?" he laughed. "We're not going to kick you out. We're not heartless."

I shrugged. "Just checking."

"From what I could tell, you're not gonna be aloud back at your old safe haven," he replied. "So, you can stay with us."

"But we're extra mouths to feed."

"What's 3 more?" Thomas said, stuffing the map in his back pocket. "It sounds like you want us to kick you out."

I folded my arms. "I'm trying to understand why you don't want to."

"Honestly?" he sighed. "We need all the people we can get."

I leaned forward, curious. "Why?"

An explosion shook the earth, causing us both to stumble to the ground. When the shake subsided, Thomas pushed himself back up. "What the hell?" he muttered, his lips barely moving. He came over and helped me up, then ran off, a few people following him. I brushed myself off and hurried after him. I followed him and a few others as they climbed a ladder onto a lookout.

When I reached the top, I saw Thomas looking through a telescope. From this vantage point, you could see a city in the distance. Usually, they were dead and empty, no signs of life. But a corner of the city was up in flames, and we watched as a building went crashing down, causing another loud boom. I flinched back, my heart pounding. What had caused that explosion?

"What do you think happened?" a girl with shoulder length, dark brown hair, asked. I recognized her as Brenda.

"I don't know," Thomas replied, still looking through the telescope. "Whatever it is, let's hope it won't effect us." He stepped away from the telescope. "Brenda," he said to the dark-haired girl. "I need you to alert everyone, tell them to be on their guard. I'm gonna take a few guys to go investigate."

"Is that a good idea?" Brenda asked.

   "Don't worry," Thomas replied. "We're not stupid, we won't get too close."

   Brenda raised her eyebrows, giving him a look that said, "I'm not so sure about that". But she didn't protest any longer, and they all began to climb back down the lookout. I stayed where I was, wanting to see it through the telescope.

Through it, I could see the the buildings on fire and I could see a few streets. My stomach clenched. I could see a couple limp bodies as well, but I couldn't see what they looked like.

Biting my lip, I stepped away from the telescope, feeling sick. Turning away, I quickly climbed down the ladder and back into the camp. Everyone around me was in motion, and I saw Thomas come out of a tent, guns wrapped around his shoulders. A few guys followed him, two of them Minho and Newt. I ran up to them.

"I want to go with you," I said, surprising myself.

Thomas shook his head. "No," he replied. "You need to stay here." I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. "With your sister," he said firmly, grabbing my arm. "You need to stay with your sister."

I shut my mouth, then nodded. With that, Thomas, Newt, Minho, and the others went off, disappearing into the woods. I sighed and sat down on a log, one of many that was circling a pit for a fire.

I didn't know what Thomas and the others would find, but I couldn't seem to shake a dark feeling.

A/N: I know this chapter is short, but there's a reason for it :) I hope you're enjoying the story so far! (If anyone even reads it lol)