War of Peace

Chapter Seven

Madison

It's starting to get dark and I'm sitting alone against the trunk of a tree. Tuning everyone else out. I see Ali falling to her knees and suddenly I'm screaming as I watch her take the last breath of life again. I might've literally screamed aloud because Emma shows up seconds later, looking at me with concern painted delicately across her face. She sits down beside me and looks out at the trees up ahead. It's a pretty view, but I can't concentrate on anything but the gunshot ringing through my head bringing me back to Ali's front door.

I'm clutching her navy blue backpack as tears trickle down my cheeks and drip onto it slowly. I remember all the sleepovers Ali and I used to have. We would stay up all night playing board games and gossiping about the latest drama at school. We would eat our favorite snacks until we couldn't fit another crumb in our stomachs. It reminds me of her favorite: Lays Potato Chips. The original kind. Everyone thought she was so weird for liking the original over all the exotic flavors, but it was her thing and I liked it about her. I unzip the bag and look through it and find a Lays bag. I pull it out and hold the chip bag in my shaking hands as I begin crying uncontrollably.

Emma sits down beside me, dirtying her pants into the forest, then hugs me. I start wiping tears away.

"I'm sad about it too Maddie. We're here for each other and Ali is in a better place now," she whispers in an attempt to comfort me, but I know that people only say stuff like this to make you feel better. The only thing that would make me feel better is to see Ali one more time. I wish I could've said goodbye instead of staying frozen in the doorway like a helpless dog.

"We didn't even try to help her Emma. We could've done something," I know in the back of my mind that there's nothing we could've done to stop the bleeding. We couldn't have gotten her to a hospital in time anyways. Plus, with all this government chaos, I'm not even so sure there would be much left of a staff.

"There's nothing we could've done and you know it. This isn't something you can blame yourself for. It wasn't your fault and you won't feel better after blaming yourself."

Emma squeezes my hand tight and I hear her begin to cry. She relaxes her head onto my shoulder and I feel a sense of safety. Her warmth against the chilly night breeze makes me feel protected. I don't know what I would ever do without her. If I were to choose one person in the world to be in the arms of before dying, it would be her. She and Ali were the two most important people in my life. Now it's just Emma.

"I blame myself for doing nothing. I stood in the doorway, Emma. I watched it happen and stood there. I didn't even say goodbye," I begin to cry harder, maybe even audible to the others who were scattered around the forest in their own sleeping spots.

"You were afraid. That's not something you can blame yourself for. It won't bring Ali back," Emma whispers in my ear.

I want to say more and cry for hours, but my eyelids are heavy and I know that I need sleep. My body is begging for rest after this wretched and tiring day. I can feel myself drifting off as I'm leaned against the tree. Ali's bag and Lay's potato chips are still hugged to my chest. Emma leans against me, placing her head on my shoulder. There's one thing I'm thankful for. I'm not alone. I missed the connection between me and my sister. I intertwine my hand with hers and immediately fall into a deep sleep.

~

Silas

I lay awake on the grass, unable to sleep. Crunched leaves are all over my suit as I roll back and forth. I keep feeling as though there are a million bugs crawling on my skin. I turn again to notice Kyle is awake, too. He's staring right at me. Unless he sleeps with his eyes open.

"Hey," I whisper over at him.

"You can't sleep either?" He wonders.

"Nope. Not at all," I reply, moving slightly closer to him. I could barely hear him against the cold current.

"I don't really know what to talk about other than we're running from the people who run the country and that we'll possibly get killed soon," Kyle's no longer whispering. His voice turned to a still quiet but provoked voice.

"All we need to do is survive," I say, trying not to be doubtful.

"Yea. There's the positives to this situation," Kyle is whispering again. It's too dark to see, but I can feel him smiling lightly.

"What positives? All I can think of are how bugs are crawling all over me right now," I say annoyingly. He chuckles in response, then thinks up something to say.

"Well I mean I got to meet Gianna. She's just so pretty and her smile lights up my world," I can feel him smiling even more as he speaks.

I won't reply because I'm not exactly sure what to make of it. It only reminds me of someone else. Although I wish I could see her smile more. She hasn't smiled much and I wish I could somehow make her smile, but it's hard to do during times like these.

"Did I just say that aloud?" Kyle asks anxiously.

"Maybe," I reply shortly.

"Please don't tell her I said that."

"Of course I won't tell her I mean what are friends for," I may as well befriend him since he's one of the only persons I know to be left alive. I'm stuck with him as well as the others.

For a minute I think he's fallen asleep because he's just been lying there, but then in the moonlight I realized he was just staring blankly ahead. Maybe he does sleep with his eyes open.

I say goodnight because I still can't tell if he's sleeping or not. I shift around and try to get comfortable, but there is no comfort here. I'll just have to make do with the spiders and leaves.

~

"Who's hunting with me?" I wake up to the sound of Cooper's voice. I'm a little groggy from getting barely any sleep last night, but I doubt anyone got more than a few hours.

I flutter my eyes open and realize I'm the last one awake. I look over across from me and Kyle is no longer there. I slowly stand up. Then I hear her voice. Her beautiful voice.

"We actually have some food here in my pack," Maddie notes as she gingerly takes it off her shoulders and sets it on the ground.

Even though she does this in a gentle way, I can tell she's stressed. She's trying to put on a show for everyone else. She has a strained smile, and she takes a second or two to rub the side of her face when she thinks no one is looking. I think doing things in a gentle way helps her feel like she's gaining control over her stress.

I shouldn't stare so much, it's inappropriate. She doesn't seem very interested in me and it's better if I don't get caught up in her. There's no reason to break my own heart by getting attached to someone who barely realizes I'm there.

"Sweet! This works too. I was getting tired of meat and having to cook it," Cooper beams with flashing eyes. I don't understand how she always stays so energetic.

Everyone starts tearing the bag open and grabbing what they can find, but Maddie is picking her nails habitually and biting her lip. Her eyes look full of salt water. Maybe I should say something.

"Guys! We need to ration the food or we won't have enough for everyone in the following days and be careful with that bag, it's not yours!" I holler over at them. They practically looked like savages a minute ago, and now they look like human beings again after looking at me. They slowly begin placing food back into the bag.

I look up at Maddie and she's looking right back at me. She looks less stressed, but her watery eyes are still present. Then she mouths the words, thank you. I smile, she still hasn't smiled much, and I mouth back, you're welcome. I see the hint of a smile, but I wish I could see a real one.