Found (Book 1 of the Haven's Army Trilogy) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 15

The Garden was next. It was a quaint little town. Just like The Hearth, they accepted us right away as a resistance force.

The whole island was flat dirt with plants growing in rows and rows alongside simple cement houses. The whole place was hot and fairly dry, though the soil was moist and dark, perfect for growing crops.

The inhabitants of the island were dark-skinned, even darker than mine. Their hair was almost black and made up of tight curls, giving them a bushy look. As a result, many of the women tied their hair back in thick ponytails. The men kept their hair short.

It took a while to find the special one but it wasn't all too hard. But after finding her was harder than anything thus far. Her name was Fern. The problem was that she was one in a set of triplets and the other two wouldn't let her leave without them. The other two, Lily and Rose, looked just like each other but Fern was a little different. They all had the golden eyes everyone else had.

Finally, after much negotiating, we allowed them to come with us.

We set off for The Hospital. The whole trip had been a little boring so I hoped this one would be more interesting.

I got my wish but not at all how I wanted it.

Katie chose me and Mae to go with her to the island, as well as Peter and Andrew, and Kathryn. We rowed up to the island quietly.

"Ok," Katie whispered. "The Hospital will be different from the other islands we've experienced so far. Most of them, except for The Shore, are further away from The Halo and aren't watched constantly. The Hospital, The Shore, and a few others are near The Halo and are treated nicer than the ones further away, so they obey in return. Basically, anyone will turn us in."

"Cool history lesson," Andrew said, "but can we get going?"

Kathryn elbowed him in the gut. "This is why girls never like you back, idiot!"

"Well it's true!" he said, rubbing the spot where she had hit him. "We need to go. The longer we sit here, the more likely we are to be found."

"He's right," Katie said. "Let's get moving."

We snuck along, weaving through the buildings.

Suddenly Katie stopped. I practically bumped into her and Andrew bumped into me. I turned to glare at him. Then I shook my head and turned back.

"What's wrong?" I asked Katie. I looked to where she was looking. A young boy walked with his parents down the street, holding their hands.

Katie fell to her knees. I didn't know what I should do.

Andrew stepped forward cautiously, as is afraid she'd slap him again.

I watched as a single tear slipped down her cheek, sparkling in the dim light of the night. Her skin was unnaturally pale. Andrew sat next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a lot gentler than I had.

She took a deep breath, then let out a small sob. "Mama...Papa...Will..." She gripped the grass between her fingers.

Her family? I looked at Kathryn, the fire in her eyes gone. She did look intrigued by how close Andrew had managed to get to Katie though.

Katie stood suddenly. "I can't be set back by anything. We have to go now."

She ran off. We followed her toward the large building in the center. Once inside, we passed glass windows into practice operating rooms and testing rooms.

We passed a room where only one boy sat, working on something, his blue eyes focused intently. I stopped and so did Kathryn. We backtracked and looked back in.