How much do you really know?

eleven

    That night, the whole group was practically shaking with excitement. Or maybe it was just the cold. After this horrendously long journey, we finally only had one more day before we made it to Canada, out of GORG's grasp. It was definitely colder than when we had escaped the base, and many of us shivered while we were sleeping. Winter was coming, but we were almost to shelter. That night the excitement was keeping me up. I was lying on my side, eyes shut, thinking about the good old days when there was no GORG and the only thing I worried about was if my stuffed animals were going to miss me when I went to the store. Every couple of minutes, a snore or an owl hooting would break through my thoughts and bring me back to reality.
    When I heard the walkie talkie crackle, I thought I must really be remembering the memory of Bryce and Connor talking over Walker's walkie talkie, until I opened my eyes just to be sure. I heard it again and flinched as it broke the silence. Instantly, all the sleepiness left my eyes when I saw the figure standing off to the side of the camp. The figure had long hair, and only two people in this group had long hair; me... and Julia. I gasped when I realized it was her. I knew something was off about her since the moment I looked into her eyes. It was a little cliche, but I had had no doubt about what I was feeling.
    I closed my eyes and focused all my energy into hearing her conversation. I could just barely make out the words.
    "We're one day out from Canada. It's time. They are all asleep and probably will be for the next 12 hours. These teenagers sleep like crazy."
    My mind went blank from the onslaught of emotions I felt. I couldn't move. Did she really think none of us would be awake to hear what she was saying?
    A reply came back on the walkie talkie. "And they trust you?"
    "One hundred percent." There was hesitation in her answer. My brain began to work again and I smirked, even though it was not the time for smirking. I was the reason she hesitated.
    "Great work, Julia. You know the plan right? Act normal until we get here. They will probably just duck down when they hear the helicopters like always. It's so funny watching them hiding in plain sight, thinking we haven't been seeing them this whole time."
    My eyes went wide and my heart skipped a beat. They had been seeing us and we didn't know. They were leading us on. They were making us think we were going to escape just to snatch us up at the last second!
    "Of course. I can barely help myself from bursting out into laughter when they hide after hearing a helicopter."
    I had listened without taking action for long enough. I knew what I needed to know. I was facing Bryce and he was facing me, sleeping peacefully. It amazed me how he could look so peaceful while a traitor was plotting against him was just yards away. I slowly and quietly slithered my arm out from under the blanket and tapped Bryce on the shoulder. When he didn't wake, I shook him.
    He slowly opened his eyes. I saw him starting to stretch his arms out, but I grabbed his shoulder. His eyes flew open and he gave me a frightened look. I put one finger up to my lips. He nodded in comprehension. I then pointed one finger in the direction that Julia was standing. He slowly rolled over in his sleeping bag, making sure to not make any sound. When his eyes were facing Julia, I saw his shoulders tense. Julia was still talking on the walkie talkie.
    "Once we get the boys and the girl, we'll pick you up and bring you back to the base," the voice said. "Do you have the gun we hid under the rock?"
    "Sounds like a plan, and yeah, I have the gun," Julia said before putting down the walkie talkie and walking back to our group. Bryce started to prop himself on his elbow when Julia approached her sleeping bag, which was near Gavin and Daniel's group. As she was starting to lay down into her sleeping bag, Bryce leapt out of his sleeping bag and onto her with lightning speed. Julia let out an ear splitting scream which made all the boys immediately leap out of their sleeping bags.
But even though Bryce was fast, Julia was faster with all her training from GORG. Not to mention, she was much tinier and agile. She had kicked backwards into Bryce's knee. In his moment of weakness, Julia slipped out from under his grip and grabbed Gavin, who had just stood up nearby.
    Gavin's face was immediately heartbreaking. Fear filled his eyes as Julia pulled out a gun and pointed it to Gavin's face. His brown eyes were wide and I could see his hands shaking. In all my time with the boys, I had never seen Gavin commit a single violent act. He hadn't even helped when boys hunted and cooked animals from the forest.
    Everyone's mouths dropped. No one had suspected that Julia had a gun. We had searched her when she came to us. But then I remembered her conversation on the walkie talkie. They had hidden a gun for her to find. This was not a fair fight. None of us had guns.
    "Do not fight me or he dies! You will follow me or he will die! From now on, you listen to me and only me! I am in charge now." I had to give it to her; she was a great actress. Her whole demeanor changed once she didn't have to be under cover anymore. She no longer looked like a helpless young woman.
    Carson was beginning to inch his way towards her from behind. She was still facing us, though, and none of us were making a move to attack her. We could all see Carson behind her, and none of us were stupid enough to give him away by attacking her before he did or even glancing in his direction.
    Gavin glanced at me with his pleading eyes. I try to give a sympathetic smile, a look to tell him everything would be alright, but looking him in the eyes made my heart break. He was so scared. Tears started to well up in my eyes, but I pushed them back. My body was shaking with fear and rage. How dare she do this to us! None of us had done anything wrong to be put in that prison! Well, that I knew of at least.
    By now Carson was right behind Julia. He reeled up his hand to throw a punch, but as he started to lean into the punch, Julia's head swung around as if sensing that someone was behind her. In a fraction of a second, her finger squeezed the trigger of the gun right as Carson's hand connected with Julia's nose. Two bodies hit the floor at the exact same time. One had blood coming out of her nose while the other had blood dripping out of the bullet wound in his head.
    In that moment, a ringing sound in my ears overtook every other sound around me. I faintly heard a screams and knew that one of them was mine, but did nothing to stop it. My hands flew up to my mouth as I was racked with sobs. He was the youngest of the group and hadn't even gotten out of his shell yet to have fun in life. I fell to my knees as the scene turned to chaos behind me, but I barely noticed it. My eyes were focused on Gavin's lifeless body lying next to Julia's unconscious body. It should be the other way around, I thought. Julia was the one who deserved to die! Not Gavin!
    Tears dripped from my eyes onto my fingers. Anyone but Gavin. Suddenly, I came back to reality. Sound came back to my ears and the sound of chaos was too much. Boys were screaming and yelling commands. People were wondering what to do. My chest constricted and I jumped onto my feet. Before I knew it, my legs were moving and my feet were thumping one after the other on the dirt. I heard people shouting my name, but I didn't listen to them. I ran into the forest, just wishing the sounds would stop, just wishing I could disappear into a world of nothing, just for a couple minutes. Anything if it could just be silent.
    I could hear the boys shouting behind me. Carson's rough voice told Daniel to run after me. I didn't know why because Daniel and I had never spoken. More tears were streaming down my face, and I imagined them leaving streaks of dirt down my cheeks. It was a strange moment to realize I hadn't showered in weeks. I could faintly hear footsteps behind me, so I decided to find a hiding place so Daniel or any of the other boys couldn't find me. There was a little hollow beneath some tree roots, too small for anyone else in the group but me, and I crawled inside of it. Daniel was calling my name, but I didn't respond. I would come back when I was ready, not because some stupid boys wanted me to.
    I couldn't believe that this was what my life had come to. I hadn't done anything wrong; all the wrong things happen to all the wrong people. I balled up my hands, willing my nails to draw blood from my palms. I guessed that 3 out of 4 of the people holed up in that base we escaped from hadn't done anything wrong at all; they just didn't have the ideal personality for the ideal citizens of the ideal future of America.
    I listened to Daniel's footsteps in the forest for a while. He had stopped shouting after a couple minutes, but he didn't give up his search for me. I assumed Carson wouldn't be happy if he came back empty handed.
    Eventually the footsteps faded, along with my tears. I felt empty, but good enough to get back up and join the group. I could have been out there for two minutes or two hours; I had no way of knowing.
    I forced myself to stand up, realizing that we would need to get going because Julia had contacted GORG. They could show up any second. I walked through the forest on wobbly legs, moving slower than I would have liked. Finally, I caught a glimpse of the group beyond the trees. They were packing up all the things in bags hastily. When I made it to the edge of the trees, a couple boys looked up at the sound of my footsteps. Bryce stood up.
    "Oh, thank god," he said while walking over to me, pulling me into a deep hug. I didn't hug back at first, but slowly I wrapped my arms around him and fell into his embrace. I willed the tears forming once again in my eyes to go away.
    There were no bodies on the ground, which was relieving. I did not want to have to witness the bodies again. I wondered what they had done with each one. Did they bury Gavin or just put him in the woods? What did they do with Julia? Did they tie her to a tree, kill her, or just set her somewhere?
    I pulled out of Bryce's embrace as everyone was putting backpacks on their backs and slinging bags over their shoulders. We were ready to move, and we needed to move fast. No lolly-gagging.
    I didn't speak for many hours. Bryce and Connor walked beside me, but they didn't speak either. I don't know how Connor managed it, but I was grateful. I didn't feel like talking and I definitely didn't feel like listening to Connor's corny jokes.
    We were still going to go to a canadian town even though GORG knew we were going there. We figured if we were in Canada, GORG wouldn't go after us. The Canadian government would protect us.
    Carson wouldn't let us stop for anything.
    We were exhausted in no time. The only sounds were the labored breathing and the heavy footfalls. Bryce never left my side. I was glad because I felt like the grief might pull me under at any moment, but Bryce would be able to pull me out.

    When we were finally able to see buildings in the far distance, we jumped with joy. Boys were slapping each other's backs and Connor said in a monotone voice, "And after the strenuous journey, the group of starving and dying kids spy a lonesome town in the distance."
    I didn't have the energy or the emotional ability to feel as happy as the boys were right now. Every time I blinked, I saw his terrified face with Julia's gun to his head. I should have done something. I let yet another person leave me.