How much do you really know?

fifteen

    That night, we were all lying in the back room of the store, the safest we had felt in a long time. Aspen had fed us, gave us new clothes, and gave us sleeping bags. We were cleaner than we had been in weeks, and we were planning on coming up with what to do next when we woke up in the morning. It was nice to not have to think about anything other than getting a good night's sleep, but I still couldn't help but wonder as I lay in the comfort of my new blankets. Would we stay here and make a life in Dawson, the little town we had stumbled upon? Would we hop on a plane and travel to another country? Surely we couldn't go back to the United States. All that was too complicated to think about at that moment, and we all fell asleep almost as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

    My brain came back to life before my eyes opened, and I heard some ruckus. When I finally processed what was happening, my eyes flew open to see everyone else sitting up, facing the door. Someone was picking the lock. I saw Carson stand up out of the corner of my eye. No one else moved. We were sitting ducks. That door was the only exit in this room. We were in a back storage room, surrounded by boxes. There weren't even any windows.
    Was it Aspen coming back for some reason? No, it couldn't be; she had gone home for the night to sleep in her own bed and to bring some stuff back to us in the morning. She was the only one with the key. Perhaps it was a worker, but what would they need in the middle of the night? And did Aspen even have many workers? It was a small shop. I ran through all the possibilities in my head, blocking out the bad ones.
    I didn't have long to think, because the door was open within the minute. Everyone jumped out of their sleeping bags, swaying from the sudden movement. We didn't look like a very intimidating army at that moment.
    However, when we all saw who stepped through the door, our eyes opened in fear and we stumbled backwards. My heart started thumping and my hands trembled. I tripped over my pillow while trying to get as far away as I could from the person standing in the doorway.
    I had seen his face everywhere back in the prison. His grin was on every poster pasted on the brick walls of the base next to the grin of the leader of GORG.
Andrew, the leader's second in command.
    His menacing smile was in the nightmares of every child wrongly imprisoned in the base.
    "Howdy, children. You didn't think you would get away from us that easily, did ya?" From behind Andrew came a dozen guards in uniform.
    I couldn't focus. My mind was spinning, as was my body. I could barely keep myself upright. Not again. I couldn't go back. Anything but going back.
The guards started closing in on us.
    "Nobody escapes from us," Andrew said with the grin straight out of my childhood nightmares. My heart skipped a beat when I caught a glimpse of what was behind Andrew.
    Aspen was being held by another guard, a gag in her mouth. Her eyes were full of fire and hate; there was no fear in her deep chocolate iris's.
I'm guessing the guards triggered the security system in her shop and she had come to see what was happening. It was probably all part of GORG's plan.
She should have stayed home. It made me want to rip my own hair out that she was being punished for behind a kind human being.
    From the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of pale skin and light brown hair as Ashton tackled a guard.
    "I will not go back to that fucking prison!" he shouted. I knew this was a mistake the moment I saw Andrew's face change from amusement to pure anger.
    "No! I absolutely will not tolerate you attacking my guards!" He screamed this sentence, spit flying out of his mouth. My mouth dropped because of the rate at which his mood had changed. He took the personal pleasure of pulling a gun out of his waist and pointing it at Ashton. One of the boys screamed. I looked over to see Daniel's face contorted in fear. The scream was coming from his open mouth.
    Chase and Blake had their hands covering their mouths and their knees were beginning to buckle. I flashed back to Gavin's death. Daniel, Chase, and Blake were in the same place as me, one of their best friends being held at gunpoint in front of their very eyes. I realized these four boys had barely left each other's side since I'd known them.
    "Let him be an example for you all," Andrew said. Without a moment's hesitation, the trigger of the gun was pulled and a bullet was shot into Ashton's head. His head was crushed the moment the bullet hit his skull. Just like Gavin. We had lost another person just as we had lost Gavin. How many more? Would we all be killed? All of us before we even reached the age of 20?
    Daniel, Chase, and Blake all gave heart-wrenching screams of anger. Blake fell to his knees and went absolutely silent. Daniel and Chase both went red and started to lunge at Andrew, but Carson and Bryce held them back. They didn't want Chase and Daniel to become examples as well.
    Andrew's face was full of amusement once more. I wanted to scream at him. How could he find joy in other's pain?
    I guess lots of people do. That's why our world is the way it is.
    Everyone else was frozen; eyes wide and blurry with tears. The group that had fought off dozens of guards and survived on it's own in the wilderness could now do nothing to save themselves.
    All the emotions coming from Ashton's death and coming back from Gavin's death hit me like a tidal wave. Tears began to spill and I was just staring at one spot on the wall. I balled my hands into fists; as if I was strong enough to even hurt a guard. I barely noticed the guards moving in towards us. Everything around me was happening in slow motion as my brain tackled this tidal wave of events and emotions. Guards were beginning to grab boys and put them in handcuffs. I saw each boy struggle weakly before subduing to their inevitable fate. I did nothing as one guard pulled my hands roughly behind me and wrapped the cold metal around my wrists. He pushed me forward and I slowly dragged my feet across the floor in that direction, barely noting the feeling of ground beneath my soles.
They dragged us through Aspen's dark, ominous store into the cold night. The only thing I remember from that walk from the store to the vans was the stars lighting up the night sky. Then, we were shoved into the backs of vans and driven off.