Chapter Twenty-One
~ Aspen ~
I sat on the dirt ground with my back pressed firmly against a large rock. This is where I’d been for what felt like hours now. I was just watching. Watching everyone distribute food and supplies for the evening, watching some talk and laugh while others looked overwhelmed. Despite my conversation with E earlier, I didn’t feel like I belonged here. All these people are a family, and they probably wouldn’t be too willing to add on another member like me.
Now, almost everyone had turned in for the night. There were a couple people wandering around here or there, not doing anything of importance. I hadn’t seen E or any of the guys for quite a while. After talking to E, I’d made some random excuse and found this secluded spot to sit and think by myself. I had
Things are getting fun now, aren't they??? Hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Thanks for reading :)
Chapter Twenty-Two~ Lexa ~ I stared in disbelief at Grey and S, my anger growing. “I cannot believe you two!” I shouted.Something had made me walk down to the exit closest to the village. I walked there thinking I could get some clarity on the situation that was about to happen in a few hours, only to find Grey and Aspen gasping for air as if they had been running. It turns out, they had been.“You put us all in danger! And for what?!” I was livid.“Listen, Lex, I can explain.” Grey tried to reason.
Chapter Twenty-Three~ Aspen ~ Despite my attempts at arguing, the boys insisted that we leave right now. I was exhausted after my little adventure with Grey. Using my powers always took a lot out of me, probably because I didn’t do it often. If there was one thing most people could agree on, it was that everyone has the right to make their own choices. My power takes that away. That’s why I hate it. I wasn’t beating myself up too much, because I knew those men were going to hurt us, but I still didn’t like it. We could’ve found a different solution, but I panicked and that was the easiest way to get us out. I had the urge to pack a bag. It’s what I've done ea
Chapter Twenty-four~ Lexa ~ I sighed as I packed my tent away for what seemed like the millionth time in my life. I felt embarrassed about the way I had broken down earlier. I had been so mad and scared and overwhelmed. But I was fine now. Grey had helped me calm down. He was like this older brother to me that sometimes was a total dick, but sometimes, he remembered to show he cared. A rarity. But so was Grey with hope. For the first time in years, he was being I don’t even know, but the best I could describe it was, he was more human. In fact, he was so hopeful that S was going to pull through for us, that it was his idea to tell everyone to pack up. I was less certain of this decision. Not that I didn’t trust S. I did. I had no choice but to trust her. But what if
Chapter Twenty-Five~ Aspen ~ I let go of Gracie and pushed past Will and E, determined to find Jax and Grey. There was no way I was letting them get stuck in that forest after everything. It would be my fault for suggesting this stupid place. I heard faint voices calling my name, but I wasn’t going to stop for anything. Not when there was an innocent family, including a baby, at risk. My eyes stung as I ran into the smokey tree line. I brought my arm up to cover my mouth and nose, but it did little to help.Visibility was practically nonexistent as I moved further in. My clothes felt sticky as the raging heat wrapped around me. I kept moving. It was the only thing I could do. Since I was practically running blind, I let my instincts guide me. Sudd
Chapter Twenty-Six~ Lexa ~ I woke up screaming, and Will ran in his arrows out, ready to fight. I looked around and realized it was a dream. There was no fire. There was no one trying to kill me. My mother was already dead. There was nothing an arrow could do. “Lexa, what’s wrong?” Will demanded, but he was already lowering his arrow as he realized nothing was amidst. “Dream,” I gasped, still trying to catch my breath. I didn’t know how we were keeping our air clean when there w
Chapter Twenty-Seven ~ Aspen ~ I sighed tiredly as I switched a load of clothes from the washer to the dryer. Both had been running almost constantly since we arrived a week ago. Everyone had settled into their new home as if they’d always been here. They were enjoying the amenities I’d always taken for granted like clean clothes, hot food, and a warm shower for the first time. It was actually really endearing to watch their faces light up with each new luxury. I hadn’t gotten much rest. Each day, making sure everyone was okay and knew how to use everything around them took up all of my time. I saw E the most, and that was only for a quick check in once a day. I honestly had no idea what the others were doing. Will and Jax were usually off somewhere goofing around or stoppin
Chapter Twenty-eight~ Lexa ~“Harder!” Will called out as I moved to hit his gloves again.“Better,” He called out again as I threw another punch.The truth was, neither of us really needed to be training. We had been training our whole lives. And yes, we needed to get better, but both of us were going over the top with it. We spent hours and hours in our make-shift gym away from everyone. I had taken a run earlier around our perimeters with Will and Grace this morning. And we were going on hour 6 today of a grueling workout. Any second we weren’t on duty or supposed to be asleep, we were training.I was grateful that Grey had decided to creat
Chapter Twenty-Nine~ Aspen ~“That was a bit mean, don’t you think?” I asked Grey once E and Will were out of earshot.He bent down to pick up a pair of boxing gloves that they’d left on the squishy floor. It was a weird mixture of rubber and plastic that almost bounced under our weight.“Lexa doesn’t take care of herself.” He held the gloves out for me to take. “So I usually have to.”I nodded in understanding and slipped my hands into the gloves. Even if that wasn’t true, I knew Grey felt responsible for everyone under this roof. He did have a soft spot for E, though. The two of them were close in their own weird wa
Chapter Forty-One ~ Aspen ~ Jax and I moved quickly through the dense crowd. We hadn’t talked much on the way here. There was just too much at stake. It was a lot to take in, and neither of us really knew how to handle it. I’d gone into autopilot mode, and I wasn’t planning on turning it off until all of us were safe and this was all over. It’s how I’d survived this long, and I could only hope that it would get me through this too. The market was packed. It was both relieving and incredibly strange to be surrounded by technology again. And modern clothes. I had forgotten how behind E and the guys were. Jax suddenly placed a hand against my bicep, and I stopped walking. “That’s her.” He gestured to a woman leaning casually against a fresh produce stand, and I moved toward her without hesitation. This conversation needed to happen as quickly as possible. There was no telling when the attack would arrive. They could already be there. “Excuse me?” I tried to keep the urgency ou
Chapter Forty~ Lexa ~I spoke quickly even though I had gone over the plan with S and Jax a thousand times. “You need to try and get into the labs. Show where we were kept. The battle will be one thing but show how they treated us. Why we ran is just as important if not more. Are you sure you don’t need me to go?” “Yes,” S sighed as she packed her backpack with extra rations and clothes. “Do you even know how to work a camera, E?” I sighed too. “No.” I replied. “I’ve never seen one. Except for in the lab.” “You can’t run from this, E. Besides, your ability to manipulate energy will be put to use way better here.” She tried to comfort me. “I really don’t want to stay here,” I confided. “S, your dad already is trying to kill you. We were both in the city just the other day. What if going back is a trap?” “It was your idea, E,” She reminded me. “You said we need exposure. This is how we do it. And you being flippy floppy on the whole thing is just annoying me.”I hated when my own
Chapter Thirty-Nine~ Aspen ~Will looked like he was about to throw up. He turned to go after her, but I moved to catch his arm. “Just leave it for now.” I urged, and he plopped back down onto his chair in defeat. I honestly didn’t know what to make of that situation. If he really did sleep with her and someone else right after, she had every right to be mad. I chewed on my bottom lip as I recalled mine and Grey’s night together just a few hours ago. Yeah, if he did that with anyone else, he’d be dead. I cleared my throat in the hopes of cutting some of the tension. “Well, uh. I have a plan and it might be really stupid.” Three sets of eyes looked at me expectantly and I sighed. “First things first, there’s something you all need to know.” I let my attention land on Grey and prepared myself for anything. I had no idea how he was going to react to the news. We’d never talked about his family. I wasn’t sure if he even knew his mom was
Chapter Thirty-Eight~ Lexa ~S stormed out but the rest of the gang moved out a little slower. Grey ran out after S, but not before shooting me a glare. And Jax came over and kissed my forehead and muttered something about he was glad I was home. And Will tried to move closer and cuddle, but I told him that he was the last person I wanted to see right now. He kept asking what happened, what happened, and I couldn’t tell him. He didn’t know what he did. But I did. I did. And I was never going to forgive him. So, after everyone finally left my room, I found myself sitting in the lobby on the windowsill, taking first watch like I had done every night before I had left. I was exhausted. But I needed a plan to present to everyone with the information I had. Should we stay and defend our fortress? Or should we flee? How could we win this war? I had been fighting it my whole life, and I was no closer than when I started. It was well after 3 am when Grey finally stumbled out into the lobby
Chapter Thirty-Seven~ Aspen ~ I cast E a relieved smile. Confusion shot through me at the sight of her out this far, but seeing a familiar face was more comforting than anything. She knocked dad’s men off their feet and caught up to me quickly. I twisted to get a look behind us and winced. An endless stream of men were coming from seemingly nowhere. E swiped a hand in the air and some kind of shockwave moved through the grassy field around us. With that, everyone following us shot backwards as if pulled by an invisible rope. “Over here.” She called, suddenly veering to the right. I followed suit immediately, trusting where she was leading me. We ducked into the tree line and continued running at full speed. “I’m sorry.” She huffed from beside me. “Not now.” I grunted in return. It wasn’t the right time to have that discussion. For one, we were running for our lives. And two, I was nowhere near ready to forgive her. Or anyone else, for that matter. I could be stubborn to a f
Chapter Thirty-six~ Lexa ~I was breathing hard. There was little to no room to go. A stranger was not welcome at the market and I was worse than a stranger. I was a traitor. A no good. A nobody. Nothing was worse than a girl stuck in a cage. But I had much to learn here in the city. Despite how hard everyone tried to keep to themselves, they were all gossips. Harry was getting married this weekend to a girl his mother hated. The poor girl was as nervous as a cat in a thunderstorm. Then there was Jem who was cheating on his girl with Olivia. And the Harrison’s were in the middle of a nasty divorce. But beneath the shallowness there were secrets. And plans that no one was too keen on keeping a secret. But yet they were life changing. And they had to do with my people. “Did you hear Lisa Harris’ daughter is now under investigation?”“Wow, that's really young to be found with the sickness. She’s what? 3?”“It’s disturbing.” “Did you hear about the Carter’s son? They’ve been looking f
Chapter Thirty-Five ~ Aspen ~ I woke with a start, bolting upright as my heartbeat painfully in my chest. I assessed my surroundings quickly and tried to slow my breathing. I was safe. I was laying on the disgusting forest floor, covered in freezing mud, but I was safe. I’d been walking for I don’t even know how many days at this point. I needed to find a permanent place to rest, and fast. I’d eaten nearly all of the food I packed, so I wouldn’t last much longer in the elements. Winter was closing in and fast. The temperature was dropping significantly each day. My head twisted to the side painfully fast at the sound of leaves crunching behind me. I was currently sitting with my back up against a tree, and whatever had made the sound was on the other side of it. My heartrate picked up again as I pulled myself up onto my feet and held my breath. I squeezed my eyes shut in an effort to gain some courage before peering around the tree. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it h
Chapter Thirty-Four~ Lexa ~I immediately felt guilty as S ran out of the room, but I was mad. She could have gotten herself hurt. It would not have been hard to tell one of us she could fix it. She’s the one who just a single night before had lectured me on needing to work as a team. Whatever this was, it was not my fault. “Now you’ve done it,” Grey snapped as he exited the room, but I didn’t move. I was still fuming. “Breathe, Lex,” Will whispered in my ear. I shot him a deadly glare. How dare he tell me to breathe? She could have endangered everyone. “How is this different?” Will prodded. He knew he was in dangerous territory with that question, I could tell by his face, but what he meant, I had no idea. “What?” I snapped. I could hear the anger in my voice. “How is what she did any different than what you do every day?” “That is not a fair question, William.” I replied coldly. “Why not?” He questioned, his voice calm with just a smidge of an edge. “You make risky choice
Chapter Thirty-Three ~ Aspen ~ I let out a harsh breath as I recoiled back. The hit to my ribs caused a sharp pain to vibrate through my sides and down my spine. I gasped for air and placed a gloved hand against the tender spot. “Geez, chill out.” “Do you think your enemy is going to chill out?” Grey rolled his eyes and lifted his hands back into fighting position. “What does that even mean?” I rolled my eyes right back and tried to catch my breath. We’d been training for at least an hour now and I was exhausted. He wasn’t taking it easy on me, which I guess is better in the long run, but damn was it tiring. And painful. I knew he wasn’t hitting me nearly as hard as he could, but I would still have bruises after this. I took a step forward and tried to land a hit but, of course, he dodged it. He caught my wrist easily and jerked me forward. I lost my footing and slammed into his chest so harshly it knocked the air from my lungs. I placed my free hand against him and tried