Renegades Stories

Chapter 20: Andrew

Andrew threw his blanket off of him as he felt the room grow warmer. Adrian really should have turned up the air conditioning before they had all gone to bed.

    Adrian had invited Andrew over for a family game night with him, Hugh, Simon, Max, Nova, and Caroline. He'd insisted it was because they needed one extra person for monopoly, but Andrew suspected it was because he wanted to make him feel better.

    Andrew was still racked with guilt. He could have saved so many more people. He could have kept a better eye on Wildflower. Then, the collapse wouldn't have happened. Or at least, not as many people would have died.

    Seventy-nine. That number haunted him. Seventy-nine people had lost their lives that day.

    Andrew sat up when he didn't cool off. Then he began to shout. From out in the hallway, he could see smoke filling up the house. He could hear flames flickering from a different room. He could see vines making their way towards him, ready to strangle him, like they had done to Aftershock. Like they had done to Caroline. They were here.

    He could hear other people shouting throughout the house in panic. He glanced at the window. He could climb out and escape. But it was also a two-story drop. And his friends were inside too. Adrian was in the basement, with no way to escape. Even if they did make it outside, Inferno and Wildflower would be waiting for them.

    Andrew took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do.

    He quickly put on his shoes and walked to the doorframe. Covering his mouth and nose with his hands, he creeped towards the end of the hallway, where Caroline's room was.

    She was already up, tying her laces. She looked up when she heard Andrew approaching.

    "We need to get out of here!" she shouted.

    "You go get Nova and Max. Nova's lungs are still weak from the last two Inferno encounters, and Max isn't a prodigy."

    She nodded sharply, and brushed past him.

    Before opening Nova's door, she said, "What are you doing?"

    "I'm getting Adrian."

    She shook her head urgently. "Andrew, let Hugh do it. He's invincible, remember?"

    Andrew ignored her and ran over to the two council-members bedroom door. He banged loudly, hoping to wake them up from their slumber.

    Hugh opened the door almost immediately.

    "Adrian," both he and Andrew said.

    "Simon, you get Max!" Hugh called his husband.

    "Is Caroline...?" Simon asked Andrew.

    "She's getting Nova."

    Simon gave a sharp nod.

    "I'm going to get Adrian," Andrew said.

    Hugh opened his mouth to argue, but he must have seen the determined look on his face and sighed in resignation. "I'll go with you."

    Together, they made their way downstairs. It was a mess. Fire raged, blocking every exit. Vines were pushing through the walls, creating holes. The door to the basement – Adrian's room – was thankfully not blocked. Andrew stood by the door as Hugh ran down the stairs. Not two minutes later he returned. His face was panicked, his eyes desperate.

    "He's not there!"

    "Did you check the entire basement?" Andrew asked, his eyes widening in horror.

    "Yes!"

    "Maybe he already escaped?" Andrew asked doubtfully.

    "I hope so. We need to get out of here."

    While the Captain had been downstairs, Caroline, Nova, Simon, and Max had left the house. Hugh and Andrew followed in their footsteps, leaving the house just as the roof collapsed.

    Andrew wilted in relief when he saw Adrian standing next to Nova, an arm around her.

    "You're okay!" Hugh let out a huge sigh of relief and hugged his son.

    "I was the first one out. I didn't see Inferno or Wildflower, though. They must've left as soon as the fire started."

    "We can worry about them in the morning," Simon said. He slipped his hand into Hugh's.

    Together, the seven of them watched as the mayor's mansion burned to the ground.

(THANK YOU FOR 1K! this is actually insane and i never thought this would get so many reads. because of this, i will be publishing an extra chapter today!)