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NOW EVEN JUST A HALF-HEARTED LAUGH was something she was surprised she was capable of. But as she listened to the end of Chandler's story that he had been explaining animatedly to her and Harper about dumb things he, Jasper, and Monty had done as children, she couldn't help it.
They were all sitting on the rickety wooden platform that Taylor was keeping guard from. The other two had wandered over to her and struck up a conversation, which was something she needed to keep her mind off of everything.
She had just tossed one of the nuts that Monty had brought over as a snack at Harper. They had been playing the game for a while, the object being to see who could catch the most in a row. It bounced off her cheek and rolled off of the platform, the other two laughing all the while. Taylor had caught two since her last slip up and was determined to keep the streak going.
Harper threw one at Chandler and he caught it easily, chewing on it with a grin. "You're too good at this game," Taylor teased, finishing off the last off her nuts. This had been her second package and she felt guilty taking any more than that considering how low the food supply could get.
"What can I say? I'm just a natural," he replied with a nonchalant shrug, causing her to roll her eyes at him. She shifted her position, the coarse wood rubbing roughly against her pants.
"Okay, well I should get back to -" Her sentence was interrupted by panicked shouts emitting from somewhere not too far away.
"RIGHT THERE! We have to run! Why isn't anyone doing anything?" She furrowed her eyebrows and slid off of the platform clumsily. A few sticks snapped under her feet and she skidded off to the source of the noise.
Jasper was gripping Octavia's jacket, eyes darting from left to right in alarm. She definitely figured that he was the culprit of the screaming. Several people were glancing at him oddly and avoided his gaze like he was insane. Octavia was sitting him down on one of the chairs and patted his shoulder before beginning to walk away.
"O!" Taylor called out. She stopped in her tracks and turned around reluctantly, not looking very happy to be seeing her. Taylor pulled her off to a more private spot and gave her an expectant look. "What's up with Jasper? Is he high? How could he have even found —"
"He's fine. Just sleep deprived and paranoid," Octavia answered easily with a shrug, the two looking back at the boy who clutched onto a stick like a lifeline with wild eyes. When Taylor turned back to Octavia her vision blurred slightly and she could feel her mind clouding over to the point of utter confusion. A hand waved in front of her face and she snapped out of it, Octavia's puzzled face now in pure clarity.
