Four

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Song for this Chapter is:

Answer the Call- Shanna Jackman

"That friendly voice you need to hear
When you're fighting for your life
Not every angel wears their wings
But they're always there for you and me"



**Ophelia's POV**

"Scarlatti." There's a light touch on my shoulder.

"Go. Away." I growl, making sure to enunciate both words. It doesn't deter the unfortunate soul who is trying to wake me.

There's a chuckle, a little more pressure on my shoulder, a light shake. "Scarlatti. Spaghetti. Come on, we have watch." I shake my head, scrunch my eyes tightly shut before rolling over and nuzzling into the nearest thing behind me.

"Scarlatti, get up. Come on, we gotta get to the roof." I don't move, and snore lightly. There's a chuckle, and last night floods into my mind. Blake. The heart-to-heart. Sleeping beside each other. No nightmares.

"Spaghett-i," He draws the I. "Get up." I jolt awake, sitting bolt upright with a startled yelp.

"Sh-t. Sh-t. No, no, no..." Momentarily, I panic. How could I have been so stupid? I scramble to my feet, nearly kicking Whiskey in the process. I wipe my eyes as I take in my surroundings. The Shire nickers, and lies back in the shavings.

Blake looks at me cautiously, ready to subdue me if need be. I lower my eyes to the ground, my face flushing. "Sorry." I murmur. "I uhm... I panicked." Blake raises an eyebrow.
"So I saw. You looked like you'd seen a ghost, Spaghetti." He says. "Are you sure you're alright?" I grab my bag, nodding.

"Yup. Fine. Peachy. We should get upstairs. I mean, to the roof. We should get to the roof." I stutter. Blake stares at me for a minute before nodding.
"Okay. You're right. Let's go." He stands up, and we head for the ladder leading to the roof. I climb quickly, ignoring the dull pain from my hip. Blake follows closely behind me. We relieve DeLosSantos and Reyes, who gratefully climb to the ground after briefing us. Blake lies down and positions his weapon at one corner, using his bag as a stand and resting his cheek on the butt of his gun. Classic watch position. Stay low when in unfamiliar territory.

We lay in silence, pulling watch, watching the sun rise, painting the sky with pink, blue and purple hues. The world is silent as we take in the colors of the sky. The chill morning air bites through my long sleeve, my short sleeve, my tank top, my pants, and my leggings, making me wince from the cold. My hip throbs, and I readjust my positioning to take the weight off. I should have put IcyHot on it before coming up here. Too late now. The sun slowly breaks over the horizon, my breath misting in the orange light.

"It's beautiful." I breathe. Behind me, I hear Blake shift, and almost think I hear him say, "Yeah, you are."

My cheeks flush, and I turn around, resuming my prone supported position.

"We should probably wait for further orders. I'll stay up if you want to go check with the others. Find out what we're doing today." I say, my cheek against the stock of my rifle. I hear Blake get up, the ladder squeaking as he climbs down.

What were you thinking, Scarlatti? Are you crazy? You know he wasn't talking about you, calm down. It's been days since you've had a shower, you probably look like a... raccoon...

I stand and begin to walk the perimeter of the roof. There's no movement anywhere, it's eerily still. Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement to the front of the building. I jerk my rifle to my shoulder and instinctively duck down, relaxing once I realize it's Sumrall. I lower my rifle.

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