Purple | Cole Stewart -VERSION DISCONTINUED

Chapter Nine: Escape Part II

I'm sorry for this one.

I had been at Caledonia for a little over a year when I started to hear whispers of a word that carried more weight than anything else I could think of: Escape.
With that one word, my entire life had a purpose again. It was a chance to start over again. To make my own decisions again, to be free.
It was Christmas, and halloween, and new years, and every other holiday all rolled into one. Escape.
"Do you really think we could do it? Get out of here?" asked Amelia. We were all feeling much more cautious than usual due to the prospect of escape.
I shrugged. I wanted to get out of here more than anything else, but I just couldn't give them that hope when it could be false. I couldn't let them down like I let Felipe down.
But Lily definitely didn't feel the same way I did, because she answered almost immediately. "Oh definitely! I'm sure Liams plan is amazing!"
I sat up at this. "Liams?"
"You didn't know?" Jenny asked. I shook my head. "Liam- your Liam- he's the one who's organizing the escape. No one really knows all of the details except him. But you guys are friends, so we should be some of the first people to know, right?"
"I mean, probably? I don't know guys, he's hard to reach these days."
"He is, isn't he?" Jenny agreed. "I'll never understand how some people just just attract everyone to them."
We all murmured in agreement.
A fist pounded on the door. "Keep it down in there! If I hear anything else I'm coming in there you got it?"
Zoe and I both rolled our eyes. Zoe because she didn't care if she was punished, me because I knew that they wouldn't follow through on that threat so close to the end of their shift.
"Well." said Cassie, clasping her hands together. "That's enough of that. How about a story before we go to bed?"
Emma and Rosie nodded eagerly, climbing up next to Cassie on her bunk. I looked over to see Jenny smiling at the three of them before she sensed me watching her and smiled over at me. I blushed and smiled back before laying back in my bunk and closing my eyes.
I woke up to sirens that night.
As soon as the sound registered in my head I was rolling under my bunk and covering my ears, preparing for White Noise to knock me out. Every second of silence caused me to squeeze my eyes shut more.  I stayed like that for a good 10 seconds until I felt someone tugging on my arm, and a muffled voice calling my name.
"Carter! Get up, what are you doing?"
I turned around to see Jenny pulling on my arm as the rest of the girls ran out of the room. "What? What's going on?"
"The escape, dumbass! Come on, we don't have time for this!"
I scrambled to my feet, only having time to slip on my shoes before Jenny had grabbed my arm again and I was being pulled out of the room.
The hallways were... chaos, to put it lightly. There was smoke everywhere, so I guessed that the sirens I heard were fire alarms. I was confused about where the 'escape' part was though, wasn't this just a mandatory evacuation?
I was pulled out of my thoughts when a large weight hit me from behind, sending me to the floor. Because Jenny was still holding onto my arm, she was jerked down with me, but managed to stay on her feet. She let go of my arm as I stood up, and I turned to see what had knocked me over. 
It was a little girl. Jenny stuck out her arms and picked up the girl before our now group of three continued to move towards the stairs, and by extension, freedom.
If I thought the hallway was bad, then the scene I saw when I got outside was hell.
There were kids everywhere, some running towards us but most running at the main gate, which was closed. 
"Come on, Carter, the PSF's are going to be here soon!"
I nodded and began making my way through the snow. I was halfway to the gate when I finally saw Liam. He was with one of his bunkmates in the gatehouse, trying to get the gate open. He was doing a pretty shit job if you asked me, because the thing was still closed and the fence was still powered, which was made obvious by the steam coming off of it from the snow.
I had just joined the large group gathered in front of the gate when I heard the first gunshot, and the accompanying wave of screams.
It was silent for a moment after the first shot, before bullets began raining down. 
Come on Liam, open it up.
I turned around to see if Jenny was okay, but I was met with a stranger's face instead. I spun around in a circle, looking for that familiar face.
I couldn't lose her.
The snow was more red than white now. There were more kids laying unmoving on the ground than there were struggling to reach the gate. Hell could not possibly be any worse than this.
Then the gate opened.
A hand grabbed my arm. Jenny. She stumbled into me, and I grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling over, and I felt something wet and sticky coat my hands.
Blood. She had been shot.
"Just hold on Jenny! I'm going to get you out of here!" together we stumbled through the gate. I felt her weight being lifted off of my shoulders and panic took over me. 
Liam, it was just Liam, with Jennys arm over his shoulder as we moved further and further away from Caledonia.
There were two other kids just ahead of us, the taller of the two carrying a small boy.
"Stop, I need to stop, please!" Jenny cried, her legs giving out entirely. Liam took over completely, hooking his arms under her knees and back to carry her.
"Just a little farther, I promise. Then you can rest," He assured her, his voice rough.
A little farther turned into quite a lot farther. And from the look on Liam's face, we would be walking forever if no one said anything. "Lee, we need to stop. Jenny needs help, she's bleeding out. Please Lee, just a few minutes," I begged.
Liam finally seemed to notice how shaken up we all were. "No stopping." I started to protest weakly, but he cut me off. "Everybody to that van. I'll drive."
I heard a sigh of relief from the small kid, who I had since noticed was a girl.
The van in question was the only vehicle in the parking lot we were stumbling through. It was black, and there was faded writing on the side that read "Betty Jean Cleaning Co."
The five of us filed into the van, Liam laying Jenny down before jumping into the front seat to hotwire the car. 
Now that we had stopped, I finally had a chance to look at Jenny again, and once I did, I almost regretted it.
She was so pale. Her eyes were barely open, but she was looking at me with a faint smile on her face.
"What?" I leaned forward to brush a few strands of hair out of her face. The tall boy I didn't remember the name of was bustling around behind us as he tried to hold pressure to the bullet wound.
"You're cute when you're worried. Have I ever told you that?" I shook my head as tears welled up my eyes.
"Well you are. You scrunch up your eyebrows and sometimes you stick out your tongue. You get so focused. You're adorable." she giggled softly. "I just had to tell you before-" I cut her off, hating where this conversation was going.
"No you can't say that Jen, don't say that. You're gonna be fine, okay? Everythings gonna be fine, it has to be fine." I was almost sobbing now, gasping for breath.
"Hey, none of that Carter. Come here," She opened her arms slowly, trying to hide a grimace as she did.
I sobbed again as I leaned forward to accept her hug. "Please don't leave me,"
"Carter, look at me,"
I was inches away from her face. Her eyes flickered down to my lips. "Could you come a little closer?"
I obeyed, my own eyes flickering down to her lips.
"Just a little closer Carter, come on, I don't bite," I half smiled at that.
We were both looking into each other's eyes now. There was maybe an inch of space between us, and I had all but forgotten about the other people in the van.
I leaned forward and closed that fraction of an inch between us.
Her lips were chapped. That was the first thing I noticed. I held the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away slightly to rest my forehead on hers.
A tear rolled down my face and onto hers.
"It's okay Carter. I'm okay. I'll always be your blue." her eyes fluttered closed as her breath hitched.
"You'll always be my blue," I whispered back.
I brought my hands to the sides of her face. "Jenny wake up, please, I need you to wake up!" I sobbed, trying to stop myself from shaking her.
"Please Jen, please" large hands pulled me back into a firm chest, as I struggled to get back to her.
"No, Jenny!" I wasn't even sure if anyone could understand the words coming out of my mouth at this point.
I just wanted Jenny to wake up.
She had to wake up.
She won't wake up.
I dissolved into sobs, turning to bury my face in the arm that was holding me. 
I could barely breathe, taking gasping breaths one after another as my head started to spin. I was vaguely aware of the person holding me trying to tell me something, but I wasn't listening.
She was gone.
The first girl I ever liked. The first person who ever just got me. And even when she didn't, she would just sit and listen to me talk with that little grin on her face.
I would give anything to see that smile again.
I felt like there was an empty space in my chest, pulling the rest of mody into it like a black hole. Maybe that was why I couldn't breathe.
I thought of something else then, something that made me start crying all over again.
My first kiss was with a dying girl.

Word count: 1798

Bit of a longer chapter, but the next one will be a bit shorter, so it all evens out I think