Outside

Chapter 15

I'm no match against Drew or Occi, let along both of them. I squeeze Kyan's hand and he looks over at me. He looks even more nervous than I am. I look up at the two newfound enemies in front of me and a sigh escapes me. I really wanted to have open trust with them. I guess it was naïve of me to think that was possible. Now I have to wait and hope they never find out.

~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~

I sleep next to Kyan, my head on his shoulder and his arms around me. I feel oddly protected this way, and I sleep peacefully.

"Are you awake?" He asks me.

"It's dark outside, Kyan. Go back to sleep." I moan.

"I can't."

"Fine. I'm awake then." I keep my eyes closed, half conscious.

"What if we left- just the two of us- and didn't look back?" He whispers. "We wouldn't have to worry about anything. It would be just you and me, without any fear of anyone else hurting us."

"How about we make a deal?" I reply. "If they start to catch on to us, we'll leave, but until then, we shouldn't bail. They're really good with this nature survival stuff, and we need all the help we can get."

"If you think that's the right thing to do, then ok."

"Kyan?" I ask after a long period of silence. "Yes?"

"Was I really your hero?"

"You still are." He says. I smile and close my eyes, falling back asleep.

A few weeks ago, I would have been thrilled to see so many beautiful trees. Now that I know with those beautiful trees comes bugs, wild animals, and thorny bushes, I'm not as joyous. We've been walking down the stream for hours on end, and I'm about to start screaming in frustration. I flail my arms around to try to get the numerous gnats, mosquitos, and flies from circling my head like I'm a dead person but gain little success. The air is warm and humid, and I had taken off my jacket, tying it around my waist. My crimson tank top underneath acts as very little coverage against the harsh sun and poky branches. Kyan has a vibrant sunburn across his nose and cheeks. His arms, now exposed, due to the fact that he, too, took off his jacket, are red as well, and he stops every ten minutes or so to splash some water from the stream on his face and body to ease the pain. The sun exposure has spread his freckles all over his arms and down his neck, and the ones on his face have become more plentiful.

"What are we looking for anyway?" He asks. "Why don't we just stay here? There's plenty of food and water."

"Our shelter is weak. Don't you wish you could sleep in a bed again? Or have an actual roof over your head? We're looking for an old abandoned house to stay in, idiot." Drew says.

"Did you just call me a...?" Kyan begins. "You know what, I not even going to start."

"Drew! What did we talk about?" Occi scolds him. "That boy has never done anything wrong to you, so you better stop acting like it and start acting like a mature adult. You're 18! Start acting like it!"

"You should stop acting like you're my mom." He replies.

"I will when you stop acting like a child." She answers.

"Well! Well... uh..." Drew stutters, not managing to find a good enough comeback to continue the fight. Kyan snickers, and I elbow him.

"Did you guys hear that?" Kyan mutters, his voice quiet and low.

"Hear what?" I ask. As if on cue, a rattling sound echoes through the bushes. I turn my head in the direction of the sound so quickly my neck hurts. I hear it again, but this time it's closer. Before I realize it, my hand is around Kyan's wrist, and I'm darting upstream. "Run." I yell, ducked down as I pull Kyan along, who's struggling to keep his balance with his crutches, which he drops to pick up speed with me. The sound of machine guns fills my ears, and I wince, wishing with all my heart that no one gets hit. I jump behind a bush, and Kyan follows. I hold my finger up to my lips, silencing him. I tug him in closer to me, until the two of us are completely hidden by the thick leaves.

"Did you get hit?" I whisper to him.

"No. Did you?" He asks, just as quiet.

"No."

"Good."

The firing continues, and I cover my ears. The sound is so loud and constant that my ears begin to ring. I hold my breath, in case even the sound of breathing gives away our position. Ending almost as quickly as it started, the machine guns stop firing, leaving the air with an ominous feeling. I feel my grip tighten around Kyan's wrist- so tight I can feel his pulse.

"He was a good guy." I mutter, now that the two of us are alone.

"Tom?" Kyan asks. I nod. "Yeah but Occi said it herself. He was violent. That's probably why he tried to kill you. He saw a kid and was so horrified of getting caught he attacked you. "Good guy" or not, he was gonna murder you."

"So... I killed him instead...? How is that better?"

"Drew! Nox! Kyan!" Occi's voice calls out. "It's ok, you can come out now!"

I feel hesitant about coming out of the safety of the bush, but I oblige. My legs feel numb when I stand, but I still help Kyan up, walking over to where Occi's voice was coming from. When I see her, her clothes are covered in more blood.

"What happened? Where'd the people attacking us go?" I ask.

"I tried negotiating with them, but they wouldn't let me get a word in," she begins, "so I kicked one of them in the knee, took their machine gun, and did what needed to be done."

"How did you? You killed them all?" Kyan asks.

"That's... amazing." I say, more horrified now that I know she's not 100% on my side.

"I wouldn't call it amazing, there were just three of them." She blushes. "But I needed to do it so the four of us could survive."

"Wait." Kyan cuts in. "If you killed them, where are the bodies?"

"Yeah." I take a step back. "I don't see them anywhere."

"Occi sent them down the stream." Drew answers. "That way, hopefully no one can find the bodies."

"What do we do now?" I ask. "We can't follow the river downstream now. If the people who attacked us do have trackers, shouldn't we get as far away from them as possible?"

"I actually have a surprise that may answer your question." Occi grins and pulls something out of her pocket. It's a mini black box with a screen on the front, with what looks like an overhead view of the forest on it.

"What is that?" Kyan asks.

"A map device, or GPS; whichever term you're more familiar with." Occi replies. "With it we can see where we are and where everything around us is."

"So, you're saying we can find an abandoned house and go in that direction, to save time? That's awfully helpful." He says.

"Definitely." She says. "But what I'm hoping for is more than just a house."

"More?" I ask. "A home sounds like a luxury in and of itself."

"Well, back before people were segregated off into Aequans and Opulent, a lot of people around this area owned... ah, how can I put this in words you two can comprehend..." she begins. "Flying automobiles. Ways to travel above ground."

"You're kidding me." Kyan says. "Flying automobiles?"

"I know you." Drew folds his arms. "You have some whack plan to use those helicopters with, don't you?" He asks.

"You know me well." She giggles. "So, we know living in the woods would be tough, right? And living in an abandoned house would still be hard because there would be no running water, easy-to-obtain food, and medicines. So, how do you feel about breaking into the Opulent city and living there instead?"