Gone

Chapter 19-Mina

That night, they slept in a protected hollow. I didn't know what to think, Mina thought as she lay next to Emmett, his light snoring whispering softly in her ear. Her world had been turned upside down by Ross, and he seemed to just make things more confusing. And the kiss...... She was even more befuddled. Why in the world had he KISSED her? That idiotic, stupid, stupid boy. She swore. He brought out a sarcastic, angry side of her with his stupidity. Eeerr, he made her so mad.

Then, to disorient her more, he had given over Emmett to a crazy witch. True, he escaped, but that didn't make his actions justified!

She pounded her pillow in frustration. Suddenly a warm hand clamped down over her mouth, muffling her panicked screams. She fought against the suffocating attack, limited in her movement by the overpowering weight on her. Only her legs were free. She bucked, kicking her attacker in the groin. A agonized groan rewarded her guess; he was male. He slackened his grip on her for a fraction of a second, and that was all Mina needed. In that split-second of relief, she wriggled from his grasp.

"Emm...." Her cries were cut short again. She was starting to feel a little déjà vou.

"Be quiet. It's me, Ross. We have company." Ross hissed in her ear.

He released her, panting from the exertion of containing her.

"So you had to attack me in the middle of the night? Was that really necessary?" She whispered venomously back, her voice practically dripping with poison.

"Not really. Just wanted a hug." Ross tries.

"Sometimes, I consider killing you." Mina replied exhaustedly.

"I am wounded." He dramatically clutches at his chest, pretending to have been wounded by an arrow. He made as if to draw from his torso, letting out a artificial cry of excruciating agony.

"Sometimes, you are an imbecile, Ross." Mina rolled her eyes at his display.

He pretended to sulk at her words. "Party Pooper. Meanie Mina." He pouted, sticking out his tongue and making his lower lip tremble.

"Are we interrupting something?" A voice called from the entrance to the hollow, shaking with mirth.

We forgot about the intruders! Mina mentally slapped herself. She subtly drew her spear from the shaft as she turned slowly, dreading facing whoever just witnessed her and Ross's embarrassing feud. She felt her cheeks flush rosy red.

Blocking the entrance to the hollow were two indistinguishable figures. One of them stepped into the moonlight. It was a girl, and by her height she seemed twelve. A young age to be introduced to the horrors of the ravaged Earth. She had an olive skin tone, tall with gangly legs. She had warm brown eyes, and long brown hair with red and blonde highlights, swept up into a carefree ponytail. She was smirking, as if she was about to burst out laughing. She stood confidently, slack and relaxed, but Mina could see the edge of a bow pointing from behind her back. She wore combat-boots, a black-leather jacket, and camouflaged cargo pants. She looked as if she was a fighter.

"Madi, by the way. And you are?" She asked, in a friendly enough tone, but then she added "All of you are human, right? No BloodWarriors or Gone?" The way she gritted her teeth and hissed "BloodWarriors" made Mina suspect she had a grudge against them.

"Why should you know? You just burst into our camp, armed, and have a suspicious friend hiding in the shadows. Why should we trust you?" Ross burst out, his voice cold with hostility. He was gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles were turning white. What got him in a fuss? Mina wondered.

Madi scoffed. "You really think we are going to hurt you? We've had the chance, many many times! I think we deserve a little more of a welcoming committee." Mina decided right then that she liked the bold teenager. More than Ross, anyway.

Scowling, she left Ross's side and wrapped her arms around Madi's shoulders. "I trust her. If she had the opportunity to kill us, and refrained, we know at least she isn't a murderer. Lighten up, Ross."

Ross stiffened, and glared at Madi. He opened his mouth, then clamped it shut, letting out a primal growl.

"Oohh, someone's jealous......" Madi taunted, "Evan, wanna meet our new friends? As long as Beast Boy doesn't bite your head off, I think we're good."

Emerging from the darkness, the mysterious Evan materialized out of the gloom. He seemed to be the same age as Madi, but that was were the similarities ended. He had light golden hair, shaved close to his scalp. He was shorter than Madi, and had pale skin with numerous freckles dotting his face. But his eyes were by far his most striking feature. He had hazel-brown eyes, with bright green patches intermingled. He was blushing furiously, his face bright red. He had a burnished bow staff strapped to his back. He shuffled his feet nervously. He had a neon red backpack teetering on his shoulder.

"Uuhh.... Hi." He waved half-heartedly, and Mina felt sympathetic for his bashfulness. She knew what it was like to be talking to real, live humans for the first time in forever; awkward.

"SISSY, YOU BROUGHT MORE FRIENDS!" The gleeful cry came from the now fully-awake Emmett. He charged Evan, leaping into his arms. They both tumbled backwards.

"You are gonna be my bbbbeeeessssttt friend..... What is your name?" Emmett asked, undeterred that he had know idea what his "new best friend"'s name was.

Coughing from the dust that had accumulated from their fall, Evan answered "Ee...ACHOO!"

"I apologize for Emmett.... He can be a handful sometimes." Mina hurriedly tried to detach Emmett from Evan, but Emmett clung determinedly to his torso.

"Achoo my friend!" He argued.

"He is fine. I really don't mind." Evan remarked unhelpfully.

"Evan, you're really not helping." Madi cut in, pulling him to his feet.

"Okay, enough with the chitchat. We need to talk." Ross commanded forcefully.

What's his problem? Mina thought again. She agreed, but she would never side with Ross.

"Come on, you can stay with us for tonight. We do have a lot of explaining to do." She offered.