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Chapter 13- Hurt

After what happened they gave Anna a few hours to cool off. Kai went for a walk. Casey just sat there watching the birds swoop down calling. The site was beautiful, but all Casey could think about was Anna and the gun Kai had in his coat pocket. When Kai got back they walked down to the campsite. Anna was in her tent. It was her and kais turn to share a tent. They had made a roaster after they stole a second tent from the most recent bunker. Kais stuff was on the ground in the mud. Kai bends down and ignoring all his clothes and books and what not, he starts to search for something. He grabs a picture frame from the mud. Using his sleeve he wipes muck off it. In the picture was him. He looked to be either nine or ten. In his hands he struggled to hold a little blue heeler, it looked about 2 or so. He was smiling and laughing with Stephanie who looked about nine. She was wearing a flowy dress. What looked like Kais mum stood in the background. She was tall and had black hair that was in her face because of the wind. Laughing at whatever the joke they had told. She was holding a little girl who Casey guessed was Stella; she had blonde hair and Kais blue eyes. She was about two or three years old. Beside Stephanie was an excited looking border collie.
"That's a great photo" Casey whispers "And really cute dogs!"
She was trying to cheer him up because he was clearly upset. She drops to her knees and puts her arm around him.
"Yeah, they were called Bluey and Princess Sparkle" he wipes his face trying to hide the tears.
Casey tries to hide her giggles as she turns to face Kai.
"What! Stephanie was three when she chose the name Princess Sparkle and I was 4 when I named Bluey.

He grabs his clothes and hangs them on a branch to dry. He lights the fire and puts his sleeping bag in the other tent. Casey looks down at the photo. Kais mum was so pretty. Kai looked so happy. She had never seen the pure happiness that Kai had in this photo on him now,ever.
"You looked so happy"
"I was"
Kai went silent.
"ANNA!" Kai's voice boomed through the cave and Casey jumped at the sudden anger in his voice.
"What!" Anna's voice called from the tent even though she probably knew why he was mad.
"WHY WOULD YOU CHUCK THIS PHOTO IN THE MUD? You're lucky it was in a frame."
"Yeah and why would you kiss my 'best friend'" she said those last two words sarcastically and Casey fought her tears.

They didn't say anything for the rest of the night. They heard nothing from Anna's tent and Kai pushed soup into the tent after he made it, then went to bed 10 minutes later. Casey sat out watching the fire slowly die. Before retiring to the tent. Kai was facing the side of the tent. Knowing he probably didn't want to talk about it Casey lies down in her sleeping bag and let's sleep fall over her.

The next morning Anna came out of her tent. She was edgy and impolite. Casey felt bad for her and tried to get back on her good side. Kai sat as far away from either girl as possible. Eventually Kai sighs and stands up and asks Anna to go on a walk with him. Half an hour later Anna comes running through the tree crying really hard. Before running into her tent. Casey knows what Kai had said. Kai came out into the campsite a few hours later. He looked down. Hugging his coat close to him he sits down near the fire. Holding his hands out to warm them. He doesn't look at Casey.
"You broke up with her didn't you?" Casey asks. Kai sighs and straightens up.
"Yeah. I realized that I was meant to be with someone else. I wasn't being fair to her."
Casey felt happy and sad. He had broken up with Anna because he liked her and she didn't know what to think. She had never felt so conflicted. She got up and went onto Anna's tent.
"Anna"
"Casey go away"
"Anna"
"Please Casey"
"No, you're my friend. Tell me about it"
"We walked out to the clearing that he kissed you in. He then sat me down and his exact words were " Listen, Anna, mate. You're amazing and so pretty but I can't be with you anymore. I like someone else. I'm not going to act on it though. You deserve better than me' then with tears in his eyes he just left me sitting there"
"Oh Anna" Casey whispers. "That's just wrong"
Anna nodded and started to cry again. Casey needed to be a good friend so she sat there and comforted her. She was angry at Kai for telling Anna he wasn't going to act on it. She was angry at herself for being angry. She just had a bunch of mixed feelings. Why did boys make everything so hard?

A few weeks later they moved to a distant forest. Kai came running into the camp so out of breath he couldn't get the words out.  After a few minutes Anna and Casey figured out that he had found a cure to Sapion venom.
"What!" Anna looked so surprised.
"That's what it looks like anyway. It is a plant that if you crush right will produce a srim that applied to the bloodstream will activate a gene that only people with the DNA of the Sapiens in their bloodstream. That means there's a cure. We can save you Anna"
Anna's face fell for a second before she beamed. They had a party that night. The only place that the plant grew was the bunker. They were grown in the green house. Kai said that if he wasn't looking after anything he went crazy. He was always in the greenhouse. He used to live on a farm and was used to being in charge of something. Anna looked excited but also sad for some reason when they trudged off to go to their bunker. Kai didn't look too excited about going back there. She made a mental note to talk to him about it. Later that night Anna went to bed early so Casey asked him.
"Kai you don't seem enthusiastic about going to the bunker."
"Oh, you noticed"
"Of course I did, you didn't try to hide it"
"Stella died there. It was the last place I was ever happy."
"Your not happy"
"Of course I'm not. I watched my sister die a few months ago. I watched helpless as my mum died. I haven't been happy in over a year. Have you been happy"
Casey thinks about it. The time a bird pooped on kais head she had laughed, she had been happy. It was more funny when Kai started swearing and yelling at the bird and her and Anna.
"Yes" she answers truthfully. Kai goes to bed early. Probably mentally preparing for the next day. So she left him alone. Sitting by herself was depressing but she gave Kai some space. Anna was probably asleep. She thought about the gun. Would Kai be able to use it if he needed it? Casey didn't know how to use a gun. If Kai used the gun on his dad would he ever be the same again? Casey didn't think so. Which way he went if he was to kill someone would be up to him. She had killed someone before. Bill or whatever his real name was. She had killed him to save Anna's life. Kais too. Probably her own though that wasn't as important. Slowly she felt her eyes begin to close. She should go to bed. Kai needed some more time. Yawning, she fell asleep.

"Casey, did you sleep out here all night" Kai's worried voice woke Casey up the next morning. She looks up to see Kai standing out front of their tent.
"Yeah,"
"Why?"
"You needed space"
"Casey thanks, but you didn't need to do that"
"No I did"
Before Kai could respond Anna came out of her tent and announces
"Time to go"
After half a day's walk they see the familiar looking mountain. They slowly trudge up till about four in the afternoon. They look through the dark doors and Casey feels sad at the site of the ruined bunker. Kai's face was pale. Anna looked strangely sad. Then she would smile and then stop almost immediately afterwards.
"Kai, why don't you stay here and warn us if you see any Sapiens?" Casey suggested. Kai tries but fails to not look relieved.
"Come on Anna"
They walk in switching the torch on. Despite its lack of use the torch was quickly going flat. Then the light catches a glimpse of blonde hair going round a corner.
"Show yourself" Casey yells. A girl no older than nine walks over to them. Her blonde hair had been cut short probably by a knife because it was jagged and uneven. She looked almost exactly like Stephanie did in the photo Kai had. Her eyes were blue though they reminded her of something but she wasn't sure what.
"Who are you?" Anna asks
"Who are you?" The girl asks back.
"I'm Casey, this is Anna"
"Anna I knew an Anna once"
"I'll ask only once more, who are you?" Anna says again.
"She's not a threat" Casey was surprised that Anna was going so hard on this little girl.
"I'm not, I swear," the little girl whispers. She looked scared of Anna. "On my way here I got hurt. My mum died. My brother and sister brought me here. A doctor helped me. I was asleep for three years."
Anna stopped and her eyes went wide.
"Stella?"