Undead Rises

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀ

ᴄᴏʀᴀ ʜᴇɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴏɴ'ꜱ ᴘᴏᴠ

Aria kept her gaze on me, and I couldn't find it in myself to turn away. I didn't want to. The fire danced in her eyes, and mischievousness was written on her face. There was nothing that I could say, but there was only one thought in my mind: yes. 

"I forgot it only takes you a few minutes to make a fire. Jasper takes hours." Kai abruptly sat beside me, pulling me out of my trance and causing me to look at him. A nervous laugh left my lips, as I rubbed the back of my neck. My skin felt hot, and something told me that it wasn't from the fire. "At least I try, you sit on your ass and just watch me struggle." Jasper scoffed before lowering himself to sit beside Aria.

Part of me felt like telling them to go away so that I could fall into the trance Aria had over me.

"I bring other skills to the table. Anyway, are you going to tell him what you told me?" Kai asked gesturing his head towards Aria, towards our plan to travel to a military base. I nodded my head before clearing my throat. "So, we met Aria yesterday. She has a map to a military base that's in Texas. When Zoey's better, we're thinking of going there. If someone is still there, it would be our safest bet. We wouldn't have to sleep with one eye open anymore." I told Jasper, trying to avoid Aria's trance like gaze as I needed to focus on what I was trying to say.

"Isn't that what everyone thinks? Going to the military, I mean. What if we get there and they're packed, no space for us?" Jasper questioned, the wheels in his head turning. He had always been the pessimist, but he did make good arguments and good choices. He was also the valedictorian in high school. Jasper usually stopped us from making stupid decisions.

"This is a more hidden base. The cabin that I stayed at, happened to belong to a marine who really liked hunting. It didn't take me long to figure out its location." Aria shrugged as if it was no big deal, she continued to speak. "I don't think it will be crowded, but I also think it'll be harder to convince them to take us in. Considering its location isn't known to the public. We will probably be met with force, but if we can carry our weight, I think they'd let us stay."

"We will cross that bridge when we get there, let's wait until Zoey is better. I'm going to go check on my brother. Will you two please reel in your crazy? Or you're going to scare her." I joked looking down at Aria, who was already looking up at me. A small smile playing on her lips. I turned away before her gaze could trap me and made my way to the office.

The first thing I noticed when walking into the room, was that Tobias was no longer sitting beside Zoey. His name formed in my mouth, ready to be said, before I heard the sound of soft cries coming behind the desk. Closing the door, I rushed towards the sounds of sadness. I saw my brother sitting against the wall, his arms hugged his legs to his chest. His clothes were more of a mess than usual, and so was his hair.

Tobias looked up at me with tear streams down his face and heart ache in his eyes. "Tobias." I whispered his name as I sat beside him and pulled him into a hug. He sobbed as I held him, and I let him. Occasionally running my hands through his hair, hoping to calm him down. My brother was the strongest person I have ever known, and this was the first time I've seen him breakdown.

"I couldn't protect her. She almost died, because I wasn't here." Tobias said between his cries. I didn't say anything, I had to let him tell me. But it broke me seeing him like this. "I love her so much. I don't think I'd want to live in this world anymore if she wasn't in it. I can't live without her, Cora. I can't. I won't."

We sat there for a long time, holding onto each other. Tobias held onto me for stability, I held onto him because it was my turn to be the lighthouse, to be his anchor like he had always been for me.