Lives Change

Chapter 31 - Planning: Part 1

Asher's P.O.V.

I knew I shouldn't have let her do this. I knew it was a bad idea. Oh gosh. It was my idea. A thousand feelings pulsed through my brain, guilt overwhelming me. This was never a good idea, not when I said we could give them Raya, and not when I agreed to let Terra step in instead. How did I ever think this could work?

Derek sat beside me in the black SUV, thinking thoughts similar to my own I guessed. 

"What are we gonna do, man?" I asked him, trying to think of a plan.

Derek clenched his jaw, silent. 

I pinched the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes shut harder than I should. Dots of light dotted the inside of my eyelids and I exhaled.

BAM! The dots of light got bigger, blinding me even after I opened my eyes. White hot pain spread through my jaw as I held it, making sure it wasn't broken. 

I looked over at Derek, ready to return the punch. I slumped my shoulders when I saw he was cradling his head in his hands, his elbows propped on his knees. 

"I deserved that." I muttered.

"I know."

I sighed, swallowing to stop the tears that threatened to blur my vision once again. 

"Maybe they don't have Raya." 

I stayed silent, not wanting to take the hope out of Derek's voice. 

"Maybe." He said softly, not believing himself even as he said it.

I cleared my throat. "Derek, we need to come up with a plan."

Derek raised his head, wiping his eyes so quickly I almost didn't catch it, before sitting up. He squared his shoulders, looking me dead in the eyes. 

"We're going to go in there and shoot anyone who gets in our way, and we're going to walk out with my sister and Terra and go find Richie and kill the son of a gun."

A frustrated, strangled sound came out of my throat. "Derek, I get that you're upset, I am too! But you know as well as I do that it won't be that simple! Even if we did manage to shoot everyone and get away cleanly, Richie is probably already in hiding! We would have to run for the rest of our lives! My mother and sister could be murdered!"

"My sister could be murdered!" Derek's eyes looked almost black as he snarled at me. "Because of YOU."

I grit my teeth, running my hands through my hair angrily. I sat there, breathing, until I finally calmed down enough to look at Derek. He was staring at the barn, unblinking, his jaw clenched. 

I sighed. "It doesn't look like they have any guards outside."

Derek answered, his voice cold, "I bet there are plenty waiting just inside the barn doors."

I nodded, thinking. "We could throw a smoker in there and shoot our way through."

"What if we end up shooting Raya or Terra?"

I sighed, frustrated. He had a point. "Right. Uh, we'll just have to use our masks and fight our way through."

Derek refused to look at me. "Guess so."

He opened the door, careful not to make a sound. 

"Derek," I whispered, keeping my voice low since the door was open.

He didn't acknowledge my voice, but I could see his jaw clench.

"Look, man." I continued. "We need to be on the same side when we do this. I'm sorry, really, I am. I didn't want any of this to happen. But we both know something like this had to happen eventually. Richie's out for blood. At least this way, we were able to follow his goons and we know where Terra and Raya are."

Derek growled. "I got your back. Don't worry about it."

I let out a frustrated breath before silently hopping out of the vehicle, circling to meet Derek at the back. We unzipped a black duffel bag, grabbing what we needed before stealthily making our way towards the barn, leaving the SUV's doors open.

We slipped our gas masks on and Derek motioned for me to sneak around to the other side of the broad entrance so one of us could be on each side. I nodded, bracing myself against the wall with my gun in one hand. With my free hand, I unlatched a canister from my belt and pulled the pin, throwing it inside. Derek and I whipped off of the wall and into the barn, pointing our guns. We spun around before lowering our weapons, stunned. No one was here.

----------------------------------------------------

Raya's P.O.V.

The sound of someone crying woke me up. I came to slowly, trying to raise a hand to brush my hair out of my face, but I couldn't. Adrenaline surged through me as I realized I was bound to a chair. I tried to call out for help but all that came out was an "Mmmph!" There was duct tape over my mouth! I shook my head, managing to whip most of my hair out of the way. My wide eyes took in the dim, gray room and I saw Terra. 

"Raya? Oh, I'm so sorry!" Clearly it was her who'd been crying. She looked back down at her lap as she started to sob again.

I wanted to ask her what she was sorry for, what were we doing here, but I couldn't. I started crying, still struggling against the zip-ties that were cutting into my wrists and ankles before I realized it was no use. I tried to blink away the tears so I could look around the room, searching for a way to escape. 

"Aww, don't cry, Terra."

I stiffened as Jake walked through the steel door, locking it again before walking over to Terra. Terra ignored him, staring at legs. Her light brown curls acted like curtains to hide her face. Jake grabbed her face roughly, forcing her to look at him. Her face was blotchy from crying and she squeezed her eyes closed, refusing to meet his gaze. Jake raised his fist, ready to punch her. I yelled as loud as I could into the duct tape to distract him. It worked.

Jake released Terra, shoving her face roughly to the side. 

"Well, well, well. Look who's finally awake." Jake grinned.