Civil War

Ashes

Thalia's POV

The streets were all hauntingly quiet. It made sense though. Nearly everyone had left home to register either for the military, school, or their legacies. It was an open opprotunity to gather anyone who'd stayed behind and get them out of the madhouse before things got any worse. For now there seemed to be a moment of equilibrium.

All rebels had gone into hiding for the time being realizing the extent of how outnumbered they were. Jason was next to me as we made our way door to door. I hadn't let him out of my sight ever since Reyna and Frank left. I wasn't going to lose him too. That meant everywhere he went, I went.

As each person opened their door cautiously we explained quickly and carefully what our plan was. Some decided to join us, others were clearly too scared to do anything. Some simply didn't want to. I couldn't quite understand why any of them would consider sticking around but Jason and I didn't stay and argue or even try to convince them.

The first few rescue missions had been a success and they'd made it safely to camp. It was time to gather a second group. I knew it was important to get as many out now as we could because sooner or later people would start to notice our activities.

The only problem was how massive New Rome was. We'd hardly get half of them out in less than a week or two. It was this pressure of time that kept us going. It was the sole inspiration to go pounding on doors in search of people looking to escape the madness.

At one point no one answered despite the house lights being on. Jason knocked again, louder this time. He paused another moment and if they didn't open on the third knock then we'd have to move on. Only as he knocked even harder the door creaked and fell inwards. The hinges weren't attached to the door frame.

"What the heck?" He took a step back for a moment before poking his head in and glancing about.

"Anyone in there?" I asked keeping an eye on the road.

"I don't know but something's weird here," he replied, heading inside.

"Jason! You can't just-" I paused in the doorway studying the house interior. Things were heavily out of order. A bookcase was toppled at an awkward angle against a wall causing numerous books spill out onto the floor. A chair was overturned and large gashes were in the dining table.

"Broken window," Jason noted, glancing inside one of the rooms down the hall.

Making my way over to the table I studied it even more. They were all clean cuts, definitely from a blade. Most likely a sword.

"Maybe they were just unlucky. Got caught in the chaos," Jason wondered. "Clearly there's no one here."

"Yeah. Maybe." I turned taking one last look at what had happened. I was pretty sure that if Reyna was here she'd be capable of figuring out what all of this meant. All I saw was a mess. I wasn't the smart one out of the two of us.

"I'll get the next one and you can get  the one after that," He said, leaving to go to the next house.  Sighing I ran ahead of him and made my way to the door. Or at least where there was supposed to be a door. Instead a splintered door frame greeted me and just like the previous house nearly everything was trashed. Glancing at Jason I could see that he had the same problem I did.

"Check the next one," he ordered, running in front of me and to the end of the street checking the last house. Again the doors had been kicked in.

"What the hell?" I ran ahead this time and froze having turned the corner and darted back behind it. Jason was about to do the same when I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"What?" He asked.

"Stay low and be quiet," I whispered, crouching low to the ground. I'd spotted the unforgettable glistening of armor. Jason crouched as well  and peeked around the corner.