Broken

Chapter 7

When I got back to the bakery, I was immediately greeted by Lux. He waved me over to his house, and showed me a checker board. He smiled at me dreamily.

"Hey, Beth! You wanna play checkers?"

I readjusted my shirt, which was falling off of my shoulders.

"Um... that's really sweet of you to offer, Lux, but shouldn't we be preparing?"

Lux stared at me, confused. "Preparing?"

"Yeah. Preparing in case something bad happens."

"Why?"

I gawked at him. "What kind of question is that?"

"A reasonable question. We're safe here."

"But Se- I mean- the 'mystery man' said that we wouldn't stay here forever, and I agree. We need to prepare ourselves for the worst, which is getting overrun."

"Overrun with what?"

That's when my mouth dropped open and I gaped at Lux.

"Are you kidding with me right now?"

"No..."

I squatted next to him. "Do you know what's going on right now?"

He shook his head, still confused.

"Lux, we are in the middle of an apoca-"

Someone grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth. They dragged me away from Lux, who was still giving me a weird look. I ripped myself away and pulled out my knife, ready for my attacker. But, fortunately, it was only Hank, who was giving me a very nasty look. I glared at him.

"What's your deal?!" I practically yelled.

Hank covered my mouth again. "Be quiet!"

I whispered, "What's your problem?!"

"You need to know something about Lux," said Hank, who was wringing his hands.

"What?"

"Lux... Lux doesn't know much about what's happening. He doesn't adapt very well, so to speak. We had to convince him that we were camping out in this store, not hiding from insane people who want to torture and kill him. He would... cease to function."

I frowned and put up my knife. "So, he hasn't been out there since this all started?"

"No. And I want it to stay that way."

"We can't stay here forever. You have to tell him eventually! Or else the shock of the whole thing will destroy him!"

Hank sighed sadly. "It will break him either way. There's nothing we can do."

"I'll tell him."

Hank shot me an evil look. "You'll do no such thing. I understand your concern for him, and I appreciate that. But, nevertheless, he cannot know about this, understand?"

I didn't nod or shake my head. I just walked away. Hank crossed his arms and walked the opposite way. I crawled into Charles's cardboard house and began sharpening my knives. I don't know when I became such a bad*, but I was enjoying it.

As I was sharpening my knives, Charles crawled into the house.

"Beth, we need an extra person for a run. Do you wanna come?"

I looked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Juan and Hank are busy. I'm taking the one kid and I was hoping you'd come to keep me company, since he doesn't talk."

I grinned. "I'd love to come."

"Great. We leave in five. Meet me up front."

"Okay."

I strapped my knives to my body and slung my bat over my shoulder. I laced up my combat boots and stepped out of the house. I walked over to Cassie, who was feeding the baby and talking to Benjamin. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Hi, Bethy!"

"Hey, kiddo," I replied. "I'm going out for a little bit with Charles. I'll be back in a couple of hours or so. A little after lunch, hopefully."

Cassie nodded. "Okay!"

She narrowed her eyes and mouthed, "Is my knife in the house?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Under your jacket."

She nodded again. "Okay, stay safe!"

"Thanks, Cassie."

Lux caught my arm as I left the bakery. I looked up at him.

"Hey, Lux."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going out with Charles and The Mystery Man."

"Oh. Can I come?"

"Uh... you'll have to ask your dad."

"I'm not a kid," protested Lux.

"I know. At least ask Charles first. He's leading the run."

"Okay."

He walked with me to the front of the store, where Charles was trying to make a conversation with Seth, who was suppressing a smirk. Charles looked up and saw us.

"Hey, Beth! Lux, what can I do for ya?"

"Can I go with y'all?"

Charles looked at me. I didn't know what to say. How was I supposed to convince Lux not to go? Charles looked back at Lux, unsure of what to say. I put my hand on Lux's shoulder. He practically melted under my touch.

"Lux, could you do me a favor instead of going?"

Lux looked at me with eager eyes. "Yes, Beth! Anything!"

I noticed Seth's eyes sparkling with mischief. I glared at him.

"Lux, could you look after Cassie? She's so young, and I want to make sure she'll be okay."

Lux glowed with excitement. "Of course!"

Charles nodded quickly. "Yeah, good idea! That would be a great thing, Lux."

"Okay!"

He ran off and Charles looked at me.

"That was too close. *, I didn't know what to say. Thanks."

"Anytime, Charles. Are we ready to go?"

"Yep. I got the keys. Y'all ready?"

Seth and I nodded. Charles whispered loudly to me, "Maybe you can get him to talk."

I laughed. "Okay."

We walked out of the grocery store with confidence, or at least Seth did. I heard Hank lock it up behind us and I took a deep breath. Charles led us to the car and we quickly got in. I took shotgun because Seth took up the entire back seat (I think on purpose).

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