Nuclear

Chapter 18: Vision

'Only We remain.'

The words send a shiver up my spine. I wait for Ren to throw down the ruse and bust out the 'Got you!'s but it never comes.

"Ren, this isn't funny."

She looks at us as if seeing us for the first time. No recognition sparks in her eyes and her face remains empty and blank. She turns her back on us, flinching when the firelight meets her eyes. Muttering something unintelligible under her breath, she jumps, re-appearing just within visible distance. 

Cass is the first one to shake herself out of her stupor. "What the hell's going on?"

Quinn swerves around the question with a half-cooked plan of action." I'll get Dani. She can help us track Ren. You guys stay here and stay calm," she says bluntly before disappearing.

Ira sits down, looking down-trodden and angry. I decide to join her quiet brooding. Cass was asking the right question: what the hell happened? Ren's always been one for pranks, but this is a bit overkill, even for her. Ira said she might be sick. How did Ren get it? And are we all destined to share the same fate?

Cass paces back and forth, clearly not calm. The smaller objects within her radius begin to vibrate, clinking against each other. When Ira reminds her of Quinn's order, she lashes out. "Calm? Ira, I just watched my best friend go crazy and run off. I can't be in any definition of calm right now." After a moment, she throws her arms down at her sides. "You know what, forget it. I don't care what Quinn says. I'm going after her."

Before either Ira or I can stop her, she runs off after Ren. I don't know what went through my head at that moment, probably something impulsive and mad. And like the idiot I am, I follow her.

Of course, the chase leads us out of the building breaking almost three of our most important, unspoken rules. Don't leave the building at night. Don't go anywhere outside camp by yourself. And listen to the Alphas, Quinn and Dani, above all else.

At night, the glimpse of beauty in the forest that is usually gone by sunrise is here to stay for the next few hours. Strangely, the glowing fungi and other underbrush make the expedition almost pleasant. If I wasn't so worried about Ren and Cass, I'd stop to admire the sight.

Cass is so fixated on finding Ren that I don't think she's noticed me. She's clearly high-strung and I don't want to scare her– something that wouldn't end well for either of us.

"Cass?"

She spins around, her face glowing in the fungi's bluish light. On the verge of losing it and yet doing everything she can to find Ren. "Harley. Is there anywhere Ren might've gone that you know of?"

"Honestly Cass..." I trail off, searching for the nicest way to put it. "Ren didn't really seem like herself, you know? I think she ran off, not really thinking where she was going to go.  But she couldn't have gone far."

Cass nods solemnly. "So we sweep the area. If she jumped, I don't think she would be able to again for a while. That should buy us some time."

As we search the darker parts of the woods, I can swear that something is following us, watching us. I can hear it, chittering quietly. With all the nervousness in my stomach, it isn't hard to call up a small flame to keep the creature at bay. Unfortunately, my strength is ebbing and it becomes increasingly hard to keep the flame alight. I consider the idea of a torch that I could light and carry around. It could work, but I don't have the time or energy for it right now.

"Cass, we're going to have to get out of here. I can't keep this flame up much longer."

"Okay," she says, not thrilled about my presence being the thing holding her back. "Do you think we can still look in the brighter areas?"