Between Us, Him and Them [UNder severe Editting]

Chapter Twenty-Three

"What are you doing here?" I whisper in a cracked voice as I hear footsteps behind me. My eyes are frozen on the horizon in front of me, refusing to shift the gaze towards Calvin, taking a seat besides me on the stony beach.

"I don't know." He whispers nearly immediately, looking at me with warm forest green eyes, showing me that he cares. I nod, a small grateful smile appearing on my dehydrated lips.

Even though, none of us speaks, I am still happy to have someone next to me during this time.

"I..." He starts but stops himself. I look at him with hope filled eyes. I might even not show it, but I need to speak about the events taking place in my life. I can't speak about it, not being able to force myself to even pronounce a single word about this subject, but I need someone to speak about it to me. "You just need to know that no matter what, it wasn't your fault." He whispers and looks down at his shaky hands. "What they... what they did to you was wrong in every possible way." He continues talking without stopping. "If we have know that..."

"Calvin..." I stop him without meaning to. His gaze shifts to me and I look down at my pale hands.

"Cassie." He shakes his head. "What Xander and Alex did to you was wrong. And it's not your fault... You aren't one to blame about what happened to them." He finishes with a small sad smile across his face.

"Calvin..." I start again with tears filling my eyes. "You don't understand... They might have done me wrong, I might not be one to blame... But they are dead because of me."

I follow Nick and Lucas with steady steps, staying behind with only couple of steps. My gaze is frozen on their backs, studying them carefully.
Ever since they have transferred, I always had this tiny feeling inside of me, saying that there was something more about them. Something more, than what they have shown.
But no matter how hard I tried, I could never realize what it was. And now, they are going to show me it, themselves.

As we turn into more abandoned streets of the city, fear starts creeping up on my spine. The violent images start flashing inside my mind, making goosebumps appear on my skin.

"Uh, guys." Both of them look at me with questions inside their eyes. "Are you serial killers?" I whisper without being able to stop myself. I follow them in slow steps as they chuckle.

"No, we aren't going to kill you, Cassie." Luca rolls his eyes as he continues walking. But his response, makes me freeze on the spot.

"So, you are serial killers." I state in a cold voice as I take a step back, not wanting to be taken to the place, where they are throwing the bodies of their victims.

"No, we are not." Nick whispers and I nod, relieved that I am going to live another day. I start studying them more carefully as we enter the northern part of the city.

As we step in the forbidden place, thoughts start corrupting my mind. I have always heard that The Northern Bears were the leading gang around. No one knows who are in the IG, Inner-Gang. No one has ever seen them, despite all the races held here.

People don't know their names, sexes, ages... They don't even know what they are. Or if they are alive at all.

My thoughts stop as soon as we stop in front of the apartment building, complex feeling cozy and rich. As we step inside the elevator, I swallow and nervously look inside the human sized mirror.

We step out and approach one of the metallic doors. As the door opens, it reveals the cozy and comfortable house, with minimal decor and studio. I basically run inside, jumping on the white fluffy coach.

Nick chuckles and shakes his head while closing the door behind him. Luca sits next to me and looks at me with serious face.

"Cassidy." His voice is deeper than usual, sending me warning chills on my body. "Have you ever heard about The Northern Bears?" He whispers in low voice and I slowly start nodding. "What do you know about them?"

"Well, what other gangs know." I shrug my shoulders and try to remember everything about them. "They are unknown, never showing their faces. They are strong, their main base in New York. They are one of the best racers and they work with drugs." I finish while trying to remember of any details I have missed.

"That's true." Nick starts talking and sits across me in the creamy armchair. Everything in this room is in white or black shades. "We prefer staying in the dark, never showing our faces to anyone." He begins and looks at Lucas. "But, now we have reconsidered our decisions." He smiles and leans forward. "Cassie... My name is Nickolas Anderson and I am the leader of The Northern Bears."