Storm

Chapter Twenty-Three

A part of me was scared to death.

And another part of me just wanted to get this over with so we could move on and all be safe. Generally safe, at least. I knew we could never be really safe in this world.

I wasn't sure where we'd go after that. I knew the Equator was still a threat, but I was really itching to just find some abandoned house somewhere in the desert and try living out my life in peace there. I knew that dream was quite unrealistic, but I couldn't help imagining that life.

Sure, maybe I'd also thought a bit about trying to help fix the world. We could technically go back to that encampment, since Claire claimed to have not intentionally left us behind. Technically, they didn't betray us. At the same time, I no longer trusted them enough to feel comfortable as a part of their team.

Plus, I really needed a break from all the fighting. I wasn't sure I could deal with holding a gun again or trying not to get captured. I just wanted peace. That was all. Somebody else could deal with the end of the world.

After Max and I had been the only ones to re-appear from the fog, we'd made haste in getting the hell away from there. It was still possible for one of the guards to notice us. It was honestly difficult to find a place to run to. Running into the desert was useless - we'd still be out in the open. The car was still lost in the fog. That left the building as our only option.

So, we ran towards it. Even though it was pretty far away.

I'm not sure how we managed to make it without being caught. There were a few convenient hiding spots to make it easier to get back, including a lone wooden shack...a decaying cactus...and some oblong metal thing. Still, it was stressful.

Hiding was the easy part. I realized that as Max and I hid between the husk of a broken car.

"Now what? It's not like we can sneak in," Max whispered, glancing through a window at the line of party guests slowly being allowed through the doors after going through security. I was even more curious how Asten would be allowed in. Claire must really have some connections.

"I know..." I peeked over the metal. There had to be at least four security guards at the entrance alone. Each person was carefully patted down and asked a series of questions. They obviously also had a guest list. "We could...," I began, trying to think of some way inside. I was getting tired of hiding. Each second was another second that Asten could be found.

An idea came to me, but it wasn't the best thing I could think of. "We could steal someone's identity..."

Max looked at me incredulously. "Are you kidding right now? That's literally not possible. What do you want to do, capture one of the dinner guests and pretend to be them?"

He knew by the look on my face that that was exactly what I wanted to do.

He seemed exasperated. "You know, when I got out of here with all of you guys, I thought you people would be a little more sensible than this."

I just patted him on the shoulder, comfortingly. "Don't worry, they won't kill us on sight. The smoke bombs are kind of proof of that."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?"

I ignored his comment. The dresses and suits I'd been lugging around were at our feet. It'd been a lot of effort to keep them in hand during our trek, but I'd known it would be necessary. I picked up one of the plastic encased dresses and looked it over. It was fancy enough: long silk sleeves and a heart-shaped neckline. It was gold and simple but elegant.

Max sighed and picked out a suit. It was a plain black one, with a similarly colored tie. "I won't be able to convince you not to do this, will I?" he asked, staring forlornly at the formal wear.

I just shook my head. "We don't abandon friends."

_____________________________________

It wasn't easy discretely getting changed behind a trashed car.

It was also very difficult to find somebody to go after.

I didn't even know why I'd come up with this idea. I knew it was our only option, but Max was right in saying it was stupid. I'd had some combat training, but definitely not enough to pull off a heist like this. I was basing our success on luck and the fact that the people we ambushed would be way less experienced in combat than we were.

Max had also claimed to be good at fighting, but I wasn't totally sure I trusted him. It sucked that we couldn't have weapons. I mean, we hadn't exactly had weapons in the first place, since we'd run out of the car at a moment's notice. Still, we wouldn't have been able to bring them anyway, since I wasn't sure how to fit them into my outfit without the guards noticing.

The sun had, fortunately, set about ten minutes ago, making our ambush easier. We no longer needed to really hide - even though we were still crouched behind another dead cactus bordering the road up to the front. Honestly, the place itself looked so wrong. The road leading to it desperately needed paving, all the cacti were dead, and the outside of the building wasn't exactly extravagant. It was still nice - it had windows (likely bulletproof) and a few plastic plants on either side of the entrance. Oh, and there was a golden carpet leading inside, as if we were truly at some celebrity gala back when the world wasn't shitty.

It all felt fake in a way. I was excited to get inside and get the hell out before anyone noticed.

Max and I had yet to find a good candidate for ambushing. A part of it was because we both were a little too scared to do anything. The past few times we'd watched a couple, hand-in-hand, go down the road, we'd stopped ourselves from doing anything.

It was actually quite difficult to find someone to capture. Half the people drove down, and those who didn't usually came in groups larger than two.

Suddenly, another pair walked past. There weren't any cars nearby. Again, it was a perfect opportunity, if only we had the courage to take it.

I looked at Max. He just stared back. Then, he nodded.

We couldn't wait any longer.

As was planned, I snuck up on the woman, while Max went for the guy. Neither of them saw us coming. Thankfully, that worked to our advantage.

It wasn't much of a fight. I pulled the bag I'd been holding over the woman's head and tightened it. Guilt filled me, but I kept going until she went limp. Then, I quickly pulled it off and checked her pulse.

Alive. That was what mattered.

Max had succeeded in taking down his person, too, but I noticed him clutching his temple. Obviously, he hadn't come out completely unscathed.

I nodded my head in the direction of the side of the road, and the two of us dragged the two of them over their. We tied them up using ripped fabric from one of the other dresses I'd brought with me. When we were positive that they were absolutely muffled and wouldn't cause us any trouble, I picked up the woman's ID tag from where it'd fallen off her.

Cher Graham, Publicity Department.

Great.

I glanced at Max who was also holding his tag, which read Peter Graham. He looked a little out of it.

"I can't believe we just did that...," he muttered, seeming a little shocked.

I knew exactly how he felt. It'd seemed so logical at the time...but now, looking down at the two unconscious bodies, it was difficult not to feel guilty.

I just nodded at him. "We need to go."

He let out a sigh and clipped his tag to the lapel of his suit. I clipped mine onto my dress's neckline.

Then, hand-in-hand, Max and I walked towards the entrance of the ball.