Gale's Story

Chapter 25 - Choice

Zack switched the screen off.

"Okay quick recap," says Liz. "The twins have known Rachel for years, but are no longer close and they claim to not know what she had been doing since they left Edgar," she lifts up one of her fingers, "they're in some sort of gang called the Capitol Crooks that damages Capitol property, "she lifts up a second finger, "and we are going to see them," she lifts up a third finger.

"Exactly," Max replies.

"Wow. And if I heard correctly, you said that we'll see then in two days, which is tomorrow."

"Yes," says Max, nodding his head. "I want all of you here by 9:00 in the morning."

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The next day, we're driven to the Crooks' house. The two hour journey it took to get there consisted of Marcus muttering about how worried he was and of Liz attempting (and failing) to hold a conversation with David - the man Paylor sent to check up on us. He replied to her questions with either a very short reply or a nod of his head. We arrive at an old wooden door in the middle of an alley on the outskirts of the Capitol. The white paint on the walls is chipped and barely any sunlight is visible in the alley. Max knocks on the door and it opens a few seconds later, a boy with a mop of blonde hair stood behind it.

"Charles?" The shock is visible in my voice.

"Gale!" He runs over and hugs me. I laugh and pat him on the back. He then turns and begins walking to Zack but changes his mind after taking a few steps. Zack rolls his eyes.

"How come you're here?" I ask.

"The twins told us - me and Cole - that they had a place for us if we wanted to come and we both agreed to stay," Charles explains. "Come in."

Charles leads us through a narrow hallway. The wooden floor creaks constantly. A few framed photos hang on the walls with the twins and two other girls in them. We walk through a black door at the end of the hallway which leads into a spacious room. "Take a seat," Charles says, pointing to a beat up black sofa. "I'll go and get the others."

"Well this is... nice," says Liz, looking around the room. Red and black paint covers the walls and an LED light sign of a clowns face hangs by the door we came through. "Do you want to sit down?" Liz asks David, patting the space beside her. He doesn't reply and instead flips to the next page in his notebook and quickly begins writing. I hold in my laughter.

After a minute or two, Charles comes back with Cole, the twins and the two girls from the photos. Cole smiles at me and I smile back.

"How have you been?" I ask him.

"Pretty good. What about you?"

"Alright."

The twins give me their usual nod.

"Let me introduce you to Aliyah and Anaya," says Cole.

The two girls smile at us. Aliyah's skin is a rich black and her long braided hair falls down her back, slowly turning from black to red. Anaya is slightly taller than her. Tattoos of skulls and roses cover nearly every inch of her visible body, her brown skin almost fully concealed. They both wear a T-shirt and a checkered skirt, both red and black too.