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I OPEN MY EYES with a start to the sound of yelling. Scrambling out of bed, I rush down the hall without bothering to put on any shoes.
Red lights flash and a blaring alarm sounds as guards rush up and down the hallway carrying rifles.
"Hey!" I stop a guard as he runs past me, "what's going on?" I question with wide eyes.
"We're under attack." The guard runs off before I can ask anymore questions. I proceed to run down the hall towards Ethan and Lucas's room. I need to make sure they're okay.
My bare feet thud against the cold concrete floors as I run past dead guards, blood pooling from different bullet wounds that have pierced their chests.
I make it to room 142 and slam open the door before stepping inside. I jump as the door shuts behind me, engulfing me in the suffocating darkness of the room.
"Hello?" I call out cautiously as I take a step forward blindly.
"Ethan? Lucas?" My voice echoes through the room and a chill runs through my veins.
I startle as a light flickers on beside me. I whip towards the source of light to see a figure standing besides the floor lamp, shrouded within the shadows.
"Ethan?" I question but take a staggering step back as the figure moves into the light.
"Thomas, what are you doing here?" I exclaim with a small smile spreading across my face at seeing the boy whom I haven't seen for months. I rush forward to hug him but he brushes me off coldly.
"Thomas, what's wrong?" I question with furrowed eyebrows as I look at his emotionless expression.
"Why'd you do it?" Thomas speaks up.
"What?"
"Why'd you betray us?" I stiffen as my eyes widen.
"I-I had to do it! They were going to kill Minho and Aris! I didn't have any other choice," I cry out, desperate for him to believe me.
"It's all your fault. Because of you they're all dead."
"W-what?" I stutter out, tears forming in my eyes. Thomas takes a step forward to reveal the gun he holds in his hand. It's the same gun that Cody gave me when I completed my training.
"Minho, Aris, Newt...they're all dead because of you." Thomas raises the gun so that it's now aimed at me.
I take a few staggering steps back as I tear slides down my cheek.
"They're dead? I-I don't understand...he told me he wouldn't kill them if I joined them," I cry out. Thomas shakes his head.
"Don't you understand Cassie? Janson didn't kill them...you did! You killed them all."
I fall backwards as a bang echoes throughout the room. Pain blossoms in my chest as blood starts to pour out of the wound, making me lightheaded and dizzy. My eyes slowly start to close, the last image I see being Thomas standing over me.
"Thomas, I'm sorry...I'm so sorry."
I wake up with a start, shooting up in bed as tears run down my cheeks. I stumble out of my bed and into the bathroom where I splash water over my face to calm myself down, my breathing heavy and irregular from the traumatic nightmare.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath before slowly exhaling. My hands are shaking slightly as I walk back into the room and check the time. 4.30 am. I should get ready for training.
Pushing my thoughts from the nightmare to the back of my mind, I quickly and quietly get changed into my black cargo pants, my favorite grey t-shirt with the pen mark and pull on my combat boots.
Tessy is still asleep as I slip a hair tie onto my wrist before leaving the room. I walk down the long corridor towards the elevator, the hall mostly quiet apart from one or two other guards that walk past me and back towards the bunks after a presumably long night shift.
Exiting the elevator on the 8th floor, I pass the dining hall and enter into one of the training rooms. It's empty so I guess I'm a bit early.
Deciding to warm up, I wrap my hands with some white cloth before moving over to the punching bags.
I increase my strength with every hit, the bag swinging slightly from the force that I let out my anger towards WICKED with.
I lose track of time as the sound of my fists hitting the bag echoes throughout the large room and before long a silent tear makes its way down my cheek.
"You okay Cass?" A sudden hand on my shoulder startles me out of my thoughts, I quickly wipe away the tear before turning around to see Ethan standing there, Lucas a few feet behind him. Both of them look at me with sympathy and concern filling their eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I ignore the way my voice cracks slightly as I walk over to the side of the room and grab a water bottle from the mini fridge, guzzling a quarter of it down in a few seconds before taking a seat on the bench, not looking up as Ethan and Lucas sit down on either side of me.
"Cass..." Lucas mutters as he carefully grasps my wrapped hand to show bits of red that have bled through the white fabric around my knuckles.
"I didn't realize I was hitting it that hard," I mumble as I wince at the slight stinging pain.
"You should go get that cleaned up at the medical bay before we start training," Lucas suggests. I nod slowly and stand up, Ethan following suit.
"I can walk you there," he suggests. I roll my eyes.
"I'm sure I'll be fine walking down the hall by myself," I reply.
Lucas lets out a small laugh and pats Ethan on the back, telling him something I don't catch. Turning on my heel, I walk out of the room and down the corridor towards the medical bay that has been cleverly placed near the training rooms incase of any injuries.
Upon entering the brightly lit room, I groan at seeing Tessy standing by one of the tables. Maybe she won't notice me...
I try to sneak past her but as if she sensed my presence, she whips around to face me.
"Cassie, what are you doing here?" She questions with a smile before noticing the bloody white cloth around my hands.
"Oh, come here." She leads me over to one of the beds and gestures for me to sit down while she grabs a metal tray stacked with fresh bandages and alcohol wipes.
"So, what happened?" Tessy questions while she begins unwrapping the white cloth. I wince slightly as it pulls on the skin as she removes it.
"I punched the punching bag a bit too hard," I mumble. Tessy looks up at me as she finishes unwrapping the cloth.
"Letting out your anger?" She asks with a laugh.
"Yeah."
Tessy grabs the alcohol wipes and pauses before using them.
"This might sting a little," she warns me before starting to clean the broken skin.
I wince at the burning sensation but don't say anything as she quickly finishes and wraps my hands tightly with white bandages.
"Just take it a bit easier on those punching bags," Tessy suggests to which I nod silently before leaving the medical bay.
~◇~
After returning to the training room, we continue to train for another hour and a half before heading over to the dining hall to meet up with Rose and eat something before heading out into the red zone.
I grab myself a small breakfast consisting of a slice of buttered toast and an apple which I quickly engulf before heading down to the armory to get geared up while Ethan and Lucas finish breakfast.
I'm busy grabbing extra ammo for my pistol when the door opens and Ethan enters the room.
"You were quiet at breakfast. Well, more quiet than usual," Ethan points out as he walks over to his locker to get out his gear.
I shrug my shoulders.
"Just wasn't in the mood for talking I suppose." I finish stocking the pockets of my belt with ammo and grab the holster for the pistol next, attaching it to the belt securely.
"Well if you ever have to talk about anything, I'm there for you. People have said I'm a pretty good listener and have a nice shoulder to cry into when needed."
I let out a small chuckle at Ethans words as I pull a bullet-proof vest over my head before attaching the strap for my rifle to my back.
"Thanks Ethan," I say with a smile. Lucas enters the room as Ethan and I are finishing loading all our weapons into their holsters.
"Where were you?" I ask him as he rushes over to his locker to get ready.
"Cody had to give me a map of the area we're patrolling and give me some info about any possible threats," Lucas tells us as he grabs his guns and their holsters along with pulling on the bullet-proof vest.
"What are some of the possible threats?" Ethan questions curiously as I sit down on one of the benches while pulling on a pair of black fingerless gloves over my bandaged hands, the rifle slung over my back pressing into my spine uncomfortably.
"A couple of cranks, no hoards though, some dangerous buildings at risk of collapsing and if we're unlucky; might run into a rebel group that's been spotted around there," Lucas lists. I stiffen at the mention of rebels and my thoughts drift to Hal. Would he shoot me dead thinking I work for WICKED? Well I suppose I do work for WICKED...
"We better get going, the shift before us ends in about twenty minutes and we still have to make it out there," Lucas's instructions pull me out of my thoughts.
We all double check we have everything before making our way out of the armory and towards the exit.
~◇~
We travel in a slightly beat up jeep till we reach one of the outposts where the guards we're taking over from will meet us. Our shift will be about 5 or 6 hours but I'm already tired from the nightmare last night.
Climbing out of the jeep, we meet the three very exhausted guards we're taking over from and give them the keys to the jeep before heading out, rifles loaded and in our hands for incase anything happens.
"Okay. I spy with my little eye something...grey," Ethan says. We're almost three hours in so far and nothing has happened yet except for the time Ethan stepped on a doll and screamed when it started to play music.
"Oh I don't know, maybe a destroyed building?" I say sarcastically as I look around us. All you can see for miles are burnt and blown up skyscrapers that lean against each for support. That and a lot of sand.
"You're right, again. Maybe we should play a different game?" Ethan suggests. I open my mouth to answer but cut myself off when Lucas stops suddenly, his hand clenching his rifle slightly tighter.
"What's wrong, Lucas?" I question as Ethan and I stop as well.
"I thought I heard something..." Lucas trails off as we all go quiet, waiting to see if we hear anything unusual either.
"Maybe it was j-" I cut myself off with a surprised shout as bullets fire beside us and into a rusted car. Warning shots.
We quickly turn in the direction of the shoots, trying to spot who did it. It must be rebels. Well unless cranks have learnt how to use guns now...I shudder at the thought. That'd be catastrophic.
"Drop the guns!" A gruff voice shouts from somewhere behind the rubble. None of us comply and only grip our rifles tighter as we scan the area.
"I said drop them or we shoot!" To prove his point, a shot fires by my feet and nearly blows off my toes but I quickly jump back.
"Okay, okay!" Lucas shouts before slowly lowering his rifle to the ground and carefully taking his pistol out of its holster facing upwards as he deposits it next to the rifle. Ethan and I slowly follow suit, being careful not to make any sudden movements.
"Now kick them away and put your hands behind your heads!" The same voice yells again.
We carefully kick away the weapons before putting our hands behind our heads. I swallow hard, my heart thumping rapidly in my chest.
They better not kill us, I still have to rescue Minho and the others from WICKED.
As we complete the yelling man's orders, about eight or nine armed men come out from the collapsed building in front of us and surround us. A few men had our weapons while the others keep their guns trained on us.
One of the men, a middle aged guy with red hair and stubble on his chin along with a gnarly scar across his lip, steps forward. He must be the one that was shouting at us. The leader.
"Once we've cleared you of any other useful belongings you'll be free to go along your merry way. As long as you cooperate nobody has to get injured," the man tells us as he nods his head at his men, signaling for them to check us.
Three guys step forward and I struggle not to flinch as one shoves his gun against my head while he removes my belt filled with ammo and tosses it back to the others. He checks my holster to make sure it's empty before walking back to the others.
"Hey Pete," the man standing by Lucas calls out. The red haired leader, Pete, steps forward.
"What?" He questions.
"This one's jacket got red sleeves. Aren't those for leaders or somethin'?" The man questions. I swallow hard as Pete tilts his head in curiosity.
"It sure is. I think you might be of use to us after all," a smirk overtakes Pete's face.
"Tie 'em up boys, they're coming back to camp with us."
Lucas, Ethan and I share a scared look with wide eyes as the men come towards us with lengths of rope.
Oh boy, this isn't good.
(2465 words)
Hope you guys enjoyed that. Is the story good so far? I'd love to get some feedback!
Do you ship Cassie with anyone yet? Btw Thomas is like an older brother to her incase any of you misread that so they're definitely not going to become a 'thing' ever.
Next chapter will be in about a week or less. Byeee :)