CHAPTER SIX
❞The only real battle in life is between hanging on and letting go.❞
DARKNESS.
It is the opposite of light, happiness, and all things good in the world that don't cause chaos in the universe. People ache day and night to live in a world where light is the only thing that ties into their vision. But sadly, most people are plagued with darkness, such destruction rooted in them by mere events or facts that have been brought to their attention.
Ingrid never planned on being one of the many people who were thrown into a never-ending abyss of depression, more so losing hope than rekindling it. But after the events she had just witnessed, she was unsure as to who she was before, without darkness. She forgot how it felt to trust, her entire body being deprived of even a small sliver of hope. She couldn't possibly forget that she was leaving behind the one place that was even remotely considered to her as a home. A place where she could be free, be happy. But even that, was taken away from her.
Her hand was still tightly clutched in Thomas's own warm one, and everyone had taken notice to it by now. No one bothered to mention anything, for they understood. They each needed a shoulder to lean on, and they were each other's shoulder. It was confusing to them all, but they didn't question it. They knew.
The large metal door dividing Ingrid and Janson was like a shield for the Clearwater girl. She was being guarded by Thomas, now. Away from any more lies, any more secrets that would end being more dismal than possible. The pack of people stood in shock before turning around to one another, their minds all pondering the same question.
What do we do now?
"Come on, guys, let's go," Minho spoke as he ran past them, awakening them all as they were pulled back into reality. This was their life. They didn't have a safe place to land, always on the move before they even had a chance to settle beforehand. Ingrid released her grip on Thomas' hand, and it was then that the boy actually came to terms with the fact they had even been holding hands. It seemed like second nature to him, as if he was meant to be holding her hand.
And as it would only happen, he intertwined their hands again, shaking his head lightly as a way to signify that he couldn't very possibly let go just yet. She smiled, her cheeks turning a bright crimson shade as she turned around to begin running behind the rest of the others. Thomas and Ingrid ran alongside each other, and she felt the urge to pull their hands away from each other.
And so she did. She had no choice but to pull it away, or else she couldn't run nearly as fast. She sprinted ahead of Thomas, catching up to Teresa, who was ignoring all eye contact from Ingrid. "Come on guys, keep moving!" Ingrid yelled as she now sped up her pace, now in front of everyone else who were once in front. They all ran as fast as they could, until they were stopped by another metal door, except this one seemed more sturdy.
Ingrid reached over, turning the lever that was located on the side of the door, hearing the scraping of metal and turning hinges. Soon enough, the doors began to part open, dust and sand infiltrating their nostrils as they swatted their faces. Thomas looked hesitant, and he shared a glance with Ingrid before finding the strength to scream out, "Let's go! Come on, come on!"
They ran straight into the sand, all of their eyes averting everywhere as they made contact with their surroundings. It was a sandy dune, the lights of the building behind them becoming apparent as it lit their pathway. Helicopter whirring was heard, only making the group of teenagers run even faster. Before they knew it, they reached a high mountain of sand, and Ingrid was the first to begin climbing. "Come on, guys! If we want to lose them, we have to go up this hill! Maybe we'll find something."
She could hear voices and the sound of sand-bikes revving up their engines, and the second she reached the top of the mountain of sand, she crouched behind the peak, bringing enough shelter for the entire group. Everyone's breath was ragged and uneven as they struggled to steady their heartbeats from the amount of running they had just finished. The sand blew straight into their faces, blocking their line of vision. Before anyone could stop the girl, Teresa was up and running down the other side of the sand mountain, making her way towards a small blocked area that had steel walls. Ingrid was the first to reach Teresa, watching intently as the girl felt for any openings they could use to enter. Finally, the two girls found one, sharing an awkward glance before the other boys caught up.
Thomas was beside Ingrid in a split second, holding her arm as he knew she had the urge to run inside, away from the never-ending sand. She wriggled her arm from Thomas' grasp, running after Teresa who had already entered into the abandoned area. "Teresa! Ingrid!"
The girls looked around the vast area, their hearts equally beating at the speed of light. It was completely stygian; their eyesight only catching small slivers of light from cracked glass windows. Everyone's legs were shaky as they stumbled slightly, eyes wild and breath ragged. Minho pulled a flashlight out of his bag immediately, turning it on and allowing everyone else to finally be able to make out a few objects. "Where the hell are?" Minho questioned shakily.
"How the fuck am I supposed to know?" Ingrid responded sarcastically, shaking her head in disbelief as se tapped her foot impatiently. She wanted to move, but the worst part was that she hardly knew where to go. They didn't have a map of the area where they were currently resided in, meaning they were utterly lost. Again.
"We have to go," Thomas began to turn around, but Ingrid immediately shook her head, catching the attention of the boys beside her.
"No."
"We have to go now, Ingr―"
"Thomas, stop!" Ingrid roared in the loudest voice she could muster, causing the aforementioned not to turn around tentatively. "Do you even have a plan?"
"No, but I―"
"Do you or do you not have a plan?!" Ingrid yelled again, crossing her arms over her chest as she hoped the boys couldn't see the tears emerging from her eyes. He bored a hole through her face with his protruding eyes, his hands shaking as he shook his head slowly. She swallowed thickly, her saliva unable to be downed as her throat felt it was closing.
"Ingrid, do you think that I do? Do you think that any of us here have any idea on where we need to go? We don't know! We never will! But we run, and we fight. So, if you wanna go back, maybe you should now," Thomas turned back around, his back facing towards Ingrid's awestruck face.
She pursed her lips before replying, "Thomas, how many times are you gonna say that before you realize I'm not leaving you?"
His face dropped at Ingrid's words, at the realization of how much the girl was beginning to care about him. He hadn't even taken notice of it before until she had spoke these words, and he couldn't lie and say that it didn't make his heart skip a beat. Because it certainly did.
"Can we skip the couple love stuff now?" Minho rolled his eyes, causing the two teenagers to turn away from each other, speaking directly towards the assertive boy in unison.
"Shut up, Min-hoe!"
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Newt asked, his hands on his hips as he awaited Thomas' answer. When the boy didn't reply immediately, Newt's eyes widened, "You do have a plan, don't you?"
"You dragged us out here, and you're telling me that you have no bloody idea what we're doing or where we're gonna go!" Newt took a few steps towards Thomas, his voice raising near to a yell now. There were small cracks in his voice that led Ingrid to believe he'd been yelling long before this situation came along. Everyone was silent for a second, their eyes locked on Thomas, who seemed to avert his eyes to miss everyone's gaze.
"Wait," Aris spoke up softly. "Janson said something about people hiding in the mountains, some kind of resistance or army."
"The Right Arm," Ingrid inhaled a deep breath as she reminisced on her old conversations between Janson and herself. He had mentioned this place a few times before, but she never usually paid attention during command meetings, meaning she didn't technically fully understand where or how to get to the said location. Everyone's gaze soon changed over towards the Clearwater girl, who gulped nervously and met Aris' gaze. "I-I remember something about them being against WICKED, wanting to be safe. I don't know how to get there, though."
"People? In the mountains? Mountain people? That's your plan?" Newt bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls as he yelled at Thomas, although Ingrid and Aris were the ones who originally came up with the plan. Thomas was silent, ignoring Newt's words as best as he could, as if they didn't hurt him.
"Hey, guys," Another teenage boy named Winston spoke up, taking the attention off of Thomas and onto him instead. "Minho, give me a light!" He ordered.
Minho rushed over, flashing the flashlight over the spot of sand that showed footsteps following down a certain pathway. "Someone's been down here," Ingrid remarked, bending down and touching the marks of the footprints, feeling the sand run through her fingers. Minho moved the flashlight so that it was now above Ingrid's head, now showing a vast area that had gallons of water lined up against the wall, along with several plugs and wires that led to nowhere.
"Guys! Help me open it!" Minho whispered, causing all of the members of the group to run towards where Minho stood. They helped him pull up the chained door, peering into it carefully as they surveyed the room. There was a small desk and books lying on the ground, along with toys that were meant for a young child. Soon enough, everyone walked in all at once, feeling all around the room as a way to guide them. Ingrid looked over, finding a small lantern that actually provided light so that she wouldn't have to worry about tripping over her own two feet. She turned it on, moving the flashlight constantly as she eyed the many pieces of disregarded clothing and cans of food. Ingrid watched as Thomas picked up a jacket off the ground, and he met her eyes, handing her a small jacket as well.
"It looks like people lived here," Minho spoke the obvious truth that had flooded everyone's mind.
"Well, where are they now?" Newt asked as he focused in on the markings on the walls, a face expression full of disgust plastered onto his face.
"Look, let's just take everything. Things we might need, essentials. This stuff is pretty valuable to us," Thomas ordered as he put on a jacket, grabbing a small backpack that was once on the floor and swinging it onto his shoulder. Ingrid rummaged through the clothes in search of a new shirt until she finally found a gray one that matched with her black jacket.
"Ingrid, Minho, and I will split up and go search around," Thomas hypothesized, pointing at Ingrid for her to stand up. Newt, Teresa, and the rest of the group nodded, heading in the opposite direction. This left the three of them alone, flashlights waving frantically. It was then that Ingrid realized she still needed to change.
"Hey, um, guys," Ingrid cleared her throat awkwardly, "I kinda need to, uh, get dressed still, so if you don't mind maybe, uh, turning around?"
Thomas and Minho's eyes widened, nodding in understanding as they turned around to continue searching through the piles of garbage. Ingrid faced the opposite direction, her back facing the two boys as she peeled off her jacket first. She then took off her shirt, revealing her bare back to Thomas, who's eyes still weren't fully focused on searching. Minho noticed, and he slapped the boy's arm in a way to get him to readjust his attention, but the aforementioned boy couldn't help it.
Ingrid's body looked purely ethereal to Thomas who had never seen a girl like this before, and he gulped nervously as he watched her put on her shirt, covering up the nakedness she had before. She finally put on the jacket on top of her shirt, swinging the small backpack over her shoulder before turning back around to face the two boys. Minho wasn't even paying attention, whereas Thomas was fully eyeing the girl.
"Thomas, did you watch me the whole time?" Ingrid coughed anxiously, scratching the back of her neck as a way to try and lift the tension that had flooded the room.
Without even realizing, the boy blurted out, "It's not my fault that you're beautiful."
---------------------------
A/N: HE CALLED HER BEAUTIFUL SOMEONE DIAL 911 I AM FLINGING MYSELF OFF A CLIFF GOODBYE FRJENDS I AM D O N E
ByE
okay okay im done but srsly im crying rn don't look at me.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because next one is gonna fuck you up so hard you're gonna be drowning in a pool of your tears. K bye, love you! :)