When Adria's arms were wrapped around me tightly, my mind registered fully that this was my sister. Who I've been worried about. Who just now saved my life. Who was now with me.
"Rowin," she gasped in my ear. She rocked me back and forth as we held on to each other. "You're safe."
"You're alive," I sighed. I smiled as I drew back to look at her. Her dark curls framed her face as she gazed at me with satisfied brown eyes and a smile. Just like I remembered.
A noise came from behind and I turned to see Lincoln pulling himself up on the grass. Water streamed off of him as he stood.
"Well, we made it--"
He stopped short when he saw Adria. For a moment, he just stared, then he broke into a familiar smile.
"Who's this?" he asked.
"My sister," I answered, looking at her again.
A shout was made in the streets nearby, causing us all to jump.
Her eyes grew wide as she whipped her face toward the sound, clearly not expecting it. She grabbed my arm and began dragging me toward a narrow bridge.
"I just found you, I can't lose you again," she whispered, quickly crossing the stone pathway. Lincoln bumped into me from behind as we sped up.
"Adria, please don't let us get caught," I said as we rounded the corner of yet another building. This plot of land seemed a little bigger than the first.
"The city isn't what you think it is," Lincoln added in a hushed whisper.
"What about me makes you think that I would be in the majority?" she stated. "Especially you, Rowin. I thought we knew each other."
Lincoln and I exchanged looks. Adria glanced around the street, then hurried to the next bridge.
Already, there were people walking up and down the sidewalks, coming from various buildings and houses.
Adria kept her head down as she weaved her way through the crowd. I looked to Lincoln to see he had the hood of his jacket pulled over his head and his eyes downcast.
I glanced around as we walked and spotted a variety of posters. I paused for a brief moment to look at one. 'WANTED' was spelled out in huge red letters with a picture underneath.
My eyes grew wide when I recognized the person as Seth. I stared and my heart almost stopped. I looked to the poster next to it and saw Lincoln's photograph, who grabbed my arm to keep me following Adria.
A realization struck me in the gut right then: we really were outlaws here. Even if we were to find Seth, what were the chances that he was alive? Cassius was out to get us and he ran the place.
Was Cassius even here?
He didn't have the ring, so he couldn't travel through the realities. Seth couldn't have been found if there was no one who wanted to find him. There was a chance everyone was okay. I suppose there was always that chance; I was just too realistic to think about it.
We came to a section of land that was filled with apartment buildings. Here, hopelessness seemed to glaze over everything. Trash was in the streets, unlike the other places we passed through. It was truly a sketchy neighborhood, causing me to look over my shoulder every few steps.
Adria turned abruptly in front of a plain apartment building. Lincoln and I followed her into the dark space, up the staircase, and down a hallway. The narrow halls were lined with doors, all of them shut tightly.
In one fluent motion, she whipped out a key, unlocked a door, and entered. Quickly, we walked in, closing the door behind us.
Dim light from a single window filled the space. A small kitchen was to my right, then a door leading off to what I assumed was the bathroom. There wasn't much to take in. Adria said nothing as I stepped past her.
A heap of blankets was in the corner. I let my eyes wander to find someone curled up on a thin mattress.
"Jonathan," I breathed.
The word came out of my mouth before the horror sunk in. Something was wrong.
Slowly, I approached him. His chocolate brown eyes were fixated on the wall in front of him, not acknowledging that any of us had entered. His body was stiff and his knees were pulled up to his chest. My brother was in some sort of shock.
I crouched in front of him, wondering if I could do anything. A nervous feeling erupted in my stomach.
His hands started twitching, then he began to shake all over. Lips trembling, he whimpered as if holding in a sob. But his gaze never wavered.
Completely unnerved, I whipped my face to Adria. She had torn her eyes from him and wouldn't look at me. My heart throbbed within my chest.
"Jonathan? Jonathan, can you hear me?" I asked, sitting on my knees.
I was physically pained to see his broken expression. He was my brother. The prankster of the family who always made me laugh and never once cried. Something had to have happened for him to be so... So.... Unhappy. He was the optimist, the friend, the outgoing one.
"It's me, Rowin. Your little sister," I whispered, trying to look him in the eyes.
He jerked suddenly like he was being kicked and I couldn't take it anymore.
I reached out to grab him by the shoulder, trying to comfort him. He tensed under my touch and tried to pull away.
"No, it's me, it's just me," I pleaded, rubbing his arm. I was on the verge of tears. "Jonathan, please look at me!"
I put my hand on his cheek, trying to bring him back. He gasped like he was coming up from water and shot up into a sitting position. He covered my hand with his and gripped it before looking at me. I noticed around his thumb was a dark, black mark.
He didn't hesitate to embrace me. His shaky breaths echoed in my ears.
"This is my fault," he said. "They told me you were-- T-They said it was my fault. This is my fault."
"Jonathan..," I managed as he began to cry, overwhelmed by what was happening.
"They hurt me," he whimpered.
"Who?" Lincoln asked suddenly, sitting beside me.
"The prison guards. A ring," he answered, pulling away. He still held my hand like it was his last chance at sanity.
Maybe it was. Could this be an effect of the Antipode? Slowly, I began to connect the dots. I glanced at Lincoln, who didn't meet anyone's gaze.
"I can't believe you're alive," Jonathan breathed, smiling weakly. "I can't believe you're real."
I felt my eyes grow wide.
"Why wouldn't I be real?" I asked slowly.
"You just-- I couldn't... They told me you were a traitor," he whispered, wringing his hands with mine. He pressed his lips together with a faraway look in his eyes. "They wanted to kill me."
"Don't think about it," Adria suggested quickly. She handed him a bottle of water and he gulped it down. I wondered if he was like this all the time.
"After everything they did..." His voice trailed off, leaving us all in an uneasy silence.
I swallowed and looked to Lincoln. This time, he seemed to have figured it out. We both nodded, knowing what the other was thinking.
Concord.
<<<<<<<<<<
(a/n)
My heart broke writing this chapter. 😪 Honestly, I really love Jonathan's character and I was sad that this sorta kinda happened.
If you're confused, just know that eventually you won't be confused.
Hayley Orrantia is in the picture & she portrays Adria (Rowin's sister) in the story. If you watch "The Goldbergs" she is also an actress for that show.
HEY HEY HEY you all are amazing, thank you for being awesome. (:
Stay cool with Jesus!
-Abigail
{7.29.16}
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