"Wait, what do we do?" I ask.
"We fight even harder," Kris tells us. He doesn't even seem bothered.
"Looks like we have a little extra to deal with now," Owen says, "that's all!" He nervously cracks a smile.
"Then let's go quick. Time is running out. The quicker the better," Caspian says with his scratching voice.
Kris slowly turns his eyes towards him. I can tell his mind is already running a million things, "hold on." Kris raises his hand. "We have to think this through. We can't just jump in guns blazing at the first opportunity."
"Of course we can! We have to!" he throws his arms around, "what do you want to do? Just sit and wait like some idiots?" Caspian raises his voice and yells in the air, "Come on! We're waiting. Just drop us dead, one-by-one!"
Kris puts his open hand on Caspian's chest, "calm down. We will do something in the next twenty-four hours."
"We better."
Oh no. I can see Caspian's immaturity already stabbing at Kris. Who is this guy? He obviously wants to be the leader, and he obviously wants his way. Kris thinks everything through, logically. Caspian seems to just hop around without any direction. He's sort of like a nasty flea that just will not go away. Just hopping around and occasionally taking advantage of someone. I wonder how Sage and Mika know him, so I step inside and casually ask them a few questions in the kitchen.
"So, how do you know Caspian?" I ask Mika.
"I don't know Caspian. I know a few things about how he tries to lead. He lived down the road. I think he kinda knows what to do, but for the most part, he's a firecracker with a short fuse. What direction? How big? You never know," she lets out a small burp and slides her soda on the counter, "Excuse me." Sage, Mika, and I let out a small laugh.
"I know I said I didn't want to talk about it, but I will to you. Something about that girl in the living room who just sits there in a daze... she creeps me out." I neglected to tell her it's my girlfriend, and I don't think I will. "Anyways, it was Caspian's idea to kill those two. I know it's horrible, but they were evil. He planned it about thirty minutes before you guys showed up. The thing is, he planned it harsher. Had you all not showed up, Caspian would have done something crazy," Sage tells us.
"Okay, we're making him sound insane. I don't think he's crazy. He is a good leader—well, an okay leader. He can keep us safe, I think. I'll stand by his decisions as long as they're not too out there. I think with us all being thrown into a life or death situation, he may be thinking on his toes too much," Mika says.
"I see what you're saying," I tell them.
"So what about your group?" Sage asks me as she spins her curly hair.
"Tell me everything," Mika jokes, leaning forward over the counter.
"Well," I take a second to think. Do I tell them about Lindsey? Do I tell them that I don't want to be with her but she needs me? "Um, I'm actually that girl's boyfriend. Lindsey is her name. She lost her parents and then almost got her neck sliced. So I guess you can say she's a little shaken up..."
Sage and Mika lose the smile on their face.
"I... I'm sorry," Mika says.
"No, I understand. You two are kinda funny and I need that. Truth be told, Lindsey and I are not clicking. I'm gonna be there for her since we are technically together, but I honestly don't feel romance with her anymore. That flame died before the sleepers came around."
"Sleepers?" Mika wrinkles her nose in confusion.
"Oh yeah, that's what we call the 'bad guys'."
"Oh, okay. Continue what you were saying," Sage says.
"Lindsey, yeah I just don't see us together like that anymore. But I haven't said anything to her about it. She has already dealt with so much. I couldn't do that to her," I pull out a stool and take a seat at the white counter, "Kris, the older guy?" they nod their heads, "he's my uncle... and a war veteran, too. He actually fought against Kakos back in the day."
Sage and Mika both raise their eyebrows in interest. They're both impressed by my uncle Kris, and truth be told, so am I.
"Kennedy, the other girl, she also lost her parents. When it all started, she ran up to my house screaming that people had just ambushed her party. Then it happened at my house almost immediately. This girl has come a long way."
"That's terrible," Sage says, covering her mouth.
Mika takes another drink of her soda and asks, "And the guy with those striking blue eyes?" she makes a funny sound when she says striking.
"Wow," I snicker, "that's what everybody says about him. His name is Titus. We're good friends and go to school together. He's a great guy."
"And a cute one," says Sage.
"I'll make sure to tell him you think that," I joke with her, "and Owen, he basically ran into us. He's really smart and gave us a lot of information. He somehow got out of a sleeper camp. That's where they keep people they capture."
"Wow," Mika and Sage say together.
Owen, Kris, and Caspian march into our gossip session. "Get ready. Tonight, we're doing something risky," Titus says, snapping his fingers.
Kris explains, "We're using the darkness to hide, and we're making our way out of the sleeper zone. Caspian says there is a farm a few miles through a field. Maybe we can use the barn as shelter. It's progress to get out of the sleeper zone. That's what we have to do."
"What if we're attacked... or they have night vision?" I ask.
"It's worth the risk. We can't sit here," Caspian tells me.
"I don't think we can sit anywhere for too long," Owen says as he passes him and enters the living room.
Owen goes and tells the others. The rest of us gather our things and prepare for tonight's adventure. I don't think there's any going back.
__________
We all stand outside ready and prepared for our journey—our exodus. It's just a few miles through a field. I'm somewhat surprised—yet relieved—that Lindsey voluntarily is on the other side of the group from me. As I stare at her in the darkness, I can't help but feel like garbage. A total jerk. Why is this complicated? She isn't for me. I feel empty inside because I feel this way. I can make sure she is okay and help her through this mess, but I can't beat myself up because of the way I feel. You can't help the way you feel.
It's extremely dark. The stars and the moon are the only things really giving us any light. The harvested crops crunch below our feet as we pass through the gloomy field. It seems lifeless around us... and hopefully it is. We can't afford to be ambushed. We would aimlessly be shooting at people we can't see. I'm praying we don't run into a group of them. Kris, Owen, and Mika are the only three with guns. We decided that if everyone carried one, the less experienced would do something crazy, causing someone to get hurt and even worse: draw attention. According to Mika, the new three know how to use guns... I hope she is telling the truth.
As we're walking through the field, Sage taps on my shoulder. We whisper a conversation to each other.
"You seem a little nervous. Don't be. Kinda like if you're driving while you're nervous. You make more mistakes," she tells me.
"It's that obvious?" I ask.
"Well, to me. I only notice it because I'm scared too. I just try not to show it. Don't let people see you're scared. It just makes things worse," she whispers. She leans forward and hugs me from the side. It's not one of those fake hugs you give to someone you see around school, but it's a real hug. Like those hugs you need.
Suddenly, the dark sky is pierced by a beam of light from behind us. Everyone turns around, jumping out of their skin. Alert and ready to fire, Kris immediately aims his gun at whatever is causing this light. Caspian pulled out a flashlight he didn't let anyone know he had. He bounces the light around, pretending he doesn't notice Kris.
"Put the light out, Caspian. It's gonna draw attention," Kris demands.
"We have guns; we're good," Caspian brushes off Kris' appropriate order.
"No, we're not. Turn it off."
The group stops, and everyone is watching the powerful, decisive struggle between Caspian and Kris. Neither is saying anything. Caspian continues to ignore what Kris said. He slowly lowers the beam of light right into Kris' eyes, brightening his face, causing his serious, terrifying face to glow. Kris is just ticked now. But, he's keeping his composure like he always does. Caspian can't be doing this. They're both stagnant. I don't think either is willing to give up.
The distant crickets keep a dull buzz in the distance. I think we're all too scared to say anything. Kris is the one with the gun... What is Caspian doing? He can't be this dumb.
Finally, the flashlight clicks off. The moonlight is enough for me to see Kennedy's face. She flashes her eyes at me, raising her eyebrows. She's worried. She's scared at what might happen if this continues. We both know this is causing our group to be unstable. We're going to have to figure this out, but we can't right now.
The chilling breeze glides through the tension of our group as we finally approach the small farm. There's a green barn sitting behind a white, aging house. The barn's quiet, but the smell tells us animals are inside. They're nasty. They smell horrid. Sadly, they obviously haven't been taken care of. The house isn't very big. The fences and chicken houses to the right sit still. The wind is the only evidence of motion. On the walls of the house, the chips in the paint look like freckles—an unintentional decoration. The timeworn house has a timid glow from the inside. Are there people in there? A single wooden light pole sits between the barn and the house. It's silent all around, and it's making me nervous.
We gather around the back of the green barn. "I knew we could do it," Sage says, silently clapping with joy.
"We're not safe yet. Let's go in." Kris says as he creeps open the door. The nine of us march in; no one seems as scared as before. Or maybe they're like me... trying to hide my fears. At the start, we all walked in weak-kneed. But, this time, we walked in ready to fight for our lives. I believe that we're ready for anything...
The barn's inhabitants are pitiful. Weak, emaciated, horses are in different stalls in the dark barn. I notice a ladder to the left. Before I can say anything, Kris is already on the bottom rung. A loft wraps around the upper part of the barn, creating the second story. The moonlight shines through the cracks in the wood as well as the large holes where windows should be. The largest "window" faces out towards the house. It's not really a window; it doesn't have any glass. It's just an intentional hole in the wall, but it's perfect to keep watch. That's exactly what we need.
"I think we're good," Sage says.
"Yes. Right, Kris?" Owen asks.
"I like it. It smells really bad, but we can stay here," he's right. It smells like a bathroom unattended for the past six years. "We made some progress, guys. Tomorrow, we will search the house for more supplies. We may even start hiking towards the border of the sleeper zone. Yes, we have a long, taxing journey ahead of us, but we're all strong enough to make it."
Caspian walks away in the middle of Kris' encouragement, turning his back to the group. Kennedy rolls her eyes and lets a breath out that lets us know she is annoyed. Me too, Kennedy.
__________
Sage joins me on a rectangular hay bale. She hands me a water bottle, "this fell out of the side of your bag when you climbed up here."
"Thanks, Sage," I say as I take the warm, yet all-important water. "Something tells me you're a great person," I smile at her. "For some reason, I feel like someone in this group would have kept that water for himself."
"Caspian?" she asks as she sits next to me.
"I just get this scary vibe from him. He's that type that'll make me want to curl into a ball when he walks in. He has this sting in his eyes. It makes me want to run. Maybe it's the way he contradicts Kris. I mean, Kris has led us here and saved us. Without him, we wouldn't have made it. And this Caspian guy just marches all over him, or at least tries..." I take a moment to think before I ask, "Why is he doing this?"
Sage nods her head the entire time I'm talking. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. She thought she was ready to talk about it... She looks down and plays with a straw from the dusty hay. "We're all in this," she takes another thoughtful pause, "I think we all have different ways of dealing with it... I think you're right, Vince. Just remember, loose lips sink ships. Like I said, we all have to deal with this; he may cause us problems, but I think Kris can and will handle him. Loose lips sink ships."
Sage is right. I can't gossip and talk about Caspian like this, but I'm just too intimidated. I'm worried he'll lead us too far down the wrong path.
She puts her soft hand on my shoulder, "We'll be fine." She smiles with the same joy she had when we finally reached the barn. Her white smile matches her eyes in a perfect way.
Kris silently jumps to his feet. He creeps to the watch point. He's being intentionally careful to not make any noise. Sage and I pop up and follow his lead.
Kris leans his head out the watch point and throws his arm up at us, telling us to stop. Everyone in the barn is staring at my uncle now. We all become completely still as we all wait in suspense to see what Kris is seeing.
Krisslowly leans away from the hole in the wall. We all huddle around to hear hiswhisper, "we're not alone. That house has people living in it. There's two men smoking on the back porch. I don't think they're people like us. They're sleepers."