"You're turning into Astrix," Trent said and I looked up at Kyle. He had developed a habit of piercing his first layer of skin with his knife. He did it almost subconsciously now.
"I'm not that bad! I have only cut myself once!" I protested and Trent rolled his eyes.
"You know when they are going to be back?" Kyle asked and Trent shrugged.
"Hopefully when they find food," Trent said and I nod. Darwin, Ashley, Van, and Miranda had gone on a "Hunting Expedition" early the day before.
"They probably won't," Kyle mumbled under his breath and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Pessimist," I said and he glared at me.
"Oh and you're a huge optimist, yeah?" Kyle asked.
"Big words! It's been six months, can't hear big words," Trent said, using bad grammar on purpose.
"Wait, six months? Already?" I asked and Kyle looked as surprised as I felt. Well of course it was six months already. It had been two weeks since Nile and I were rescued from the CIA.
"Yeah, I try to keep track," Trent said. The door downstairs flew open and a voice rang through the house.
"We're back!" Van yelled, absurdly loud.
I jumped off of the ground and raced Trent and Kyle downstairs.
"Did you get anyth-?" Trent started but then stopped and his mouth dropped open.
"You got a deer?" Kyle asked after we stared in surprise for a few seconds.
"Correction. Ashley got a deer," Ashley said and pointed to herself.
"Yes, Ashley showed us all up," Darwin said and rolled his eyes.
"Miranda helped get it to me," Ashley said and Miranda glowed with pride.
"So, the girls did better then the guys?" I taunted and looked and Darwin and Van who were standing by each other with their arms crossed.
"Ha! Well, let's get this thing butchered!" Kyle said and Darwin and Van lit up.
"Yeah, you guys have fun with that. We're going to go, uh," Ashley started, unsure of how to finish.
"Logic. Yeah, we're going to go logic," I said and turned and went upstairs.
"Logic?" Van asked and Kyle cut him off.
"It's what the girls do when they have nothing else to do. We're still unsure of what it means," Kyle said and Van made an exasperated noise.
"Whatever. Have fun logicing!" Van yelled up to us as we disappeared into an entertainment room.
"Logic? We're going to logic?" Miranda asked as I shut the door.
"Yes, logic. It's now the keyword for taking out the CIA from the inside," I said with a grin and Ashley and Miranda stared at me blankly.
"How?" Ashley asked in utter confusion and I swung the back pack off of my shoulder and took out Darwin's computer.
"I'm kind of an extreme hacker," I said and Miranda's eyes lit up and she started laughing.
"Completely forgot about that. Well what are we waiting for? Let's get to messing with the CIA!" Miranda said and I smiled at her. I had missed my best friend way more than I thought I did.
I quickly hacked through the CIA's system without a problem. Miranda and Ashley watched me intently.
As soon as I got into the database, I was able to set up a message and send it out. The message simply said:
Agents,
We have made slow but good progress in capturing Ms. Richards and her friends, and we will finish it soon. In three days time, the Boss and a few agents need to meet at the coast along Oregon. From there, we will be able to lure the criminals into our custody.
"But nobody knows who posted that! Why should they trust it?" Miranda asked.
"Because everyone within the CIA have gotten a thorough background check and are trusted. Well... other than Darwin but he doesn't count," I said after a moment of thought. Miranda and Ashley nodded in understanding.
"Let me guess, we meet them and kill their Boss?" Ashley said and I gave her a thumbs up.
"And as many of those agents as possible. I'm guessing that if the Boss goes then he will bring the higher ranked agents. Once you kill the Boss and anyone with high power, the whole system collapses. Goodbye CIA," I said with a smirk on my face. I was relishing my genius for that moment.
"Well, we going to tell the boys?" Miranda asked and I nodded.
"Tomorrow. We don't need to worry them when we have a feast waiting!" I said and a grin spread across Ashley's face.
We sat upstairs and talked for two hours or so. The reason I had put the plan into action was because I didn't want to leave these people, but the only way I could stay with them is if we got rid of the CIA.
"Guys, food!" Kyle yelled up to us and we were instantly running downstairs. From upstairs we couldn't smell the delicious smell of deer meat. Kyle gave each of us a plate with a slab of cooked meat on it and we dug in instantly. After a week of empty stomachs, the deer seemed like a delicacy we couldn't afford. But as we had it, we took advantage of it.
"I'm taking some to Nile. Astrix, can you... uh...?" Kyle asked and I felt my stomach drop. Cory. Of course. After a moment I sighed and grabbed the plate from Kyle. I walked to the door to the basement. I unlocked it and walked down the stairs after pulling the door shut behind me.
"Oh, you actually decided to make contact with me huh? What's it been? A month?" a raspy voice said and it took me a moment to figure out it was Cory. He was sitting on the single bed that was down there.
It took everything I had to not step back or gasp. Cory's eyes were sunken and his face was pale. He had dark bags under his eyes and his hair was a complete mess. His leg twitched nervously and he tapped his fingers on his knee. He looked like he lost several pounds and wasn't making eye contact with me.
"Can you blame me?" I asked bitterly. Even though Cory had almost killed me, I couldn't get over the fact that we were holding Cory like an animal.
"We can't harm another human," Kyle's voice rang in my ears and I shook my head.
Cory let out a long sigh then shook his head.
"No, I guess not," Cory said. It was obvious that he hadn't talked for a while.
"Here," I said and handed him the plate of food. He hesitated then grabbed it from me.
"Thanks," Cory said and I hesitated before I took a breath.
"Listen, I get that you don't want to stay here. I understand that. So I'll make you a deal," I said and Cory was actually looking at me now.
"I'll get you out of here if you go away and stay away. If you're face shows up around here, you'll be sorry," I said and allowed some venom into my voice.
"Why are you helping me?" Cory asked. His voice was choked with misery and confusion.
"Because, I've known you for too long to just watch you sit here, dying inside," I said quietly.
"Astrix, I'm sorry. I really am sorry. Actually sorry doesn't even begin to cover it. I don't know why I did it. I think about it everyday and-,"
"Cory, stop. I get it but I don't think I can necessarily forgive you. You did almost kill me. I'm just getting you out of here. Tonight. Alright?" I asked and Cory nodded. I turned and walked back up the stairs. My head was buzzing and I realized that what I was about to do was something Kyle would probably hate me forever for.
I locked the basement door behind me and walked into the living room. It was dark now and everyone was asleep. Kyle was the only one in the living room and his eyes were open as he lay on the couch.
"You were down there for a while," Kyle said and I shrugged.
"He was trying to apologize. I let him say what he wanted," I said simply, honestly not lying.
"Oh," was all Kyle said. His eyes slid shut and he sighed. I looked at him lying there peacefully and then went upstairs and went to my room. I flopped on my bed and I waited until the dead of night.
----- (PLEASE READ!)
A/N
Yup, Cory is going to escape. With the help of Astrix of course.
Okaysss people so you should all go follow freckles1029! We are doing a Q and A and she is putting it on her profile! It would mean a lot if you guys could follow her! The Q and A will be out soon! Thanks guys!!