They walked across the manicured backyard that was just as neglected as the rear gates, but were turning their heads from side to side out of wariness anyway. Dylan rested a hand on the grip of his holstered gun. Amelia noticed this and touched his arm to get his attention. He flinched in surprise."Let's avoid using the guns,” she said in a low whisper. "We don't want to attract unnecessary attention."With a curt nod, he dropped his hand. As he was the one who had been diligently studying the blueprints of the estate, he figured that he should probably lead the way, but Amelia surprisingly knew her way around and walked in front of him. She slowly opened one of the double doors that led into the main living quarters and took a peek inside. Once clear, she stepped in and gestured for him to do so.There was no living being in sight. Everything was as still as a picture and their boots made soft click-clacking noises against the marble floors with every step. The sound made Dylan force
I woke up to the sound of the door being slammed shut. The wound on my lower abdomen stung when I sat up abruptly in surprise. Wincing, I pressed a hand over the bandages while slowly hopping off the bed and onto my feet. Felix stirred from his sleep at the sudden commotion.The sun hung low in the sky, bathing the city in an orange glow. It would've been another breathtaking sunrise if only I didn't see Dr. Johnson and James march into the room with distressed looks on their faces. Wordlessly, James began to pack up our things into the duffle bags while the doctor walked over to me and held me by the elbows. He obviously tried to appear as calm as possible as to not agitate me but failed to do so.I forced to brace myself for some bad news but still hoped that Dylan was safe out there."Doc?” I asked when he stayed silent for a couple of minutes. "What's wrong?"He opened his mouth to reply but stopped before he could utter a single word when I fell onto the floor
Brother.I wouldn't say that I was surprised since their almost identical looks gave it away, but as the door slammed shut, I found myself staring at it with my mouth agape. If it wasn't for James fishing out a clean set of bandages and going over to my side, I would've continued to do just that for the next hour or so."Is it okay if I change your bandages?” he asked in a soft voice, holding up the clean gauze for me to see. I nodded wordlessly and removed the blood-soaked cloth out of the way. Wordlessly, he wiped me off with a wet towel and expertly switched the dirty bandages with new ones. When he was done, he retrieved a wet towel and handed it to me. "I'm sure you would prefer if you clean yourself up?""Yeah,” I took the towel and he held me by the elbows to assist me in standing up. I watched as he prepared some clothes for me to change into. After handing them to me, I noticed that they were clothes that I wouldn't normally wear indoors. Then, I remembered that before all
The metal door creaked open, and I looked back and saw Kai step out with a huge duffle bag in one hand. Tilting my head in confusion, I asked, "What's in the bag?""Gun,” he replied curtly.I remembered that he only speaks in a maximum of one word so I turned to Asher who continued to scout the streets below through a pair of binoculars. He seemed to have felt my stare at him."It's a sniper rifle,” he said without sparing me a glance. I watched as Kai positioned himself beside me and began fishing out parts after another out of the bag. At this point, I've already helped out in the murder of many, seen a literal pile of corpses—including my mother's—and doesn't flinch at the sight of blood, but for some reason, the huge weapon made me squirm in my seat. I peeled my gaze off of him as he began assembling and returned to staring at the city view. The winter air stung my cheeks and I hugged myself tighter. I wasn't dressed lightly but I still shivered at the cold. It didn't help eithe
"I expected a lot more, but I guess they knew that most of us would be evacuated by now,” Asher stated. He threw one of the guns to Kai who perfectly caught it in his hands. "Fun,” Kai said though his face still held the same poker face he always had.I didn't think I would be sane enough to do so, but I chuckled. "What part of this is fun?"He tucked the duffle bag into a corner and led the way down the stairs. "All""He enjoys the thrill,” Asher translated for me. He beckoned for me to get moving, too, and so I did. He trailed behind me.The way they both took the situation a little bit lighter than they should made me feel somewhat confident in my non-existent fighting and shooting skills. I could feel the stitches on my lower abdomen slowly opening up again while I ran down the stairs. I clenched my jaw to endure the pain as beads of sweat trickled down the sides of my face. Surprisingly, I was able to catch up with them just fine. Well, maybe that or they were purposely slowing
"What the f*ck is happening?!"I turned around to find Dr. Johnson packing up his tools into a bag. Upon seeing Dylan and Enzo sleeping soundly on the bed with bandages all over their bodies, I let out a sigh of relief. I mustered the remaining strength I had and dragged Asher along as I walked over to the unoccupied couch. Dr. Johnson left his things for a bit to help me set him down. "Amelia Crawford is outside,” I explained as briefly as I could while rummaging through the cabinets for a clean towel. "She brought a few men along with her. Kai is outside dealing with her right now.""She did this?"I knew that he was referring to the knife on his shoulder. "Yes."After successfully finding a towel, I immediately ran back to the couch. Dr. Johnson leaned in to whisper something into Asher's ear. I saw his chest rise as he took a deep breath and with one smooth movement, the knife was pulled out of his shoulder. He screamed and I automatically stepped in to press the towel onto his w
He walked—no, more like lugged his heavy feet—along the poorly maintained pavement on a street that he always goes through to get home. With an exhausted sigh, he pulled on the strap of his backpack to adjust the way it slung on his shoulder. He looked up and admired the orange sky as the sun began to sink into the mountains over the horizon. "Hey, Felix!" The boy turned his head and waved at the middle-aged woman he had for a neighbor who was tending to her front yard just as how she always did on late afternoons. "Hey there, Mrs. Scott.” "Just got off from work?" "Yes. I'll see you around!" He turned to a corner, and as expected, there were the usual kids playing out on the streets. After briefly sharing high-fives with them and cracking a few jokes he prepared for them the night before, he dropped his smile and went on his way. Every day was the same—uniformed, even—as if his entire life was made out of an endless loop of the same script. Just when he was about to release ye
"Where are you going?” he heard James ask upon seeing him slipping into his jacket. "You don't have work today, right?"Felix stopped by the door and turned to look at him. He almost forgot that he hadn't mentioned anything about him working multiple odd jobs at the same time. Rubbing his nape, he chuckled, "Oh, I didn't tell you? I'm going out to meet a few friends.”"That's great!” his guardian smiled brightly before returning his gaze to his open book. "Be safe.”He ran out the door and into the streets cramped with overflowing trash bins and stray cats. As the days were getting colder, fewer people loitered outside. But tonight was especially cold that he could slightly see his breath forming in the air with every exhale.Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he sank into the collar of his jacket in an attempt to keep himself warm. It felt awful to lie to James as he'd almost never done so before, but since his nineteenth birthday more than a month ago, he figured tha