natcat

This Means War

"I know what you mean." I scanned what we had thought was an abandoned building and then at the surrounding forest, weighing our options. "I don't think we have a choice." I said as I looked back at Daisy.
Lowering my voice, I stepped closer to her making it look like I was about to help her inside. "Even if it's a trap and they are Jaxlors, if we try to leave they might just kill us right here. At least if we go in we might have a chance to plan an escape." I took her arm and looked ahead at the girl, Isy, who had just turned away from Em and caught my eye.
"Need a hand?" She offered lightly, making no move to come towards us.
"No, thanks. We're fine." I turned back to Daisy. "Ready?"

This Means War

I let out the breath I didn't realise I was holding. We were all stuck still for a moment, each of us processing what had just happened.
"Are... are you kidding?" Spencer stuttered foolishly.
The girl snorted and looked over her shoulder. "Get a load of this, Pete." She looked back at Spencer and raised a brow. "Yeah, I'm kidding. Would you like to be shot first?" Her voice was filled to the brim with sarcasm. Nina biffed Spencer on the back of his head before walking forwards and holding out her hand.
"I'm Nina. It's good to see a friendly face."
The auburn haired girl smiled and shook Nina's hand. "I remember that feeling." She looked over the rest of us. I was still hesitant and clearly I wasn't the only one. "My name is Isabelle. Isy for short if you want. Get inside. I'm not getting shot on my own doorstep for you if you were followed."

This Means War

The voice startled me as it carried throughout our immediate surroundings, encasing the six of us in it's fearsome threat.
I threw a nervous glance at Daisy who was frozen in front of me. Should we declare ourselves as Tilerians or Jaxlors? How could we know who these people were and how they might react to who we were?
I needn't have worried about deciding how to answer them, as Joe, who was spinning on the spot shooting terrified looks into the thick trees, spoke quickly. "Don't shoot! Please, we're Tilerians. We're not looking for trouble!"
I waited with bated breath, hoping this his honesty was the right track to take. The worst part of this situation was not being able to see whoever was watching us. How many were there? They must be skilled soldiers to be hiding so well, even as I scanned the trees searching with narrowed eyes, one hand on the gun on my hip, I saw nothing.

This Means War

Joe scoffed and traipsed after his two sisters.
Spencer looked back at Daisy and I, hesitated then shrugged before he halfheartedly jogged to catch up with his siblings.
"Well, I guess that's that," I turned to look at Daisy, "after you." I held out an arm after the other four and nodded Daisy through."Fingers crossed it is abandoned and not dangerous, I'm not really in the mood for a shoot out if I'm being honest." I smiled at her as she passed and I scanned our surroundings before closing off the line, following closely behind the five people who were now all I could count on.

This Means War

We all stopped and looked ahead at whatever Daisy was pointing out.
"I can't see-" Spencer started, then, "Oh."
It took me a moment too. It blended in so well to it's surroundings, I probably wouldn't have seen it if it wasn't for Daisy spotting it. Covered in years of growth from the forest and looking as if it hadn't been touched in centuries, a building stood in the distance.
"What do you reckon that is?" Em asked.
"I dunno." Nina said, her head was down now, searching the maps. "It's not on the map though, any of them. This is where we are-" she jabbed at the papers "-there shouldn't be anything for miles." Joe was looking over her shoulder as she looked up, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Well, it's definitely there." Spencer said, clearly not knowing what else to make of it.
"Shall we check it out?" I suggested slowly, not knowing whether Nina wanted to stick to the schedule and the lines of the maps she held.

This Means War

"Yeah, it does." Em agreed.
"Well, I miss pancakes," Joe said longingly, "and I miss Cara."
"Cara?" Nina asked, looking over her shoulder with a frown. "Really? But I thought she dumped-"
"She did not dump me. We were on a break." Joe was adamant. "Besides, even if she did dump me- which she didn't- I'm still allowed to miss her. I have no idea whether she's okay or not. She wasn't drafted when I was, so who know's if she's still working reception or working on the front."
There was a moment of silence while we all took what Joe was saying in. There was no way of knowing whether the people we loved were even still alive.
"Well, I'm sure you'll find her when we get home." Em said, clearly trying to stay positive. "You can remind her how much you love her and then you'll move far away from this war. Start a family, have two babies, maybe three, raise some chickens. You'll be fine."
I smiled quietly to myself. It was an honest plan. A good plan. If I ever got the chance to leave this mess behind I'd take it in a heartbeat.

This Means War

"You know what I miss most about home?" Spencer started after nearly two hours of walking through the dense bush. He was walking just in front of me, I'd been getting irritated at him picking leaves off of the plants we passed, letting them fly back into my chest if they were particularly tough ones to rip off.
Em snorted. "What? Your gaming? Or how about your collection of dolls?"
"They're not dolls, they're models." Spencer retorted quickly. "No, none of that. They're basically meaningless. No, what I miss most, is school."
"School?" Joe looked over his shoulder at Spencer with a raised eyebrow. "You miss school? Not mom or dad? Not home cooked meals? You're crazy."
"Of course I miss mom and dad. And the food." Spencer's stomach grumbled as he ripped up another leaf and let it sprinkle to the ground. "But the normalcy of school. The routine. The only thing we had to worry about was homework, or getting detention."
"Like you ever got detention," Nina said with a laugh.
"I know what you mean, Spence." Em said from behind Joe. "It's something so trivial, I get it. Now look at what we're worrying about. Our lives, everyday. That's not something teenagers should have to think about."

This Means War

"Great." I smiled and pulled one out, checked that it was loaded, then handed it to her.
"Come on guys, let's get moving." Joe called from outside. I looked around the dusty room, grateful for it's safety before turning to walk outside. I held the door open for Daisy and the others as they filed out.
"I've got the map," Nina called, "so I'll lead the way with Joe. Sam you stay at the back so we've got cover from both sides."

This Means War

"Looks good." I nodded to Daisy's new crutch as I grabbed the pack I was carrying yesterday. Opening it up, I pulled out my gun and double checked that it was loaded before I slipped it in my pants waistband. The siblings had all grabbed their respective bags, so I took the last one that Daisy would've had to carry and slung both of them over my shoulders. "You want a gun?" I asked Daisy as I turned around to face her.

This Means War

I rolled my shoulders as everyone sprang into action. "You know, I shouldn't complain but even though I got to sleep on that bed last night, my shoulders feel like rocks. I think are a few too many slacks broken underneath that lump of a mattress." I said and then laughed. "Though I really shouldn't complain."
"Yeah, don't say that too loud otherwise Joe might knock your block off." Nina spoke up from behind me, raising her eyebrows as she shot a look over at Joe.