(8)
James's POV
I had spent my entire night talking to the old man in the tent with me. He told me about his family and how they had been killed in one of the bombings. We talk about how this place came to be, why Cyrus was so odd, but he didn't give me very many details. He was very skittish when I asked about their first run in with the soldiers, he didn't want to talk about it. Fact of the matter is, I don't trust these people.
I make my way to the fire with everyone else, looking around at the unfamiliar faces. I recognize a few of them from the night before, but know none of their names. I see Cyrus looking my way as I wait in line with the others. He mumbles something to the people he's sitting with before making his way over to me. Most move out of his way when they see him coming, others avoid eye contact, but none of them act anything close to normal. "James! Good morning. Sleep well?" he asks, clapping his hand on my shoulder as I get my sludge from the woman serving breakfast. I thank her before looking back at Cyrus.
"Of course, I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping next to a complete stranger, I can't believe I haven't done it before. I mean I was laying there, freezing my ass off, and his snores were like the voice of an angel leading me from the dark." I reply sarcastically, moving to a log beside the fire to eat.
"Now that's what I like to hear! Someone appreciating what they have been given." He sits next to me with a bowl of his own and smirks. I try my best to ignore him as I continue eating, looking around for Mazy.
"Sir, they're here." A man says, coming up behind Cyrus and I.
"Ah, well James why don't we go talk with your family." He stands up and heads toward the entrance. I quickly give my bowl to the man at the counter before rushing over to my family. They all smile as they see me coming.
"And here he is!" Cyrus says as I walk up. My mother swiftly walks over and pulls me into a tight hug.
"I was so worried about you." She pulls away and kisses my cheek as we join the others who have once again huddled as close as possible in the entrance to Arcton. My brother claps a hand on my shoulder and smirks.
"I didn't think you'd make it. I thought they'd realize how much of a smartass you were and kick you out." He chuckles.
"Where's Mazlynn?" my mother speaks up, stepping into the space next to me.
"She um...she's busy." Cyrus says putting on a tight smile. I feel Nolan tense next to me as I clench my fists. He is still testing us, he wants to know if we will trust his word or not. Nolan and I make eye contact and I shake my head slightly, letting him know to let it go as my father speaks up.
"While we wait for her to," he pauses, choosing his words carefully, "finish up. What exactly is our plan? Train today and tomorrow then start toward their camp?" He asks.
"I'm glad you asked. Well to start, we don't have enough guns to go around as it is. Adam knows a store a couple towns over that sells guns, he thinks it'll be mostly untouched. Those of you who can shoot already will accompany my men and get whatever is there. The rest of you will stay here and learn to shoot. After that we will send your people and a group of our people to take their camp out, while the rest of us stay here and defend against the ones they send after us."
"What about Maya? She shouldn't be here or there." Carla speaks up, clutching the sleeping child. Either place she stayed wouldn't be safe for a child.
"You could stay at the cabins up the road once again. It'll be safe there." Cyrus answers, smiling at her.
"When are your men leaving for the store?" Nolan asks.
"Twenty minutes. Which of you already know how to shoot?" Cyrus asks, switching the topics rather quickly.
We look around confused before my father speaks up, "the seven of us will be accompanying your men. What should the others do?"
"Those of you going on the trip stay here, the others are welcome to head over to the campfire. Adam will be in charge, he will explain some things to you all." He says before walking away with some of his men.
"I will be here." My mother says, "I'll make sure she's okay." My mother gives us each a kiss before walking to the campfire with Cara, Maya, Alec, Bree, and Franklin. Leaving Nolan, our father, Griffin, Dirk, Enzo, Jenna, and I to go on the trip.
I keep looking back at the campfire waiting for Mazy to show up but she never does. Adam drones on about how we need to stay together and random rules for when we are in town. I don't pay him much mind as I glance over at Cyrus. He is talking with a few of his men, even from here I can see that he is angry. Before I know it they're telling us it's time to go. I sigh and move forward with the others as they open the gate. I glance back one last time to see the men he was speaking with disperse quickly before I walk out with the rest of them.
"I'm sure Mazy is just fine boys." My father says as he walks between Nolan and I, realizing the tension, "he would have to be stupid to harm her." I sigh and nod. I glance up at the others noticing a change in Enzo. He looks like he is in deep thought, he picks at the side of his pants almost nervously.
"What's up with him?" I ask, thinking something happened. Before this Enzo always seemed so calm, like he had everything under control and was exactly where he needed to be.
"He's been like that since we got here. He must be nervous to fight his own people. Giving up information on them is one thing but shooting them? That's completely different." Nolan says, glancing over at him. Enzo snaps out of his bubble and looks around quickly. He take a deep breath and adjusts the empty bag on his shoulders. I shrug off his strange behavior and focus my attention to the Acrton members in front of me.
The members of Arcton talk about random things as we walk. There voices is all that can be heard, no birds, no insects, just the sound of our footsteps and their voices. How they have the energy to speak is beside me, of course they haven't been walking for the last four days. I listen into their conversation to keep my mind off the pain in my feet and the questions in my head.They talk about different people back a camp, none of which I know, and different things they should also look for on this little trip; more winter cloths, food, medicine, medical supplies.
By the time we reach the store its already about noon, the walk took away most of the day. Some of the Arcton members go to the other stores in town like the grocery, the thrift store, and the pharmacy on the end. Which leaves just a couple of them and all of us in the gun store. We walk in and look around in amazement. The store really is practically untouched, guns line the racks in the middle and on the walls. Pistols fill the display cases, mounds of ammo boxes behind the counter. More guns than we could possibly know what to do with. We fill the bags we came with and more that we found in the store before realizing we have almost no way of getting all this back.
"We need to find a car or something," Nolan suggests, "these bags are way to heavy and theres too many, someone should go ahead with as many as we can fit in the car, should only be an hours drive, we'd only need a quarter of a tank or so."
"We don't split up." One of the men says, picking up a bag and slinging it over his other shoulder. The others begin to do the same as they start walking back, leaving the rest of us in confusion. I sigh and pick up a second bag realizing someone will have to take three. I groan to myself and pick up a third. I feel as though I'm carrying a groan man on my back.
Nolan catches up to me and smirks, "I was hoping you'd do the math and take the extra bag so I wouldn't have to."
"Thanks asshole." I mumble adjusting the bags and contemplating faking my own death. If I died, they'd have to take the bags and carry me back to camp. It would be perfect, I don't have to carry these and I'd get carried back to camp.
The walk back is much worse, now we have bags full of metal weighing us down. I hug myself as best I can with the bags over my shoulders, as the sun fades the temperature drops. The sweat from walking begins to freeze, making me even colder.
Thankfully by the time we get back they have our huts put up. We drop the bags off at ammunitions tent so the guns can get cleaned and make our way over to the huts.
I notice my mother asleep in one and an empty hut next to her with two beds. What I don't see is a third bed for Mazy and more importantly the girl herself. I let out a deep breath starting to get pissed off and turn to my father. "What are we going to do about Cyrus keeping Mazy from us?" I ask.
"We can't do anything. You and I both know this is just one big test. If we keep demanding to see her he is going to think we don't trust him and won't help us get Sam back. I'd like nothing more than to rough him up and demand to see her, but we have to just let this play out. He's not completely crazy, I'm sure Mazy is safe."