Will and Red part. I watch Will go walking back to the base and Red stands looking down at Eric’s body. I move my eyes from Will and to her. Red stands right next to the flowers and begins to study his dead body. She squints her eyes and her lips move. I try to see what she is saying to herself, but it seems more like a mumble than a whisper. She then looks towards his head. She crouches down and stretches out her hand on the dirt. I can tell something is there, and she is examining it. Red stands from her place and keeps her eyes on the ground as she jogs out the gates and into the forest ahead.
I watch her until she is lost in the dark of the woods. Turning away, I look around the room. I am resisting the urge to push up sleeves and it is testing my patience. A knock on the door makes me jump a foot in the air. I jog over and open it slightly to see Will with a huge grin on his face.
“C’mon, get dressed.” He commands.
I raise an eyebrow and shake my head, “I’m not in the mood, Will. I think I’m just going to stay here for a while.”
“No! You aren’t going to be a lump on the log, princess. Get dressed and meet me in the lobby in five minutes.” Will demands. He walks off, clearly proud of himself for commanding me.
I roll my eyes at his descending figure and decide to get changed. I pull off my sweat pants and pull on shorts and my boots. Before taking my shirt off, I check to make sure the door is locked and the shades are covering the balcony. I pull off the slightly sweaty shirts, carefully trying not to touch the cuts. I replace them with a bra, and a black tee. I walk to the door and grab my leather jacket off of the coat hanger and sling it on.
While walking down the hallway, I make sure all of the buttons are buttoned. I look up towards the passing people. They all seem to be happy, of course they are. They are now free to be who they are in New York. No more patrols, no more gates, and no more curfews. Really, life is great for them now. Of course, some are worried. Some are smarter than others and think of the future instead of the present. Like me, they think about what will happen if the main base of all bases sends more C.T.O. to New York. Would we actually be able to handle it? And even if it is a dream, thinking about this reminds me of what Eric told me about the person who started the C.T.O. A she, and that is all I know. From the way he sounded, I am guessing that she is different than the others. That she is terrible and even worse than the Captain, Red’s father.
I turn to the elevator and press the down arrow. I lean my back against the wall as I wait impatiently for the doors to open. Once they do, four people come walking out and one stops and stares at me. I slightly smile and walk through the doors and press the level one button. The boy walks in with me, and I frown. He just walked out.
“Where are you heading?” He asks. He has brown long hair and sparkling dark green eyes. His hair is tied in a ponytail and his cheeks are a slight pink. “Lobby.” I answer quietly.
He sticks out his hand to me and introduces himself, “I’m Samuel Ray, but you can call me Sam.” I smile and shake his hand. “Alice Lee.”
Sam nods super-fast and blurts out, “You’re so brave! And my condolences.” I nod at him in thanks when the door finally closes. We are on level six, so I know that this is going to take a while.
“I’m good friends with Will. All of our parents knew each other! Isn’t that so weird?” He says with total excitement.
I look at him with a confused look and ask, “What are you parents’ names?” Sam gives me a sad smile. “Was. My dad’s name was Hunter and my mom was Lena,” He speaks so softly I can barely hear him.
“Oh, sorry.” I mutter softly. I look away from him and then I remember something. Maybe, I can get something good out of today. “Would you mind answering a question for me?” I ask with a cock of my head.
Sam looks at me with great joy and nods his head so much that I am afraid it might fall off. “When and how did your parents die?” I ask bluntly.
He looks shocked at first but then replies, “When I was five, I think. Or I just turned six. And in a really bad car accident.” I stare at him in shock and then smile, “Something doesn’t seem right, doesn’t it?”
Sam cocks his head at me and says, “What do you mean?” “All of our parents just happened to die at the same time and same way and you don’t find it unusual?” I ask.
“Maybe when I first heard it from Will, but there isn’t any proof that it is at all unusual. Besides, if there was something different about their deaths, I think we would’ve noticed by now.” He says a little harshly.
The elevator ticks and suddenly, I feel guilt towards him. This clearly is a soft spot to him. Sam goes walking out and nods at me. The bronze doors open and he starts to walk the opposite way of the lobby, but I quickly grab his arm.
“Sam, I’m sorry. I should’ve thought about it being a hard thing for you to talk about.” I stare at him and he stares back, finally I ask awkwardly, “Do you want to come with me? I’m going to go see Will in the lobby. I think he would be delighted to see you.” Sam smiles and nods, “Thanks for the apology. And I would love to come.”
We walk to the center of the lobby and see Will talking to someone. Will turns and sees me and bids his farewell to his friend. He jogs over to me and tugs on my jacket. I gulp down the nervousness, as he asks, “Aren’t you hot?”
If I stay silent, he will become suspicious. If I just say no, he will become suspicious. So, if I act like a smart ass, then he would shrug it off. I think. “I know I’m hot, Will.”
Sam laughs and Will looks surprised at first when he notices Sam. He ignores my comment and averts his attention to him. “Hey, Sam! I didn’t expect to see you.”
“Alice invited me to come with her to see you.” He says.
“Where are we exactly going, Will?” I ask. Will smiles and replies, “I’m going to get you to feel better.”
I shrug and say, “Try all you can, but when a girls upset you would’ve wished you left her alone.” Sam and Will laugh and he says, “Oh just come on!” He grabs my hand and I wave at Sam to follow. We go running out of the base, and my eyes drift right to Eric’s body. I dig my heels in the ground and stare at his body, not moving an inch. Will grabs my hand again and says, “That won’t make you feel better, princess. Come on.”
Sam takes my other hand and they both drag me to Will’s jeep. Will turns on the car as soon as we are buckled in. “That guy I was talking to before you guys got in the lobby found out something for me. We’re going to take a little road trip.”
“Where?” I ask with full curiosity. “New York’s graveyard.” Will says with a grin on his face. Sam and my face fall and Sam manages to whisper, “But my parents...”
“All of our parents.” Will turns around and puts the car in reverse. “How long has it been since either of you visited?” I look down at my hand and feel the cuts on my arm throb. I resist the urge to scratch them and I say, “Four years, maybe three.” Sam glances at me and says, “Last year, on Christmas.”
Will gazes at us, and nods, “Not this year at all. Then you wouldn’t know that a few coffins have no bodies in them.” I glance at Sam and his face looked as puzzled as mine. “No bodies? Would someone steal bodies?”
Sam shrugs and guesses, “I mean, maybe for experiments.” Will goes off driving out of the base and through the city. After a while he explains, “There has been no trace of who took them or where they could be. Red went running off a while ago and found some weird looking footsteps trailing off into the woods right next to Eric’s body.”
I look at him in the mirror and glare at him, the sudden anger from before now brought back to me. He raises an eyebrow and pulls into a parking spot. Will turns to look at me and asks, “What’s up with you?”
I glance at Sam and he chuckles. “I’ll be outside.” He exits the car giving me a slight encouraging smile.
I look back at Will and demand, “What’s up with you and Red?”
“What do you mean? Nothing’s going on with us.” Will replies carel
essly with a shrug. I roll my eyes and mumble, “Whatever. Guess it doesn’t matter, then.” I turn to the door, but Will grabs my arm. The cuts begin to burn, and I gulp down the nervousness of Will finding out.
“If it matters to you then it matters to me.” He whispers. I try my best not to yelp in pain, so I avert my eyes. He speaks again, but with a more commanding tone this time, “What is it?”
I turn back to him and sigh, “I’m afraid, ok? You two just keep on talking and hanging out so it makes me feel like you like her more than me”
Will laughs and leans forward. He puts his lips against mine in a soft and lovingly way. I cup his face with a gentle touch. My left hand slides down his neck and to his chest and I can feel his body tremble under my touch. His hand slips up my arm and grazes my wound. I pull away and take in a deep breath. I jump out of the car with speed and I can hear Will calling out to me.
Sam turns to me when I exit the stuffy jeep. The hot air makes me feel itchy as I turn to him. He cocks his head at me and asks, “You okay?”
I smile and nod at him, “Of course.”
Will comes out of the car and says, “Well, let’s get going. If you didn’t know, then all of their coffins are next to each other. It is in their wills.”
Sam crosses his arms over his chest and asks, “Really?” Will nods and waves us over to where he starts to walk. He stops in about the center of the graveyard and in front of him are eight coffins that are above ground and opened. Will pushes away all of the yellow crime scene tapes. He turns to us and says, “Take a look at the tombstone names.”
They are put in in pairs with their couples. Rosemarie Swan and Nico Lee, Felix Bones and Tony Crawford, Hunter Ray and Lena Hill, the last pair is Will’s parents: Robin Harris and Mary Lovewood.
“I know what you’re thinking that happened here, but Will, it’s impossible. They had no pulse. They all died.” I say softly.
Will grins and pulls something out of his pocket. It is a little container that holds a few tablets inside. “These aren’t ordinary pills. You take them and it stops your pulse for twenty-four hours. Of course, after that time your pulse will start again.”
It takes Sam a minute to take it in and asks, “So for about four years, they sat in a coffin with no food or water?”
Will shakes his head and says, “I’m pretty sure they got dummies.” He shrugs. “It just took the government a while till they actually found out that the bodies were gone.” He adds.
I let out a sigh and my hand goes straight to my arm. I start to scratch and a yelp leaves my lips. Sam and Will both look to me in confusion so I just give them a reassured smile and say, “We should get back. It’s hot.”
Will chuckles then mutters, “Then why don’t you take off the jacket?” I shrug and turn back towards where the car is parked. I go walking and hear Sam come running up beside me. Will runs to the car and starts it up as soon as we pile in.
The car drive is silent. All of us are trying to take in what just happened. If Will’s theory is right, then that would mean that all of our parents are alive. But, just the thought of it just isn’t right. It’s clearly impossible!
Will parks the car outside the gates and Sam jumps out with me by his side. “Well, that was fun!” Sam laughs in a giddy voice. I glance at him with a raised eyebrow. I shrug and Will bumps his shoulder into mine. “Guessing you didn’t have fun then.” Will observes.
I shrug again and say, “I mean, it was fine. But makes me think, so now I have a huge headache.”
Sam chuckles and says, “Well, I’m going to go practice with my sister. She doesn’t like doing it alone.” I nod and wave goodbye as he runs off into the base. I jump when a cold hand touches my shoulder. Turning around, I see Red with a huge smile on her face.
“Wow, didn’t expect Will to have really been able to get you out of your room,” She says with a smirk.
Will punches her playfully and I almost gag. I start to walk away, but Red grabs my right arm. The wound that she gave me is now just a scar, but it still hurts slightly, so I flinch at the impact. She gives me a worried look and asks, “Something wrong? You seem pretty out of it today.”
I glare at her and yank my hand out of hers, “My brother died yesterday. In my fucking arms! You really think I would be all giddy? You people might have gotten something good out of that, but not me,” I turn back on my heel to walk away but Red jogs in front of me.
“Hey, I get it, alright? But, being a piss head ain’t gonna do you any good,” She crosses her arms over her chest and I sneer.
Anger makes my blood boil as I push past her. As soon as my shoulder hits hers, she grabs my arm with force. Luckily, it isn’t where the cuts are. Her grip is tight as she yanks me around.
I use my arms to shove her away. I take a menacing step towards her and growl through gritted teeth, “Watch your self. Don’t grab me like you’re about to attack. Cause if you do it again, I won’t be able to stop my hand from flying.”
Will jogs up to us and pushes us back from each other. People are stopping to stare, witnessing their leader falling apart. He turns to me, and whispers, “What has gotten into you? These people need a leader, not a selfish brat whom only cares about herself and no one else.”
I take a step away from him, looking at him in shock. He keeps his sincere look on his face as a tear slips down my cheek. Will looks away and mumbles, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it.”
“It came out of your mouth, which means you meant it,” I glare at him as more tears come falling down.
Red opens her mouth to speak but I raise a hand to silent her. “You two should get together sometime. You both have a lot in common,” I whisper, “Insulting me, for instance,” I add a little louder than before.
Will shakes his head and reaches out with Red by his side. I take two steps back and look at the ground saying, “Just stay the hell away from me.” I turn and run. My head aches and my cuts throb on my arm. The joy that used to be in my heart is now gone, now only filled with sadness. He called me a selfish brat. Will Bones, the boy who stole my heart just broke it in half right in front of me. I can hear the shouts behind me and the whispers of the passing people. The tears fall and I don’t care to stop them from falling. Will is right; these people need someone to guide them. But that isn’t me.
I jump into the empty elevator and push the sixth button. I rest my head against the cold wall and let out deep breaths. My mind is whirling and regret is rushing threw my veins. I wish I didn’t cut myself this morning. I wish I didn’t go with Will. I wish I didn’t see Red. I wish Will didn’t call me what he did.
“I wish I never left my house!” I mumble. I roll my eyes and smirk at myself, “I wish I didn’t forget the bread.”
I pound my fist against the metal wall and grit my teeth. The doors open and I regain my posture while walking out the doors. I fast walk towards my room and stop right in front of it. I look down the hall to see Will and Red conversing at the very end of the hall. I look back at my door and then at them. I sigh and turn down the corner to walk around so I can be behind them. I jog to the end of the corner and I slightly peer down the edge of the corner.
Will is leaning against the wall and Red is pacing in front of him.
“Something is up with her.” Red states.
Will turns to her and says, “Obviously. But I don’t want to make it worse like I already did.”
Red places her hand gently on his shoulder and whispers, “I think if we just talk to her it will be alright.”
I glare at her hand and stifle a scream.
Will pushes her hand away and growls, “She thinks you and I have something going on.”
She raises an eyebrow and rolls her eyes, “After what I’ve done for her?”
Will glares at her, “Watch it. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. I’m pretty sure Alice just dumped my ass and I plan to have her back. Alice is the best thing that has ever happened to me, she changed me. And this is all you care
about? What you’ve done?” He growls.
I smile at what he said and shuffle my feet. Red turns her head to me, and whispers, “Someone is eavesdropping on us.”
I gasp and run down the hall. I can hear someone’s footsteps come running out from around the corner and I close my eyes. Black covers my eyes and a tingling sensation on my tattoos makes me shiver. I feel my feet stop moving and I open my eyes to see my room. I let out a sigh and lock my door. I pull my jacket off and toss it to the floor. Blood slips down my arm and I hastily wiped it away.
Letting out a groan, I slide down to the door. A knock coming from outside makes my skin jump as I listen to the voice on the other side.
“Alice, it’s Will and I just want to say I’m sorry,” His voice chokes and he continues on, “You’ve changed me for the better. You remember when we were talking about love at first sight? Well, I... I think I love you, Alice. I need you. I full heartedly regret what I said before. You’re the perfect leader for us. We just need you to realize that.”
I feel a tear leave my eye as I hear his body slide down the other side of the door. I want to run out and hug him, but my arm isn’t covered and I don’t want to risk it. I sit there staring at the wall, sobbing, shouting, wondering, and whispering.
My whole body shakes as I cradle my arm in my lap. I know people can hear me; Will is sitting on the other side of the door. Soon, my eyes start to droop and I find myself asleep. I hope for sweet dreams, but I end up getting the exact opposite.
And worse.
Home
It all starts out unexpectedly.
The storm begins to get worse, sounds of the storm roars the atmosphere with rage. Everything feels like a blur from my perspective. Fog spurs over the plains of the battlefield, it’s as if the battlefield is abandoned, because of the silence that brings cries to each dead soul. I can see the C.T.O. soldiers getting ready, praying for their last. Time is running fast like an earthquake destroys land within seconds. It is coming to dawn, brave Conduits waiting to fight for revenge, to quench their thirst of anger with fresh blood.
Alice: The Leader Page 15