"Wanda," a low voice whispered in my ear. That same voice that filled this tiny body with joy, that voice that I heard even in my sleep.
"Wanda!" The voice said again, its tone was off, urgent and rushed.
"What is it Ian?" I asked, turning towards him. I shifted the basket of clothes to my right arm. Pet's body was very weak and it seemed the only thing I was good for was laundry and raids.
I smiled at him, a happy smile a real smile. I stared into those blue eyes, but again something was off. The blue was hard and cold.
"What's wrong?"
He gripped my arm,
"Wanda, they found us. They're here."
My eyes widened, we were caught.
"What?!" I gasped, call me stupid, but the news takes time to register. Those words, those dreadful words which I prayed I'd never had to hear rang through my head.
"Jared and Kyle went on raid, they didn't know they we're being fallowed, we have to get out of here."
He pulled on my arm and I dropped the basket to the ground, the clothes spilling everywhere. He started to run through the caves, pulling me along with him. We ran until we heard voices, we froze.
"Get down." Ian hissed, and we dropped to our knees behind a boulder protruding from the wall.
The voice were too far to hear what they were saying, their words were slurred.
"We heard their helicopter hovering above us, a few minutes ago." He whispered, he paused looking at the ground.
"The others, Ian! We have to warn them!" I almost yelled.
The talking had stopped and we heard footsteps going down the hall. Instantly Ian pulled me up and we began to run again, our footsteps echoing in the eerie halls.
"They're already evacuating. I stayed behind to get you." He said, without breaking his stride.
"They already left…" I murmured as I ran beside him. It's been a year since I was put into Pet's body, a year of bliss and love. Ian and I had grown closer each day, and each day a rope seemed to be tightened between us, tying us to each other in every way possible. Throughout my time here, I've had many friends, some more than others. Sharon and Maggie had been the most distant, but at least they didn't glare at me anymore, they learned to accept me. But for them to leave without me, the thought made my insides ache.
"They had to, or they'd die." Ian said, as if he had heard my thoughts.
"Die!" I gasped, "But you came, you came back for me."
We paused at a wall, the sharp rocks scratching my arm.
"Of course I came back Wanderer. I love you." He whispered starring down at me.
I smiled at him and opened my mouth to speak, but he suddenly crushed his lips to mine, so quick I didn't have time to react. He peeked over the corner of the wall, once he saw it was clear he grabbed my hand and we ran once more. We ran and we ran the walls of the cave a blur around me. Instantly, I felt tired, and my breathing came out in fast short puffs. Pet's body was weaker than Melanie's; she wasn't use to this kind of running, though you'd think after a year here I would have adjusted…
Ian, sensing my tiredness, pulled me up into his arms, carrying me to his chest like a child. He ran even faster now, without me slowing him down. We finally got outside, in the distance I could see a helicopter flying over, with a point light searching the ground. People were yelling to each other,
"Humans! Catch the humans!"
My mouth hung open at the sight, people we're screaming, I couldn't tell who the humans were. Then just as suddenly he had stopped he ran into the scene, running faster than I'd ever seen him.
In this chaos we blended in easy.
"Ian," I said, my voice shaking, "Ian, what about the others?"
I looked around at the terrorized faces of my family, they were running too.
"They're tough; right now we just need to get to the van."
Then I understood, this was the base plan. We would run, run in every direction, in hope that we would confuse them. Then pairs at a time, we'd slip into the vans waiting for us around the mountin. Pair by pair, so we wouldnt be caught. And then I remembered, there had been a flaw to this plan, that one huge deadly flaw. We needed a distraction. Not everyone would make it, people had to die, or even worst, get captured. The smallest and weakest would have to escape first, since we had no chance of surviving, that was me.
Thats when I saw her, my sister, Melanie.
"No!" She screamed as two Seekers pulled her into the van.
"Jared!" She screamed again, tears streaming down her face. She kicked and lashed against the Seekers, but even for her, she was too weak.
"Ian!" I cried, I struggled in his hold, "Ian! They have Melanie, we have to save her! Save her!"
I looked over his shoulder again, Jared was now also in their hold.
"Let her go!" He screamed, his voice booming over everyone "Let her go you can take me!"
But I knew the Seekers wouldn't listen, they'd take them both.
Melanie screamed again as she fell into the van, Jared tumbling after her. She clung to him with scared eyes, and he held her, whispering to her.
"No!" She screamed as they began to shut the door, "Let us go! No! Not again! "
Then she was gone, her screams we're drowned out. The door shut with a bang, and the van veered off into the distance. I saw her face through the small window, she was screaming and thrashing against the door. But it was too late.
"Melanie!" I screamed, tears coming down my face. I tried to kick out of Ian's grip but it was no use, he was too strong. I pushed and I shoved but nothing happened.
"Ian! Let me go, let me go! I need to save her! I need to save her!"
He still continued to run, Melanie and Jared's van became smaller and smaller. Their lives seemed to disappear too, it was over.
"Melanie!" I screamed again, the tears running down faster. My sister, my best friend, gone.
"No," I sobbed into my hands, "Melanie." I moaned. Ian still kept running, his face hard.
"No, Melanie." I whimpered. My bottom lip quivered and I felt myself shaking in Ian's arms. He looked down at me quickly, and kissed my forehead, holding me closer to him.
"I'm sorry, Wanda. I am so, so sorry." He said. I wanted to scream at him.
"Ian, how can you just leave them?" I whispered up at him in shock. Jared and he had also grown a bond, brothers even. I didn't understand how he could just leave them.
"Wanda," his voice came out in a pant, "I can't stop I'm sorry. I know you love her, I do too. But right now we need to get somewhere safe."
I saw that he too had tears in his eyes, threatening to spill over. Helplessly I reached up to him and wiped his cheek with my thumb. He forced a small smile on his lips, and then he skidded to a stop, and turned around.
Then I heard it,
A single gunshot.