I pace around our small space, trying to think our way out of this. Monroe had seen Nate and me for sure, along with Charlie and Miles. He's possibly assembling an army to kill us now. He most likely is.
"Guys, my leg really hurts." Aaron says, for what felt like the millionth time. I kneel by his side and pull up his pant leg. I gag when I see the bite wound. "That bad, huh?"
The flesh seems to be infected. "We'll never make it out alive now. He can't run." Miles says.
I nod. "We're dead." I agree. Nate just sits on the floor, as does Danny, but Charlie seems to have some sort of mental break.
"We aren't going to die!"
"Yeah, Charlie, we kind of are." Miles snaps.
They engage in a yelling match, screaming awful things at each other. "Hey!" I yell. "Shut up! There's no use arguing. Let's try and think a way out of this." After a few moments of silence, Danny spoke.
"Well let's think like Monroe. What does he want most in the world, besides total control?" Nate and Miles glace at me, while everyone else looks at Miles. I sit down weakly, terrified of Danny's implication. Miles clenches his fists.
"What weapons do we have?" Nate asks quickly. Smart boy.
"A couple of bows. Nothing against guns. I used up my last bullet." Nora responds.
There's a sudden bang on the door of the store. I tense up immediately. "Everyone, listen. We aren't all going to make it out of here."
"Avalon…" Nate says.
"No. Let me finish. Before the militia, I lived in a safe house. It's a couple hours away from here, on foot." I scribble down the exact address and directions on a piece of paper from Charlie's pack. "If there's anyone living there, tell them that you know Avalon from California, and that she's compromised."
"You're not planning on making it out of here, are you?" Danny asks.
I grimace. "That's a possibility." There are two more bangs on the door, and then it flies open, revealing a very angry Sebastian Monroe.
Of course, he meets my eyes first. A smile instantly spreads on my face. "Avalon. I feared we'd never see you again."
"Unfortunately not." I say calmly.
Monroe looks behind me. "Ah, Matheson!"
"Monroe." Miles says awkwardly.
Monroe smiles at all of us, as if assessing our strength. "Sir?" Captain Neville asks.
"Kill Matheson." Monroe says.
"NO!" I say, louder than I intended. I step in front of Miles, as if my tiny body could physically shield him.
Monroe lets out a small laugh. "So you do still have some feelings left over for Miles, huh?"
"What?" Nora asks angrily. I glare at Monroe.
"Well then what about him?" Monroe points to Aaron. Aaron gives me a scared look. "Or even him." Monroe turns his gaze on Nate. I see Captain Neville stiffen.
"Not Jason, not my boy!" Neville says.
"Silence." Monroe commands.
"I'll make a deal with you." I say, moving forward slightly.
"Avalon." Nate says, reaching out to grab me.
I turn and rip my arm away. "You guys are more important. Let me do this." I step away from Nate before he has the chance to hold onto me. "If you let them go, I'll go with you without a fight."
Monroe thinks for a second. "Not going to cut it sweetheart, sorry."
"I'll tell you everything I know about the lights." I say, squinting my eyes shut. When I open them, Monroe is openly gaping at me.
"What could you possibly remember about the lights?"
"I remember the designs my dad was working on. That's why we came to the east coast. And when I was twelve, he told me everything." I bite down on my lip, praying that he would really let everyone go.
"Captain Neville?" Monroe asks.
"Yes, sir?"
"Move aside and let them go." Nora jumps up and grabs her stuff, letting Aaron lean on her. I turn to Miles.
"Get as far away from here as you can. Remember what I told you." Miles nods. I can still understand what's running through his mind. I know that he's wondering what to do. I push him towards Nora. "Go."
I'm embraced by someone. I pull away to see Charlie. "Thank you for saving my brother."
"Go on, get out of here!" I demand. What is wrong with everyone?
"Avalon…" Nate says from behind me. I turn and wrap my arms around him tightly, pressing my lips to his. Then I pull back and grab his face, forcing him to be level with me.
"Listen to me, okay? I love you. Go and make sure they're okay, alright? Make sure to feed Seren. I love you, please remember me." I practically beg.
Nate shakes his head. "I'll come back for you." He calls as Charlie begins to drag him away.
"No, it's not worth it. Just make sure you're safe." I say as Charlie takes him by the arm and leads him out of the store.
"Avalon?" I look up to see Miles staring at me intently. "Thank you." He drops a small kiss on my cheek, and whispers in my ear. "Be on the look out." Then he turns and runs from the store.
"Now. Tell me why the lights went out." Monroe says, moving closer to me. I automatically back into a wall.
"Not until I can trust you." I say, flinching when he strokes my cheek.
"It's like nothing's changed." Monroe says. My stomach turns with the thought.
Nate's POV
"Why are we still here? It's been hours, we should be at the safe house!" Nora asks for the umpteenth time.
"Because I need to make sure she's still okay!"
"She will never be okay, Nate! Do you get that?" Nora says.
I shake my head. "You don't understand. Until she ran away, Monroe used to sell her. She was his own personal mistress! And now you're telling me that we should just go?" I can feel the stunned silence around me, but I ignore it. I turn to Miles. "And what the hell was that all about, she still has feelings for you?"
Miles shrugged. "We were together for a couple of years, so what?"
"Years? Why didn't I know? I was her best friend."
"It was supposed to be just between us. After all, she was only sixteen. Even if the lights were on, that's not something you'd go around telling everyone. I guess that Monroe knew the whole time."
"There she is!" Danny points to a girl in a dress.
"That can't be her, she was wearing different clothes." Charlie says.
"It is her." I say grimly. "I nearly forgot that Monroe liked to dress her up."
"That's fucked up." Charlie says under her breath.
"Tell me about it."
"When did all of this start?" Aaron asks.
"When she was sixteen. I remember the first night. She cried." I say.
There seems to be a commotion below us, at the campsite, and we're luckily close enough to listen. Mostly, the guys seem to be shouting, "Avalon? Wow, you sure grew up." Or things of the sort. Avalon seems to be okay until one guy reached out and grabs at her. She slaps his hand and backs up quickly, into my dad.
He leans forward and says something to her, his eyes darting up to where we're staked out. She follows his glance, and nods. She continues walking without a problem.
"Avalon!" Monroe says loudly. "I got you a present."
"I don't want another gun, Monroe." Avalon says tiredly.
"I know, I know. That's why I got you this!" He reveals a nicely made bow. Even Avalon can't keep her eyes off of it.
"That's very pretty. But I don't want it." She says.
"That's a lie. Come on, take it!"
"What'll it cost, hm?" Avalon challenges, cocking an eyebrow.
Monroe smirks and holds out his arm. "Come." He says, nodding to his cabin. Avalon hesitates. "I know exactly where your friends are. They're only an hour away from here. They're slow walkers."
Avalon's expression relaxes ever so slightly. She walks up to him, and he immediately grabs onto her and kisses her full on the mouth, causing the guys around him to cheer.
I tense, and Miles is suddenly pinning me down. "Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" I spit out, twisting around.
"No, you aren't, because we're going to get her out of there, alive. It'll just take some time."
I glare at him. "You don't know what it feels like! To see his hands all over her!"
"Yes, I do." Miles cuts me off. "I do know. Because for three whole years, I had to watch it. I had to see her with him, and if I said a word, he'd kill her, then me. I do know what it's like. And I know that you can handle it. If you want your girlfriend alive by the end of the week, you'll control yourself." Miles turns back to watch the campsite.
I chose to sit by myself. Of course, nothing ever goes my way. "He's right, you know." Charlie says.
"God, Charlie, not now. Please."
"Sorry." She says quietly.
"Leave me alone." I mutter. But she ignores me. I know that she's there when I curl up and go to sleep. I know that she hears me trying to control my emotions. I also know that she won't leave me alone anytime soon.
go to: .com for all my clothes and stuff. For this chapter: http colon/www dot polyvore dot com/avalon_fights/set?id=61212866
and http colon/www dot polyvore dot com/avalon1/set?id=61228274