Amanda

Finn slammed on the brakes, lurching us all forward.

"Ah- sorry, guys. Didn't see the light."

A few of us muttered slight 'mhm' or 'whatevers'.

The night was absolutely fine, save for a few… minor… complications.

Well, Willa'd been up half the night screaming. 'I killed him! I killed him!', sobbing at the top of her lungs, uncontrollably shaking. Philby had been able to calm her down the first few times, but then it'd taken the effort of all the girls combined.

Jess- whether from the cold, the stress, or maybe the barn- had suffered through a terrible asthma attack early this morning, around three a.m. We'd left her inhaler on the train, so that was pretty much terrifying.

What else?

Oh yeah.

Green eyes- at least ten of them- stormed the place. We couldn't do anything but fight them off, grab as much of our bags as we could, and make a break for the car. We'd gone into town, took out nine-hundred dollars from Char's mom's account, and headed north.

We'd been able to fight them off enough. I think I have a few forming bruises, but besides that, I'm alright.

I sat in the back, next to Charlie. Willa was laid out across our laps, her face pressed into my stomach. She was fast asleep. Lucky her. She'd kept us up all night.

I sighed. I know, I know. Terrible thing to think. She's traumatized. She can't help it. Just… Can't she be traumatized a little quieter?

I shook the thoughts out of my head. Come on, Amanda, you know that's SO not right.

I closed my eyes, resting my head against the window, and drifting off to sleep.

When I woke, we were stopped.

"What's going on?"

Willa looked out the window.

"Stopping for gas." She muttered. It was a weird growl.

"Wills? What the heck was-" Charlie started.

"Sh."

Willa pushed past the second row, opened the door whilst climbing over Jess, and got out. She slammed the door shut, and started to talk to Finn in a low, discreet voice.

"What was that?" I whispered.

"I'm not entirely sure." Philby answered from the front.

"What was she looking at?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know. Out this window."

I followed her gaze- to the little store. A few people moved around inside, mainly the owner behind the counter, a little boy and his mother, and a guy in a tan sheriff's uniform. He was staring out the window, focused on something in front of our car.

I looked at Finn, who looked desperate for the tank to fill. He was facing Willa, whose back was to us. I could see Willa's mouth moving, but I was positive there was no sound coming out. She was faking it, glancing.. at … The sheriff?

My eyes widened.

"The plates." I croaked.

"Huh?"

"That sheriff- he's looking at our plates! It's a stolen car!"

"Shit!" Maybeck grumbled. We looked at the exit- blockaded, of course. The entrance? Closed.

The cop started out of the store, his stride determinedly toward us, his hand on his gun.

"Out! Run!" I screeched.

We sprung from the car, pulling Finn and Willa with us, and broke towards the highway. Charlene was at the front, and so she led us. We followed her without question. I risked a look back- they were far behind, but-

"He's got his gun up!" I screeched.

I stumbled, and had to look forward again.

And I heard the pop- pop-pop!

Three shots.

And I heard the screech.

My head snapped up, towards it, and I stopped short- but I already knew. My heart shattered.

There was blood pouring out of Jess's side, and she was down for the count. She was on the floor, writhing.

"Jess!" I screeched. "No!"

Jess let out a pained groan.

Before I knew it, my hands were up. Everything within a football field of me in the cops' direction was soaring backwards. A few police cruisers and cars from the highway were turned on their side, or moved a few feet away from me. The cops- forget about it. They'd just been picked up and thrown fifty feet. No way were they okay.

"Manda…" Jess grumbled. She was forcing the words out. "It's not too-… bad…"

"Come on, Jessie." I stumbled to her side. Nervously, I pulled her shirt up, looking at the wound. She was right, not that bad for a bullet wound. It had grazed the side of her stomach. But it was a bullet wound, and that was bad in itself.

Either way, it must've hurt like hell.

The keepers now surrounded us.

"I've got her. I'll carry her." Maybeck pushed past us. He hoisted her up, and she let out a yelp.

"Stop!" She gasped, and he set her down on the ground. "I'll walk. I can wa-"

Pop!

Jess screeched, falling to the floor.

"Jess!"

We all turned towards the sound. A van had pulled up about a hundred feet away, and four agent official-looking men stood, the one closest to us with his gun raised.

Immediately, I was next to Jess.

Blood pooled on her shoulder, dripping down to the grass under her. She was on the ground, sobbing. I pulled my sweatshirt off, pressing it to her shoulder.

"Jessie, you have to calm down!" I said, but my voice cracked. I was terrified. My sister had just been shot! Twice! What the hell do I do!?

She just sobbed louder.

"Manda!" Finn yelled.

I turned to look, and realized; the agents were making their way towards us, guns raised. Their eyes practically glowed green.

Charlie crouched, taking over for me. She held the sweatshirt down, and nodded towards me.

"You stay beck." I stood, moving to stand in front of the group. Finn shifted nervously.

"We know all about you, Amanda Lockhart." The closest of the men said. The one that'd shot Jess. Hatred coursed through my veins.

I stiffened.

He pointed his gun at Finn. "Boyfriend."

"Correct." I mumbled, figuring that was the fastest way to get his handgun's sights off of Finn.

"Sister." He pointed it at Jess.

"The one you shot? Yeah." I put myself in between the gun and Jess.

"Amanda Lockhart. Fiercely and dangerously loyal and loving to her 'family'. The DHI's." He spit the last word out like it tasted sour.

"That's me. What do you want?"

"You've been on the run from us three months. Time to give in."

"Like hell we'll give in." Maybeck grumbled.

"Terrance." The Agent nodded. "Also loyal. Can't bite his tongue. I don't think you're in any position to bargain. I have years of training. I shot Jezebel under the left shoulder. Takes two hours to bleed out if untreated. Highly treatable with our technology. We're an hour away from the base, two hours and fifteen minutes from the nearest hospital. If you're going ninety miles an hour."

Jess's sobs were all too audible in the background. Charlie's soft 'shh' was lost to a shriek of pain. I winced.

I looked at Finn, and I was too pained to talk.

"We need to, Finn. She'll die." Willa whispered for me.

Finn shared a glance with Maybeck, and then Philby.

"Tick tock, Finn Whitman. Should I add that we've got guns and you don't? I don't see you coming out on top if you go against us."

"Fine. Take us."

"Good choice." He smirked. He waved his men forward.

They surged at us, faster than I could imagine. I barely had time to react. Finn, Maybeck, and Philby were thrown to the ground first, and I watched as they held a cloth over each of their faces. They fell limp. Willa rushed at Philby, but I grabbed her by the back of the shirt.

"Mand-"

"Willa." I pulled her into a tight hug. "They'll shoot you."

"B-But-"

"Willa." I held her by the shoulders, at arms' length. "These people are going to take us all away- hun, you have to go with them, or they'll hurt you."

"I know." She muttered. "I don't like it."

And Willa was pried away from me, and I was wrestled to the ground.

As the cloth was held over my mouth, my heart sped up.

What if they're not true to their word!?

Charlie

I woke up on the ground.

We lay in a prison cell. Old-fashioned, made of stone, but definitely new technology. The bars were made of new steel, the gates were electronically locked. I looked down, realizing I was in an orange jumpsuit.

There was a bunk bed next to me, but it remained empty, both top and bottom. I ran a hand through my hair.

"Hello?" I called- or tried to. My voice was a raspy whisper. My mouth and lips were dry, my throat raw.

I became aware of a tray, near the door. It held a single glass of water, and a plate containing a pile of rice and dry chicken. I realized how hungry I was, but I wouldn't eat the food. I downed half of the water, cleared my throat, and tried again.

"Hello?" I called into the hallway outside of my cell.

"Charlie?"

"Phil!?"

"Yeah, it's me. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"From what I can tell. Are you in a cell?"

"Yes. Where is everyone?"

"In the cells next to and across from us."

I squinted across the aisle. In the cell directly across from mine was Amanda, a motionless lump on the floor. Next to her cell, on my left, was Finn, slumped with his back resting against the cell bars. On the other side of Amanda's cell was Philby, staring back at me and waiting for me to notice. I jumped.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." He chuckled a little, despite the situation. "I see Maybeck, to your right. Across from me. I can't tell if there's anyone on your other side, but there's no one in the cell next to him."

I nodded. "Well I see Finn." I pointed to his cell. "And Amanda." I pointed across from me.

Philby's face fell.

"Hey, I'm sure she's next to me and you can't see. Or next to you, or Finn. Because I can't see past either of you." You didn't need to be a genius to know who he was worried for.

We sat in silence for a while.

"Do you see Jess?" I whispered.

"Probably in one of the ones we can't see."

"She was hurt."

"They'll stay true to their word."

"How do youknow?"

"Charlie…" he whispered. "They shot her, twice, and then promised to fix her-"

"Yeah, and?"

"Highly trained agents working for the Overtakers? They didn't 'accidentally' hit her twice." Philby said slowly.

"Where are you going with this?" I stared at Amanda, still unconscious in her dimly-lit cell.

"They wanted a reason for us to go with them- so why her? Why hit her twice?"

"I don't know, Phil, but you should tell me before I get impatient."

"They wanted us all here. And they wanted Jess separate from us."

"To heal her?"

"Of course they're going to heal her. But why would they want Jess separate from us?"

Oh crap.

She used to be one of them.

"They want Jez back." I whispered, breathless.

"They're going to turn her against us again."

I covered my face with my hands.

I'd faced many Overtakers in the past few years. I've faced the most powerful.

But I would never be able to face Jess.

As it turns out, Philby was only half right. Jess wasn't here. Willa was.

Amanda, in the cell across from me, was fuming.

"Where is she!?" she screeched occasionally, slamming her fists on the bars between paces back and forth.

Finally, once everyone had awoken, we'd gotten some answers. Well, a single answer.

The agent who'd shot Jess, the big guy with scars on his face and a straight line for a grin entered our cell block. Immediately, we'd shut up. Except for Amanda, who screeched on, voice raw, frantically asking about Jess.

"Shut up, girl!" Sergeant Scarface (I thought that'd be a suitable name) bellowed, slamming his fist against her cell door. She stopped.

Calmly, she looked up. "Where is my sister?" She was a grenade, the second you pull out the pin. Terrifyingly calm.

The squint returned to Sergeant Scarface's eyes.

"She's dead."

First, we all froze. Then, Amanda dropped to her knees, letting out the most anguished sob I've ever heard. Her hands flew to her head- the only thing I could think to compare it to was the reaction of a mother hearing this news about her own child- but even then, I think Amanda's reaction was more heartbreaking.

"Jessie!" She screeched. "N-No! Jessie!"

The pain in her eyes alone could've made my heart break.

My hands flew to my mouth.

Oh my god, she's dead.

I squeezed my eyes shut- trying to block out Amanda's heart-wrenching sobs, and trying to block out the entire world, but it didn't work.

When I looked up again, Amanda had gotten quieter. Still crying- just softly, from her place sitting on the floor of her cell with her knees pulled into her chest.

The Sergeant had left.

"Manda?" I whispered, shakily.

"M-my baby sister." She whispered back, voice choking back tears. "My baby sister. Sh-She's gone."

"I'm so sorry, Mand… I…" I whispered.

She just shrugged, resting her head against the bars.

"I'm so sorry." I sighed.

.

Awh….

That hurt,

But I feel like Amanda's reaction wasn't…. reaction-y enough.

Oh, well.

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