Hey guys! Changed my name. Ya like it?
Author's note at the end.
Willa
I shot out of my sleep with a gasp.
He was young.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
He had a family. He was innocent.
And I snapped them open.
He was NOT innocent. I reminded myself. He wasn't innocent. I shivered, remembering it. The overwhelming urge to sob was almost too much.
I took a shaky breath, fighting the urge to puke, and looked around the room.
It was a tiny room, with cracks in the ceiling and walls. It smelled of smoke, but I was used to that. It was a cheap motel about three hours from their base, fifteen dollars a night, and we could afford it for a few days. It felt great to sleep in a bed, even if it was disgusting and lumpy. But it was warm. I haven't been warm at night for months. In the bed next to mine, Amanda and Jess slept curled into each other. I felt a pang of guilt.
I shouldn't have yelled all those things. I should've found another way. She hated me now.
The body next to me shifted suddenly. Charlie continued to twitch, small whimpers escaping her mouth.
"Char?" I shook her.
She shot up with a gasp. "Stop!" she screeched.
"Charlene-"
"W-What? No, I-" Her face scrunched up in pain, tears leaked from her eyes, and the first sob pierced the dead silence of the motel room.
"Hey, It's… You're okay now, Char."
I pulled her closer. She sat between my legs and curled into me, her head against my chest.
"W-Willa, I…"
"Hey, it's alright."
"I'm scared." She whispered.
I took a deep breath.
"Don't be. I'll protect you, and you know that." I whispered, pulling the blankets up to cover the both of us. "Just take a few deep breaths. You're totally safe right now. I've got you."
She nodded, trying to cam herself down.
Once she'd drifted off to sleep, a task I'd now found impossible, I had some time to think. And plan.
First- About us. The keepers. Finn and Philby were close to fine. And Amanda, besides being scared for Jess. And… And hating me. And I was alright, I guess.
There's just… This constant feeling… of… terror. A terrible weightless feeling in my stomach, a strangling feeling of guilt in my chest. It felt like someone was squeezing my heard. And I can feel that I'm constantly tense. My jaw won't unclench... And I can never sleep. I haven't since it'd happened, save for when I was unconscious. Just… I can't. I see his face, every time I close my eyes, his… malicious face. And I can see him-
Stop.
I realized I'd been hugging Charlie a little too tightly.
No, I'm fine. I'll be fine. They need me to be fine right now. I can't break down. I'm fine.
Running down the list- Me and Amanda had recovered from the Train Ride of Hell, so we're fine. But Charlie and Maybeck both are scarred by whatever happened in that base. Physically, they're recovering quickly. Mentally… they're recovering slowly.
And Jess.
Amanda had changed her bandages, and the bleeding had actually stopped. Peter must have done something great for her- something magical- but, still. The wounds made her weak. At night, after a day of exhaustion, she shook when she moved. The color had still not completely returned to her face, and she was constantly freezing, tucking herself into Amanda's hugs for warmth.
On a brighter note, she's back to herself. She's smiling, and joking, and making fun of us. She's… Well, she's talking in her sleep.
"Mphm… But the snowman… Manda… don't melt Ollie…. Dinner…" She muttered, muffled by the fact her face was buried in Amanda's chest. I could just barely make out the words, "The giant cake needs me."
"Jess?" I chuckled.
"Mph- Manda… N-no, don't…" her words sounded more unsure.
"Jess?" I tried again.
"Manda?… mph… sto-op… where are… ugh…"
She started to shift, twisting- she'd rip her cut back open.
"Jessie! Wake up, kid." I said softly.
She jolted out of her sleep, panting heavily.
"Hey, you alright?"
"Uh-huh." She muttered. She was still half asleep. "I just had the weirdest… dream. Amanda was melting my snowman... Hmph…"
"Named Ollie?"
"Yes, and I worked hard to build him. Wait, how'd you-" she mumbled groggily.
"You talk in your sleep. Try not to move, or you'll get hurt, okay?"
"Got it, Cap'n."
I smiled a little, nodding.
"…Night…" her head hit the pillow and she was out.
I bit my lip, leaning back against the headboard.
Maybeck
I woke with a start, desperately grabbing for the blankets. I sighed. I'm fine.
I groaned, swinging my feet out of bed and cracking my back. I stood, seeing Finn and Philby were still asleep in the other bed. Deciding I should get cleaned, I took a short shower in the gross motel bathroom. When I got out, I decided I'd needed new clothes, and we all needed new clothes, as I put on my dirt-encrusted t-shirt and ripped jeans. I found paper and pen.
Be back in a bit. Getting supplies. Took two-hundred from the bag.
As I went to leave, however, I was met by a wonderful good-morning screaming match.
"-so what the heck were you expecting?"
"Look, Manda, I was trying to get you mad so we could break out of-"
"Well, look." She mocked. "You succeeded. Great job! I'm mad. You're a real thinker, you know, I can totally see why the group calls you half the brains." The sarcasm dripped off of Amanda's voice.
Willa, her opponent, sighed.
"It worked, didn't it?"
"Shut up." Amanda scowled. She shook her head. "Peter would've let us go free if we'd have just waited."
"You know what, Amanda? What if your stupid hero hadn't been there? Did you have a freaking plan? Some genius move to save all of our lives?"
"I-"
"Hm?"
"My sister had just died. You can't honestly think-"
"You know, she's my family too. We're all family. And I was sad, yeah, but I was trying to save my other five family members from the same fate! I'm so terrible. Arrest me, why don't you? Better yet- just throw me back to the OT's! I'm not the brains, right? You don't need me!"
"It doesn't mean you manipulate me." Amanda said, her voice low and menacing. She went back in the room and slammed the door.
Willa, now locked out, screamed in exasperation, and kicked the wall.
"Wow." I whispered.
"Oh. Hey. Sorry." She muttered. She met eyes with me, and I was immediately struck with the question of had she slept at all?
"You look terrible."
"Don't I always?" She laughed, but I knew the laugh hid a tsunami of emotions.
"No, never. Come on. I'm going to find us some clothes. You look like you could use some fresh air and new scenery.
She smiled sadly.
"Thanks."
We were on the highway in a few minutes, and she was keeping track of how to get back. I knew she could. She's a genius.
"Wills…" I mumbled, looking for signs for any stores where we could get clothes.
"Yeah?"
"You know… Amanda's just mad. She doesn't mean any of it."
"I'm sure she does." Willa mumbled. "But, you know. It's alright. She has every right to be mad."
"No, Willa. She has every right to be maybe slightly annoyed. Maybe. But she shouldn't be this mad. Had Peter not been there, you saved our butts- no, even though he was there, you saved us."
"I should've waited. For peter."
"No, because they might've killed us by then. Willa, don't worry about it. It'll blow over."
She sighed, eyes closed. She nodded slightly.
"And Wills… You're a genius, no matter what she said."
"Thanks, but…"
"No. Shut up. No buts."
She smirked a little. I smiled back at her.
"Look at the road, dweeb."
"Nope. I refuse." I laughed. I moved the steering wheel back and forth, shaking the car.
"Maybeck!" She giggled.
I laughed, steadying the car, and pulling into a parking lot.
Winter Storm Sale: Get all of your needs for the coming storm!
"Oh, god. A storm. That doesn't sound great." I muttered. She nodded.
We entered the store, splitting up. I grabbed a few flannel shirts- at this point, me, Phil, and Finn all fit in the same size, basically. I got a few pairs of jeans, heavy sweatshirts, gloves, hats. Thick socks. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford boots for everyone. I should've taken more money. I sighed, grabbing a handful of giant bags of beef jerky and a case of water bottles, and met Willa at the register.
"All of this?" The cashier looked like he thought we were insane.
"Bunch of us. Trying to make it home for the holidays, but our car got stolen." Willa gave a convincing smile. The cashier nodded. "Oh, and any news on the storm?"
Holidays? Is Christmas really that close?
"Rolling in on Wednesday." The guy said, swiping the items across the register. "Few feet of snow. Harsh winds. Just short of a blizzard, at best."
I winced. I looked at the town paper- today's Monday. December 11th. I handed the guy the money, took our bags, and walked to the car. As I loaded the stuff into the back seat, I called back to Willa.
"Hey. Wanna drive?"
"I'm sixteen."
"So is Charlie. She drove the Camaro."
"She's seventeen in a few days. Six, actually. And… I don't know how." She muttered.
"Awesome! I get to teach you." I smiled.
"Maybeck-"
"Wills, you need to know how to drive. I don't want you to get stuck somewhere dangerous where you can't get away."
She sighed, nodding. "Okay. But… I can't be that good."
"Sh. Get in the car." She did as told, and I slid into the passenger's seat.
"Alright. Number one rule. Seatbelts. No matter what." I said.
She laughed, clicking it into place as I did the same.
"Adjust the mirrors so you can see part of the car but mostly behind you."
She did so.
"Alright. You're in park. You need to be in reverse. Push down the break and switch the gears. Look before you back up."
We rolled out of the parking lot with no problem.
"You're a natural, Wills. But we're on a highway and I guarantee you the speed limit is not fifteen, so go faster."
She had a pretty good grip on it. Except once, when she almost tipped us over ("Whoah! Slower on the turns! No, I'm not mad!").
"Alright. There's no one in sight for miles…" I looked around. Then, "Floor it."
"What!?"
"Oh, come on. Just do it. Open the windows, too, it's more fun."
Hesitantly, she pushed the 'windows' button.
And then, she did something I never thought she'd do.
She floored it.
Her laughter was nearing shrieking with delight. And, you know, she looked so confident, I let myself relax. Eighty. Ninety-five… one ten!?
The road outside flashed by in a blur.
"WILLA!" I laughed. "How fast are we going!?"
"A hundred thirty!"
"It says it can reach one-forty-four."
The car sped up, then. In the distance, I could see our motel. I blinked, and it wasn't in the distance. The car shrieked as the tires grabbed desperately for traction. We skidded, near out of control, to a stop right before the parking lot entrance.
"Shit!" I yelled.
"Maybeck!" She laughed.
"What?"
"One-fifty mph."
"Nice!"
…
We sat in front of… a particularly angry… group of keepers. Finn, Amanda, Philby, and even Jess and Charlie babbled on about how 'immature' and 'irresponsible' we'd been. A hundred and fifty? They said it like we'd been playing with loaded guns. I rolled my eyes.
"Do you two think!? You could've gotten KILLED!" Amanda growled.
Finally, after the fifth time of hearing that, Willa exploded.
"Wouldn't you have liked that, Amanda!" She screeched, walking out of the room and slamming the door so hard a painting fell. I winced as it hit the ground.
No one talked. Amanda stood, wide-eyed, biting her lip.
"What's her proble-" She started. I knew she hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but it still annoyed me.
"You need to go talk to her. Now."
"I-"
"She just said you wouldn't care if she died, and I think she honestly believes that right now. Are you trying to tell me that's not a problem?"
Amanda looked down.
She nodded slightly, following Willa's exit route. The door closed softly.
I looked up at them. No one said a word.
Amanda
I could see her from here. She's sitting in the back seat of the damned car and she's curled in a ball. I took a deep breath.
"Try to see her perspective. It's not fair she used you. And it's not fair she insulted your ability to protect me. Tell her that. I'm sure she sees that. But maybe she thought that the ends justify the means?" Jess had whispered to me this morning.
Jess is supposed to be the younger one I take care of. Why did she have to be so mature today, of all days!? And why did she have to be so… right?
Taking another breath, I descended the stairs and started for the car. I stood in front of the back door for a few seconds, staring at the back of Willa's little fetal position. Slowly, I opened the door.
"Go away." She muttered, never looking back or moving. Never picking her chin up off of her arms.
Part of me wanted to just say 'Okay' and walk away. But I knew that'd be terrible. Instead, I slid into the car and shut the door.
"Hi."
"I said, go away."
"Willa. We need to talk."
"Why? You hate me, remember?"
I sighed, putting my face in my hands. Stupid. Difficult. Ugh.
"I said that when I was extremely angry."
"The truth comes out when people are angry."
"No, it really doesn't." I said. "Willa…. You know me. You know I love you, okay? I really love you. You're my little sister and nothing could ever change that. I was just… really mad. People say bad things when they're mad."
She didn't answer.
"Willa… I spent my entire childhood getting manipulated for my powers. I hated it." I whispered. "And I spent my entire childhood… raising Jess. And, for a very long time… My biggest fears were losing Jess and being manipulated for my powers. Still are. Wills, you used my biggest fear to carry out my other one. You told me I lost Jess to manipulate me. I was… scared. And confused, and really upset. So I got mad."
"I'm really sorry… I'm really sorry, Amanda…" She whispered. Her voice was tight. "I just- I wanted to get you guys out. I didn't want to lose anyone else."
"I know." I said. "And I should have thought about that. It was a great plan. I should've taken into consideration that you were saving us… But I was just a big mess of emotions and I'm sorry."
"I should've thought about it, I'm sorry… I feel terrible."
"Hey." I mumbled, pulling her into a hug. "A bit of a mistake on both of our parts, okay? In the end, you save me. We're all out alive. So thank you. Don't feel terrible, Wills."
She pressed her face into my shoulder.
"And what I said about not being smart- you're a genius. Okay? I was being dumb."
She just shrugged. We stayed locked in a hug for a while.
"You feeling okay, by the way? You look like… death…" I laughed.
"Haven't been sleeping well. I dunno."
I rubbed her back a bit. Heavy conscience? Maybe.
"That guy was a bad man. You were acting in self-defense, okay? Had you not… I don't even want to think about it, Willa." I whispered.
She shrugged again, letting her head rest against me. She fought to keep her eyes open. I hugged her tighter, resting my cheek against her forehead as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
…
Aw they made up.
I was gonna make them fight a lot longer, but… I mean, come on. They're both too cute for that.
One AM. Wow, I work harder for you guys then I do for my schoolwork.
Alright, well if I don't talk you before then, Happy New Year's, and whether you're staying up to see the old year out or to welcome the new one in, I hope your 2014 is your best year yet.
REVIEW?
Oh, and if you're on Tumblr, stop by mine if you'd like to. Fandom blog… TONS of Percy Jackson and Disney, and then some Doctor Who, Frozen, and lots of other cool stuff. It's the-art-of-failing.
Dot tumblr dot com, obviously, but you know ^
Which reminds me, anyone seen Frozen yet? It's adorable. It makes me want to write a sisterly fluff. So… Look out for an Amanda and Jessie oneshot.
ALSO, I might end Snapshots at 30 chapters and make a Snapshots II, just because it's getting so long. Good idea? Bad idea? Let me know.
REVIEW! And have a MAGICAL day ;)