Cassie POVI knew from the beginning this wasn't a good idea. It wasn't until later on that I realized just how bad of an idea it really was. But our story isn't there yet, is it?
I watched the others run off into the woods and frowned anxiously. Lexi should've listened to me. In fact, I couldn't think of an instance in my entire life when she hadn't listened to me. She knew I was usually right; not to sound full of myself or anything. And I knew I was right this time - we shouldn't have helped that girl. Maybe it was just me and my inability to trust anyone I didn't know, but we didn't know anything about that girl. Plus, we could barely take care of ourselves. What made Alexis so sure we could take care of this girl, too? I didn't know where this new, rebellious, stubborn Alexis had come from, and I didn't like it.
It wasn't long before Nico came jogging casually out of the forest with a playful smirk on his face. "I have a feeling those guys are gonna be stuck in there for awhile," he said cheerfully, jabbing a thumb behind him, toward the forest. I grinned.
"So..." he said. "Where'd they go?"
"This way," I said grimly, and started to walk in the direction they'd gone.
"There a problem?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"This isn't a good idea," I said for about the fiftieth time.
"I know," he said softly. "But when Alexis gets all self-righteous like this, I don't think we'll be able to change her mind."
I shook my head in frustration but said no more.
In about five minutes, we reached the clearing that the others were in. I scanned the clearing. Alexis was sitting against a tree and peeling the bark off a stick. Brendan and Mitchel were having a contest to see who could throw a rock the farthest into the woods. Nikki had laid out the map and was studying it closely, and the girl we'd saved sat in the middle of the clearing with her head buried in her knees.
Alexis looked up and said, "Hey, Cassie."
Mitchel noticed me and grinned happily. "Cassie!" He ran up and leaped into my arms.
I laughed. "I wasn't gone that long," I said, ruffling his hair. He just hugged me tighter.
I noticed the girl looking at me. Something like pain filled her eyes at the sight of Mitchel burying his face in my shirt, and she looked back down.
"Well, I guess there's no backing out now," I said with a sigh. "So what's your name?" She shook her head and didn't answer.
"It's C," Alexis supplied. I set Mitchel down and proceeded to walk slowly toward the girl.
"Well, C," I said slowly. "What were you doing fighting those Erasers?"
She looked up, confused. "Erasers?"
"The creatures you were fighting," I said with a frown.
"Oh. We just call them Wolves where I'm from."
"Aha. So you're a mutant like us?"
She glared at me. "Why should I tell you that?"
"Well, we did save your life," I replied incredulously. "Don't you at least owe us that?"
She scowled. "I didn't ask for you to save me! In fact, I seem to recall telling you not to! Several times!"
"So now saving someone's life is a crime? I don't think I got the memo!" I was only a few feet from her now. She stood up angrily.
"You don't understand! The world would be better off without me, anyway! And they weren't trying to kill me, they were trying to capture me!" She looked as if she wished she hadn't said that, but she stood her ground.
"Why were you fighting back if you didn't want anyone to help you?"
"Because- I'm not telling you that either. Look, this is none of your business! If you'd just left me alone, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!"
I glared pointedly at Alexis. She looked down sheepishly. "Well, I wasn't gonna let them ki- capture you! I may be a coward sometimes, but I'm not that gutless!" I looked at her a little more softly.
C looked defeated. "Well... Thanks, I guess. I'll be going now." She turned to leave but gasped in pain as she tried to put weight on her right leg.
Nico looked concerned. "What's wrong with your leg?"
C looked a little embarrassed. "I.. fell."
"You fell?" I asked, trying not to snicker.
She glared at me and held her head a little higher. "Yes. Out of a tree." I raised an eyebrow. "The Erasers were chasing me," she explained. "Usually I can climb trees without a problem, but this time, I was in a hurry. I didn't notice that the branch I was stepping on was weak. It broke. And I fell." She looked around at us as if daring us to make fun of her. I held my snort in.
"Well, let me look at it," Nico offered.
"No - no, that's fine, I can take care of it." She tried to limp away, but collapsed with a yelp.
"I... think you should let me take a look at it," Nico said slowly.
She sent him a death glare, but finally muttered, "Fine."
I know I didn't get much done in this chapter, sorry. I was kind of just going along with it without really planning it out. I'm actually kind of proud of this; I thought it was interesting at least. So... tell me what you thought? It's free! See ya!
