CHAPTER 25: Kayleigh

I watched Matt sitting on the rumble of the factory grounds as we walked away from camp and towards Evansville. We were to make our way a few miles north before entering the city to take over the militia fort nestled there. Luckily the only thing occupying the city is militia, so no citizens will get in the way when we charge through. Despite Dean's wishes, I came along. In place of my bow they handed me a large gun, the name I can't even remember because it was like a strange language to me. Dean showed me how to use it, aiming was no problem for me and I had gotten out a few practice shots before leaving...not that it would help since I had just started learning and it felt odd and uncomfortable in my hands. But it was going to be a lot better use then a bow and arrow...

Our whole unit including Jack, and with the exception of Matt and Ally, was moving quickly as we made our way into the woods. Dean was leading the way with Jack and Brian beside him looking over a small map of the area and arguing over the easiest and safest way to get to our position point Miles had marked with a red 'X'. I had barely had a chance to get to talk with Miles before leaving this morning, I hoped if we both survived this we would be able to talk as long as he wasn't busy now that he's general of the Georgian soldiers Foster had provided us with AND the rebels...I was able to catch up with Charlie and Jason, both of whom were joining our unit on our trek to Evansville.

"How are you doing?" I asked Jason, who I knew was still troubled by his Father's escape and learning that I had gotten hurt because of it.

"I'm all right, i'm sorry about what my father did to you" he replied, "I'm glad he didn't kill you"

"Thanks I'm glad he didn't kill me too" I said slightly laughing at his bluntness, looking ahead I could see Charlie talking with Jo, "So have you told her yet?"

"Told who what?" he said, even though his gaze shot right to Charlie before moving back to me.

"You're no longer militia. You risked your life to save me in Philly, you had a hand in saving us when you warned the rebels about the air strike in Annapolis. And not to mention you helped get information from your own father that helped stop the desecration of an entire city. I'm just surprised you two haven't gotten together or something. It wasn't hard to miss that you care about her. I saw that the day you pushed her from the train"

"Right, because that's what guys do to show affection. Push the girl off a moving train"

"You saved her life. She might not have realized that at first but she realizes now everything you've done and that you did it for her. So get over the 'I was once militia and almost got you killed' awkwardness and kiss her already"

"Ever since you finally got together with Dean, you've become more mushy you know that?" he replied.

"You know i'm right though" I said nudging him lightly in the arm with my elbow.

"Miles would probably kick my ass"

"Screw Miles, you and Charlie are adults and he's not her father. You shouldn't let what he thinks get in the way. Who's knows what's going to happen, you need to tell her how you feel"

"And what if i'm not sure how I feel"

"Stop being a baby and figure it out!"

"Thanks for the words of encouragement...They really help"

"That's why were friends" I replied.

"So, we're friends now?"

"Yeah once I got past the whole you almost got me and Dean killed thing, I realized you're actually not a completely horrible person"

"Well again, thank you, I appreciate that"

I smirked up at him, "You're very welcome"

"So are you ready for this? You're first time out on a real mission, right?"

"Yeah, just nervous"

"You'll be fine"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you have your friends by your side"

We finally made it to the marked position just over five miles north of Evansville, as the sun was setting. Dean sent me, Charlie, Jason and Brian to scout out the fort and find the best way in. With the cloudy night sky to cover us, we slowly made our way into the city and took refuge on the roof top of an abandoned pharmacy a few blocks down from the militia fort. We looked down the desolate street and towards the large building that read 'Golds Gym'. Two, long banners hung on each side of the entrance with militia emblems plastered on the dark background. We hung low, just so that we barely peeked over the side of the roofs, short brick wall.

"They only seem to be occupying the one building, which is good since Miles wants to surround them" Brian whispered from next to me. He handed me the binoculars and as I looked into them I could see guards standing not only at the front entrance but on the roofs as well. All armed with some serious fire power, much like the power plant back in Philly.

"Kind of odd place to set up don't you think?" Brian inquired.

"There's nothing. No cars, any kind of debris to hide behind when they start firing back. The only way to take them all out and have as low casualties as possible is if we hit them when it's still dark" Jason said ignoring Brian's comment as he took his turn with the binoculars.

"Miles wants to hit it an hour before dawn, that should give us enough time to make our move quickly into the building"

"Just because we don't see them doesn't mean they aren't occupying any other buildings" Charlie added, "There's no way to tell how many soldiers we're looking at"

"Well, let's hope Miles scouts can give us more information in time before we have to make our way into the city tomorrow" Brian replied to Charlie, "Come on, let's get out of here"

We started to make our way back to camp. Finding our way back in the dark wasn't easy but when we finally made it we were all tired and it was already late.

"All right, i'll report to Dean. You guys should get some sleep" Brian said to us. Any other time I would have told Brian to go ahead and let me report because it would give me an excuse to see Dean, but something stopped me. Instead, I went to the tent I was sharing with Jo and settled in. She barely stirred when I came in, she was already out cold. I settled into my sleeping bag, but I as hard as I tried I couldn't fall asleep. It was a mix of nerves and everything between me and Dean that kept me awake constantly tossing and turning. Soon enough I gave up, leaving the tent I went and sat in front of the dimming fire. I was so mesmerized by the sparks that I didn't even notice I wasn't alone until I felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and looked up just as Mason was taking a seat beside me. It had been so crazy with the sudden relocation to Indiana that I hadn't really noticed how much everyone had changed over the last several weeks. Mason's hair was starting to grow out and it was as messy as ever. His face was starting to sport some thick stubble.

"Couldn't sleep either?" he said, his voice was raspy and strained from exhaustion. He sat beside me, picking up a stick and poking the embers of the fire with it.

"Yeah, too much on my mind"

"Me too"

"Worried about Ally?" I asked.

"Aren't I always?" he replied laughing, "I guess you too though. I saw Matt's face when we left camp"

"Yeah, he worries about my safety probably more then I do"

"You and Dean are all he has now. I don't blame the kid"

"Not just me and Dean. He has you, Colin and Ally, he has Jo and Brian. He has all of us"

"I guess your right" he said with a smile and a nod, "Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah sure"

"Ally isn't really my sister"

"But...But you look so much alike..."

"That was just lucky coincidence. I was the nine when the blackout happened. I didn't have any family before that, I was just an orphan living in a group home with about a dozen other kids, I never even knew my parents. When the power went out it was chaotic, the adults left us and some older kids too. But there was this one kid, Alex, he was sixteen and he took in all the younger kids who couldn't fend for themselves, including me. Seven years, thats how long we stayed together, but thats when militia found us. They tried to round us up and take us, now I can only assume they wanted us as soldiers. Alex tried to save them and was shot down in the process, me and only two others escaped. Everyone else had been captured or killed. We spent months walking through wilderness, when George got sick we took up refuge in an abandoned apartment complex. It was late one night when I heard a child crying a few apartments down. When I went to investigate I found a little girl, only five years old sitting next to her dead parents. They had gun shots to the head and must have been dead for days because the smell was unbearable"

"The little girl was Ally?" I asked.

He nodded, "When she saw me she stopped crying, I went over to her and had to pry her hands from her mothers body...When I did she clung to me so tight I thought she'd surely choke me" he said, slightly smiling at the memory, "Ever since then I've been taking care of her. I don't know if it was the trauma of the memory that made her push what happened to her parents to the back of her mind but ever since I picked her up...well, she believes i'm actually her brother"

"Are you ever going to tell her"

"No, I don't want to be the one to bring back that memory for her...you've seen her? She's so happy, all the time. I don't think I'd have the guts to break her heart like that even if that means I have to continually lie. I've never told anyone that story before...Not even Colin, Brian or Dean"

"Why?"

"I don't know...And I don't know why i'm telling you now"

"Maybe you just needed someone to understand why you did what you did...So you'd know that you did the right thing? And you did, you saved her life...Most people would have ignored it. Most people would have left her there. You're right to keep it from her I guess, it would kill her...I don't think she could handle remembering what really happened"

"Do you really believe that?"

"Yes...I heard my mother scream and beg when she was killed by militia. I would give anything to be able to forget that"

"How old were you?"

"I was only ten"

"I'm sorry"

"I was lucky though. I was lucky enough to have two big brothers to take care of me. Ally is just as lucky to have you. You are her brother Mason, maybe not by blood but you certainly deserve that title"

"Thanks Kayleigh"

An hour had gone by when Dean emerged from his tent and started to rally everyone up. We packed up everything as quick as we could and started to head towards the city. We never received intel from Miles side, so we weren't sure what we were getting into and that's never good. Dean brought us to the tree line just outside the outer part of the city that was mainly occupied by town houses. He looked at us all for a moment, our small little rebel unit of twenty.

"Whatever happens today" he said,

"I want you to know how much this unit means to me. I think of every one of you as my family. I want you to know i'll fight by your sides till the very end. The day will come when we stop Monroe, when we can live in peace and I hope you're all there to see that day"

He turned to face the city, then turned to look at us all once more...

"Here we go"