Journal Entry No.2:
Carey and I have been travelling for 3 days now. He seems like a really great guy who's just trying to rescue his family…I try not to hate him for the fact his family is even still alive. I don't hate him…sometimes. But when I'm alone and the memories flood my thoughts, it's kinda hard not to. But when we're smiling and learning and talking about/with each other, I think it's impossible for me to hate him. He has two little sisters, Sophia and Myra. They're two of the only sisters in the world who don't fight all the time, at least he says they don't fight. But if they come from Carey's family, they probably don't. Carey loves them unconditionally and would die for them. That's how I felt about my baby sister...but I was too late to do anything to stop the bullet finding her heart. See that's why I kinda hate him when the laughter and talking stops. He has the chance to save his family and I never got one. Fate, cruelly, took my family but decided to leave me. You know what? Fuck Fate. It's all just a bunch of bullshit. I can't write about this anymore, or I'll burst into tears and scare him off. I really don't want to do that. I try not to notice things, like how he loves all the things I love, that he is funny and smart and amazing in every single way. I really try. But…I am just a teenage girl, to be quite frank. The problem is…I might end up liking him. Which can't happen. So, I must think of him as just a friend. We have kinda started to trust the other to not kill them in their sleep, which is a huge improvement for me. He's waking up now and there's only 6 more hours to go until we reach the survival camp. Time to go.
Write again… (and you know the morbid part)
Storm Lile Tyler.
Chapter Two
I wake up screaming for my sister to run…again. I'm keeping tired of waking up with tears on my cheeks. Carey jumps up and runs to me, soothing my blubbering self. I close my eyes, trying to hold back the choking sob, threatening to engulf me. I count backwards from 10, repeating to myself, getting sad doesn't bring them back. Nothing will. You killing one will avenge them, I will go on my own terms… You see I say that thing a lot. It's because I believe it. I feel…I need to kill them. I have to. And nothing, or no-one, will get in my way. Not even Carey. Because this is war, and I'm on a warpath. Speaking of Carey, he is now sitting next to me, rubbing his thumbs over my palms which he has discovered calms me down. It does, especially when he does it. I'm almost fully settled when a footstep nearby gets me unsettled all over again. I get up, ignoring the fact that I'm tired and covered in dirt. They certainly won't care when they run the bushes to shoot us. So, I decide to not care, and I grab my gun as Carey stands next to me, his knives already out, the blades pressed against his hands. I've never asked him where he learnt to throw those knives. But for some reason, I don't want to know. Anyway, he hasn't asked me where I learn to shoot a gun…I guess we're even. Another footstep echoes in the secluded clearing. I run the possibilities over my head. It could a clumsy, loud survivor, who doesn't know how to sneak around…or a heavy hunter wanting to be found. I breathe slowly, placing my finger on the trigger ready to fire when the person bursts out of the bushes. Someone emerges and my heart falters. It's my best friend from before the invasion, Skylar Styl. I drop the gun slightly, extremely happy to see her and extremely terrified if this is their way to kill me. Oh yeah, get me to trust my best friend all over again then get her to shoot me in the head. Well, congrats to them if that's their plan because I immediately want to hug her like I used to. She looks at me, wide-eyed, then looks at Carey and winks at me and I realise it's just my best friend. I throw my gun on the ground and run to her, hugging her tight.
"Calm down, Storm! I missed you too!" She laughs as she hugs me back, just as tight so I know she was scared, too. I just grin at her, then Carey clears his throat and I step back, blushing at my behaviour. I stand there for a while until both of them are staring at me and I realise.
"Oh, um, Skylar this is Carey, Carey this is Skylar," I say quickly, biting my lip. She smiles widely at him and shakes his hand. Carey just shakes her hand, then his eyes widen as she pulls him into a hug. I laugh at his reaction to my friend's natural perkiness.
"We're going to be great friends, Carey, I just know it!" She beams. She said the exact same thing to me and, hey, we're best friends. So, I know from experience that it works. Skylar releases Carey from her grasp and he mumbles something before disappearing into his tent.
"I think you scared him off, Sky," I laugh, hugging her again before sitting down. I haven't laughed this much since…
"Ah, but it is all part of the plan, Miss Tyler," She grins then her face goes serious. She holds my hand tightly, rubbing her thumb over my palm.
"Seriously, Storm. What happened to you after you left school?" Skylar asks, all playfulness gone from her pretty face as she stares into my eyes. Her eyes a gorgeous, a small ring of gold around the pupil then light brown everywhere. It contrasts beautifully with her dirty blonde hair. Anyway, back to the question. What did happen after I left the school? Suddenly, the memories flood back, and I remember. Here comes memory lane… We were at school, everything was normal when all of a sudden, these three men herded all the children into a small, blocked off area. My mother told me if this ever happened to leave school and come straight home. So, I followed her orders and slipped past the men, running the short distance home. When I arrived, I was greeted with the sight of my dead mother's body, lying on our kitchen floor. And my little sister, screaming next to her. I start to walk to her, when a bullet hits her in the chest, her lifeless eyes turning to me. I freeze and I swear my heart stops. I turn to see more people gathering, with guns raised. I start breathing heavily, and I run out of the house, tears streaming down my face. I ran all the way to the outskirts of town, where I located a gun shop. I forced the tears back and grabbed a gun, turning and running to the forest. There I stole my supplies from convenience stores, gas stations, everywhere I could hide and steal. I sigh as I tell her, the memory of my dead screaming sister still fresh in my mind. I hold back the tears, shoving the sob down my uncooperative throat which I have a lot of practice with. She notices and smiles sadly at me, kissing my forehead. I sigh quietly, standing up and wiping my face.
"I'm going hunting," I say, trying to not show any emotion. Shutting down, my main priority in life. I grab my gun, the feeling of its steel against my hand soothing. I call out to Carey, asking for him to make a fire. He emerges from his tent, nodding. Walking into the forest, letting the smells and sounds enter my senses. I breathe slowly, closing my eyes. The pine smell of the forest always helped me calm down. That's when I trek silently through a path, discovering the survival camp in the distance. Except somethings wrong…and then I notice it. A black and white flag with a claw, ripping its way through. The Caller's flag…waving proudly above it all.