Chapter 20
Four Hours Earlier
Exhausted.
Brenda dragged her feet across the damp grassland – her legs desperate for her to stop.
She did for a second, and turned round to see what she had left behind.
Squinting – she could just about make out the smoke from the fire on the horizon.
Brenda walked away in shock, leaving Minho to continue talking to Paige. She couldn't believe what she had heard. It was as if the world was falling apart and she could only stand there and watch.
She had to leave
There was no other choice. She couldn't stand there and watch as Minho went on a killing spree.
She knew no one would come with her. The people who were close to her had already died. There was Jamie, but he had already forgotten about her after meeting Larissa.
She was on her own.
She waited until night had fallen, before setting off. She packed up her things and walked away from the clearing – doing her best not to stir anyone from their sleep and making sure she had plenty of supplies with her.
Including a few weapons.
The only thing she was going to miss was the sheep, so she made her peace with them before setting off in the direction of the jet.
There was no turning back now. She had been walking for a number of hours now – and the morning sun had begun to rise. Without warning the land shifted, and Brenda stumbled over and began to roll down a large, steep hill. Eventually, after what seemed like minutes, she came to a stop.
"Wow" Brenda muttered.
She stood up slowly – her left leg struggling to hold her.
Cursing, she turned round to look at where she had fallen.
Looming above her was a massive hill, stretching at least 200ft into the sky. By the looks of things, she had rolled down the slightly less dangerous side.
In front of her now was a vast stretch of grass. It went on for ages, until it came to a stop at a large, metal fence.
'WICKED' was written across it.
Brenda half-smiled, and began to walk towards it.
"Are you okay?"
Brenda almost screamed at the sudden voice yet managed to hold it in.
It was Jamie
"What the hell are you doing here?" she yelled.
"I could ask you the same question" he yelled back
He was on the hill. Working his way down in a zig-zag pattern and taking it much more carefully than she did. After a few minutes, he came to few meters from the bottom and decided to jump the rest.
He walked over to her, and gave a short wave.
"Have you been following me?"
"No…to be lying. Yes I have"
"Why!"
"Why? You think I'm just going to let you walk away from us all like that?"
"I thought no one saw me…"
"You're right – no one did. But unfortunately for you, there was a full moon that night. I saw you walking, about a kilometre away, when I went for a toilet break. I grabbed a load of stuff and went after you"
"You didn't think to say hi?"
"I wanted to see where you were going first. Turns out you were going after Thomas and Teresa"
"I don't believe this"
"To be honest, I didn't want to see you gone. Remember when we were close? I missed that. It would suck if you went missing from my life"
"What about Larissa?"
"Me and her are kind of...not me and her anymore. She has commitment issues. It fucking sucks"
"Wow"
"I know. I don't think she will care too much that I'm gone"
"Jamie?"
"Yes?"
"I'm here to get my boyfriend back"
"I know you are. I'm here to help you"
"Really?"
"Like I said, I miss the time that we were close. I want my best friend back. Maybe this is the way to do it. Besides - it seems like it could be a laugh"
"If you say so"
"I do"
"Jamie, there's something you should know"
"What is it? Is it my hair? Dammit"
"No...it's about Minho"
"What about Minho?"
"I think we have a lot to talk about, so if you're ready - let's go"
"Aye aye, captain"