Chapter Three

(Tori)

(11:17pm, 12th April 2011)

There was a frantic sound, almost like a moan, "...Faster...oh…oh God..."

"Fuck...please...yes..."

I could hear Beck and Jade from across the room. I think everyone could, we all just ignored it. They were trying to be quiet, and they had situated themselves well away, which I guess was something. We were all stressed, and scared, and if this is how they wanted to deal with it, at least they had a way. It was just unfortunate that the stupid shed echoed much too loudly.

I folded my pillow over my head, hoping to muffle the sounds. Cat was lying next to me, sobbing silently into her blanket. I shuffled over a few centimetres and wrapped her into my arms, pulling her close. She buried her head against my shoulder, relishing in the comfort.

It was pitch black in the shed, a no moon night. The air was cool, but not cold, which I was thankful for, as the shed had no insulation whatsoever. I could only just make out the shapes of the others all situated to Cat's right. Robbie's bed was empty; his turn to keep watch. I started stroking Cats hair as her whimpers grew louder. She'd cried almost non stop since the crash; the poor thing in constant terror, her mind unsure of how to deal with it all, unable to keep the nightmares at bay.

The background noise seemed to suddenly change; Beck and Jade must have finished. I heard them shifting about, redressing and rearranging themselves to sleep, whispering to each other.

It must be nice, I thought, to have each other for automatic consoling. Because while we all tried to keep spirits up, Beck and Jade's comfort towards each other seemed different; more assuring. They had someone here who loved them, and was determined to keep them safe.

Cat's cries became sniffles as she fell into a fitful sleep, my jumpsuit clutched in her fists. I didn't know how much longer I could go on doing this. I was losing faith, and that thought filled me with despair.

I just wanted to be home again.

(Excerpt from Chapter Eight of 'The War That Left Us Broken' 'Part I')

xxxxxx

(10:02am, 13th April 2011)

It was becoming too much of a liability. We couldn't keep up like this for much longer.

We really had to find some new clothes.

We hadn't been able to leave our shed much. Robbie and Beck had already gone to the nearby village to gather us some food, but dressed in these orange prison jumpsuits meant we didn't have much hope of blending in, or sneaking around. We needed normal clothes.

Quite desperately.

Stealing some new clothes wasn't going to be easy. For one, only two of us could go, and they'd have to grab enough clothes for all of us, which would be hard to find. And secondly, none of us could decide who it would be.

"This isn't going anywhere." Beck sighed. "Obviously no one wants to volunteer. We need a different tactic."

"Why don't we just choose this logically?" Robbie suggested.

"Logically how?" I asked.

"Well, think about it. Trina can't go, because of her ankle, and neither can Cat, because well…" He glanced over at Cat, who was sitting alone on her bed, staring at the wall. She still hadn't spoken; and all she did was eat and sleep. And cry.

Robbie continued. "Um, well, it's Beck's turn to be on watch, so he shouldn't go. And since Beck and I went to get food, I shouldn't have to go either."

"Well I'm not going either." Jade said stubbornly. "If Beck stays, I stay."

Even in these extreme circumstances, Jade was still her wonderful, charming self.

With everyone else too tired, or unwilling to challenge her, it was decided that Andre and I would go.

As we unwillingly trudged off, I couldn't calm my breathing. As much as I wished it would be as straightforward as walking in and taking what we needed, nothing was ever that simple.

Not anymore.

We closed in on the village, hearing the bustling sounds of daily life, and I could swear everybody that lived there was out that day, ready to spot a pair of American teenagers in orange jumpsuits.

We slinked forward, flattening ourselves along a house wall, exchanging anxious glances, no real plan at all.

Andre peeked out towards the main square.

"What do you see?" I murmured.

"It doesn't look that bad," He whispered back, "and I think I see some clothes. Have a look and tell me if there's a washing basket outside the house up on the left."

I followed Andre's instruction and sure enough, sitting underneath a naked clothesline, was a wicker washing basket brimming with clothes. It seemed our only option and so I guess we just had to hope there was enough.

"So, who's going to get them?"

"Scissors, paper, rock?" I suggested, unsure.

Andre shrugged, agreeing, and held out his hand.

I lost.

Andre nudged me forward, and I shot him a glare. I couldn't go through the square; that would just be suicide. I sneak around the back of the houses, swearing I had a heart attack when I rounded a corner and was almost spotted by two men, chatting casually beside a few barrels.

The basket was now in my sight, and I crouched low, practically crawling; my palms sweaty and breathing shallow. I glanced around, the only people in the square, had their backs to me. It was probably the only chance I was going to get. I grasped onto the basket and dragged it back, clasping it to my chest. I stood silent for a second, certain I had been spotted, someone had noticed. I breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened, and stood up with the basket, making my way back to Andre as quickly as I could.

When we returned, the boys sorted through the pile quickly, grabbing whatever was closest to put on, grateful for the change of clothes.

Trina eyed it with a disgusted look on her face.

"They're not exactly pretty," She grumbled, picking a skirt up between her fingers warily.

"Oh, I'm so sorry; they were all out of Prada." I said sarcastically.

"Well, I'll have these ones." Jade pulled out a black skirt and top, holding them up to her body. No surprises there. I chose a striped pair for myself, but Trina snatched up the patterned one before I could grab it for Cat, claiming it was the closet to pink or purple she could get, and wasn't going to give that up. I took a cream pair instead for Cat and helped her into them.

Now that was sorted, we began planning to move on the next morning, to try to find, or contact, the American Embassy, and the day passed quickly, the sun beginning to set.

"I'm hungry," Jade complained, getting up and rummaging through the perishables stacked up in the corner. "Oh look. More canned food. I feel like a dog."

"I think the food is the least of our problems." I shot back. "We're trying to get back to America here, in case you hadn't noticed. We're stuck in this God forsaken place and all you seem to be doing is whining and holding us back."

Jade opened her mouth to speak, but Beck held up his hand, mediating.

"Just stop, we need—"

A bullet exploded through the wall, imbedding itself in the blanket pile.

"Soldiers!" Beck bellowed. "Run!"

We didn't have time to think or talk, we just had to go. "Trina!" I cried, moving towards her, realising she wouldn't be able to run.

"Go! I've got her!" Robbie shouted.

More shots fired, and I swear I felt one buzz right past me. I saw Andre reach out and grab Cat by the arm, hauling her out of the shed. I ran blindly for the forest, stumbling over a few loose branches, my heart in my mouth, my throat dry. I wasn't going fast enough; I was going to be caught any second. Andre and I had been so careful; how had this happened?

I couldn't see any soldiers, only hearing the guns, but risking looking back would slow me down. I spotted a flash of black through the trees, my heart seeming to explode before I realised it was Jade. I caught up beside her and we silently raced through the forest.

But the soldiers were catching up; I could hear the pounding of boots close behind. There was no way we could out run all of them. We had to find somewhere to hide. I spotted a clump of dense bushes, and dived behind them, pulling Jade down with me.

"Hey!"

"Shush! They're coming!"

Jade glared at me, fury in her eyes.

"They must have followed you back!" She hissed. "This is your fault!"

"Is this really the time?! Just shut up!"

Jade glowered at me for a second longer, and but stayed silent.

The leaves and branches grated at my skin, and there wasn't a lot of room underneath, so we had to squat to stay hidden. It seemed like hours that we waited there in fear. My legs were cramped by the time we deemed it safe enough to leave and they groaned as I stood up, stiffening.

"We need to find the others." Jade stated, glancing around at the thick underbrush. She pointed at some non-descript trees. "I think the shed's back that way. Hopefully the others will have the same idea and double back."

It wasn't a great plan, but it was the only one we had, so I begrudgingly followed. At least it was also stretching out my legs. We called out as we walked back towards what we thought was the direction of the shed, waiting to hear someone's faint cry back. But no such luck.

We must have walked for miles before we finally found the shed again. It was completely abandoned, no signs of anyone. We both looked at each other, desperately thinking the same thing; we couldn't be alone, that was much too terrifying.

Panicked, we started screaming, not caring about if any soldiers were still nearby.

"Beck!"

"Trina! Andre!"

"Beck!"

No answer. Just silence.

And then there were two.

(Excerpt from Chapter Eight of 'The War That Left Us Broken' 'Part I')