The sun was just beginning to rise into the sky. The air was cool and brisk as Ben raced through the thickets. He'd been training with Jaden since before the sun rose, just like his dad had said. She'd walked him out into the thicket, explaining that every runner needs to have a sense of direction. Then she ditched him, telling him to make his way back. Ben had been doing fine, until he heard something. Unarmed and unsure, he'd bolted back. When he got back to the school, Jaden was waiting for him with a smile. She was certainly a strange girl.

Ben turned left, ducking behind a tree. He crouched low, taking the moment to catch his breath. He was less than half a mile from the school. He quickly glanced around and sprinted. He weaved between trees and jobbed logs. He could hear something running alongside him, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the growing roof of the school.

Suddenly something slammed into Ben from behind. Ben fell forward and rolled across the ground. He exhaled heavily and opened his eyes. Jaden was on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Her braids dangled just inches above Ben's face. She climbed off and offered him a hand. Ben grabbed Jaden's hand and pulled himself up.

"Not bad, Mason. You almost made it back." Jaden said.

"Almost doesn't count." Ben replied.

"Third rule. But that is a very good start." Jaden said, breathing heavily. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

Ben and Jaden jogged back to the school. Jaden led the way through the thicket. "Where is the school from our position?"

"Uh…half a mile south east of us." Ben said.

Jaden nodded. "Good. Point of entrance?"

"Side entrance on the north face."

"Excellent." Jaden said.

They broke through the thicket. Ben had never been so glad to see the school, barricaded and patrolled. Jaden broke ahead of him. She sprinted toward the barricade. She stepped onto a pile of crates and used her momentum to leap over the barricade. She jumped off the bus and disappeared behind the barricade. Ben dove beneath an opening and skid in beside Jaden.

"What was that?" Ben asked, standing.

"What?"

Ben nodded to the bus. "That."

Jaden shrugged. "Habit. Come on, I'm starving."

They jogged into the school. Most of the resistance had taken to the gym, where the food was. But there were a few who wondered the halls of the school. Ben and Jaden waited in the back of the line, breathing heavily, but almost fully recovered. Jaden took out her pistol from her leg and disassembled it. She held the pieces out toward Ben.

"Put it back together." She said.

Ben took the spring barrel and loaded it into the slide. He slipped them back onto the hand piece and set the hammer. He passed the gun back to Jaden. She looked the gun over once before firing it. The trigger failed to release the pin in the barrel. Jaden shook her head and fully secured the barrel down.

"Not quite." Jaden said.

Ben groaned. "Oh man."

"Gotta make sure your weapons are in top shape Mason. You go in the field and run into a skitter, you're not gonna want a fault gun in your holster." Jaden explained.

They walked through the line and picked up a small bowl of oatmeal. Jaden led them to an empty table on the far side of the gym. She set their bowls down on one side of the table and her cup on the opposite end.

"Bowls and your cup are shops. Mines the school. Tell me how to choose which location." Jaden said.

Ben looked at the table layout. "Well, if you're going to closest distance to the school, you'll want my cup. But distance could mean it's a trap. Skitters and mechs could easily have any of these places set up for traps. And any of these could easily have been picked clean already. You want the one where we can pull the most supplies in the shortest time without getting caught by mechs and skitters."

"Okay." Jaden shifted the bowls together and moved Ben's cup. "Five miles from the school."

Ben shook his head. "Definite traps."

"But the cups ten miles out." Jaden said.

"Longer travel time means more chances of getting caught." Ben said.

"Good." Jaden said. She pulled her bowl toward her." Let's eat."

Ben grabbed his cup. "Am I really doing okay?"

Jaden nodded. "Yeah. You're catching on real quick. The only real practice you need is gun maintenance…and running."

"Oh boy." Ben groaned, taking a drink.

"There's still time to back out." Jaden reminded.

Ben shook his head and set his cup down. "No way. I'm not backing out now."

Jaden smirked. "Good. Cause I would've kicked your ass if you backed out now."

Several hours and thousands of gun assemblies later, Ben was running through the thicket again. His pack bounced against his back, map in one hand, Jaden's pistol in the other. He paused at one of the trees. He looked up at the sky and then at his map. He turned left and kept running. He weaved through the trees and ducked behind bushes.

The sun was setting, quickly taking the light, and Ben's remaining time. He ran through the ticket quickly. He jumped a fallen log, dropping his map in the process. He quickly retired his map and kept going. Ben reached the small clearing and stopped. He put his map back in his pack. He held his gun out and slowly stepped out into the clearing. He walked to the large tree in the middle of the clearing and ducked behind. He carefully looked around.

Jaden appeared behind him, giving his heart a jump. Ben flinched silently and glared at Jaden. She had a knack for sneaking up on him while he trained, and she used it every chance she got. Jaden jerked her head and took off. Ben ran after her, heading back to the school.

"Good job. Couldn't hear you coming." Jaden whispered.

"Noticed you still managed to sneak up on me." Ben said.

"You just need more practice with that." Jaden explained.

They ran through the thicket toward the school. The sun had all but vanished, leaving them in the thicket with the last bit of light left. Ben swung his pack around his and fished out his light. From the corner of his eye, he spotted something in the thicket. He stopped dead. Jaden caught Ben's movement and stopped. Just several yards from them, was a light in the thicket.

"Mech?" Ben asked.

"No way, too quiet." Jaden explained.

"Patrol does reach this far." Ben said.

"I know." Jaden said. She bit her lip, weighing their options. She turned to Ben. "You up for some recon?"

Ben nodded. He dropped his pack in the bushes. He pulled out the magazine and loaded his gun. He chambered a round and turned to Jaden. Jaden swung her rifle around to her front. She dropped low and started through the brush. Ben followed close behind her. They moved quickly and quietly through the brush. The light in front of them moved slowly through the thicket. It seemed to be a small flashlight. Jaden looked through her scope.

"You see anything?" Ben asked.

Jaden pulled back from her scope. "Damnit."

"What?"

Jaden stood up. The light fell over her body. "Matt!"

Ben stood up quickly.

Matt Mason stood just a few yards from them, holding the light. His eyes were huge, terrified. He dropped his light and sprinted toward them. Matt launched himself into Ben and held him tight.

"Matt, what are you doing out here?" Ben asked, kneeling down in front of his brother.

"I saw you and Jaden go out and I followed you. I just wanted to know what you guys were doing, but I got lost. And I fell and cut my hand." Matt explained.

"Hey it's okay." Ben said.

Jaden groaned. "Your dad is going to have a field say with this. He's been out here for three hours on his own."

Ben picked Matt up. "I'm surprised he hasn't sent a search party yet."

Jaden slipped off her coat, leaving her in nothing but her corset and shoulder less top. "I got an idea. Matt, can I trade you coats for a minute?"

Matt took off his plaid button up shirt. Jaden slipped her leather coat over Matt. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a knife. She cut a strip from Matt's shirt and tied it carefully around his hand. Then she spun the shirt around a few times, turning it into a cloth cord. She tied it around Matt and Ben and slipped her knife back into her pocket. "There. Now we book it back to the school. Matt should stay on your back even if he lets go. I'll take you pack."

"You sure?" Ben asked.

Jaden nodded. "Hell yeah. You go, I'll catch up. Whatever happens, you do not stop. You understand?"

Ben nodded. He grabbed Matt's hands beneath his neck and ran. He pushed himself hard, even with the days training. He raced back toward the school. Matt buried his face in his back, giving Ben further incentive to go faster. His legs and chest were burning, begging him to stop.

The lights at the school grew closer. Ben pushed himself harder. He could see the night patrol already out. He pushed harder. He jumped the barricade and dropped to his knees. He untied the shirt around his chest and dropped Matt to the ground. Breathing heavily, Ben turned to Matt.

"Are you…okay?" Ben asked.

Matt nodded.

"Let's find your dad before he finds us." Jaden said, appearing behind them. She wasn't winded at all.

Ben and Matt both jumped. "Please stop doing that."

"Pay attention then." Jaden turned and headed toward the door. Ben rose to his feet and pulled Matt alongside him. They walked into the school. The halls were empty of most people, which provided an unseen entrance for them.

"Dad's going to be mad." Matt said.

"Well Mattie, we are about to find out." Jaden said.

Ben looked up. His dad, Captain Weaver, and Hal were walking toward them, fast. He could see his dad's face and knew this was going to be bad for all of them. Jaden walked ahead of them, intercepting the group. Hal and their dad walked around Jaden while she talked to Captain Weaver.

"Where have you two been?" Tom demanded.

"It wasn't their fault!" Matt said. "I followed them from the school and I got lost!"

"I was training with Jaden and we found him wondering the thickets." Ben explained. "Matt needs to see Doctor Glass; he cut his hand pretty bad."

"Hal, take Matt and Ben to Anne. And wait for me." Tom said, leaving no room for discussion.

"You got it." Hal said. He picked up Matt and started walking toward the medical room.

Ben looked over to Jaden. She was standing at attention while Weaver talked to her.

"Ben, go with your brothers." Tom ordered.

Ben turned his attention back to his dad. "Dad, it wasn't anyone's fault. If it hadn't been for Jaden, Mat would've been out there longer."

"And if it hadn't been for her, both of you would've been inside where you belong." Tom replied. "Go."

Ben sighed and walked down the hall. He glanced over his shoulder, taking one last look at Jaden. His dad had joined the conversation, still controlling his temper. It wasn't fair. Jaden had helped bring Matt back and she was getting punished for it. He jogged down the hall to medical. Hal and Matt were already waiting for him. Matt was sitting on the stool while Doctor Glass cleaned out his hand.

Hal stepped from Matt's side and walked over to Ben. "Just what the hell were you doing out after dark?"

"Jaden was training me." Ben answered.

Hal frowned. "Training for what?"

"Supply running. We've been training all day."

"Skitters and mechs could've been in that thicket." Hal reminded.

"Jaden was on watch the entire time. She's not careless." Ben explained.

"Well tonight says otherwise." Hal replied. "Matt followed you guys after dinner and neither one of you found him for three hours."

"We still found him."

"Yeah, in the dark after he'd been hurt."

"Knock it off." Tom said, joining them in the science room.

"Dad it wasn't Jaden's fault-"

"She took you outside the perimeter."

"She was training me" Ben replied.

"Yeah well not anymore." Tom said. "I don't want you or Matt going near Jaden again."

"Dad!"

"Get back to our quarters, now." Tom ordered.

"But dad-"

"Now." Tom repeated.

Ben turned and stormed out of the room. He walked down the hall to their quarters. He could Hal following him, but he didn't look back. He hadn't been this mad since before the invasion. It wasn't fair! Jaden hadn't done anything wrong, she'd made Ben carrying him back, but she saved him. He knew she'd been on their tail the entire time.

Ben opened the door and stormed to his cot. He kicked his shoes off and pulled off his shirt. He fell on his cot and sighed.

"You know dad's just looking out for you." Hal said. "Okay, Jaden took you past the perimeter-"

"She's not the first person to disobey an order." Ben reminded.

Hal set his jaw.

"That whole time we were out there, she was watching. Okay, she's been running supplies on her own, she knows how to take post." Ben explained. He rolled onto his stomach, facing away from Hal.

Hal sighed and sat down on his mat.

"Why does everyone have to give her grief for no reason" Ben asked.

Hal chuckled.

"What?"

Ben asked, looked over to Hal.

"Dude, one day with her and your defending her like she's your best friend." Hal chuckled. "You have a serious crush on Jaden."

Ben turned his head.

rough start...