𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒 | liam stewart [1]

4. van

"I thought there was only one," The man looked judgingly at Pandora and Ruby. She raised her eyebrows, stepping closer as if to dare him. "Sorry to burst your bubble but men with guns don't scare me," She smiled, relishing the look on his face and the tightening of his hand around the gun. She scared him. "It was a last minute descision, Dora is.. useful," Kate glanced at the girl who blinked slowly as if to say 'thank you'. 

"Where are your two?" Kate asked, the man looking down sadly before admitting that he couldn't get them out. "Ruby, Pandora, this is Rob," Kate introduced them to her friend who wrapped his arm around her waist. He stuck his hand out, slowly retracting it after both girls just stared at his palm, their arms not moving. "We need you guys to change, those clothes are government property so we don't know what's on them," Kate explained, giving Pandora a bag for her and Ruby. "There's some soap and running water but please don't drink it," She chuckled, sending the two on their way. Pandora watched as Ruby fell, Rob catching her with his hand. Her eyes lit up orange, burning with some sort of memory. "Hey, let's go," Pandora pushed her away from Rob, her eyes relaxing back to brown. She stared like a frightened deer, walking away from Rob hurriedly.

"Okay what did you see?" Pandora asked whilst pulling off her jeans. "What?" Ruby's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "I know you saw something with Rob, what was wrong?" She asked. Ruby stared at her for a moment before spilling that she saw a memory. He'd purposefully grabbed escaping kids and made sure they were caught. "Definitely a bad bunny," Pandora shook her head as she raked her hands through her tangled black hair. Dora had ended up wearing a grey crossover top, the kind she'd always seen girls wear as a child and wanted to grow up to look like them sort of top. She also pulled on low-waisted jeans which fit her snugly. 

Noises came from the front of the store, making Pandora gesture silence to Ruby. She slowly rounded the corner, coming face-to-face with a young girl. She could only have been 7 or 8. The girl wore a long jumper and big yellow gloves, the kind Gold's used to stop them accidentaly electricuting people. She pulled off her gloves, placing her hand on the fridge and letting the energy surge through the lights. Pandora grabbed Ruby, only barely getting her out of the way of the light fixture which exploded into sparks. The girl then ran out the back door, slipping her gloves back on as she did so. 

Dora looked back to see Kate and Rob walk towards the shop. Rob wad cocking his gun, making Pandora decide to go after her. She grabbed the rucksack, running after her. "Hey!" Ruby called, chasing after the shapeshifter. "What are you doing?" She grabbed the rucksack, pulling Dora back to her. Dore slapped her hands away, her eyes glowing purple. "This whole thing is dodgy, I'm not sticking around just to be another person's prisoner," Pandora told her, shrugging off Ruby's hand and chasing the little girl. "Hey, wait up," She called to the Gold, noticing that Ruby had decided to follow as well. The Gold ran into a blue truck, Pandora just missing grabbing the handle as the door shut. "Please, let us in, please," She banged on the door, begging the little girl. "For the love of Christ, please, we're being hunted," She told the girl moving around and pulling on the handles of the truck. "Dora? Ruby?" Kate's voice sounded in the shop as Ruby reached the truck. "Please! Please help us," Ruby pounded on the door with cries for help.

Kate started calling again, getting closer to the back entrance. As Ruby looked back to see if Kate and Rob had walked out back yet, the little girl opened the side of the truck and pulled the two girls in. She gestured for them to be silent before covering both of them in a musty smelling blanket. "It was Lady Jane, I saw her with my own eyes," Someone said, walking closer to the van. "Well you're blind?" Another, lower voice called. Two more people hoped in the front two doors of the car, greeting the little girl and calling her 'Zu' before throwing snacks they'd collected in the back. 

"PANDORA? RUBY?" Kate's voice echoed through the field, making the two kids in the front pause. "RUBY!" She screamed again. "Who're these guys?" The nasally kid asked as he looked through the side mirrors. One boy turned the engine on, starting to drive as Kate and Rob ran towards the car. "Go, go, go, go, go!" One boy ordered as the only slammed his foot on the accelaration. Pandora knocked her head on the back as the van rammed forward, skidding onto the main road and leaving Kate and Rob behind. 

"What happened at the gas station Zu? Did they see you?" Said a boy who Pandora could just make out had thick-rimmed glasses on. "Yeah and who's Pandora and Ruby?" The other boy, blonde, asked. "That's us but I prefer Dora," Pandora shrugged off the blanket. Ruby just stared at them without speaking, like she'd been a dear caught in the headlights. The Nissan van skidded to a halt, the two boys turning to stare at both girls. "Ruby Daily," Ruby introduced herself. "Yeah, why don't you tell them your home address too, and maybe your social security number to top it all off," Pandora rolled her eyes at Ruby's carelessness. 

"What do we always tell you Zu. No strays," Glasses told the young girl with anxiety built in his voice. "Especially ones who have blood all over their face," He stared at Pandora. "Oh, yeah, forgot about that. Any of you guys know how to properly set a broken nose by any chance?" Dora asked, pushing the pungent-smelling blanket away from her. All four people in the van stared at her. "Just a question," She put her hands up, Ruby turning to look from her to the boys in the front. "I'll handle this," The boy in the front said to the panicked boy. "Don't worry, I'll take my leave," Pandora said, grabbing the bag and pulling on the door. "And please make sure you drop her off further away, I prefer to be alone." She sighed as she realised that the door was locked, not budging as Dora tried to yank it open. 

"Wait did you just come from a camp?" The blonde boy asked, looking at her shoes which had a number on it. "Yep, they broke me out but I'm Green, I'm not a threat," Pandora shrugged, still pulling on the door. She glanced at Ruby who just stared at her, praying that the girl wouldn't open her mouth and blurt out that the girl could shapeshift. "So's Ruby," She nodded to the other girl who nodded slowly, deciding it would be best if children didn't also see her as a threat. "Let her out what are you waiting for Liam?" Glasses shouted at the blonde boy. "We've already got the cops and tracers on our asses, let's not add the League too," He made it clear he didn't want either girls in the van. "Well, Glasses, it woud help if you unlocked the fucking door," Pandora matched his sass, still trying to open the goddamn door. "People are going to be looking for some scrawny kids in a knuckle-down van," Glasses told Liam, making his opinions ever so more clear. "Hey don't talk about Betty like that," Liam said, turning back to look at Dora. "Sorry for talking shit about a FREAKING NISSAN VAN". "For the love of Christ, could you please open the car and stop complaining," Pandora asked, leaning over to test if the other door was open. It was also locked. "Please just let us out, I'm really sorry," Ruby cried from the back, scrubbing a pot of chalk over her numbered shoes to make them less obvious.  "Okay yeah but could you just drop her a little further ahead?" Pandora rolled her eyes, her hand still gripping the door.

"You're not going with the League," Liam stated, pressing full force on the gas which cause Pandora to fall back and flip into the door at the back. She groaned as she wacked the back of her head, holding it as it pounded. "I can never catch a fucking break," She mumbled to herself before slumping in the back and letting the two boys argue. "I'm Liam, that's Zu, this is Chubs," Liam introduced them all, looking in the rear-view mirror to see Pandora groaning and holding her head. "Hey Zu, give her some of this," He grabbed a bottle of painkillers by his feet and handed it to the girl. Zu took the bottle and gave it to Pandora who dry-swallowed probably double the reccommended amount. She was in a lot of pain though so she thought it cancelled out. "Chubs?" Ruby asked, Glasses turning around and shouting at her. "It's Charles to you," He said, trying to seem tough but only putting a small playful smile on Pandora's face. Liam watched her in the mirror, a small smile playing on his lips as he looked at her girl. "He used to be a bit beefier, Zu can back me up on that one," He explained to Ruby who just nodded with a confused expression. 

"Hey Zu, what's wrong?" Liam asked, making Pandora wake up more from her painkiller trance. Zu just pointed forward towards the gold car which was speeding towards them. A burst of adrenaline hit Dora like a bus as she heard the first bullet smash the windscreen.