☢︎︎---☢︎︎
"Today, the elect will be chosen.
Today, for five of you, everything will change. You will be honored no matter the outcome but I believe the outcome will be life. For you, your families, the children, the entire civilization we've...
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They did.
They carried Shiloh back to the pod, carved a hole out of the earth next to Harley's, buried their friend, and planted the medicinal herbs delicately on top. It was morbid, but Armada knew they'd flourish there.
A childhood friend dead within an hour due to survivors they didn't know existed. Strangers. The second of them to die. "May we meet again."
The weeks that came after were solemn. The first week, no one said a single word. The second week, they shared a few 'good job's when they brought back decent food. And the third week, now, they've started talking about what to do next. The entire time for Armada, however, she's been barely sleeping as she felt a looming darkness just behind her. She was scared the strangers would come for them in their sleep.
It was obvious Auden was going stir crazy. Every week he got angrier and angrier. He had spoken about getting some sort of revenge but only once and to himself. He was angry.
"Don't go out after dark." Reese started as he read aloud the rules he had written on a torn out page from his journal and hung on the wall using the trees sticky sap. "Don't go off alone. Don't fight alone. Most importantly, communicate." He said, he eyes darting to Auden for a second.
Immediately, he noticed. "The hell was that look for?" He asked angrily. Reese sighed. "We know that you're angry-" Auden cut him off. "Yeah. Aren't you?" When neither of them replied he stood up suddenly. "That was our friend!" He shouted.
"You think I don't know that?!" Armada stood up as well. "You're our friend too." She told him fiercely. "And I'll be damned if another one of us dies, so those thoughts you have of revenge - get rid of them before I punch you so hard you don't remember your own damn name."
"Unbelievable." Auden chuckled unamused as he shook his head. "You're both scared little girls."
"Auden." Reese tried to warn him. Auden kept on. "Our friend is murdered in cold blood by those strangers and you sit here and dare tell me to stop thinking about revenge?!?" He shouts, his face red as he stares Armada down. "I can't believe you were chosen for this."
"Me?" Armada laughed unamused. "I'm the one that's kept us happily fed. I'm the one who made you that blanket you adore so damn much. If any of us shouldn't be here, it's you!" She pointed her finger. "The only reason you can point that finger is because I stitched it up after you hacked it to shit!" Auden shouted back.
"And you'll be the one to get us all hacked to shit if you don't remember you have a penis and stop acting like a bitch. I get it! They're dead! But guess what, Auden, we knew it was a possibility! Why else would we have been trained like we were? For fun? And you know it's funny because I don't remember being trained in rash decisions 101. We were in denial if we thought we were actually going to all make it out of this alive." Armada hated to say it. Hated to think it but it was the truth.
They were her friends and they were dead but now there's only three left and she didn't think she could lose anyone else. Hard things had to be said - had to be accepted if their fate was going to be a good one.
Armada and Reese watched as Auden took a step towards the door. "Where are you going?" Reese asked. "Wherever you tell me to, fearless leader!" Auden turned and mockingly saluted. "How's that for communication?" He turned and walked to the fire before plopping down in front of it.
Armada sighed heavily before she sat back down, running her hands over her face. "What the hell are we gonna do?" She asked.
Reese just shook his head. "I don't know." "I don't even feel safe going to the stream to wash up. There's three of us and no telling how many of them and we've just killed two of them." Armada said. "We're so screwed." She sat back.
"If we stay here, we'll be fine." Reese said. "We keep to ourselves, follow the rules-" armada cut him off. "For the next five years?" She asked . "You think they'll take five years to come for us? They know where we are - I don't doubt that for a second. We're in the middle of a fucking field. The only thing in this field is us."
"What do you want me to do?" Reese asked her. There was a look on his face she's never seen before. It was anger, sorrow, confusion wrapped all in one. They were all losing it. "I can't pick up the pod and move it. I don't know anything about the strangers, Army. They don't seem too keen on telling us anything either."
"Hm." Armada nodded and crossed her arms. "So you agree. We're fucked." She looked down. "This was the one thing we didn't prepare for and it'll be the end of us. How poetic." She rolled her eyes.
"No I don't but I'm not a fuckin idiot." She glared at him. "We did nothing to them and they killed one of us. We kill two of theirs..." she didn't finish her sentence. "And now we've got our very own King Kong hopped up on crack vengeance cocaine." Armada told him as she stood and leaned over the table just as he was. "He's a loose canon."
"I know." Reese nodded. "I haven't figured out how to cool him off yet. Either of you." "Yeah neither have I." Armada turned to watch the Auden from the pod. "Do you think they'll come for us?" "..yes." "So we wait for them." Armada stated. "We be careful, lie low, we wait. Then we'll let Auden have his revenge when they step into our territory." Reese just nodded, not able to think much more on it due to his insufferable head ache.
"Surely you don't think he'll go after them alone, do you?" Reese asked. It was a question for her thoughts on the matter and Reese never asked questions like those. He always had it all figured out. The question somehow humanized him to her.
"I'd like to think not." Armada shook her head. "But he's going crazy, Ree. Aren't we all?" She turned to look him in the eyes. Both of their eyes were weary and tired. Staying open for too long felt like grief in the same way grief felt like a blanket of thorns.
Auden was missing. The next morning they woke up to find his bed empty and the pod door cracked open. They stared at the door as they held their breathe, hoping they'd open it and Auden would be sitting there next to the fire, roasting meat for breakfast.
But when the door dropped down, the only thing there was white depleted ashes and a small thread of smoke.
Armada turned to Reese with tears in her eyes and she shook her head. "I can't." She whispered. Reese's breathing was shaky as he placed firm hands on her shoulders. "You stay here and I'll go look for him."
Armada gave him an angry look before she wiped her tears and flung his hands off of her. "If you ever say that to me again, I will use your tongue as a wash rag." She turned to grab her gun from the box under her bed before walking out of the pod and past Reese. "And not in a good way."
