Escape

Chapter Three

The next morning, Lea's still alive, and the only reason we're not moving on. We could leave them to their own devices, but I couldn't do that knowing the chances of her and Aaron surviving without proper tools are slim to none.

Alex, Brian and I are in the corner of the room, trying to work this out, while Aaron keeps Lea company.

"I don't know," Alex says, glancing over at them. "Can we really take on two more people? Especially one who's injured?"

"Well, what do you suggest we do? Leave them to die?" I ask. "They may have made it this far, but they don't have proper equipment, and his sister is injured. We've killed, but only to keep ourselves from being discovered. Can we really kill two innocent people who share our passion for freedom? They've gotten this far, we can't just leave them to die."

"We have to move soon, though. With Lea's injuries, she won't be able to do much."

"Her injuries aren't even that bad. The most damage was done to her arms. She could probably walk on her leg; it just might hurt for awhile. Her side injury is pretty deep, but not enough to warrant abandonment. We'd only be abandoning them out of cold blood."

"She's weak, though."'

"Yes, but so am I, technically speaking. My leg's going to cause some problems, too. But Aaron can provide more muscle, and I don't really think he's going to be as much as a problem as a benefit. He can be the one to watch his sister, if that's what you're worried about, but we could use them both."

"This is all just speculation. We don't even know if they'll want to stay with us," Brian says.

"We just saved their lives, and I have medical experience that I can use to keep Lea alive. I don't think they can really afford to say no. Plus, I'm tired of being the only girl here. I'm sure you two could use new company as well, and Mr. Ego over there's as good as we've got at the moment."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have personal reasons for keeping them with us," Alex says, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I make a face. "Ew. That's disgusting, Al. I'm just trying to figure out what'd be best for everyone."

"But with more people we'll travel slower," Brian points out.

"True, but we made time just fine with the original twenty people."

Brian shrugs. "Whatever. You're the boss, it's your decision. Don't know why you even bother consulting us; when your mind is made, it's made."

I smirk softly. "You love me for it, though."

He shrugs, not denying it. "Can't not love you. You're family."

"Aw, that's sweet. Love you too, Brian."

Brian grins, and I stand, walking over to the couch.

"So," Aaron says, looking at me impassively.

"So," I respond, sitting on the arm of the couch and crossing my arms. "We've come to an impasse. On one hand, we don't want to leave you two here, but on the other, it'll be hectic to allow you guys to tag along, with Lea's injury. Right now, I'm all for you guys coming along. It's just up to you two."

"What happened to the last person who was with you guys?" Lea asks.

"He gave in to the CS because his sister was going to go off to the Camps, and he didn't want that for her." I shrug delicately. "This isn't easy; I'm sure you know that now. We've killed, and we've seen our best friends die. We've definitely suffered. But we're also close knit and willing to lay our lives down for one another. Right now, our goal is to get to Rhode Island. That's our main goal at the moment. We're more than happy to get you to another goal, but if it's rebelling, that's not what we're for. Maybe at one point, but right now it's just escape."