The Mind Games

13

A/N: Hey guys. Sorry. I just want to say sorry. For a couple of reasons. I'm publishing as I am finishing the chapters. Which right now isn't super often. I've got a lot of ideas, and they're all spinning around in my little brain. I'm excited for where this is going. I think you should be too. So, I'm sorry. ;)

I scream.

I stare down at my hands, relieved to find that Ember's nightmarish past is over. I can't imagine having those voices in my head. It must be brutal.

"S-stop!" I yell at the black haired fiend.

"Andrew!" Ember swears at me once more. I never knew she could use so many curse words in one sentence. To her credit, she does a good job of censoring herself in from of the little kids.

"You're the one who slapped me! I didn't wanna see any of that stuff!" I scuff.

"Why don't you just destroy the memory with your special Gray powers, why don't you?! Why don't you take the voices away?!" Ember rants so loud, half the world can probably hear her screaming at me.

"Wasn't my choice!" And my voice grows louder with every word.

"Shut up," Ember immediately hushes me.

"What-?!"

"No really, Andrew. Shut up. I hear something."

I stop breathing and listen. I hear two more gunshots. I look at Ember's shirt, which matches the blood running down her cheek perfectly. The cut is in the shape of a little crescent moon turn on its side. They cut almost follows the line of her eye, and I can already tell it's going to scar.

"Across the street. Let's find out what kinda ghetto city this dump is," Ember walks close to me, but is careful to avoid my touch, she lets the branches of the trees snap back and almost slap me in the face.

Ember stops on the sidewalk and puts a hand on her hip, as she turns around and waits sassily for me.

"Hurry uuuuupppp," She complains. I'm proud to know she's finally let her real self shine through around me.

"I'm comin'," I retort as I rush next to her.

We look both ways before crossing the street. We probably would've held hands if I wasn't a Gray. We still remember the kinder rules. Look both ways before crossing the street, and hold hands. The buddy system, and something about not stepping on a crack or you'd break your mom's spine or something. Weird.

We sprint the rest of the way. I don't even care that we're J-walking. There weren't any cars anyway.

I huff over to the newspaper dispenser, and look at the paper inside.

Orgia.

Orgia? Isn't that where Grandma lives?

"Orgia news!" Ember reads in the most uninspired voice ever.

"I think my grandma lives around here," I look for something familiar, but to no avail once again. But now that I think about it, I do recall tan buildings.

"That's just swell, Andrew. Will she serve us ice cream and pinch our cheeks and feed us cookies?"

"Hey, Ember. That's really mean."

"Don't be an a-"

Bang!

"What the h-"

"Ember! Run! They found is again!" I yell dashing across the street, barely missing a car. I break into the forest, and the adrenaline kicks in again. I feel like I'm in a movie.

The forest is blurred, but somehow I get the feeling I'm going the right way.

"Rayna, Andrew!" Ember yells.

Right. Of course, she's not going to yell real directions while we're being chased by full grown athletic men with fully loaded guns. What did you think she was gonna do?

I hook a sharp right turn, and I hear several other footsteps running right towards us.

Oh god. Please no. Not more.

"Andrew?! Ember?!" I hear Naomi yell, I see flashes of color through the vibrate green trees. Maddie has the upper hand here with her dark green t-shirt.

Why couldn't I have been given chameleon powers instead of destruction?

"Andrew!" Chris and Kayla exclaim at once.

"And me," Ember pants.

"Guys, hate to break up the party here, but let's go," Cole says. His short black hair suits him perfectly.

Chris is clearly the most graceful on his feet, but Maddie directs us, and I keep the guys running. I like to think we work perfectly as a team.

"Go Lucy!" Maddie yells, and I think of a friend of Kayla's before she got dragged away. She was a nice girl.

We all turn left, where Chris turns around with a look of true terror struck across his face. I hear the sound of twigs cracking and bird flock away as fast as they can.

I hear a loud sharp noises pierces my ears, one that I heard earlier. Chris groans and puts a hand on his stomach. The scientist's goons are catching up, they've even began fire shots at us. Thankfully no one's been hit yet, but I don't think we'll be that lucky for long.

"Come on guys. Let's go," I command, and my voice dips deep into my chest. We all turn and take a few steps, and the crunching in the brush grows stronger.

Everyone moves, except Chris, who is too in shock from the bullet whizzing past him. Chris stands still, frozen in a moment of time. He's a good kid, but he can't let that bother him.

I look to Cole, who suddenly realizes the issue that is currently at hand. He runs and grab Chris' arm, and whispers something harsh in his ear. Chris still looks frozen in fear, but he lets Cole tug him along. What's wrong with him..? Why can't he just shake this off?

"Oh my God!" Naomi screams, "Chris!"

"What's wrong with- Oh God..." I see the blood seeping from Chris' stomach. The bullet actually hit him. He actually got shot.

Cole quickly drops Chris' arm, and it falls limp. He looks almost like a Red now. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I not pay attention?

Chris falls to the ground with a hard, cold thump. His eyes lose sight, and his skin pales. Maddie stands with her mouth gaping, and I hear the brush crackle and snap once more.

The girl in the dark green shirt leans down over the boy who was like a little brother, and feels his wrist. When she looks up, her eyes well with the tears of a mother losing her child.

"He's..."

"Dead..." I finish so she doesn't have to say the words that come and slice hearts like knives.

Chris is dead.