The Rain (Book 2 - The Constant Fight)

Chapter 4 - Déchiré et la vérité derrière le job

A/N - I suggest you listen to the song on repeat throughout the chapter. You can do that if you read on a laptop or computer only, it doesn't let you do it on a phone

"Where'd you find that?" Michael asked. He was pointing to the siphon in Ross's hands. They were getting ready to find another car to siphon some fuel from so they could continue heading West.

"Eh.." Ross looked down to the red siphon he was holding. "A friend had it." He said, picturing Clifton in his head. Michael nodded, understanding that the person was now dead. "Come on," Ross said over his shoulder as he moved through the living room to the hall.

Courtney, Jane, Nate and Drew were also gearing up. They were going to raid some houses along the street.

"Where you going?" Ross asked, looking Courtney up and down with an eyebrow raised. Courtney looked up at him confused.

"We're going to check some houses, we're running low on water." She said simply, tugging her leather jacket and picking up the bag that lay at her feet. Ross knew arguing with her would be pointless, she would find a way to go anyway.

The truth was, Courtney didn't want to go to help, she just wanted to get away from James. Ever since last night, she'd had the creeps just being near him. She also didn't want Jane going out alone. 

She walked towards the door and stepped back, swinging it open. The warm air enveloped her and blew the hair off her shoulders. She could see some blood and bones from where the woman was and her small smile vanished. She stepped down the three stairs and made her way down the driveway turning right and heading towards the house next-door.

Courtney stood in front of the brown oak door and held her gun, coiling her fingers around the grip and flipping the safety off just in case. Jane stood behind her, watching as Courtney prepared herself to go in.

Jane looked down at the knife in her own hand. It had a long blade and a yellow, gold coloured handle. She didn't even know if she was holding it right. She followed after Courtney as she stepped cautiously into the still house. In the light, Jane could see dust particles floating down to the ground. The house was quite small but bright due to the bold wallpaper and carpet. Pictures covered every flat surface and animal hairs acted as another layer of material on the couches, pillows and blankets.

This caught Courtney's attention and caused her to be on high alert. The thought of a dog or cat in the same house as them scared both her and Jane. Courtney was just better at hiding her fear.

"Come on," Courtney said to Jane as she started making her way up the stairs. She thought it would be better to stick together until they knew she house was clear, she didn't feel comfortable with Jane going off by herself.

Both girls froze in their place when a loud bang sounded from upstairs. Courtney had one foot in the air, ready to move up the steps. Jane whimpered, lifting the knife to her chest and clutching it with both hands. They listened for a moment, it was like someone was banging on a door. Courtney's brows scrunched in confusion. Whatever it was must be stuck because it was continuously hitting against this object. Courtney looked over her shoulder to Jane and nodded at her before moving up the steps again.

"No, Courtney! Why can't we just go?" Jane begged, her voice a pleading whisper. Her hand was gripping Courtney's leather shoulder. Jane's eyes were wide and brimming with tears. Her knuckles white from squeezing the handle of the knife in her left hand.

"Because it could be someone who needs help, someone hurt," Courtney said, she didn't look back to Jane. She felt guilty about the woman from last night, the one she couldn't help. She didn't want anyone else dying on her watch and she'd be damned if she was going to let it possibly happen again.