Keep on Fighting (The 5th Wave)

Part TWO

With my bag secured tightly, I sneak into Sammy's tent, where him and Ben sleep, and place a kiss on my brother's head, being careful not to wake him up. But someone else seems to already be awake.

"Where are you going?" Ben questions, sternly.

I attempt to walk out as if I didn't hear him, but he shouts, as quietly as he can, "Cassie!"

He climbs out of bed and follows me out of the tent, but I continue to walk on.

"If you're going to search for Evan then I'm coming with you."

"No! How do you think he would feel if I turned up with my high school crush?" I wasn't intending to say that, ever, but I needed to prove a point.

"Crush?"

"Yeah, that's all. It didn't mean anything. Do you even know how many girls in our class had crushes you?"

"That many?"

I don't answer that. How can he expect me to allow him to follow me through the woods to find Evan? He's like a lost puppy! The only way I can stop him is by threatening him, so I grab my M16 and aim it at him. Hopefully, he doesn't notice that the safety is on.

"I will shoot you if you follow me." That's exactly what I said to

Evan when I found out that he was a Silencer, but he disobeyed me anyway.

"Cassie, this isn't how you used to be."

"Well, people change, Ben." I say as I turn to sprint into the trees, away from Ben, away from the squad, away from Sam.

The trees look as if they're closing in as I jog through the gaps, following the trail of tyre prints left by the Jeep. It's not even light yet, as the red of the sun is on the verge of the horizon. The soles of my boots bounce off the ground, and I'm not sure how long I have been travelling - ten, maybe twenty minutes by now. I didn't think I could be successful in cross-country, but maybe the recent events have made my body healthier. There has been quite a lot of movement over the past few weeks.

Then, almost suddenly, a clearing comes into view; the wide, vast field which leads to the land of rubble and destruction. As I sprint, now, over to the base, dragging my feet along the ground with all of my strength, I start to realise that, survival whilst in this devastation is scarce. What if I have travelled all this way and his body is buried beneath the concrete and stone?

I climb over the rubble, and the ashes scatter everywhere. I can still taste the smoke in the air. If I can't see him from here, he's either dead on the ground, suffocated beneath the rock, or he has escaped this devastation.

I head towards his house, and it takes days to travel, but with my small amount of food and water, sleeping bag, and journal in my rucksack, I manage to keep myself healthy and occupied. Then, I see his house, and I wonder how I remembered the exact direction to get there, but how could I forget where Evan Walker lives. Or lived.

The house looks empty, but it did when I was here last, too. It seems like so long since I first opened my eyes to see the interior of the house, and Evan for the first time.

Through the door and up the stairs I go, without even thinking about where I will go. I just walk into Evan's room noticing how the wooden board in the floor has been moved back into place since I left it open, when I found my gun under the board.

It doesn't look like he has been here, but I stay for a few nights, each night having the same nightmare as the one I have had every night since... the explosion. Then all of the haunting memories return to me, and suddenly Evan's death is on my mind, whether I know if he's alive or dead. I keep comprehending this, over and over, until I can't bear to even use my mind anymore, and I feel like I want to disable all of my emotions. But I hear light footsteps from downstairs, echoing in my mind as they continue.