Cataclysm

2.4

By midday, I started to feel my hunger again, gnawing away at my empty stomach. Aaron took me inside one of the rooms and gave me a few things out of the fridge, telling me to take some to Leo and Braken. I went quietly, thinking about what I'd learned from Aaron. Leo was bright - so was he evil to me, too, or just to Aaron? Why? What was he thinking about, what was he going to do?

I found him sitting by himself up on the roof, his legs dangling over the edge, swinging childishly. He had his elbows on his knees, resting his chin in his palms and staring at the camp below.

"Hey, Leo," I said, trying to keep the concern out of my voice. "I brought you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," he said, not surprisingly.

"You need to eat anyway." I handed him an apple and a slice of deli meat. "Here. If you don't eat, you'll get sick."

"I'm not hungry," he repeated. "Go away, Joel."

"Please, Leo," I said, gently pushing the apple into his hand. He took it from me, rolling it across his palm.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll eat the apple. That's it." He glanced at me and his face flushed red. I couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. "Thanks. Now please, will you leave me alone?"

"I'm afraid you'll do something if you're left alone," I said softly.

"What?" His head instantly snapped up, the fire in his eyes burning a hole into my soul.

"I don't mean that offensively or anything," I said quickly, trying to redeem myself before he pushed me off of the building or something. "Just - I'm worried about you. You're not healthy, Leo."

"How do you know? I'm fine." He dropped his eyes back down to the street below us.

"I don't want you to be alone anymore." I sat next to him, still keeping my distance, but trying to seem as friendly as possible. I really was concerned, but I was also afraid, especially after hearing what both he and Aaron had told me. Scared people did irrational things in their panic. "Why don't I go get Braken? Would you like that?"

"Quit talking to me like I'm a kid," he grumbled.

"You are a kid, Leo."

"I'm nineteen years old. I'm an adult. Leave me alone." His voice cracked on the last word.

"You're acting like a kid. That's okay," I said softly, trying to keep him as calm as possible. "You've been imprisoned in a hell since you were twelve. I don't blame you for anything that happens."

"Why do you keep acting like you know what I'm going though? Quit it. You're just making it worse." His voice was shaking, and I thought I saw his eyes fill up with tears, but he just stared ahead with a determined expression on his face. The scabs on his face had started to scar, especially where he'd picked at them.

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help." I stood up and sighed. "If you want me to get Braken, I will."

He hesitated. "Okay. Bring him up in ... an hour or something. I don't want him to worry about me."

"He already worries about you," I said.

"Just ... go away," he muttered, his voice cracking again. He rubbed his face to hide from me and I just nodded, making my way back down to the ground.

I wandered for a long time, looking for Braken. I didn't think we'd split up, but apparently, the small Unnatural - or Gifted; I liked that term better - had immediately become comfortable around everyone else. They all had the same problem.

I found him sitting cross-legged in front of a young mother and her baby, which looked small enough to be only about three or four months old. "Hey, Braken. What are you doing?" I asked.