Save Me From Me (Jesstra)

Keeping the Façade

Hey guys! Happy Friday! I just wanted to pop in in the beginning here real quick just to put in a little side warning: there's going to be swearing in this, as you may have realized in previous chapters. It's not gonna be like every other word, but it's also not gonna appear just once every couple chapters. So if strong language bothers you, this may not bode well for ya. Just wanted to let you guys know! Happy reading!

~oOo~

After armoring and weaponing up, just as a precaution, the Order of the Stone set out to find their leader, their friend. Beacontown was still in good hands. Radar was still there, and before making their exit, Lukas had a brief talk with the intern, not giving him all of the details, but enough to let him know where he and the others were going. Radar seemed hesitant at first, but quickly 'manned up', as he called it, and vowed to keep a watchful over Beacontown while the Order was gone.

"This is where we...got split up."

Petra wasn't lying. This, where they now stood, was where Jesse and herself technically parted ways. Just..not in the way that Petra was telling the others.

There were mobs everywhere, it was insane. We had to part ways, we had to split up. We thought we could lose them faster! We agreed to meet back in Beacontown, but she never showed up.

Hah, yeah. That's definitely how it went down. Bullshit...

"Alright, so which way did Jesse go?" Lukas asked, glancing around at the trees and shrubs all around them. Everything was still damp from the night before, making it kind of disgusting to walk through here with all of the mud. The forest itself wasn't exactly friendly looking, not even during the day. At least not this part of the forest, anyway.

Petra couldn't forget which way Jesse ran even if she tried. She turned, facing the same way she was facing Jesse last night, then pointed ahead of her. "That way." She should've caught up to her, should've kept running after her...

"That's...vague," Axel said, looking in the way Petra pointed. Everyone, including Petra, couldn't help but agree. It was super vague, she wouldn't deny that. Jesse could've ran anywhere from where Petra last saw her. She could've went right, could've went left, could've gone in literally any direction. So saying that way was very vague.

"Yeah," is all Petra murmured before the group began walking in the direction that Petra had pointed in.

A slightly tense and uncomfortable silence hung over the Order. Everyone could tell Petra was on edge, even if they said nothing about it.

And just as the others knew Petra was tense, Petra knew that they knew. It was making her extremely uncomfortable, and she hated it. "..I'm gonna scout ahead, see if I can find something useful," she blurted out at one point, quickening her pace and walking briskly ahead of the others.

"Alright, we'll...search over here then," Olivia said, looking after Petra with an expression of worry. She was hiding something... Petra usually gets kind of flustered when she's hiding something. That was evident when she had that Wither Sickness. Petra seemed more determined, yet isolated at the same time. Something was definitely going on with her, Olivia knew it. Still though, she didn't say anything about it.

Lukas frowned, watching Petra trek further ahead of them. He remained silent for a few moments before looking over to Axel and Olivia, saying, "I'm gonna go make sure Petra's okay."

"Please do," Olivia instantly said.

Axel nodded in agreement, "Yeah, she seems off. This is really bothering her, huh?"

Lukas rubbed the back of his neck a little, side glancing to the left before looking back at the pair, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, you could say that," he said, then turned, half walking-half jogging to catch up with Petra.

Petra glanced over her shoulder, seeing Lukas starting to catch up with her, but then just looked forward again with a storm raging in her mind. So many thoughts were going through her head at once that she almost didn't hear Lukas as he spoke to her, now by her side.

"Petra, I...I really don't think that keeping what actually happened from Axel and Olivia is a good idea."

Petra turned her head to briefly look at Lukas before, again, shifting her gaze forward. "I can't just tell them," she said in a hushed voice. Axel and Olivia were a bit further back, sure, but they were still following them at a steady, slow pace. "It'll be simpler like this."

Lukas sighed, "They deserve to know-" he started, but Petra pulled him aside suddenly, making Lukas let out a noise of surprise.

"They do. I know they do! But I can't just... Lukas, they won't understand! They'll be scared of me! They won't trust me, and if they don't trust me, they'll back out on us... If they find out that I'm the reason Jesse's gone, they'll hate me! You know what being controlled is like. They don't..." Petra said quickly and quietly before sighing and leaning against a tree, looking down.

Lukas was silent for a moment, glancing back at Axel and Olivia before focusing back on Petra. "You're right. They don't know what it's like. But neither did Jesse. She didn't hate us back in Crown Mesa. She didn't attack us once, she didn't look at us differently once. She helped us. Jesse's our friend. Axel and Olivia are our friends too. They may not know exactly what we've been through, what's going on right now, but...they wouldn't just up and leave because of this. I know it," he said sincerely.

Petra huffed quietly, crossing her arms in an almost defiant manner. But Lukas was right. He always right when it came to this stuff. Heh, Jesse must've rubbed off on him... But that didn't mean Petra was just going to spill everything to the others. Not...not yet.

"Guys! There's footprints over here!" Axel shouted from where he stood with Olivia.

Thank god, a distraction... Petra thought, immediately pushing herself off of the tree and walking briskly over to where the other two were. She didn't look at Lukas as she went.

Lukas let a quiet sigh escape his lips before he walked after Petra. Something caught his eye, though, making him stop.

Through the bushes, the sun was reflecting its light off of something. If the leaves of the trees were any thicker and refuse to let light through, Lukas would've missed the shiny glint of a certain object.

"Hey, hold up," Lukas called out, making everyone pause and look over to him. "I...I found something too. Remember where those footprints are, then come here."

Within seconds, the Order approached, looks of curiosity and almost anxiety on their faces. Lukas bent down, pulling some of the leaves and branches of this particular bush out of the way. Everyone's eyes widened as the object of interest came into view.

A camera, clearly turned on and observing.

"Guys?...We're being watched."

~oOo~

Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! It was honestly a bit of a filler chapter, but still! XD See ya next week, my dudes! 💛