From Ashes We Rise (The Darkest Minds)

Hunted

We sat outside of the motel. For the most part, it looked pretty empty. The parking lot only had two cars.
"Okay, here's the plan," Logan started. "We go in and---." I kinda tuned Logan out and stared at Matt as he slowly started towards the door. I tapped Logan's hand and pointed to Matt. Logan's face hardened.
"Matt, what are you doing?!" he yelled. Matt rolled his eyes and literally ran into the motel. Logan's eyes got wide and he looked at me. I shrugged and followed him into the motel.
"Hey! Put me down!" a man yelped. My mouth dropped as I saw Matt making a man float in the air. Logan and Maddy ran in. Logan gasped and stared up at the man.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Logan screamed.
"We gotta get a map somehow!" he argued. Matt whipped his head back towards the man. "You got a map?!" he shouted.
"Put me down!" is all the man yelled. I looked at Logan and shrugged.
"We do need a map," I whispered. Logan rolled his eyes.
"Put me down before I call the National Guard!"
"Oh, I don't think you wanna do that." Matt motioned me to step forward. I slowly walked beside him and stared at the man. "My friend here can get pretty hot. Literally and metaphorically." I slowly started to pull my mask down and guessing by the man's terrified expression, my eyes and cheeks were glowing red. "Okay!" he screamed. "There's a map under my desk!" I started towards the checkout counter and looked underneath it. I smiled as I grabbed it. "Got it!" With the flick of Matt's wrist, he pushed the man into a janitors closet and locked the door.
"Okay, we got the map. Now, let's go!" Matt shook his head.
"I don't know about you three, but it's been a pretty long night. I'm going to sleep." Matt started up the stairs. I turned to see Logan's eyes narrowed and his face was turning red with anger. He grabbed Maddy's hand and reluctantly followed Matt.

Logan and I sat outside on the balcony. Matt and Maddy were asleep, but Logan and I were too paranoid to sleep. We knew what it was like in the camps. Matt was never in one and Maddy was only in one for a few months. They weren't scared of them like Logan and I were. No matter how paranoid I was of the National Guard coming, it couldn't push out another thought buzzing around in the back of my head.
"What do we do if this place isn't real?" I mumbled. Logan sighed.
"I don't know, D." I looked over at him. His short blond hair waved in the wind. Every feature from his nose to his jawline was sharp and he was a pretty tall kid. My eyes narrowed as I looked at him.
"Is that all you're gonna say? 'I don't know'?" He looked down and sighed. "Look, we have no contact with the league. No way to find them or them to find us." His eyes finally met mine and all I saw in them were anxiety. "We're not with Meg anymore. We can't trust any adult we see." He took another deep breath and looked back out at the night sky. "We're on our own now. The only people we can trust are us." I chuckled.
"It's been that way almost all my life." All he did was nod, his face still seeming unemotional.
"But, Danni, you have to do exactly what I say. If you continue to follow Matt, you'll either end up dead or back in the camps. You got me?" I didn't answer for a while. I didn't realize until now how much I followed Matt around like a little puppy. I nodded and looked out at the crappy view of two dumpsters. At least we were outside. For the first time in a while, I felt free, but I also felt like we could be dead or caught at any moment. "And one more thing," he started. I looked over at him. "It's winter and shelter is gonna become very scarce." I swallowed hard, knowing where this was gonna go. "You're gonna have to use your powers. Often. And not just for scaring adults into giving you a map. You're gonna have to use them for real. To defend yourself. To keep us warm. Okay?" I looked forward. My heart was pounding just at the thought of that. I'm gonna end up hurting someone. I took a deep breath.
"It's your funeral." I pushed myself up and went back inside. Back into the warmth. I sat down in one of the chairs and closed my eyes. I listened to the sound of the heater turning off and on, the sound of Matt's heavy breathing as he slept and the rustling of Maddy tossing and turning as she slept. I was so exhausted. Matt had been right about one thing. It had been a long night. I felt myself jerking in and out of sleep. Everytime I came close to the edge of sleep, my muscles would twitch, bringing me back to consciousness. I felt a set of hands on my shoulders. My eyes popped open and I practically jumped out of my skin. Logan stood over me.
"What?" I grumbled.
"I dozed off, but I think I heard someone talking outside." I shooed his hands away.
"It's outside. We're fine," I said, my eyes now closed.
"Dude, what if they come in and find the guy in the closet. Please! I need you to back me up while I check." I sighed.
"Fine." I pried my heavy eyes open and slowly stood to my tired feet. Logan woke Matt up and told him to watch the door and listen out just incase. Logan slowly and quietly opened the door. I cringed as the old door creaked. I slipped out and Logan walked in front of me. We slowly and quietly walked through the empty and dark hallways. The next turn would've been the lobby. Logan grabbed my arm tight. He looked back at me.
"D, if I tell you to use your powers, will you?" I nodded even though I wasn't sure. I was scared of my own powers. He smiled weakly and turned back around. We inched closer and closer to the lobby. My heart was beating out of my chest. Logan looked back at me and nodded. I nodded back and took a deep breath. Logan quickly rounded the corner. I quickly did the same and saw nothing out of the ordinary. I stood up straight and let my guard down.
"Thanks, Logan. You woke me up for this." He didn't say anything back. In fact, he was just staring forward. His eyes were locked on something. My eyes narrowed and I looked forward. I felt a sinking feeling in my gut as I saw the closet door opened with the man gone. All of a sudden, I heard two sets of screams coming from our room. My heart fell to my feet. I loud pinching sound breached my brain. I could feel my skull shrinking and closing in on my brain. My spine felt like it was burning and curling in on itself. I fell to my knees and cried out in agony. I glanced over to see Logan on the ground too, riding in pain just like me. He started to drag himself towards the door. I looked forward and saw our door open. Someone was in there with Maddy and Matt. I grabbed the floor and started to drag myself towards the door. The insane high pitch noise was tearing up my eardrums. I could feel the blood drip down my nose and fill my mask. My mind felt like it was in a scramble. I could barley think. The only thing on my mind was getting to Matt and Maddy. I felt my body being dragged back. The door got further and further away and so did the horrible noise. I felt someone's arms wrap around me.
"We gotta go!" Logan screamed. It wasn't until now that I realized he pulled me back. We were outside of the motel. The noise was still there but it was bearable.
"We have to go back for them!" I yelled.
"We can't!" My eyes narrowed and I started towards the door again. Logan held my arm tight and held me back. "What do you mean?! They're gonna get sent back to the camp!" Logan squeezed my arm even tighter and yanked me back to face him. I finally stopped struggling.
"So will we, okay?! We can't fight them with the crowd control on! They're gone! Okay? They are gone! We have to go!" My eyes started to fill with tears.
"We can't just leave them!"
"You're a Red, Danni! They'll kill you!" My eyes started to gush out tears. "They are all we have!" I sobbed. All of a sudden, I felt two arms wrap around me. He yanked me back and wrapped his hand around my mouth. Two kids with masks came running from behind Logan. They grabbed him and fought to make him stop struggling. The guy behind me lifted me off of my feet and turned me around. I could see the dark woods that he was carrying me towards. I could tell by his build and the size of his forearms that he was an adult. My heart sank as I realized that he was a PSF. I screamed and kicked and tried desperately to get out of his grasp. "Let go of me!" I tried to scream but his hand was muffling my voice.
"Do it! Use your powers!" Logan screamed from a far. I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the man's forearm. I concentrated and dug deep into his arm with my fiery hands. He winced in pain and cussed loudly.
"She's a Red!" he yelled.
"Hold her still!" someone yelled. The man grabbed my wrists and yanked them off of his arms. I still struggled and fought as hard as I could. I felt someone's hand on my forehead. I looked up to see one of the kids with his hand on me. The last thing I saw was his eyes flash orange, and then there was nothing.