Children's Draft

Chapter 14 (Part Two)

(Daniel's PoV)

As soon as we got back, Connor headed straight for Holly's room. I trailed him, stammering along the way. "Um...Connor. I don't think you should go in there. She doesn't--you know she doesn't like it when we enter without permission."

"Yeah, it's kind of a death wish," Trevor added, using his long stride to step in front of him.

Connor shoved him aside. "Good." He swung the cabinet doors open and began to ransack through their contents.

"What the hell?" Holly exclaimed. Although normally confrontational, she backed against the wall.

Connor kept throwing bottles to the ground after struggling with the child safety locks. "Where's the lethal combinations you talked about?"

By this point our entire group had migrated to Holly's room or just outside the hallway. Christopher grabbed a few of the medicine bottles off of the ground. "Connor, maybe you should just give yourself a little time to calm down. Before you do anything rash."

Connor squeezed his eyes shut and pounded his fist against the cabinet door, causing the top hinge to break. "I deserve this."

"What's going on?" Holly screamed.

We all went silent. It had just occurred to us that Holly was unaware of everything that happened after we left base. Landon fidgeted with his hands as he spoke up. "Aaron's dead...he got shot."

Holly furrowed her eyebrows, attempting to match names to faces.

"The ginger," Alan confirmed.

After a moment, Holly's eyes widened. You mean the one who was always with him? she mouthed to Landon. He nodded and whispered something to her that caused her to gasp.

"Everyone out of my room." She cleared her throat in an attempt to stop her voice from shaking. "Get out now!"

I began to make out the voices of Clayton and Logan arguing about whose show had a better opener last year from the barracks.

"See," Holly stated. "Someone needs to tell them. So you all do that and I'll..." but she couldn't find the words to finish.

As our half re-entered the barracks, Clayton and Logan approached me with their debate, prompting me to give them a 'not the time' gesture.

Our half kept looking back and forth between Connor and the other group, unable to speak.

"What's going on?" Justin asked, examining our expressions.

I glanced around, hoping to find some sort of reassurance or right words.

Sean pushed his way to the front. "Where's Aaron?" His gaze shifted around the room, slowly growing in confusion. "Why isn't he here?"

"Well you see Sean," I began, although I trailed off as I locked eyes with the biggest, bluest eyes I had ever seen. Full of worry and curiosity. I had to turn away. "Fuck, I don't have the heart."

"The heart for what?" Sean questioned. "What does that have to do with Aaron?"

"Because he died," Alan replied matter-of-factly.

My side of the room exclaimed at Alan for being a blunt dick, while the other half exclaimed in shock.

I knelt down next to Sean to bring him down from the chaos. "I'm so sorry."

He wouldn't bring his head up. He shifted several times, while trying to hide wiping his eyes.

"And it's all my fault," Connor spoke over the crowd. He paused, waiting for silence. "We were fighting, I kicked him, and he fell over the barricade. And then..." he eyed his gun, which Landon gripped even tighter.