From Ashes We Rise (The Darkest Minds)

Enemy Of My Enemy

(Murphy's POV)

I sat down at my desk and leaned up against my arm, humiliated beyond belief. My door flew open and banged against the wall. I rolled my eyes. I didn't even have to look up to know who it was.
"Collins," I mumbled.
"Those kids humiliated me!"
"You think you're the only one?"
I sighed irritably and shook my head. "They're smarter than the other PSI kids we've encountered," I stated. Collins leaned forward and placed his hands on my desk.
"Yeah. Now what are we gonna do to get them back?!" he questioned. I bit my cheek as I thought.
"I don't know," I mumbled. "Regular procedures aren't gonna work on these kids. We have to think differently."
"Than what do you suggest we do?!" I thought for a moment. For the first time ever in my life, I had no idea how to catch a criminal. There's gotta be a way to find out where they're going and cut them off before they---. I slowly pulled my eyes up to Collins as an idea hit me like a moving truck. His eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Collins crossed his arms, his eyes still narrowed.
"I have an idea." Collins sighed and looked down.
"I'm not gonna like it, am I?" I chuckled and shook my head.
"Belive me, I'm not going to either."

(Danni's POV)

We knew we couldn't go back to the gas station or car. FBI agents were probably sworming it. It was still hard for me to comprehend that the FBI was after us. Were we really that much of a threat to them? We were now walking through the woods. It was dark and unbearably cold. We've wandered through the woods for hours now. It's probably been about twelve hours, give or take. Either way, I was exhausted. It was a battle just to keep my eyes open. I glanced over at the others. I didn't know if they felt the same way, but judging by their bobing eyes and heads, I'm guessing they were just as exhausted. My eyes drifted up to look at the clear sky. The stars were out and because we're in the wilderness, you could see all the starts stretched out across the sky. There were way too many to count. There were clumps of brown stars, purple stars, and white stars all mixed together, painted across the sky. It's honestly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I squeezed my eyes shut and listened to the sound of frogs croaking and bugs buzzing around my ears. I remember going to a small creek as a little kid. My dad and I would always thy to catch frogs and salamanders. We all hopped over a fence and continued to walk forward.
"Sepe?" Sheng mumbled. "Can we please stop? I'm cold and tired."
"Yeah, C'mon, man," Jasper started.
"I doubt The Rock and that other dude are still on our tails. We're in the middle of nowhere." Sebastian stopped and just stared forward. I could barley feel my toes anymore as the snow covered my boots. I pressed my palms into my warm center.
"I can build a fire," I suggested. He sighed and turned to us. He slowly nodded. We gathered some twigs and branches and threw them on the driest spot of land we could find. My palms radiated with heat as I placed my hand on the wood. Within seconds, the fire was lit. We all gathered around and squished ourselves together, fighting for the warmth. Within about an hour, everyone was asleep, except Sebastian and I. Sheng was nestled up next him, fast asleep. I started at Sebastian and watched as he just stared blankly into the fire. I knew he had to be thinking about his dad.
"Thinking about Charlie?" I mumbled. His eyes lowered as he exhaled deeply. My eyes narrowed. "You okay?" He bit his lip and looked up at me, his eyes glazing over with tears.
"Collins is right," he quaked, his voice hoarse. "I am a monster."
"Why would you even think that? You saved us how many---."
"I took away Sheng's memory of him. He's alive and now my brother has no idea who our father is...because of me." I gazed down and shook my head.
"You thought you were doing---."
"We just left him, Dan. We just...left." I scooted over and slid my hand over his warm arm.
"You did what you thought was best! We both know that it's what Charlie would've wanted. You did nothing worng." He sucked in a sharp breath.
"How do you deal with being the dangerous one? The one being above yellow...cause I have no idea. I didn't want this...I dont want this." I shook my head.
"I don't either. But I have to belive that we were given our abilities to protect the ones we love." He squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. I smiled. He took another deep breath and slowly laid on his back.
"Get some sleep." I laid on my side and eventually, fell asleep.