"it's gonna be okay"

~5~

George had been walking with Vincent for three days.

Three days of searching for the scream.

"Vince, can we please just stop looking for whoever that was?" George complained, stopping to rest on the sidewalk.

Vincent shook his head.

"No, if there's more people, that means that we have a better chance of survival and we can team up with whoever that was," he concluded. "Also, it means that we're not the only ones left, besides the Wraith."

"Yes, but they screamed, so maybe that means that they're dead!"

George was absentmindedly toying with a little flame on the tip of his middle finger.

"They can't be dead, I would have smelled the blood," he said. "Besides, it's not like we have anywhere else to go, plus the water you find tastes like shit."

George flipped him off, his finger decorated in flames.

Then, Vincent perked up, seeming to hear something. George continued to play with the spark of fire on his fingertips.

"Hey, George."

"Yuh huh?"

"I think there's someone in that building, I don't know why I didn't hear them sooner."

Vincent pointed at a nearby apartment complex, only three stories tall, with dark windows.

"You sure?" George asked.

Vincent replied with a nod.

"Hey Vincent, remind me again, why is this a good idea?"

"It's not."

"Righty then, let's go."

The pair quickly reached the building and, with Vincent leading the way, arrived at complex number 417.

"Hello?" George called out after knocking. "Is anyone there?"

"Go away," came a muffled reply.

"We heard a scream a few days ago and were looking for whoever, um, whatever happened," Vincent replied.

"I'm armed. If you don't leave, I'll make you."

George and Vincent exchanged a look.

"Let's just leave him alone," George whispered.

"No, we already came this far," Vincent quietly responded.

They turned back to the door.

"Look, we don't want to hurt you or anything, we just want to know what happened," Vincent said.

After a moment, the doorknob turned and the door opened.

There stood a blonde boy, slightly shorter than George, with green eyes, wearing a bright green sweatshirt.

"I'm not who you're looking for," he said.

Vincent was taken aback.

"But I'll help you."

a/n: i wrote this outside while being terrorized by a huge beetle.