In My Blood (Completed)

CHAPTER 2: The Barden Settlement

Beca woke with a start just before sunrise, moving to sit up before she remembered what had happened last night. Searing pain screamed from her side and she flopped back down. Onto a couch. In... a house. Fuck, what--?

Her eyes blinked into focus at a girl curled up on the floor asleep, clutching what appeared to be a book to her chest. Thank god she was okay, after everything. (Well... physically, at least. Nobody was really okay anymore.) Mentally berating herself for passing out, she sat up slowly this time, carefully. More deep aches radiated from her side and she pulled up her shirt to squint down at what looked to be some sort of surgical patch job, gauze and tape indicating that redheaded girl had fixed her up against her wishes. Grumbling under her breath, she removed the blanket someone had draped over her lap and instead settled it over the younger girl on the floor. Emily. Beca then reached for her revolver, reinserting it back into its holster still hanging low on her hips. She had to get the hell out of there before any of those girls woke up.

*

Tired didn't even begin to describe it. After night had long since fallen and the woman still hadn't woken up, Chloe had slipped out of the house to go find Aubrey, who she knew was scheduled to be on watch at the community's wall that night. Emily was still keeping watch over their unexpected guest, after all, and Stacie had returned to the house as well, so Chloe reasoned that there were plenty of people on hand if anything happened while she was gone. She trudged up the path towards the perimeter that surrounded the settlement, the beam of her flashlight bouncing lazily around the path since she could practically walk this route in her sleep by now. No doubt Aubrey would chastise her about vigilance if she'd been by her side at that moment. But no, Aubrey swam into view out of the darkness instead as Chloe approached, and she cleared her throat so Aubrey would know she was there. The house closest to the perimeter had an elevated deck, and the community had converted it into a watch post of sorts that could overlook the fortifications and spot any encroaching threats.

Aubrey turned to glance at her as she reached the top of the staircase, but said nothing and turned her gaze back out over the perimeter as Chloe moved to stand by her side at the railing. So it was going to be one of thosenights. If Aubrey wasn't speaking to her, then clearly her best friend was still simmering in her frustration about Chloe's decision to bring a complete stranger into their home and give her medical attention. (Trust had been one of the first things Aubrey had lost, after...well, everything.) Chloe wasn't sure how much time lapsed between them in relative silence, broken only by the nighttime sounds of insects and the occasional shuffling of other guards along the perimeter.

"Why don't you go get some sleep? I'll finish your shift." Chloe wasn't entirely sure what prompted her to finally break the quiet with that offer. Maybe it was some sort of penance or an apology--an olive branch extended after their clear disagreement about how the situation should've been handled. There was a pregnant pause of silence before Aubrey finally gave a stiff, jerky nod and pushed away from the railing.

"Thanks. See you back at the house." It was probably the most she was going to get for now, but she'd take it. Aubrey would undoubtedly bring it up whenever she was ready to address the actual situation.

"Okay. Sleep well."

The sound of Aubrey's footsteps receded down the staircase, and Chloe was left with nothing but the quiet and her own thoughts. The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and Chloe had to pace the length of the deck occasionally to rouse herself from the sleepy boredom she lapsed into with the passing hours. She was relieved when the next person arrived to replace her, and she offered a hint of a smile as she brushed past him to make her way down the stairs.

Chloe trudged back up the path towards their house, rubbing blearily at one eye as her shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh. The edges of the sky were beginning to lighten from inky black to dark, muted blue as sunrise approached, but no actual light spilled over the horizon yet. As she pushed her way through the front door, she froze when movement from the couch drew her attention. Emily was asleep, but the stranger was very much awake. The fact that she'd finally woken after her ordeal was enough to cause Chloe's shoulders to sag with relief...at least until she noticed the revolver that had been returned to the woman's holster.