VICIOUS

10.

With my 2 bags, I walk towards the elevator. But before I can push the button, someone jumps in front of me. 

Hayden.

''Taylor, I just needed to tell and give you something before you go,'' he says. He looks like he's about to have a mental breakdown. Dark circles under his eyes, messy hair and clothes. The last time I saw - which was a few hours ago - he looked completely different. Something must have happened to him. 

''I'm wishing you luck with this mission,'' he continues. Hayden pats my back and I take a step back. I don't like it when people touch me and right now, I don't trust him.  

''Come on, I have a present for you,'' He says. He grabs a bracelet out of the pocket of his suit and hands it over to me. ''You can communicate with us via this bracelet,'' He explains. ''It's something we designed. Don't take it off. It's waterproof, so you'll be fine.'' 

''Yeah, thanks,'' I say as I slide the bracelet around my wrist. Just take it and leave. 

The bracelet looks similar to an Apple Watch, but it looks more like a bracelet. It's hard to explain, to be honest. 

''I really have to go now,'' I say. ''It's 8 pm already, the day is almost over and Thomas and I still need to get to the location of Oblivion.'' 

Hayden just nods and steps out of my way. I walk into the elevator and make sure I have everything. 

A few minutes later I step out of the elevator, into the wooden house. When I close the door, I feel the rain hitting my head. A pissed off Thomas leans against the house. His hair is a bit wet, making it fluffy. Thank God he isn't soaked, otherwise he would've been shouting to me about that. 

''Where is the car?'' Thomas asks. Just like me, he has two bags in his hand. 

''We use mine to get there,'' I say. ''We just have to walk through the forest, to our old place.'' 

Thomas raises an eyebrow and then frowns. ''Why?'' 

We begin to walk. 

''I was alone once,'' I explain. ''After doing some business, I was curious how the old camps would look like. I drove there, seeing that a garage was still intact. So, since that moment, I keep my car there.'' 

We walk through the forest. The trees protect us from the rain. The only lights you can see are coming from our phones. 

20 minutes later, we arrive at the old camps. Collapsed houses, old skulls, even a few skeletons. The moment you look at all the mess, you want to know what happened. But at the same time you already know. 

It's like a warzone. 

And technically you can't say that a war happened here, since it was almost impossible for us to protect ourselves against the bombs. 

In the back of my mind, I can hear the screaming and the loud sounds of houses that were collapsing. The people that survived know that they were lucky that day.

Oblivion is cruel, not only did they bomb us, they also took the people that they knew were important to us. Or to me at least one person. 

Ben.

His shouting is getting louder in my mind. The way he tried to shout for help and no one did something. I tried to save him, I really did. But when they saw me trying to get to him, they threw a grenade towards me, so I had to back off. 

Only I didn't. 

It exploded right in front of me and it definitely left its marks. Old scars can be seen on my legs, from stitches and open wounds. 

I shake the old thoughts away. Not now. 

With my left hand, I open the door of the garage. Because of the darkness inside, you can't see what kind of car it is. 

''Wait here,'' I say to Thomas. 

I throw my bags on the ground next to him and walk in. With the key I open the door of the car. I sit down and breathe in some air. This feels safe. This is mine. 

I start the car and drive it outside. In the mirror I can see how Thomas's jaw drops. I open the window. 

''Like what you see?'' I ask him and I grin. He slowly nods while examining the car. He walks around it, looks at the tires and examines almost every single detail.

''You can't tell me this is yours,'' He says. ''This is a lamborghini. One of the most expensive cars.'' He finally gets in and throws the bags at his feet. 

''I know we make a lot of money, but not this much,'' He says, still shocked. 

''Well...'' I shrug. ''Let's just say you make an amazing amount of money by dealing in illegal drugs.'' 

And his jaw drops again. 

''Illegal drugs?'' He repeats. I nod while driving away. 

''I thought Rank 3 was responsible for that,'' he says. 

''They are,'' I say. ''Rank 1, leader. Rank 2, us. Rank 3, illegal drugs and just gang things. Rank 4, only gang things. Rank 5, still in training. I did it 2 years ago, when I was 19. Hayden told me Rank 3 needed some chick to make sure the deal happened.'' 

''Why did they need some chick?'' Thomas asks. 

''The people we gave the drugs were a bit odd,'' I explain. ''So they wanted to see some chick to make sure the deal and the drugs were real.'' I keep my focus on the road in front of me. 

''But nothing happened?'' Thomas asks me. ''As in... Sexual things?'' I shake my head. 

''Are you jealous?'' I ask with a grin. He quickly shakes his head. 

''No, of course not,'' he says. ''Why would I be jealous?'' His cheeks turn pink. 

''You just seem to be,'' I say, still grinning. 

It can't be true that the person that hates me, feels something. Impossible. 

''Anyways, Rose told me the location,'' I say, trying to forget what happened, like, a minute ago. 

''We will have to drive the whole night, so you better get comfortable.''

And then we drive off at full speed.