CHAPTER 5

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I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to not have a headache when I woke up. All I wanted was to be safe in my room at the rebellion, I wanted to open my eyes and see the green of the glow-in-the-dark stars I had glued to my ceiling, a guilty secret of mine. I couldn't even imagine how humiliated I would be if everyone found out I had something so childish in my room. Cass would no doubt tease me to death, but it made me feel like I was truly home. It was too cold to sleep outside at night, after all. Having glow in the dark stars on my ceiling was the closest thing I could get without catching pneumonia.

Everything in my room had been collected and hoarded through the years, mainly astronomy posters, books and magazines with zodiac facts and star charts. Josie used to call me a nerd, I call myself passionate. Maybe I loved it so much because the stars were so high in the sky, because I felt it would be a lot better to live up there than down here. If only it was that easy.

Instead of waking up in my room surrounded by my collection, I woke up on a couch in a room I'd never seen before. My anxiety instantly spiked, brought on by the pain in my hips and the memory of what I'd been through just hours before. There was the beginning of a scream caught in my throat when I forced myself to sit up, gasping, but hands on my shoulders kept me from falling off the couch.

"Easy!" it was a female voice that tried to calm me down, slender fingers brushing my hair back, one hand pushing at my chest, "You're okay, sweetie, lay back down."

"What?" I rubbed at my eyes, letting myself lay back down and forcing my limbs to relax so I could concentrate on slowing my racing heart, "Where am I?" I asked with a mumble.

"You're at our current base," was the reply, "We move around a lot for safety, but Orion brought you and your friend here to rest," there was a long pause before the woman spoke again, "H-here, sit up. Can you? How's your head?"

"I'm fine," I snapped, shifting around, and wincing as I pushed myself into a sitting position, pushing the hands away from my shoulders before reaching up to my head again, feeling over the bandages there.

It didn't feel like anything else was bandaged, and I was still wearing the borrowed shirt, so Orion and his group probably didn't do much besides check my head. Everything was still aching, and I missed Arthur so much. I wanted to start a hot shower and just live under the spray of the water until I died of starvation.

"Well, you don't look fine. You look like shit. Sit up, look at me." The strict tone of her voice shocked me, it reminded me of my mother whenever she thought I was being disrespectful, and out of habit I listened, sitting straighter and gaping up at her.

I didn't say anything, I couldn't say anything. My mouth moved like it wanted to speak as the woman's familiar eyes bored into me. They were dark brown like coffee, and her hair was like auburn, pulled back into a high ponytail to show her face and the scar on her jaw, and her smile took my breath away.

"Don't worry," she breathed, "I can't believe it's you either, Dakota."

My breath hitched in my throat as my eyes widened in complete shock. It was taking me longer than usual to fully comprehend what was happening, and the fact this person wasn't just a ghost. I had to reach out a shaking hand to touch a strand of her hair to prove she was real, then I jerked away from her in panic, and she held her hands out, looking startled that I'd reacted the way I had.

"No, no, calm down, you're okay."

"M-Maggie?" I choked out in disbelief, and she nodded, giving me a heartbreaking smile as her eyes became glassy with tears of joy.

"It's me."

"That's not possible," I argued, pushing hard against the back of the couch to keep as much distance between us as I could without standing, because I knew I'd just collapse if I tried, "That town was obliterated, I know it was, I saw it!"

"Well, you're not wrong," Maggie agreed, settling down when she was certain I wasn't going to launch off the couch, "but the final bombs didn't hit for hours after the initial run by. Everyone at the college saw the fire and chaos from where the school was located, and we managed to get out in time," she hesitated, rubbing her hands over the legs of her jeans, "When everything calmed down I went back and looked for you, and mom and dad, and Gracie, but.... All I found were.... Bodies, ashes, and you were nowhere to be seen," she laughed weakly, "I thought you were dead, too."

I shook my head as I pinched my eyes closed. Years had passed since the bombs fell and destroyed my home town and my house, along with everyone inside, sometimes I could still hear the sad thud of my mother's bible hitting the concrete beside my head, like a permanent scar, my mother's last curse, you did this to us, Dakota.

Maggie was the oldest between myself and my older sister Gracie, she'd been in her second semester of college when the world ended so she hadn't been home when the house was destroyed, I suppose deep down I knew it was possible that she'd survived, but I heard that the college was leveled just hours after the first bombs hit, so I just accepted it. Everything was being thrown out of proportion now, and the fact it was hard to keep the tense position I was in with how sore my body was just made it so much more difficult to deal with.

"H-have you been with these people the whole time?" I asked weakly, and Maggie pressed her lips together, nodding.

"Well for most of the time, yea," she leaned back a little, "For a few weeks I was with friends from the college. After the bombings, and after I went to find you but couldn't, I met back up with them and with Josie," I cringed and turned my head so she wouldn't see the horror on my face at the mention of Josie, "I watched a lot of friends die, and Josie.... Well, we went our separate ways. I met up with Orion and Carina after maybe a year, and we joined up mainly for survival, but we've been together ever since," I nodded my head in understanding, slowly coming to terms with everything that was happening.

"What about you?" she asked, smiling in that familiar way I remembered.

"I've been with the rebellion," I explained simply, staring down and adding, "and I have to get back," before turning on the couch and dropping my legs over the edge to plant my feet on the ground, "Where's Demi? The guy I came here with, where is he? Is he okay?"

"Easy," Maggie stood up and stepped in front of me before I could stand, holding her hands out, "He's fine. He hasn't woken up yet, but there's nothing seriously wrong with him."

"We need to get back," I said, but Maggie gave me a look that once again reminded me of our mother, which had me cringing and sinking back.

"I don't think so," she chided, hands placed on her hips, "Look at yourself, Dakota, you look awful! You're pale as a ghost, Orion said your head was seriously banged up, who knows how bad of a concussion you have!"

My first instinct was to argue, ask if she was joking, but I took a steady breath before I could make my situation worse and decided to try reasoning with her like Kailas always said I should, "If it's a concussion, sleeping is the worst thing for me," I said, "I need to stay awake, at least until I get home. We have a doctor there who can look me over, and he'll be able to check over Demi too. It's been days, Kailas is probably worried sick!"

Maggie gaped at me before drawing her brows together, "That's the leader of the rebellion, isn't it? Carina wasn't kidding," she lifted a hand and rubbed her chin, "Guess you weren't lying about being part of them, either...."

"You thought I was lying?" I sighed in frustration, and she shrugged.

"More like hoping. Are you kidding? The rebellion literally lives to throw themselves into terrible situations with the Con Rồng. You basically just told me you were recklessly risking your life for no reason!"

I held my hands up in disbelief, "What right do you have to complain?!"

"I am your sister!"

"Right, and you've been so helpful up till this point!" I rubbed my hands over my face, shaking my head; not five minutes into a reunion and we were already fighting, "Listen, whatever, I don't care," I stood up, swaying a little before grabbing onto my head, "This is my life, Maggie, my family. I have to get back, concussion or no!"

Maggie looked like she was in pain, and I almost felt bad, "I'm your family, Dakota," she said, but I just walked past her and towards the door.

"I'm not in the mood to argue with you," I snapped, shoving the door open, "We can talk later."

"Yea, obviously," Maggie agreed with a slight snarl, "As if I'd just drop this conversation. I finally find you after years of thinking you were dead only to discover you've been dancing around with a bunch of suicidal psychopaths? How many times have they put you in danger?"

"Oh, my god, shut up," I groaned, dropping my head back.

Maggie was a lot like my mother in many ways. She wasn't as extensively Catholic as my mom, but they were both incredibly strict, they looked a lot alike besides the fact Maggie had my father's eyes, and they both could nag your ear off if you weren't careful. Although luckily Maggie had enough of my father in her to even out the crazy she inherited from our mother.

Usually whenever she got angry and strict it was because she was afraid and overprotective, while my mother only got angry when people were disobeying her, she never cared much about my safety or health, so long as I was saying my prayers and bathing in holy water.

"Where did you bring Demi?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Maggie, who sighed and stepped past me to walk in front of me.

"This way, we put him in a room closer to our chill zone just in case."

"Chill zone?" I repeated, and Maggie shrugged.

"We have rooms and then we have the chill zone."

"That's great, I don't care."

After that Maggie stopped talking, probably wondering how I turned into such a basket case, until we reached a door and she opened it for me to step through. I was instantly tense as I realized the room was occupied, my eyes narrowing as I looked over each face. I recognized Carina, who was sitting in an armchair holding an open map, and Orion who was leaning against a window pane with his hands tucked into his pockets. I also recognized Beckett, who was sitting on the couch, slouching with his arms propped up against the back, but I didn't recognize the young man sitting beside him.

His hair was dark and curled at the ends, like he didn't use a hair dryer after a shower, and his eyes were a rich, dark emerald color. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt with a turtleneck collar and a soft frown on his lips. I didn't know his name, but I didn't exactly care. My full attention quickly fell away from him and to the door located directly across the room. It was probably where Demi was resting.

"Ah, and he's awake," Orion said from where he was sitting on the window sill to my right, "I hope you're feeling fine?"

"Screw off," I decided to say, which probably wasn't the best response, but I was tired and hungry and wanted to go home, so fuck everyone who wanted to talk to me.

Unfortunately, my attitude just seemed to amuse Orion, because he laughed, "I'll take that as a yes."

"Don't bother trying to make friends, he's a brat," Carina said from an armchair where he was looking at the map.

"You're a piece of crap," I snapped back, and Carina rolled his eyes with an irritated sigh.

"Can we just do a drive by and toss them both onto the rebellion's front porch?"

"Excuse me?" Maggie's voice was stiff, and Carina tensed up in his seat, face going pale before he hid himself behind the map.

"I mean yay, let's make friends, let's carry them bridal style back home," I swear I heard him mutter, "fuckers," under his breath, but Maggie didn't seem to catch it as she closed the door behind us and walked further into the room.

"Demi?" I asked her, and she pointed over to the other door, so I hurried towards it.

Pushing it open I found him lying in a bed with sheets thrown over him, and a heavy sigh fell from my lips as I stepped closer to the bed to see his face clearly, insanely grateful that his brow was smooth, showing no immediate discomfort. He was still incredibly pale, still unconscious, but he was breathing steadily, he was alive, and that's all I cared about.

"We need to get back to the rebellion," I said, turning around in the doorway and leaning against one side as I stared directly at Orion, "You're the leader of this shithole, right? Give us back that jeep and let us go home."

"I'm the leader, yea," Orion said, looking incredibly pleased that I'd noticed, "I was also an Eagle Scout," Carina dropped his face into his hands with a sigh, "You don't have to be so pushy. We'll help you home, didn't I already say that? I can't imagine walking is very comfortable with the head injury you have, and driving is out of the question," he leaned back against the glass window, "Besides, I've been meaning to schedule an appointment to meet your boss anyway. Things have gotten pretty tense, and I think an alliance would be better for both of us."

There was the slightest frown on his lips, but I merely scoffed, "I'm so sorry things are tough for you right now, but I seriously doubt Kailas will want to have a chat. You wanna help us home? Fine, then hurry up."

"I'm with the brat," Carina said, surprising me, "Why bother trying to form an alliance? We've been doing fine on our own."

"That was before this new group showed up," Orion said, his voice tense, "Fer-de-Lance is too unpredictable. We know plenty about the Con Rồng to stay ten steps ahead of them, but we don't know anything about these new soldiers. They're dangerous, and I'm not risking anyone in this room just because we're too proud to ask for help."

"I agree," Maggie stated quickly before Carina could argue, "It would be better if we were in a larger group. Not to mention... I want to see what this rebellion is like," she turned to look at me, "If my stupid brother already pledged himself, I want to know what kind of man Kailas Patel is."

I snarled in irritation, but no one seemed surprised when she called me her brother. Maybe because she'd explained it already when they brought Demi and I here. Carina still looked pissed as all hell, but he wasn't arguing, just grinding his teeth, and glaring at the floor, although after a moment his gaze lifted to the two other men in the room.

"What do you have to say about this shit?" he asked, and I turned my head to look over at the couch where Beckett and the turtleneck guy were sitting.

Beckett just shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever Orion says. I don't care either way."

The last member of the annoying group gave Carina a tight-lipped smile before making a few weird symbols with his hands. It freaked me out, but Carina just groaned as Orion clapped his hands.

"You heard him, get up and help the gimp into the car."

"The hell was that?" I asked, "Were those gang symbols or some kind of code?"

"It's called sign language you piece of shit," Carina scoffed, standing and throwing the map onto his seat, "He's mute, that's how he communicates."

"His name's Logan," Beckett offered, "He basically said an alliance is a good idea and that Carina should stop being a little bitch."

I fought off a laugh before replying, "I think I like Logan."

"I think you need a foot up your ass," Carina snarled, and I turned to glare back at him.

"Wanna try me?"

"Calm down," Maggie chided to me, arms folded, "We're helping you back, the least you can do is try getting along with people."

"How about you give him that lecture," I suggested, pointed over at Carina, "Can you just help me with Demi? I just wanna go home. Freaking tired of this."

"Beck, Logan, go get the cars," Orion said, stepping away from the window, "Carina, Maggie and I will help Dakota and his friend."

"Whatever," Beck grunted as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head, and turning with Logan following quickly after.

I turned on my heel and stepped back into the room where Demi was lying, pulling the sheets back before grabbing his arm and yanking him up, sitting on the edge of the bed and wrapping my arm around him, patting his face a few times.

"Hey, can you hear me?" I called to him, sighing when he didn't react in any way, "Fine, just keep sleeping, but you better wake up when we get back home. Swear if you end up in a freaking coma I'm going to hate myself," I shook his shoulder gently, "You hear me? I threw myself at that bastard's feet just to get you out, so you had better make it worth wild and wake the fuck up soon. Kailas is going to hate me if you don't."

"Can you carry him?" Orion asked from the doorway, and I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"No," I shook my head, "You said it yourself I can't really walk myself. You expect me to carry him?"

"Hm, good point," he stepped further into the room, "Between Maggie and Carina I think they can get him into the car, and I can carry you."

"Excuse me?" I bit, carefully lying Demi back down before inching away from Orion, "Don't even think about it."

"Oh, calm down, I won't drop you," Orion said, rolling his eyes and walking closer, "I've carried around heavier people, I can guarantee it. Come on, I'll bring you to the car."

"Don't touch me," I snapped, inching further away, and standing from the bed, hands up and eyes narrowed, "I can walk to the car at least, just don't touch me."

I couldn't completely hide the shake in my voice, and considering the way Orion's brow drew together in concern, he noticed. He was right, though, walking, even to the car, was going to be a challenge, it would be much easier, and probably less painful, if I let him carry me, but I couldn't. I didn't want anyone to touch me. Not after that.

"The Con Rồng really hurt you, didn't they?" Orion asked, and my eyes grew wide in shock at his question and the smile on his face, "I won't touch you if you really don't want my help, but it would be less work for you," he held his hand out towards me, "Just this once, then I promise I won't ever touch you again. Okay? I just want to help you to the car. Not helping at all is out of the question. Do you realize how mad your sister would be at me if I just let you walk off when you're this badly hurt?"

I scoffed at him and looked away so he couldn't see the turmoil in my eyes. I didn't want him to touch me, but if he didn't I'd just be in more pain. I needed to get back to the rebellion and Arthur. Until then I was going to have to deal.

"F-fine," I grumbled, "Carry me to the car, but don't touch me too much!"

He held his hands up, that infuriating smile still in place, "Scouts honor."

I knew he had to get close to me to pick me up, but I still flinched when he was in front of me, making the smile on his face waver before evening out as he slipped an arm around my shoulders and bent down to hook the other behind my knees, lifting me into his arms and against his chest.

Immediately I tensed, pinching my eyes closed and wrapping my arms around my stomach, leaning as far away from him as I could to avoid complete contact with him. It was already making my skin crawl to have his arm around my back and under my knees, despite the fact I was wearing

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