CHAPTER 7

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

When I first woke up I almost screamed. Maybe because I'd been having a horrible nightmare and thought I was still in that place, tied to Bay Donovan Blu's bed just waiting for the inevitable, but through my blurry vision, I saw the green stars on my ceiling and somehow managed to calm down, lifting a hand and rubbing my eyes before sinking further under the covers of my bed, hugging one of the pillows as I played around with Ronnie's knife.

For a long time, I didn't move, until someone knocked on my door, prompting a heavy sigh to leave my lips. I had to force myself to stand up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I shuffled over to the door, unlocking it, and cracking it open to see Maggie standing out in the hall. She smiled when she saw me and opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but I shut the door before she could and relocked it so she couldn't get in.

"Dakota?!" she punched the door a few times, "Are you kidding me right now? Don't be a child! It's almost eleven!"

I didn't reply, just shuffled back over to bed, and crawled under the covers, hiding my head under a pillow and going back to sleep. Maggie must have stood there for a while, because when I finally woke up, dressed myself, and left the room, she was standing across the hall leaning against the wall, arms folded.

"Don't you have better things to do than harass me?" I asked, and she gaped at me before scoffing.

"You're still such a pain," she bit, "I just want to talk to you!"

"Not in the mood," I grumbled, turning and making my way down the hall towards the infirmary so Arthur could rebandage everything, "I'm kind of busy right now, go nag your friends."

"Dakota I swear, you're going to talk to me! I need to know what happened!"

"Bomb fell, house blew up, everyone died, screw off."

"Damn it, Dakota, I already know that part!" Maggie was right behind me, the few people we passed in the hall glared at her in distrust, but I tried to pacify them with a weak smile as she continued to bug me, "Were you in the house? Were you outside? How did you get through it?"

"I started walking and didn't stop," I answered, turning to her when I reached the infirmary, "Just leave me alone."

Maggie just stared at me with disbelieving wide eyes, "Like hell! You're my brother! I thought you were dead!"

"If only," I grumbled and stepped into the infirmary.

Arthur smiled brightly when he saw me, but frowned a little when he saw Maggie, "Morning Dakota," he greeted me, giving my sister a polite smile, "Who's this? One of Carina's group?"

"Yea," I said, plopping down onto one of the cots, "Just ignore her, she's a bother."

She made a frustrated noise, making Arthur jump in surprise, "Dakota I will tie you down and skin you!"

"I literally dare you to try."

"Excuse me," Arthur cleared his throat, staring at Maggie with an amusing look on his face, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't threaten him. You may have helped him back, but you have no right to talk to him like that."

I snorted against my hand as Maggie's face turned red, "I-I'm his sister!" she shrilled, and Arthur blinked in surprise.

"What?"

"My name is Maggie Bailey, I'm his older sister!" she turned to glare at me, "I thought he was dead!"

"Is that true?" Arthur asked me, and I stared at him before shrugging.

"How's Demi?"

Arthur huffed and picked up his salve and a few rolls of bandages, "He's resting," he said, "For a while there I was worried he wouldn't wake up, it was like his mind just shut down against the electricity they used on him, but he should wake up soon. He just needs rest, and he'll be incredibly sore when he gains consciousness. He's alive though."

"Can I see him?"

"After, now come on, don't make me cut that shirt off."

I rolled my eyes and carefully shed my shirt, trying not to care about the way Maggie gasped when she saw all the bandages. She paled even more severely when Arthur pulled the soiled bandages off to reveal the bare burns and the stitching.

"Dakota," she called to me, her voice gentle, "What did they do to you?"

I just shrugged, not replying. When Arthur was done wrapping the clean bandages around me he let me stand and pull the shirt back on, thanking him before leaving the infirmary. I wanted to check on Demi, and Kailas would probably be with him, which was good, because I still had to talk to him about everything. Leaving out a few details of course. He was mad enough at me for not listening to him.

I found him in the same separate room where they'd brought Demi the first time he showed up, private so nothing would startle him and away from the rest of the rebellion to keep foot traffic to a minimum. Kailas was sitting on the edge of the bed where Demi was lying, and Cass was leaning against one wall with Malachi. Unfortunately, Orion was also there, standing at the foot of the bed. I had no idea where Logan, Carina, or Beckett were, but it wasn't really my problem.

Kailas didn't seem all that amused at having the three of them there in the same room as his recovering lover, but he smiled at me when he saw me, "You're awake finally. How are you feeling?"

"Better," I said, walking closer to the bed and eyeing Orion, "Why is he here?"

"Discussing a possible alliance," Kailas explained, and I narrowed my eyes directly at Orion.

"Shouldn't you, I don't know, wait?" I asked him, and he frowned, looking confused, "Yea, no, never mind, jump right into it, it's not like two important people almost fucking died, let's talk about an alliance."

"Dakota," Kailas sighed and rubbed his eyes, "It's a good idea."

"What, are you kidding?" I scoffed, and Kailas shrugged a little.

"If you take into consideration all that's happened so far with both the Con Rồng and the Fer-de-Lance, we've ended up in a tight spot. We don't know nearly enough about either of them to make any significant move against them yet, so finding as many supporters as possible would be best, even if the alliance is strictly for personal gain or a single mutual agreement with an expiration date," Kailas turned and looked down at Demi, frowning, "We lost Jayden, and Rhett right after, Lucia and Devin are both gone, Demi will be out of commission for a while, and I don't want you doing anything too strenuous until you're fully healed, so having a few extra hands around the rebellion wouldn't be a bad thing."

"And you're sure we can trust them?" I asked, and Orion held his hands out.

"We helped you home, didn't we?" he asked. "And Carina has been giving you important information for years now. We're not your enemy. We try to be neutral in everything and stay away from most of the fighting, but with this new group in the way, we can't do that. My people are in danger, so are yours, we have a mutual goal to reach for here. We could help you with whatever we can."

"In exchange for what?" I demanded, and Orion stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"We're rogues, nomads, it's been a long time since we've settled anywhere for more than a few weeks, a month at most. Having somewhere to settle down, just to relax, not feeling so on edge, would be good for us."

"That's all you want?" I asked, and Orion smiled, shrugging.

"It honestly is."

I looked back at Kailas, who was reaching out and playing with Demi's hair, "You're fine with this?" I asked him, and he turned to look at me with a tired expression that had my chest squeezing.

"It'll be fine," he said, "Cass trusts them, I have to believe in his judgement."

"Thanks, man," Cass called, and Kailas nodded, looking back at Demi.

I sighed in irritation and lifted a hand to scratch at my head, "Fine, whatever."

Truthfully, I really didn't like his decision. He was too emotionally damaged right now, he wasn't thinking clearly enough to make a good decision, but I didn't want to say that aloud. Cass probably knew what he was doing, he had decent intuition for an ex-marine, and he'd never lead Kailas anywhere that would hurt him or the group, so I had to trust Cass to keep an eye on Kailas, at least until Demi woke up.

"If it helps," I started, "I don't think any of the Con Rồng know about Fer-de-Lance."

"How do you know?" Orion asked, and I turned just enough to send him a steady glare, not responding, until Kailas spoke up.

"How do you know, Dakota?"

"Carter Abbott," I said, turning to look at him, "When he was getting Demi and I out, again, I mentioned Fer-de-Lance captured us first, and he looked confused. He said he'd never heard of them, but he'd look into it."

"Who?" Orion questioned, and I didn't even bother looking at him when I responded.

"An insider at the Con Rồng."

"You have an insider?" he gaped, and I scoffed, looking pointedly at Kailas, who shrugged, smiling at me and nodding.

"Sort of," I mumbled, "He's helped Demi escape from them three times now, me he helped get out twice. He's risked his life more than once for Demi and myself, so we owe him. He's not a bad guy," I paused for a moment before continuing, looking at Kailas, "The jeep we used to get away was his. He had it fully stocked. He wanted to get away from them and we took his only means of transportation."

"I see," Kailas looked down at Demi, "So what are you thinking? Do you want to help him?"

"I don't know if we can," I mumbled, "I asked him to come with us and he said he still had things to do there."

"Why would that guy willingly stay in a place like that?" Cass asked, and I sighed.

"I don't know, I don't even know him very well. All I know is if he ever shows up, we have to help him. It's only right after everything he's done for Demi and the rest of us."

"Yea," Kailas agreed readily, "If he shows up we'll help him. For now, I think some rest would do everyone good," he looked over at Orion, "You and your people are settled in somewhat I hope."

"Yep," Orion gave a thumbs-up, "Thank you for keeping us relatively close to each other. I don't like being too far from my brother."

Kailas offered him a soft smile, "Of course. While you're here, though, don't expect to just laze around. You need to work and help out around the settlement."

"Sure, obviously," Orion agreed, frowning a little, "Settlement?"

I had to laugh at the confusion on his face, and he gave me an even heavier pout, "You have no idea how far we reach," I said, and Kailas chuckled a little.

"I'll have Cass and Malachi assign roles for each of you. A few of ours died in the last raid, so we need a few positions filled. Hope you don't mind, they may be a bit mundane."

"It's fine," Orion assured, "As long as we can help some way."

"I appreciate it," Kailas sighed, turning his attention back to Demi.

"You look horrible," I said, "Have you even been sleeping?"

"He hasn't," Cass was the one to answer, "Not since you and Demi got snatched."

"You need to sleep," I chided, and Kailas laughed.

"Worry about yourself, Dakota."

I set my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes, "If Demi wakes up and sees you at the point of exhaustion he's going to be pissed," I warned, and Kailas laughed softly again.

"I know."

"Why don't you lie down with him?" Cass suggested, "We'll keep people away so you can just sleep for a little and still be near him if he starts to wake up. Just try and relax and leave all this annoying stuff to Mal and I, okay?"

"You got him back, so enjoy it," I added, and Kailas sighed, nodding.

"Alright, I will. Thank you," he looked at me with a frown, "I want you to rest too," he said, and I pointed dumbly at myself.

"I feel fine," I argued, "I could do something simple like help Arthur."

"Just rest for a few more days for my peace of mind," Kailas insisted, and I lowered my eyes to the floor in guilt.

"You should listen," I jumped, spinning around to face Maggie, "Since you won't listen to me, you may as well listen to him."

"How long have you been standing there?!" I demanded, and she folded her arms.

"Hm, one of yours?" Kailas asked, and Orion nodded.

"Maggie," he introduced, and Maggie stepped past me, leaning closer to Kailas with narrowed eyes, "Ah, she does that sometimes."

Kailas just frowned and I covered my eyes with a groan as Maggie hummed, "So you're the guy my little brother pledged himself to?" she asked, and Kailas blinked.

"I'm sorry?"

Maggie stepped back and slung an arm around me, "My name is Maggie Bailey, I'm Dakota's older sister."

Kailas and Cass both gaped at me, but Malachi didn't show any surprise on his face, "Sister," Kailas repeated, looking at me, and I just grumbled and inched away from her touch, pushing her arm away from me.

"Don't touch me."

Maggie glared at me a moment before looking back at Kailas, "He used to be nicer," she said, and I groaned, "I'm serious, he was so cute! You should've seen him starting school the first time, before all of this happened, or when he first saw the sky at night, it was so cute."

"Please just shut up," I begged, not at all liking the little smile on Kailas' face or the smirk Orion was showing, or the way Cass was struggling not to laugh as Maggie reached out to pinch my cheek.

"He used to be the cutest little altar boy."

Cass snorted and dropped his head, covering his mouth with a hand as my cheeks heated considerably, "Please. Shut up," I begged again, but Maggie just smiled at Kailas, who seemed to be enjoying these little facts about me.

"He got along better with Gracie, but our mother was a beast, and our father was a bit simple minded. Oh, but you should've seen him with Ronnie, he just burst from his shell-."

"Shut UP!" I screamed, surprising myself and everyone else in the room with how loud my voice raised.

I slowly lifted a hand to my mouth, eyes wide, feeling my heart race in panic when I noticed Kailas watching me in shock. The room had gotten incredibly silent, and I wanted to scream again just to make people talk, or laugh to somehow distract them from the uncharacteristic outburst.

"Dakota....," Maggie reached out to me, but I jerked away from her and spun around before running out of the room, slamming the door closed in case any of them wanted to follow me.

I hated it, how casually she brought him up. Who gave her the right? Didn't she have any idea? Didn't they find his body? I'd never even said his name aloud since that happened, I'd kept it a secret for so long, the only one who knew almost everything was Demi, and even then, I couldn't bring myself to tell him everything. I didn't want anyone to know, because I didn't want to think about it, and now Maggie just brings him up like it's nothing.

When I reached my room, I locked the door and stumbled over to my bed, falling onto it, and burying my face into my pillow as the tears started to fall, one hand wrapping around the pocket knife just so I could feel the name scribed into it, trying to remember him, after so long I could hardly remember his face, and it made me want to cry harder. I wish I had a picture of him at the very least....

I don't know how long I cried, but by the time I looked over at my window, it was dark out, so I pushed myself up on shaky arms, sniffing and wiping my eyes before blowing my nose on a discarded shirt and standing up, stepping over to the window and shoving it open so I could lean out to see if the sky was clear.

Something lifted away from my heart when I saw the stars, and I grabbed a blanket from my bed before slipping out of my window and onto the slanted roof located just underneath the sill, settling down with the blanket wrapped around me and my back leaning against the wall of the house just beside my window. With one hand, I held the blanket around me, while the other played with my necklace, my eyes searching the sky for the matching constellation.

"Hey," I jumped at the sudden voice, looking across the roof over to an open window located a room away from mine, where Beckett was leaning out, a frown on his face, "What are you doing out in the cold? Shouldn't you be resting?"

I turned away from him and pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders, "Fuck off," I said, and Beckett sighed, stepping out of his room and onto the roof, walking over to me and sitting down.

"Jeez you're a handful, aren't you?" he asked, stretching his legs out and fold his arms behind his head, "Nice view though."

I glanced back over to him to see he was looking up at the sky, "I said fuck off."

"And leave Maggie's brother out here? You realize she'd kill me?"

"I don't care, just leave me alone."

I could feel his eyes on me as I yanked the blanket over my head and curled into a tighter ball, knees against my chest and arms curled around them, "Did something happen?" he asked, and I scoffed.

"What do you care?"

"You're Maggie's brother."

"Why does that matter?!" I demanded, not lifting my head up and keeping the blanket tight over me so I was hidden from him.

"It makes you family," he explained simply, "It's not just some excuse, me wanting to be nice because your sister is terrifying, which she is by the way. You being her blood brother makes you important to her, and she's important to the rest of us, so that makes you important to us as well."

"That's stupid," I murmured, "I don't need anymore family. You people are annoying."

"Well," he shrugged, and I peered over at him to see he was still watching the sky, "So what happened?"

I turned away, lifting my eyes up to the stars and frowning. He seriously expected me to answer? What would I even say? My emotions were so twisted up, I couldn't tell what was what. Deciphering my own feelings was hard enough without having to try and explain them to someone else. I never had to do that with Ronnie, somehow he always automatically knew what I was feeling and why.

The connection I had with him was so deep, all we had to do was look at each other and about a million thoughts passed between us. My chest was aching from the memories, tears swimming in my eyes and making the stars blur so they were just random white lights in my vision that I couldn't make out.

"Have you lost people?" I asked suddenly, "I mean... because of the wars, when everything started, you watched people die?"

Beckett was quiet for a long time before replying, "Yea," he answered, "I've watched a lot of people die."

"People you cared about," I said, "People you loved."

"Yea," his voice was quiet, "Everyone has, though. You and Maggie lost your parents and your sister. Orion and Carina lost their parents too, I can't imagine what Logan's been through," he laughed a little, "He doesn't really talk much," I turned my head enough to squint at him, and he offered me a crooked smile, "Bad joke?"

"I've heard worse," I admitted, looking away and leaning back against the wall, holding the blanket up over my chin.

For a long time, we just sat in silence, watching the stars. Beckett didn't try getting me to talk, but he didn't make any move to leave either. He seemed content to sit where he was, twisting a ring around his right finger and staring up. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it did feel one sided, and I ended up relaxing, speaking without realizing it.

"I'm tired," I said, and he tensed up from beside me, "Of everything. All this violence, death, I never expected to grow up into a killer," I held an

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net