The next morning the group went back and forth arguing about what they should do next. If there was anything they could do.
Ethan listened absently as he watched Anne push herself to her feet. She tucked her hands in her pockets and strolled out of sight. He waited a few minutes before following her.
"Are you okay?" She didn't seemed startled by his voice, almost as if she knew he would follow her.
"I am. You?"
"A bit overwhelmed is all. I'm not sure where we go from here." He tried to sound cool and collected, but he was sure she heard the hesitancy in his voice.
"It's a lot to take in, but really, I always suspected there was something sketchy about the whole set up."
"I know, right?"
"I mean who kidnaps a bunch of teenagers?" Anne asked.
"And trains them to use their skills like superheroes?" He finished her thought.
"The government!" They both said at the same time.
They turned and smiled at each other. They were standing close. Anne could feel the heat from his body. Ethan leaned his face down toward her. Anne brought both hands up to cup his face. For just a moment they stared into each other's eyes, then Anne leaned into his chest and slowly tilted her head back. Ethan kept his hands at his sides and touched her with only his lips. Gently he pressed his lips to hers. Anne pulled him tight against her body. She deepened the kiss.
" Hey. Okay. Okay. AHEM!" Rufus did a loud, fake throat clearing noise like in the movies. "Uh, sorry!" Every inch of Rufus' skin blushed pink having seen them in an embrace. Griffen peaked over Rufus' shoulder.
Slowly, Ethan lifted his head, but his eyes never left Anne's face. "What is it?"
Anne dropped her arms to her sides. "Duty calls." She announced blandly. Then turned to return to camp.
"Hey, man, I didn't know. I mean..."
"No worries." Ethan slapped Rufus on the shoulder, gave Griffen a quick smile, turned and followed Anne.
Ethan, Rufus and Griffen entered the camp as Georgie flitted about, supervising the packing up.
"Who said we are moving? Is Rudy able?" Ethan asked.
"I did." Kate said from behind Ethan. He turned. Her stance was defiant, almost angry, her fists on her hips. The bruising on her face was a sickening, mottled green and yellow. Her expression warned him not to argue.
Ethan hadn't wanted to scare the others, so he hadn't mentioned the gun he had found in Kate's backpack, but it was always in the back of his mind. Every decision he made now was coloured by that knowledge. How well did he really know Kate and Rudy? How well did any of them know the others?
Ethan shrugged. "No problem. Is there anything I can do to help."
Kate relaxed a little. "No. I've already sent Rudy to the Mayo Clinic. He'll get the best treatment available there."
Ethan frowned, curious. "Can you transmit him in human form?"
Kate swatted the question away. "Of course, I can. We send him as a small animal so he can move about freely. Remember I sent you guys all over the world all the time."
"True." Ethan agreed. "So when do we leave?"
"Right away. I'm afraid we may have already missed our connection. But, hopefully someone left us new instructions."
The sun burned down through the hazy humidity. Their clothes stuck to them. Their bodies could no longer sweat in the damp air, so their faces turned red and some of the group were having trouble breathing. Everybody was exhausted. Still Kate kept them moving. She insisted they drink and eat while walking.
Rufus mumbled a lot about mutiny, but Ethan calmed him, never explaining why they should follow the grueling pace Kate set.
Ethan hung back because Georgie kept falling further and further behind. Anne slowed her step until she was beside Ethan. She didn't speak until Rufus sped up and moved forward to check on Lucy. Griffen followed closely behind Rufus.
"About this morning." She started waiting for Ethan to say something. When he didn't, she continued. "I'm not sure what came over me." Anne, who was rarely afraid and never meak sounded almost shy.
Ethan slowed even more. Anne copied his pace. They were barely moving but Georgie was still a good distance back.
"Remember your first day in the Hive?" Ethan asked.
"Of course. Everybody was nice to me except you."
"You came out of the shower, your hair wet and the biggest smile on your face. I had no idea what to make of you. We were all weeks into our new lives in the Hive and still having trouble adjusting and you showed up weirdly happy to be taken captive."
Anne never big on explaining herself, didn't now. "So, you decided to be condescending. And a bit snarky, I might add."
"Hah!" She was surprised when Ethan laughed. "What was I supposed to do? Blurt out that you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen?" Ethan stopped completely. He turned to face her. "Take you in my arms? Smother your beautiful, laughing mouth with kisses?"
"Yeah, that might have been weird." Anne laughed.
"You think?" Ethan smiled.
Georgie had finally caught up. "Thanks for waiting guys." His face was red, his clothes were dripping wet and he was panting.
Ethan leaned over and brushed Anne's cheek with a quick, sweet kiss.
"Did I miss something?" Georgie wheezed.