The pickup truck finally stops after an hour's drive. Ken sits with me in the trunk to ensure I don't try to escape. I mean, how can I? My hands are tied, and they cover my eyes. Even if I try to run away by jumping off of this truck, I will probably die because of someone's reckless driving.
Someone opens the car door, and suddenly, a hand grips me before dragging my body down the vehicle. One of them carries me on their shoulder like I weigh nothing. I am thankful that Mason taught me the proper technique I didn't know I could use someday. I can easily hit my carrier on the chest with my knee right now... so I did.
The person groans in pain before falling as I bump my forehead to the ground because of the fall. I feel another sharp pain shoots through my whole head.
Damn it, how many times have these idiots injured my head? I swear I will probably suffer from a severe concussion after today.
"Son of a bitch!" Someone yells next to me. He sounds like James because he's the only one who keeps swearing at me. He shoves me to the ground, and I land hard on my stomach.
"James!" Ken shouts out from somewhere near me. "What the hell did you do that for?"
"That bitch just hit me!"
My mouth suddenly felt so wry, and I coughed several times, spitting something that tasted like molten iron.
Someone is suddenly on my side, and he takes my arm. I instantly jerk away, trying to avoid another attack. But I don't receive any, and someone pulls me up.
"It was your fault for carrying her like that!" Ken says next to me.
"Yeah, James, it was your fault!" I said while trying to wipe the thick liquid from my mouth with my shoulder, but it was too painful to make the slightest move, so I stopped mid-way.
"Shut up! Say another word, and I will give you another kick!" James threatens me once again.
"Geez, we just met an hour ago, and you already hate me this much? What did I ever do to you, James?" No shit, Ava... why can't I just shut up and not get myself killed?
"Could you two stop bickering already?" another voice comes from behind me. I believe it's Jay unless we're not alone anymore. "Help me with this stupid bear, and let Ken carry her to the camp!"
James sighs heavily and bumps his shoulder to mine.
"Ken, when will you take off this blindfold?" I say, ignoring James's attempt to hurt me.
"After we decide what to do with you," James says from somewhere I don't know. "Let's just hope that it is something to do with death." I don't know how, but I can sense that he is smiling.
"I believe I was asking Ken," I spat at him in disgust. "And I am sure the death is not mine you must worry about."
We walk for so long that I must tell Ken for a break. My head is throbbing, my wounded body parts warn me to stop, and I am thirsty after vomiting blood.
Ken tells the other two guys with the dead bear to carry on and that we will catch up behind them. He gives me his water bottle, and I drain all the water in the blink of an eye. Then he dragged me to walk faster this time. I ignore the pain all around my body, and I finally stop complaining. Someone needs to pat me on my shoulder for that!
When I thought they might lie to me about taking me to the Camp, I suddenly heard people gasping around me. The way people do when they see something horrific.
"Are we here?" I ask Ken.
"Yup," Ken says.
"Take her to Pete's bungalow," James shouts over the crowd whispering. "Jay and I will take this bear to the main kitchen."
After walking away from everyone and through some hills, we finally stop before Ken talks to someone named Laurie. Ken asks him if Pete's home and Laurie say he is. Then Ken leads me to the house before knocking on the door three times. There's an awkward silence before someone finally opens the door.
"What the hell is this, Ken?" someone says from before me.
Ken pushes me inside the bungalow. Then he takes off my blindfold. I have to blink dramatically for a while before focusing on my sight.
"We found her on the other side of the stream this afternoon. She said that she was lost," then Ken unties my hands. It's not a great idea to release me, even though I don't plan on running away or attacking these men that are twice my size.
"Look at her! She's a mess," someone in front of me says. He's so freaking tall! But that's not what makes me feel so intimidated right now. It's his eyes. They are so green, and those long lashes are prettier than any human I have ever met. Even after he hurts my pride by calling me a mess, I still can't take my eyes off those captivating green eyes.
"James did that," Ken moves his hand up and down at me.
"I'm sorry for being rude," I say before smiling sincerely at this dude. "But who the fuck are you? And why am I being held, hostage? I didn't do anything!"
The beautiful-eyed boy in front of me chuckles. Oh, okay... that laugh just caught me off guard for a second there.
"I'm Peter," he extends his hand for me before I take it cautiously. Damn, firm grip. "And I'm sorry, but I don't have the answer to your second question. I can ask Ken the same thing." Then Peter turns his gaze from me to Ken, who stands quietly beside me.
Ken casually shrugs. "You said you were lost..." he narrows his eyes at me. "What was your name again?"
"Chl..." I clear my throat. "Ava."
Ken arches his brows, but he doesn't question me further.
Peter turns his gaze back at me with a smile plastered on his face.
"What did James do to you, Ava?" he says as he touches my bleeding forehead. He stares at whatever is there wide-eyed. He clenches his jaw and sighs heavily. "You're a Rebel," stating it as if it is a sin for me to become one.
Even though that's not a question, I answer him. "Maybe," and I shrug nonchalantly. Peter steps away and turns his back on me.
Ken pushes me gently, signalling to follow his leader into the kitchen. As much as I don't want to, I am curious about this bungalow. It's a small house, and very neat and quiet.
When I enter the kitchen, I am welcomed by a whole windowed wall and a glass door that leads to the backyard. I walk straight to see the view, and nobody stops me. They are bad at keeping someone hostage.
The door is locked, but I can see the backyard facing out over the Camp. The sun is already setting, coloring the blue sky orange.
"The back door is locked," Peter says without looking in my direction as he puts a kettle on the stove.
I look around the kitchen. On my right side is the dining room, and on the left side of me is where Peter is with his cooking appliances.
Ken is standing at the entrance that separates the whole kitchen and dining room from the living room.
"I'll leave you with Peter to talk and sort things out," Ken starts to turn around, but I stop him.
"Wait, where are you going?"
Ken shifts his body to me, "I'm going to find Liam and return to the stream for the fish we should've brought back."
Then he walks straight to the door without looking back. When Ken mentioned Liam, my heart stopped for a moment. Liam does not know that I am here in his Camp. All he knows is I would be hiding behind the tree trunk in my usual spot.
What if he thinks that I ditch him? It will be dark soon, and Lucas must have noticed I've been missing by now.
I keep my eyes on the front door. It is unguarded. Peter is too busy with his tea, Ken is probably already far from here, and Laurie... well, I can sprint off.
I stride across the wooden floor soundlessly, only to reach where Ken stood minutes ago before Peter was already by my side. He takes my wrist and gives it a tight squeeze.
"Tell me," he speaks so close to my ear and not in a seductive way whatsoever. "Why are you trying to escape if you're lost unless you have somewhere to return to..."
My breath is hitched, and I wince again when Peter squeezes my wrist tighter. I think he's going to break it!
"Answer my question!" he demands.
Cold radiates from him through me. When the adrenaline starts to rush in Obels' blood, it works differently from the one in Rebel's blood. The adrenaline will hurt them, and they will feel pain. Their adrenaline can kill them if they push themselves to their limits. But they have the power of authority tone in their voice that can hypnotize anybody.
I shake my head in defeat, "I'm not trying to escape! I just wanted to look around."
"Can I trust you?" he asks again, still in the same tone.
"Yes," I whimper.
Then Peter lets me go, giving me the steaming mug in his other hand. It smells like Peppermint tea. He returns to the kitchen counter to take the other one, but his eyes never leave me.
He walks out of the kitchen and walks up the stairs. I'm trailing behind him, too scared to think about running away. There are four doors on the second level of this house, and he reaches the door on his right side. He tilts his head slightly, gesturing me to enter.
When I entered the room, my heart suddenly stopped. It's a tiny bedroom and very neat.
It's not the bedroom that made my heart stop. It's the person standing across the room. My mind swirls in the back of my head, trying to process what is happening. My hands are trembling, and I almost drop my mug.
"Ai..." my voice cracks. But before I can finish saying his name, the person in front of me shakes his head with the same shocked expression.
"Aiden!" Peter says from behind me. He closes the door and approaches my brother, who shouldn't be here. He should have been back at home with Mother and Father!
Aiden's shocked expression is still plastered, and he doesn't look at me.
Aiden clears his throat before speaking, "who's this, Pete?"
I almost cringe at his question, but I keep my face solemn. I know he doesn't forget me. How badly did James beat up my face this day until my brother didn't recognize me?
"I need the key to the lockup," Peter slurps his tea casually, ignoring my brother's question. Aiden finally turns his gaze to Peter now.
Wait, lockup? Why am I being locked up? I'm not even a criminal, and they treat me like shit! What the fuck is wrong with these people?
"The one in the basement? Why?" Aiden asks, bespeaking my thoughts.
Peter nods his head. "Where do you want me to put this Rebel, then? Your room?"
I hope that Aiden will say yes, but he says no. He hurt my feelings too many times today, and it's only been 30 minutes since I've been here.
He walks to the table across the room and opens one of the drawers before pulling out a set of keys. He hesitates at first, but he hands them to Pete anyway. I shake my head in disbelief when Aiden meets my eyes. I know he's just trying to act like he doesn't know me, but he's still my brother.
"Well, Ava..." He says, making me jerk my head towards him. "You can sit anywhere you like, and please drink your tea! It's getting cold."
I frown at him. Is he poisoning me? "Why?"
Peter shrugs, "it's the least I can do before I lock you up in the dungeon."
Fuck, they have a dungeon here!? I finally comply and sit my butt down on the nearest sofa. I blow out my tea and sip it slowly, waiting for the heat to burn my tongue, but nothing happens.
"Do you want to tell us your story?" Peter asks me casually. His voice is gentle like he's nurturing me. Weirdly, it sounds like Aiden whenever he found me crying in my room.
I don't say anything, but I look at Aiden, who is now staring at his feet. I hoped he would say anything, but he kept his mouth shut.
"Nothing much, I was hiking, and then I got lost. I was taking a break at the stream when your Powerpuff girl squad found me."
Peter and Aiden don't say anything, so I lie.
"But then a wild bear showed up from the forest behind me. I was trying to run away, but I tripped and fell. Then Ken shot the bear with his gun. James attacked me when I told them I needed to go back."
"Is that it?" asks Peter.
"What do you mean?" I give him a quizzical look.
Peter sighs, knowing that I'm not telling him everything. "You have bruises all over your face, Ava! I'm sure you fought James back."
Aiden shoots me a glare that burns the side of my face. His eyes are telling me you did some stupid shit, Ava. I really can hear his voice inside my head.
"I did," my voice comes out in a whisper. "James brought me here without my consent! I have the right to fight him back, don't say I'm wrong here, okay? I told him that I would be fine on my own."
Peter laughs at me. "No, you wouldn't be! You were lost, and how did you expect to go back? Where did you come from anyway?"
"The city," I pretend to cough a little to cover my shaky voice. "Why do you have to lock me up, anyway? I'm not going to run away, and surely I won't hurt anyone. Can't you even see that I'm outnumbered?"
"That's the rule here. If we find a Rebel, we lock them up. I know you're not telling us the truth, but I won't push you." Peter rises from the bed and puts his empty mug on the bedside table. "Come on," he walks to the door, leaving Aiden frozen in his place.
"Where?" I know where he will take me. I'm just making sure.
"You know the answer."
I can't move my legs. Somehow they become the heaviest things I have to lift. I turn my face to see Aiden, hoping he will stop Peter and let me stay with him. He knows I hate dark and isolated places. But Aiden doesn't do anything! He's still staring at his own shaky hands.
"Don't worry! You're not going to be alone! I'll make sure someone brings you dinner."