The boys looked at each other, both of them radiating fear. They didn't have much time, if any time at all. Trigger stuffed the binoculars into his hand made bag and began jumping down from branch to branch.
"Go!" he shouted at Fitz who was still frozen in shock at the top of the tree.
Fitz looked down at Trigger hesitantly. He felt bad leaving his best friend to get back by himself. But there wasn't time for both of them to run back. Fitz swallowed down his shock and lept from the branch. His mind racing around Lotte.
Lotte was still sitting in the backyard, trying to lift the sword. It hadn't moved from the spot where Fitz left it. She had made herself incredibly angry during the process, but it wasn't enough to lift the sword. Lotte slammed her fist into the ground out of frustration. Causing the sword to jump from the ground.
"Hmmm."
Before Lotte had the chance to try it again, a loud bang came from inside the house. She stood up, expecting to see a big explosion or flying bodies, but nothing came. Lotte spun around before grabbing the sword from the ground and picking up. Without a plan or hesitation she charged into the house, swinging the sword like a stick. Lotte expected to come face to face with a pirate or Looter, but she stood looking at Fitz who had caught the sword with his hand.
"What are you doing?" The words shot out of the duo's mouths. Lotte looked past Fitz to see the others running around the house in zigzags. Each one grabbing random items and shoving them into old bags.
"What's going on?"
Fitz grabbed Lotte by the arm and pulled her upstairs. Lotte tripped over her own feet as she walked. Fitz didn't slow down until they reached the bedroom, shutting the door.
"BlackJack knows where we are."
Fitz said it so fast Lotte didn't even know how to react. Even if he hadn't, the situation was so dire she wouldn't know where to start.
"Grab whatever's important," Fitz squeezed Lotte's hand. "Food, medicine, water, clothes. Anything you'll think you'll need. Grab it, run, run and don't look back. I'll come find you."
Lotte nodded, younger her would have crawled underneath the bed and waited for her parents or her brothers to come to save her. But the younger her was dead. Lotte had killed and buried her in a cave underwater. This Lotte was ready to run, she was ready to kill and fight. No matter what order.
As Lotte turned to go back downstairs, Fitz grabbed her by the arm. It wasn't strong enough to stop her, but Lotte still froze. Despite the obnoxious noise downstairs all they could hear was the sound of the others breathing. Lotte swallowed and blinked hard before turning around. Fitz's hand fell from her arm but Fitz didn't move. Lotte slowly looked up, Fitz looked just as tense as she did. Fitz stepped forward, slowly reaching his hand up to Lotte's hair. His fingers traced a singular strand of hair. He allowed it to drop before reaching his hand up again, stepping forward.
Lotte's eyes shut, she wasn't sure why but she didn't want to open them again. The thought of seeing Fitz so close to her might make her crumble. She could feel his breath on her face. Lotte could feel Fitz slowly moving closer at a rate so slow, it was painful. Lotte held her breath as she dared not to move. Afraid that the slightest twitch might mess something up.
Lotte felt Fitz's other hand trace up her arm, making her skin tickle. Even though she couldn't see, she could tell Fitz's face was only inches away from hers. As Fitz's hand reached her shoulder, he stopped. Lotte opened her eyes to see what was happening before they got all the way open, she felt Fitz's lips pressed against hers. Her half-open eyes fluttered close as she melted into him. Lotte nearly felt her legs collapse as she kissed him back. Fitz's hand gripped Lotte's hair tighter as she kissed him back. For a second it felt like only the two of them existed on this whole island. Lotte closed whatever remaining space was left between them. Fitz's hand dropped from Lotte's shoulder and wrapped around the back of her waist, his hand gripping her hip.
Lotte had never felt so whole. The moment she had been burning for was now finally here. And it was burning brighter than she ever had imagined. And unlike Everet, this was real. This was entirely her and only her.
Lotte wasn't anywhere near finished when the house shook. It felt almost like a strong earthquake but both of them knew they weren't that lucky. There was a loud bang, that sounded like a gunshot, and everything was built diminished. Before Lotte could think of what to do next, Fitz had already shoved her to the ground.
"Get underneath the bed!"
"What?"
"Get underneath the bed. Don't answer this door for anyone. I'll break down the door."
Before Lotte could answer Fitz had already run out the door and barricaded it. Lotte refused to hide underneath the bed like old her would have done. She looked around the room for something to use as a weapon. The only thing that came close to it was broken pieces of glass Fitz broke when he discovered Lotte was missing. It would have to do.
Lotte ignored the pain of the glass as she knelt on it, searching for the longest piece. The best one she could find was a six-inch shard with a jagged edge. Her hand wrapped around the other end of the glass. She marched over to the door and kicked it. Normally Lotte could have broken down a bunch of planks tied together with one kick. But whatever Fitz had used to block the door while holding it together.
"Fuck."
Lotte looked out the window and saw that it was a survivable but painful jump. Not to mention she would have no idea who she would see once she got down there. But Lotte wasn't going to let them fight alone. She stood at the window and peered outside, making sure there was no one waiting for her. Next Lotte took the glass shard and threw it out the window, far enough away that she wouldn't land on it once she fell. Doing this was a lot less scary when she thought she was being held captive. Lotte swung one leg over and sat down on the windowsill. If Lotte closed her eyes she could pretend she wasn't jumping out a window. But even if Lotte kept her eyes open, she still wouldn't have known about the bomb going off downstairs.