Aaron finds us at sunrise, looking fairly tired himself.

I nod to him, and he grunts in reply, looking down at his sleeping sister.

"How'd you sleep?" I ask, resting my head on my forearm and staring up at the sky.

He doesn't respond immediately, the only sound between us being his shuffling as he sits down. "Well enough," he responds after a while. "You?"

I shrug. "I got some sleep. I'm used to sleeping in shifts, though, so getting a night's worth is foreign to me."

"Can't imagine how you survived alone."

"Sleeping for an hour or two here and there, hiding in sewers when I was too exhausted to go any further," I say with a delicate shrug. "Wasn't the healthiest, but it worked."

He nods out of the corner of my eye. "Sounds about right."

"What about you? How's all this extra sleep doing for your psyche?" 

Aaron snorts. "I can hardly sleep. The slightest noise makes me stir, and not having Lea in proximity makes it worse."

I hum. "Can't much empathize on that second point, but I understand the first. Takes a while, but you get used to it. Is that why you came up here, then? To make sure your sister's alright?"

"I suppose. That, and I hadn't seen the roof yet. Figured since you two had been up here all night, it was worth a peek."

I nod. "And now that you're here? Enjoy the view?" I motion with the hand not under my head to the sky and scenery around us.

"Yeah, it's definitely one of the better views I've had," he agrees, staring off at something in the distance.

I nod softly, inhaling the morning air and closing my eyes. I've no intention of going back to sleep, but this conversation is going nowhere, and I'd rather continue rooting out my internal map for the way to Rhode Island.

"What is it with Rhode Island, anyways? Why not California, or Canada, or even New York?" Aaron asks suddenly, as if reading my very thoughts.

"New York was taken two years ago," I murmur. "California is in the process of domination, and Canada's too hard to get into. The other free colonies are either only partial, or in the process of losing their battles. Rhode Island is the only concrete colony we can get to without much struggle, and there is plenty more land there than any other free colony. Plus, it was just on the way to everyone's goal. I suppose it's just our way of granting the original team's wish." I'm silent for a moment. "Justin was right when he said that all this havoc was only caused when I joined them. I suppose I feel like I owe it to them to show that their conquest wasn't in vain, you know? Rhode Island is just that monumental goal that I want to reach."

"It's like a twisted tag race," he murmurs softly. "There were people before you racing for the finish line, and when they went down, they tagged you in to finish the race. There are other, simpler finish lines closer to you, but it's that one, original goal that you have to make because it's what your team desired from the beginning."

My lips curve into a small smile. "Yeah."

We fall into a fitful silence, Lea's breathing the only sound to be heard in the early morning.

I remember a time in the spring back before the war, when you could wake up in the early morning just after the sun was rising and hear birds chirping. Just beautiful nature. I was too young to truly appreciate it, but what I wouldn't give now to sit out here and be able to listen to that. Just another side-effect of the war, I suppose.

Aaron chuckles after a moment. "It's funny. I was coming up here, under the pretense of at least having a witty conversation, and we end up having a heart to heart. Lucky me."

I laugh. "Well, if it's a witty conversation you want, you could have just asked." I open my eyes to look at him, and he glances down at me, grinning.

"Here I am, supposed to be an arrogant a-" 

I click my tongue, motioning to Lea. "Language."

He snorts. "She doesn't give a crap."

"I do, though."

"You're profane all the time."

"Oh, I know, but only when I'm in pain or being a smart ass."

"So... All the time?"

I laugh. "Pretty much."

"Hypocrite."

"T'is my middle name."

He grins again. "As I was saying. I'm supposed to be an arrogant -"

"Insert high-pitched noise here to block out profanity," I say over him.

Aaron laughs, continuing without bothering to finish his previous statement. "And yet here I am, socializing without being the arrogant-"

"Insert another high-pitched noise," I remark.

He laughs again, and I grin in satisfaction. "I've had myself on such a high pedestal. I do say my poor ego has taken a hit because of the fair injustice that is your influence."

I snicker. "My one true purpose in life," I declare. "To even out the ego of the supposed 'bad boy'."

"Oh dear lord. Please, no cliches. You do know how those end, don't you?"

I snort. "Please. Those books were everywhere. I've read quite a few. And they're all the same. It's gag-worthy."

"I wish I could honestly say that I hadn't read any." He blanches. "But with a younger sister, it's kind of a given that I'd at least know some of them."

I sigh dramatically, placing a hand over my heart. "I pray for your poor, tortured soul."

He laughs for the third time this morning. "I pray for me too. At least there's two other guys here that can save me. When they actually warm up to me."

I snort. "They're identical twins. They're practically the same person. And, I'm not surprised they haven't warmed up to you yet. It usually takes awhile. Like I told you before - guys are more prone to deceiving us than girls."

"So you've never been betrayed by a girl?"

"We've been betrayed four times. Wait, no, five, if you include Justin. One  girl out of five betrayed us."

His mouth forms an 'o' as he processes my words. "That makes everything so much more understandable."

I nod in agreement. "Yup," I say, popping the 'p'. 

We sit in silence for a few more minutes before Aaron yawns.

I look over at him, completely this time. "You should sleep," I advise. "You're obviously exhausted, and no one else is going to wake up for a few more hours. I'll stay awake."

He frowns. "How'd you know that the guys were both asleep?"

"Because we both know the real reason you came up here was to appease your boredom, as you're currently on watch."

He grunts. "Here I was, hoping it wasn't that obvious."

I smile fleetingly. "You keep grunting, and I might as well call you a caveman."

"Lovely."

I sit up. "Seriously. Sleep. You've nothing to prove by staying awake. I'll wake you in an hour or two."

"What about you?"

I shrug. "I have means of entertainment."

He looks hesitant, but the offer proves too good to pass up. I can see the resolution in his eyes before he speaks again. "Alright. Thanks." He goes to stand and walk away, but I stop him.

"Just use my sleeping bag," I say with a shrug. "We all end up sharing at one point. I'd have offered it to Lea earlier, but she fell asleep after I did." I slip out of it before he can protest and grab my jacket, slipping it on over my black undershirt.

"Thanks..." He obviously looks uncomfortable using my sleeping bag, but it's not like anything dangerous is to come from him sleeping in it. And it's not like I'm using it anymore this morning anyways; it might as well go to someone who'll use it.

I shrug. "Think nothing of it." I kneel beside my bag and grab an extra blanket, using it to cover Lea. Aaron moves the bag closer to her before slipping inside. Slinging my bag back over my shoulder, I open the stairwell door and walk back down to the bottom, checking to see that the twins are both in one piece.

Once that is established, I do a perimeter check. I know I lost those guys, but you can never be too sure. Usually we do those with partners, but I can hardly be bothered to drag one of them from sleep just to do a quick P.C. Plus, I can take care of myself. No worries, no harm done. 

Once that's checked, I walk back inside, re-barricading the door and keeping quiet as I walk back up to the roof. 

Glancing over at Aaron and his sister, I smile softly. Aaron had bypassed the one-person sleeping bag between the time I left and returned, instead opening it completely, using it as more of a cot-type thing to better accommodate him and his sister, using my extra blanket as cover.

That's the type of thing I miss about my brother. He would often bypass his personal comfort for my sake when we lived in the Camps. We were only a minute and thirty six seconds apart, him older by just as much, but he acted way older. I never really have much time to think about him, let alone mourn a six year old death. But it seems that he keeps coming up more and more since Aaron and Lea arrived. 

Well, this really makes three or four times, but it's definitely more than ever before. But I have no doubt that the repercussions of these past few years on my way to Rhode Island will come back to bite me in the rear when I reach my destination. Like my family's death, for example. Killing people, albeit in self-defense. Watching people close to me die, worse still - letting them sacrifice themselves for me. 

I suppose that so close to my goal, I should be considering what'll happen, should we for whatever reason be unable to get into Rhode Island. Where will we go then? What will we do?

I've been so focused on my goal that I didn't think about what could happen, should we for whatever reason be unable to get to said goal. Well, it's not really something I need to think over on my own; this is a conversation for the five of us to have sometime in the near future.

I walk over to the other end of the roof, suffocating in this utter silence as I sit down towards the edge and watching the sun rise over the decaying trees. 

Pulling out my knife and the stake with the eagle head engraved into it, I listen for any sound other than my companions' breathing, whilst carving away into the stake to further detail the possibly last symbol of our fallen nation.

~~~

A few hours later I hear a twig snap. It's faint, fairly far away, but in this silence it sounds deafening. My head snaps up and I grip my knife, shifting into a crouch as well as I can with my injured leg. 

Scanning the area, I notice something shifting in the treeline as I put my stake into my pack, slowly making my way to Aaron and Lea.

"Aaron," I say, just loud enough to stir them. "Lea. We've got to get inside, there's someone out there."

Aaron, who had stirred at his name, is now wide awake. With a gentle nudge he wakes his sister, and together we gather their make-shift bed, rushing indoors.

"Brian, Alex," I say, speaking in a normal voice as I tuck my knife into my belt. "Get up. We've got company."

They stir immediately. 

"Bryna, I thought you said you'd wake me in an hour?" Aaron says with a frown.

I shrug. "I lied. You needed the sleep. I took over. End of story." We quickly fold up my blanket and sleeping bag, putting them in my pack. Everyone else packs their belongings quickly, pulling out weapons and securing them in belts.

"'Course you'd do that, Brie," Brian says with an amused shake of his head.

I shrug again. "I only got a few hours of sleep, but it was all I needed. I was more than willing to take watch. Also, be glad that it was me out there. I only knew we had company because of a slight noise that could have been bypassed as a figment of imagination."

"You're sure it wasn't just that?" Alex asks, just for the sake of asking.

"Positive. I saw movement about three miles west. You don't miss movement when everything else is still."

"Sentries?" Lea asks.

"Doubtful. They'd have had more precaution than stepping on a slight twig; no matter how far away."

"Mercenaries?" Brian asks.

I shrug. "Perhaps. Doubt it, though. Again, they're trained for stealth. They don't send people with chances of screw-ups."

"I'd ask if it were one of the double agents, but the likeliness of that is slim to none," Alex says, frowning.

I nod. "Circumstances as they are, it's not any of the traitors."

"Rogues, then?" Aaron asks. "Or perhaps the guys who ambushed you?"

"That's more likely," I say with a nod. "Definitely suits the circumstances."

"But... why?" Lea asks. "I mean, they already had their shot, and they failed. Shouldn't they just move on?"

I shrug. "I killed three of their guys. One on accident, the other two in self-defense. It's only right that they feel like I need to pay, or whatever."

"I just... Why do they go after us?" she asks. "I've never understood that."

It's Brian who answers. "Loot. They stay hidden in the more rural areas, thus making loot harder to find. So anyone who passes through is automatically fair game."

"But Bryna didn't have any loot on her," Lea says with a frown. "Only a gun."

I feel goosebumps prickle up my arms and feel fairly sick. "Aside from being a woman who's survived this long out here, there are other treasures I have that make me appealing," I murmur, and everyone tenses.

"Oh..." Lea says, paling. "I didn't even think about that."

I shrug. "Nor did I, really, at the time. But, it's fair to assume that that's what they could have wanted from me."

Brian sucks in a breath, obviously uncomfortable with my rather revolting indication. 

"Right..." Alex says. "We should get going." 

I nod in agreement. "Keep an eye out. We don't want to be jumped when we least expect it."

With that, we head out.

:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:

Hey!

I didn't forget today, I promise! I was busy volunteering at this thing with my mom's co-workers. We painted murals, pulled up weeds, that type of thing. It was tedious. But for a good cause.

Anyways. Yes, I am aware that this shares many similarities with the last chapter, format and plot-wise. No, it wasn't intentional. It just happened. Gives you a better look on Aaron and Brie's blossoming friendship though, right? 

What do you think of the chapter today?

I was originally going to make Aaron this arrogant jerk who we love to hate, but I dunno. I just don't see him that way anymore. He's still going to be arrogant, but, not as much as originally planned. Sorry if I disappointed. 

This was more of an exclusive chapter for him and Bryna, because I figured they didn't really have much exclusive bonding. 

What could I have fixed? 

Off to go kill more characters.

-Musical_Author