Within seconds, my gun is out, and I'm pointing it at the guy who supposedly saved my life. My hands tremble from shock, but I keep my aim steady.

The guy can't be any older than Aaron, with shaggy brown hair and gray eyes that glint with humor. His rough build suggests that he's fought a lot, and the tears in his clothing implies that this run-in with the Hell Hounds was something he was involved in.

"And the girl pulls a gun on her savior." The guy huffs. "What, is chivalry dead already?"

"Chivalry?" I scoff. "In this world? If you're really falling for that whole chivalrous spiel, you need a reality check."

He chuckles. "Perhaps the only female I've seen in nearly a decade, and she holds a gun to me while assuming the position of the up-handed sass-queen."

"Sass and sarcasm are my specialty, doll. And I do have the upper-hand in this situation. I have a gun and trigger-happy tendencies."

"Oh, lovely. At least you're not the damsel-in-distress type. I'm not one for people fawning over me."

I snort. "Not even if you were the last guy on earth would I do that, thank you. Not my style."

"Ah, well. Can I at least get a 'thank you'?"

"Nah."

"I just saved your life," he says with a frown.

"And? I never asked you to. You did that on your own."

"You could have died," he pointed out.

"Your point is...?"

"My point is, even if you're not going to express your gratitude-"

"No need. I don't have any."

"-you could at least point the gun somewhere else."

I debate this, then shrug, tucking my gun into my waistband. "It'd be a waste of a good bullet, anyways."

I move past him, into the hotel room and out into the corridor where my friends appear, barreling towards me.

"Gee, what timing," I remark dryly.

"Sorry," Brian pants. "I heard the gunshot but it took me a moment to process... And then I had to wake everyone... And we couldn't find you... This place is crawling with those hounds, and I just..."

The pain in his eyes is as evident as his fear, and I give him a weak smile. "I'm alright. I ran into a Hound, but I took care of it."

"I know, and I shouldn't have doubted you, but..."

"You have every right to have been concerned. I know how it seemed. But I'm alright."

Alex, Aaron and Lea watch on in silence as Brian tries catching his breath and calm himself before he has a panic attack.

"I just... after the last time..." He shakes his head. "Sorry for acting like a blubbering mess. You terrified me."

"Trust me; I am not letting these damn creatures be the death of me. I'd put up way more fight than just a single gun shot." I shake my head. "You're fine, Brian. I get it."

He runs a hand through his hair. "Damn it, Brie. You scared everyone."

"Mostly the twins and Lea," Aaron says nonchalantly.

I snort. "Right, Aaron."

"C'mon, Aaron," Lea says with a laugh. "You were up quicker than the rest of us."

I smirk, but it drops when I feel a presence behind me and everyone looks at something beyond my shoulder. I turn quickly, swiping his feet from under him and straddling him with a knife to his throat.

"I still never got that thank you," my savior states, looking bored.

I scoff. "I'm not going to thank you, so you can just stop now."

"Your friends seem grateful, though."

"Well, then my friends can thank you, because I sure as hell am not."

"Brie?" Brian asks. "What's he talking about?"

"Oh," the guy says, "I just saved her from falling to her ultimate demise. No biggy. She refuses to thank me."

"Well," Alex says, "then you probably don't deserve the thanks."

I smirk. "See? My friends get it."

"Right. So... can you get this knife from my neck? Because that would make this position a lot more enjoyable."

"You're disgusting," I state with a disgusting roll of my eyes. 

"Only for you, babe."

"Do not call me that unless you want me to slit your throat."

"You'd have done it already."

"No, she really wouldn't have," my friends chime in unison.

My smirk deepens. "Really, you don't want to test me."

"You'd really kill the person who saved your life?" he asks with a frown.

"I could have saved myself. And, yeah, I would. Because I  really couldn't care less."

He sighs. "The first girl in a decade, and she's a heartless, ruthless killing machine."

"At least you're smart enough to know it."

"Fine. Can you please not kill me, though? I really don't want to die."

"He did save you," Lea points out. "Whether you like it or not."

I pretend to debate this, though in all honestly I really don't care to kill him. After a moment I shrug and slide off him. "I will kill you if you try anything," I say, pointing the knife at him.

"Eh, I wish I could say that I think your bluffing. But I doubt it."

I put my knife into my waistband, turning to my friends. "So. We should probably leave."

Alex tosses me my pack. "Yup." He grins at me.

"And what about me?" the man says.

I look at him and shrug. "Dunno. Go get eaten by a Hell Hound or something. I'm sure the one downstairs would be more than happy to have it's dying meal."

"Can I come with you all?"

The suspicion on everyone else's face tells me that that's not a good idea. 

"Nope."

~~~

"I still don't know your name," the guy says as he trails behind us.

"Too bad."

"I'd really like to know your name."

"Too bad."

"Do you care for my name?"

"Nope. Because you'll probably be dead in a few."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because we all have our supplies and you're stupidly stripped of any survival tools."

"Aw. Will you share your sleeping bag with me?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Aaron sighs and whacks the guy upside the head. "Shut up. You're aggravating everybody."

I smirk and look at Aaron. He acknowledges me with an exasperated look, which I respond to with a roll of my eyes. A glance at the twins and Lea tells me that Aaron's words rang true. They all looked about ready to tear this guy's head off.

Brian leans towards me. "Why'd we bring him along again?" he asks softly as we walk.

"I don't know," I respond. "I think it was Aaron's lovely sister's heart, and it's currently the only reason I haven't put a bullet through his brain."

Brian cracks a smile, messing up my hair and slinging an arm over my shoulder - not unlike what Justin used to do when I said something that amused him. I grin, smoothing my hair down as best as possible.

"You're too soft," he says with a laugh.

I snort. "Around you guys, yeah. I'm pretty badass, though."

He chuckles. "Can't disagree. Where would we be without you?"

"Probably in a ditch," I admit. "Or in the camps. I've gotten us out of some tight situations."

"So have I."

"Of course. You're my right hand for a reason."

He looks down and grins at me. "I'm flattered, Brie."

"You should be."

Lea catches my eye. She's observing us not-so-discreetly, and her eyes keep flickering to the arm so loosely on my shoulder. Now, I may not be very fluent in the language of girls - being out of the loop for a very meager nine years and all - but in this moment it's obvious that Lea has something for Brian. My lips curve into a small smile. Well, I don't know whether to be surprised or pleased. They'd go well together. She smiles slightly at me when she sees me watching her, and I smile back knowingly. I'll have to talk to her later - I've read enough to know where misunderstandings like this lead - cliche as it is -  and I want to crush any bad feelings before they begin. 

"So," the guy says, matching his stride to Brian's and my own, "I really think I need to know your name. Introductions will kill the tension."

"What tension?" I deadpan. "Any tension you see is imagined. And I don't want to introduce myself to you. You're really bothersome."

"But..." He frowns, cutting himself off. "Never mind."

I glance at him, eyebrow raised. There's a reason I don't trust him, and his hesitation just now proves it. "You know, for trying to win me over, you're doing a damn awful job," I remark.

He cracks a smile. "I'm a little out of my game here. You're quite possibly the prettiest girl I've seen in a decade, and you have nerves of steel."

"Hah. You flatter me, but don't lie. Beauty isn't possible when you've broken your nose seven times and have, like, ten scars on your face. I don't have nerves of steel, I have high walls and standards. And there's a perfectly fine girl walking five feet away from you."

"Yeah, well, she hasn't saved my life."

"Eh, you saved mine. Not the other way around."

He snorts. "The Hound was there for a reason. I hid when I heard you coming."

"Ah. So yet two other reasons to not feel obliged to thank you for saving me."

"Two?"

"One, I already saved you, so you were just paying it forward, and two, you hid from sight and could have quite possibly lead me to my death."

"So basically," Brian says, "he put you in danger, you saved him, almost died, and he saved you from dying from the danger he put you in." He frowns. "That's incredibly confusing. What do you even call that?"

"There's probably a term from it, but we're so out of the loop we just don't know what it is," Alex says.

"Probably," Brian agrees. 

"There's a lot of stuff we don't know," I say. "We'll just depress ourselves if we think about it too much."

"It's depressing enough knowing we never got to live a normal childhood," Lea says.

Aaron nods his agreement. "Our lives are full of depressing factors. It's disturbing."

"Incredibly," I sigh.

"Right... So, I really think that introductions are necessary," the guy says.

Lea sighs. "I'll put you out of your misery. The girl you're currently failing to sweet talk is Bryna. She's the leader - if you haven't figured that out. Her right hand - the twin with his arm around her - is Brian, and his twin is Alex. He's the one with the scar above his eyebrow. The one who did what we've all wanted to do and slapped you upside the head is Aaron - my brother. And I'm Lea."

"Pleasure to meet y'all."

"Pleasure's all yours," I reply dryly. The twins and Aaron smirk, and I'm pretty sure I spoke for all of us just then.

"I'll win you over yet, my dear."

"Right. Your dreams are big for such a small brain. And, please, no endearments. I have a name. Use it. Before you end up with one less life than you started with."

Aaron chuckles, and Brian is shaking with laughter. They all hate him as much as I do - thank God. 

"Ah, your flirting skills need a bit of work."

"Says the guy who hasn't seen the opposite sex in almost ten years," I mutter with a small smirk.

"Ouch. Yeah, kinda walked into that. Anyways. I'm Damien."

"Eh, I'd say it's a pleasure, but then I'd be lying. I'm trying to cut back on that a bit."

Damien sighs. "One day, Bryna, I will win you over. I always do."

"Didn't know you swung that way," I remark. "'Cause you'd have to have won over guys, since Lea and I are the first women in a decade for you."

"Right. You clearly enjoy turning my words against me. I'm going to stop speaking now."

"Thank whatever God is out there," I say dramatically, clutching my heart and looking up to the heavens.

"'Bout damn time," Alex remarks.

~~~

When we find a more secure place to sleep, I make sure the guys are asleep before approaching Lea.

"Hey," I whisper gently, sitting down next to her.

She turns and looks up at me. "Hey."

"So, I want you to know, there's nothing between Brian and I," I murmur gently.

She frowns. "Why would you need to let me know that?"

"Because I'm no expert, but I know a crush when I see it, Lea. And the way you looked at us earlier..." I shrug. "I read between the lines."

Even in the dark, I can see her flush. "Is it that obvious?"

"Probably not," I assure her. "I just have witnessed a few relationships in our group before everyone disappeared. I know the signs. Brian's blissfully oblivious. Alex is too thick to realize it, and Aaron... Well, he might know, but I doubt it."

She sighs. "Good. This is the last thing we need - more drama."

I laugh softly. "Brian's a great guy. I definitely don't blame you. And it's not like you can help feeling that way. The heart wants what it wants."

She giggles softly. "You got that from a book."

I grin, resting my head against the wall. "Maybe."

Lea shifts in her sleeping bag, laying on her back to stare at the ceiling. "This stays between us, yeah?"

"Of course," I agree. "Why do you think I waited this long to talk to you?"

"Dunno. Thanks, though, for not being like the dense idiots in those books."

I laugh softly. "You're welcome."

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

So, hey. I have an excuse this time. I was at a family friend's all night last night, and my phone died on me. I'm sorry.

What do we think of Damien? 

Off to go slaughter some more characters,

-Musical_Author