When I wake up, it's late afternoon. Brian and Alex are out, probably doing a P.C.

"You're up," Lea says, smiling.

I smile back, grabbing my canteen and drinking some water before trusting myself to speak. "Finally, right?"

She laughs. "You've been out for awhile. We were getting worried."

"By 'we', I'm assuming you, Brian, and Alex? Because it seems Mr. Arrogant over here couldn't care less." I nod my head to Aaron, sitting with his back against the far wall, staring into space.

"He cares in his own way."

"Which is to say, not at all," Aaron and I say at the same time. I blink, and he does likewise.

"Well, that's not creepy at all," I mutter with an amused smile.

"Don't do that ever again," he warns me.

"What? Pass out and leave you in the company of my lovely friends? 'Cause that's not something I can promise."

"No. Say something at the same time as me. It's damn creepy. But that last one, too. Your friends stare at me like I'm some oddity."

"I have to agree on that first one," I say. "But great minds think alike."

"Yeah... No."

I laugh. "And the second one... Well, you'll have to get used to it. They stare a lot at stuff they're still holding on trial." I shrug. "Did it to me, too. Didn't take long to warm up to me, but..." I flash him a smile, before standing.

"Then it shouldn't take half as long for me. I'm a very likable person."

I look at him. "Really? Never noticed. And, you know, they don't really like new guys. Lea should be fine. But guys tend to betray us." I shrug casually.

"Favoritism," Aaron grumbles.

"Eh, I think it's a mix of bias and sexism, but your's works too." I walk over to Lea. We're in a classroom without windows. Lea's sitting on two desks put together, probably to act as a bed or something. "How're you doing?" I ask, sitting next to her.

"Meh. My injuries are healing, thanks to you, and I'm alive. Can't really ask for much further at the moment."

"The guys have been treating you right since I've been out?"

"Brian didn't really say anything, but he helped. Alex was kinda busy making sure you didn't pass out."

I raise an eyebrow. "You sure you had them correct? Those descriptions are the complete opposite of the twins' personalities."

Lea shrugs. "I may have them mixed up. Who's the one with the scar?"

"That's Alex," I say with a small nod.

"Oh! I thought he was Brian." She blushes slightly.

I laugh. "No worries. Every gets them confused now and then. I used to, all the time. Until Alex got the scar saving us all. Never forgot after that." I shrug.

"What happened?"

I hesitate, wondering if Alex'd be alright with me telling his story. Then I decide that if she's going to be one of us, she might as well know. "We were in California, about a year after they picked me up. We were holed up in a sewer system, trying to wait out a storm that was passing through..." I flash back to the night as I speak.

Alex had offered to keep watch first. Strange, because he's usually the first one out. I think everyone was baffled by his sudden decision, but as we were all exhausted, we let him.

I, personally, had been woken up by one of our other members later that night. Supposedly, Alex had wandered off, for whatever reason. This struck me as odd, because Alex doesn't just wander off in the middle of his shift. He's reliable. Why I was woken up instead of our leader Kip is anyone's guess. The person who woke me up - a guy named Fletcher - never indulged, just pointed me in the direction of Alex. 

Thinking back on it now, I suppose it's because he thought he could get away with sending me to my doom with Alex, instead of killing me himself. Maybe he had a bit of a soft spot for me. Anyways...

I grabbed my pack, nudging my friend Sara awake with my foot. She stirred, but Fletcher didn't notice. I want her to keep an eye on him while I search for Alex.

I walked through the sewers. I'm only thirteen; I don't know much about the ins and outs of this group, but I know enough to know that Alex going off alone isn't normal. Calling Alex's name, I only stopped walking when I came to an adjoining corridor. Pausing, trying to debate which one to go down first, I'm only able to vaguely hear shouts. Two people yelling at each other. I go down that way.

"No!" Alex shouts as I approach, shoving the figure away from him. I hide in the shadows, looking on in silence.

"Alex, please. We're tired of fighting. Just let me do this!"

"I will do no such thing," he growled.

"Alex," the girl pleaded. It hits me at that moment. The girl's Ange. She's been trying for ages to befriend me. We were sort of friendly, but I'd always had a bad feeling about her. Guess I was right.

"No!" Alex snapped again.

Something in Ange snapped. She growled, grabbing a loose brick from beside her and lunging at him.

He stumbled back, taken by surprise. I launch forward, tackling Ange to the ground before she can harm him.

"Brie," Ange growled. "You should have just stayed where you were."

I place my knife against her throat, straddling her. "Sorry, hon," I had replied. "I don't make a habit of trusting strangers."

"How much'd you hear?"

I shrugged. "Enough." I shift, looking at Alex out of the corner of my eye. "You alright, Al?"

"Fine. Great timing."

I laugh. "Yup. You're welcome." Suddenly, I'm thrown off of Ange, and she's straddling me.

"Brie!" Alex exclaimed, going to rush over to me.

I grunted, reaching for my dagger. "I'll be fine. Go save the day, yeah? I think Fletch is in on it."

"You sure...?"

"Certainly, Alex. If I didn't have confidence, I'd be asking you to help. Go on, now."

Alex seemed indecisive. "Brie..."

"Go on, pretty boy. Your girlfriend here already said it was alright. Go save your posse."

Him and I rolled out eyes. "Go, Alex."

He runs.

"Ew, Ange. I didn't think you could get any more pathetic. Alex and me? You must have hit your head at some point to be so demented."

The girl snarled. We fought for a bit, but I over took her eventually, getting up and running, ready to leave her for dead.

I make it to the others, to see Alex wrestling a gun from Fletcher.

"Run!" he roared. "I'll be right behind you!"

We run, if a bit hesitant. Gun fire. Bricks fall. We run further, Alex caught up. I trip, waving for them to go on as I stand. They did. But someone grabbed my foot, keeping me back.

"Alex!" I shrieked, as he's closer than the others. He turned to me, then ran, tackling the person behind me.

"Go!" he shouted, wrestling Ange to the ground. The sewers crumble to the ground around us.

I let out a small whimper, but run at his more urgent plea.

I hear Ange let out a shriek, and glance back before climbing up. Alex had pulled her out of the way of a chunk of bricks. He then shoves her into the pile of bricks, using that push as momentum to move. I start climbing at his gesture, but stop when I hear his cry. A brick had fallen and struck him in the forehead. I leap down, running to him and pulling him up. We run together, but he refuses to get up before me.

Finally, we're out of the sewers as they collapse, in the soaking rain, running for our lives so as not to be caught in the cave-in.

"Wow. I never pegged him as the life-saving type," Lea says.

I shrug. "No one did before that day."

"It definitely was one of the high points for my twin," Brian says, walking back in. I wave at him, and he grins at me. "You're looking better."

I shrug. "I'm awake."

"It's better than being asleep," he says, tossing me a thing of crackers and a to-go jar of peanut butter.

I nod in agreement. "What were you two up to?"

"Scoping the place out. Found an entire supply of food in one of the other classrooms. Looks like we're not the only rebels out there."

"Not rebels," I correct him. "Escapees."

"Potato po-tah-to."

"Not really. We're not rebelling; just trying to gain freedom."

"Against a country that wants control over us. Rebels."

I shrug. "Whatever you say, Brian."

He grins at me again as I dip a cracker into the peanut butter. The cracker's a bit stale, but it's better than nothing.

"Is there any more food?" Lea asks, eyeing my crackers.

I smile, sliding the peanut butter between us and offering her some crackers. "Help yourself. I'm probably not going to eat much anyways."

"Starve yourself, you do," Brian mutters, sitting across from me.

I shrug again. "As the leader, I have to make sure everyone else is fed before me. It's my way of showing I care." I emphasize 'care' with a playful sneer.

"Some way of showing it. You never even offered me any."

I turn to Aaron. "You never asked. You're not mute, are you? Or do you just have selective speaking?"

"The latter, probably," Lea says, taking some crackers. She dips one in peanut butter, slides from the desk, and walks over to her brother. She wipes the peanut butter on his nose, then eats the cracker.

I crack up at Aaron's expression, as do Brian, Alex and Lea.

"Lea!" Aaron whines, wiping the peanut butter from his nose. Lea squeaks, running and hiding behind me. When Aaron approaches me, she runs behind Brian.

I smile at Aaron. "You've got a little something..." I point at my nose.

He glares at me. "You're lucky..."

"Lucky what, that I'm the Alpha and you're officially the Omega? Or that you look less intimidating with peanut butter smeared on your nose? Ooh, or that I saved you and your sister's lives, thus you cannot lay a finger on me?" I ask with a smirk.

Lea giggles, peering over Brian's shoulder. Brian's trying to look bored, but failing miserably. I think he has a personal soft spot for Lea.

"Watch yourself, Bryna."

"That might have been a little more threatening if you didn't have peanut butter all over your nose," I remark. "And if you used my last name; not my first."

"What is your last name?" Lea asks me.

"Lexington. Bryna Lexington."

"Hm. You know that Bryna is the feminine version of Brian?"

"Yup. The entire thing is ironic."

"Did you have a brother named Brian?"

I smile sadly. "I did, actually. My twin. Made the whole thing all the more amusing."

"Oh... I'm assuming...?"

"You shouldn't assume. But yeah, you're correct. I'm the only one of my immediate family still alive." I shrug.

"Well, you lost one Brian and got another. I'd say that's a good deal," Brian says.

I laugh. "I'm not complaining. He always wanted to escape though. When we got the chance, he risked his life so I could continue on. It was awful."

"That's sad. But at least you are where you are now."

I shrug. "Like I said; not complaining."

"Well, sob stories over, when are we getting out of here?" Aaron asks.

I hum for a moment. "Well, I'm good to go. But Lea should heal still, and the Sentries are probably on our tail after the stunt yesterday."

"Do you think the Witch is among them?" Alex asks.

I shrug. "Wouldn't doubt it. We could stay for a day or two before moving on."

"What about the other rebels?"

"If they are out there, then they are. If they left their food, though, probably they've been compromised, or something. Even if not, then they might not be friendly. We shouldn't take chances, so close to freedom."

"Probably a good idea," Alex agrees, shrugging. "It was a nice idea, though."

"Can't say I disagree," I say with a shrug.

Aaron leans against another desk. "So we're staying for awhile?"

"A little bit, yeah. We need to get you two supplies though, so we should head into town sometime soon."

"We can do that tomorrow," Brian says.

I nod. "Yup."

"What now?" Lea asks.

"Just... Hang around. Maybe get to know one another a bit better."

"Heh. I'm not really the sit-around-and-sob-about-our-awful-lives kinda guy," Aaron says.

Lea pulls Aaron to the ground next to her. "Too bad."

I allow myself a smile.

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

Ah, they're bonding. This is probably my favorite part of the book that doesn't involve violence or romance. ;)

On a different note, sorry for the late update. I kinda forgot about it earlier today, so... Yeah, no valid excuse. Except that I was reading a good book and time got the better of me. So really, I have the best excuse in the world, for all you reading dorks out there like me. You know who you are. ;P

Anyways. So, what'da think so far? Can you say calm before the storm? Because everyone knows that after the awkward bonding moment, hell breaks loose. You can only imagine how, though. *Grins mischievously* And when.

What do you think of Brian and Lea? Can you see that happening yet? Dunno if I really plan on them being a couple yet, but I might surprise myself. 

What about Alex's heroic deed? Is he more than just a joking twerp who shares the same genes with Brie's right-hand? (Probably, because there's always more to my characters than what's on the surface, in everything I write ;p) Do you think Ange and Fletcher could have miraculously survived that cave-in somehow? (You never know what I have in store. I surprise myself sometimes with the ideas running through my head.)

And what about Sabrina the Witch? Do you think she's going to make an appearance soon?

I can tell you for sure that she will show up eventually, and it won't be to have a sleepover and braid Brie's hair (not that she could anyways; Brie's hair is way too short for that. Plus, Brie'd probably make some comment about Sabrina being so stupid that she couldn't brush her own hair in the mornings without help. You can't deny it. Even four chapters in, and we all know that's what she'd say). 

So, yeah. This is definitely a filler chapter, but it's kinda important. It shows more of their relationship, and what they'd be willing to do for each other. Which will explain a lot in a bit. Can't say yet, though. That'd just spoil it all, wouldn't it?

Off to do something mischievous [and probably kill of another innocent ;) ],

-Musical_Author