When I return, there are no traces of me having cried, and my walls are up again. Everyone's waiting for me, sitting in one of the abandoned cars. 

"This area got hit bad," I remark softly. "The buildings are either destroyed, reek of death, or are unsuitable in one form or another. But there's a small field up ahead we can camp in. I think we can find a few in-tact tents in one of the stores nearby, if we really need to." I motion to the clouds covering the sky. "We're probably going to get some rain tonight."

"How appropriate," Alex remarks dryly.

I shrug. "The world works in strange ways."

"Sometimes too strange," Brian mutters.

I hum in agreement, and we start walking.

~~~

When the tents are set up, a system's set up so someone's with Damien at all times making sure he doesn't do anything stupid. 

The rain starts as soon as I'm in my tent partnered with Lea, her curled up and hiding in her sleeping bag against the wind and rain while I watch the downpour wreak havoc on the area around us through the safety of the screen.

"How are you not freezing?" Lea asks, her voice muffled.

I laugh. "Because I'm used to it," I explain in amusement.

"How?"

"I was born in Ohio and lived in Anchorage, Alaska for a few years before moving to Seattle just before the war began. And then we moved to a Community in Cali."

"Oh. Well. You've traveled far, then."

I hum in agreement. "Pretty much across the entire country."

"Wow."

"Meh. In six years, on foot or otherwise, it's not that big of an achievement."

"Still. We're almost there. You've made it this far in six years. That's more than other people can say."

"Yeah, I suppose." I shrug. "I dunno. You should sleep. You need it."

"What about you? You're not on watch, last time I checked."

"I'll lay down in a minute. I like the rain."

"Alright."

~~~

The next few days, we're stuck in our camp as the skies pour their hearts out - literally. A trip in the drenching rain gets us ponchos, umbrellas, and a tarp to protect the fire area from the rain, and us while we sit underneath it.

"How are we going to take all of this with us?" Lea asks.

"We can probably get a wagon or something of that sort from a store to pull it in. It'll help with carrying things, too," Brian says.

We're hunched under the tarp, trying to keep warm and poking the firewood with a stick to keep it going. 

"That'll be hard in an attack," Aaron points out.

"If it comes to it, we can abandon the items in an attack and move on, getting more when we're safe," Alex argues.

"We're almost there. Do we really want to be slowed down by lugging more items we don't really need?" Aaron rebuts. 

"They're handy in storms like this," Alex says. 

"And they'll keep us from getting sick," Brian adds.

I watch their back and forth in amusement, waiting in silence for them to realize that they've yet to even consult me about it. Damien and Lea jump in, siding with Aaron in the fact that the items will just slow us down.

Listening to my entertainment, I pull out my stake and knife, continuing with the detailed designs I started creating awhile back for the heck of it. 

I'm set for a few minutes, humming a small tune as I carve, before they finally all turn to me expectantly.

"Brie?" Brian asks. 

"What should we do?" Aaron inquires.

"Took you long enough," I remark mirthfully. "Damien needs supplies. Seeing as how we're almost there and none of us trust him with weapons, it only makes sense that we fold everything and put it in a backpack for him to carry. He doesn't need much else, other than a sleeping bag and a ration of food."

Everyone looks at me blankly, probably wondering why the hell they didn't think of that sooner.

"I've had a few minutes to think this over. You all argue like cats and dogs when you want to. It's highly amusing."

"So you've had this, and you just let us battle it out for the past five minutes while you... Do whatever?" Aaron asks dumbly.

"Pretty much," I hum. "You need it out of your system. We don't need to be arguing while we're walking."

Brian shrugs. "I'm not that surprised, to be honest. You'd definitely be the one to do that."

I shrug. "Logic is logic. It's why I'm the leader. I'm the brains. Brian's my personal diary, Alex is the comedic relief, Aaron's the brawn, Lea's the darling, and Darren's the untrustworthy asshole who's probably going to betray us."

"Hey!" Damien objects. "I'm not an asshole."

"No," Aaron says, "but you're annoying."

Damien debates this, then shrugs. "Meh."

Aaron looks at me, eyebrow raised. "I'm the brawn, huh?"

I shrug. "Well - it's not Brian. And you can't deny that you've done most of the heavy lifting since you've joined us."

Aaron nods and shrugs. "Fair enough."

"And I'm the darling?" Lea inquires.

"Well - yeah. Would you rather be the damsel?" I ask. 

"Darling's fine," she concludes with a decisive nod.

I laugh. "I'm glad you agree."

And just like that, peace has been restored, and we spend the rest of the night laughing and enjoying ourselves. 

Sometime into our content night, the tarp was removed, as the rain stopped, and we all lay out in our sleeping bags - or the tarp, for Damien -  relaxing and staring at the sky in mild conversation.

"Do you guys think that this is what camping was like before the war?" Lea asks.

"It's probably similar," I reply, staring up at the sky with my arms folded beneath my head. "But with more nature and less death around. And without the danger of being hunted and sent into slavery. Or death."

"So... Basically the world before war," Alex concludes.

"Basically," I agree.

Lea hums distractedly, and it's easy to see that she's falling asleep. No one says anything, though, and silence reigns for the next few minutes as Lea drifts off. 

Damien is the next one to drift, and then Alex. Soon Brian, Aaron and I are cleaning up the area and putting out the fire, making sure any excess trace of our being here is gone, as we'll probably be moving on in the morning. I pull out my blanket and place it over Damien, because while we don't trust him, I can't allow him to die in his sleep due to being too cold. And the tarp probably isn't very comfortable.

Afterwards, we move closer together and lay down in our sleeping bags, gazing at the stars. 

"What are the chances this'll remain as it is?" Brian asks me.

"With our luck?" I inquire. "You want the sugarcoated version or the hard truth?"

"I could go with some fantasy right about now."

I smile crookedly. "Then the chances are fairly high that this'll stay the way it is."

Brian shifts to look at me, and I look at him. "I really prefer this to the other options. If we could stay in this moment, I wouldn't complain."

I shrug. "Maybe it'll be certain when we reach Rhode Island. We can go camping every week, just because we're able to, and we can bond and roast marshmallows, and just be free of the chaos around us."

"I'ma hold you to that," he hums, shifting again to stare at the stars.

"Okay."

I'm sure Aaron was listening in on the conversation, but I can't be sure. And I'm not sure anyone would care either way. Sometimes dreams are better than reality. And while we can't afford to be blinded by fantasy, a little hope never hurt anyone.

But even dreams can turn into nightmares.

~~~

The next night we're still holed up in our camping spot, because the rain returned full-force. 

Aaron and I are on watch, huddled underneath the tarp in our blankets because it's too windy to attempt a fire, and we're low on firewood.

 Aaron shifts closer to me, looking uncomfortable but resolved at the same time.

I study him, trying to figure out what he's doing as he shifts so that we're sitting with our arms touching, and he must have seen my expression because he shrugs.

"Body heat," he explains simply. 

I nod in understanding, and allow myself to lean on him, because it's cold as hell and I'm too tired to even be uncomfortable with this. 

Aaron must have sensed my oncoming exhaustion, because he shifts again, wrapping an arm around me and allowing me to rest my head on his shoulder.

If I were in any state to, I'd have protested, but I'm cold and tired, and I didn't get much sleep last night because my instincts were screaming that something was wrong, and I was up pretty much the entire night.

 "I'd remark on how cliche this feels, and how this is usually reserved for people with feelings for each other, but it's better than alternatives," he murmurs softly.

I hum in agreement, my eyes closing. "It's definitely not one of the worse positions to be in," I murmur.

I must have fallen asleep. That's the only thing that explains what happens next.

I feel Aaron's arm slip from around my waist, and him setting me on the ground gently. That wakes me up. I open my eyes to see Aaron approaching a figure outside of the camp. They seem to get into an argument, and Aaron's shoved back. He stumbles, unprepared, and falls to the ground. The person pulls out something from his belt, and I'm suddenly wide awake as the object is pointed at Aaron.

I move quickly, getting out of my blanket and pulling out the gun from my pack. I shrug into my jacket quickly and rush out into the rain. "Hey!" I shout, trying to avert the person's attention. 

The only thing going through my mind is that I can't have Aaron dying, can't have him injured. If that happens, it's game over. 

The person looks up at me, and I notice Damien's grim expression. Of course. Who else?

"Guess I'm the asshole who betrays you, aren't I?" he asks dryly as I approach.

"I called it. I'm rarely wrong. Get the hell away from Aaron. Touch him again and I will make your life miserable."

"Aw, did I touch a nerve by attacking him?" Damien teases. Realization flickers across his expression. "Do you care for him? Is that why you're so protective?"

I scoff, cocking my gun. "Don't be insane, Damien. I care for Aaron as much as I care for Lea and Alex and Brian. I just don't like you shoving my friends to the ground and then pulling guns on them while they're unarmed."

"Meh, I suppose that's fair. You're an interesting character, Bryna. My boss'll be pleased with you."

I give him an unimpressed look. "Great. Maybe you'll get your reward in Hell, because that's the only place you'll be heading if you don't put that damn gun down."

"I'm not gonna put the gun down. You are. Or I will blow this entire place up."

"Mh, don't see that happening either."

"You're going to put the gun down, and you're going to come with me quietly, or your friends are all going to die. And it will be your fault."

Aaron's stood up at this point, and stands beside me. 

Before I can come up with a witty response, the cock of a gun is heard behind Damien. "No, no one's dying to your hands, Damien. The only one possibly dying tonight is you," a gruff voice I could never forget says. 

I tense, and so do the guys. "So you're playing hero?" I ask Justin, pointing the barrel of my gun at him. "Thought you'd be after my blood, after I beat your ass in that brawl."

"I don't want you dead," he says with a sigh. "Believe it or not, I'm here to save your ass."

"Mhm," I mutter.

Brian, Lea and Alex climb from their tents, and I know what's going through their heads at the sight of us.

Damien remains silent, but his gun focuses on me instead of Aaron, and I keep my gun trained on him.

"Brie... Let's get going," Aaron says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "This is getting us nowhere."

I glance at Aaron, and in that single moment, everything happens too quickly.

Damien shoots his gun, and Aaron shoves me out of the way as our three onlookers shout our names.

Justin pulls the trigger on Damien, effectively blowing the latter's head out. 

I hit the ground for the second time in less than a month, my ears ringing.

People call Aaron's name, and then a weight is lifted off of me.

My name is called. 

My eyes open. I'm on my back, staring up at five faces. Aaron's closer on my right, cradling his arm, and then Lea.

Brian, Alex and Justin are on my left, in that order.

"Brie. Brie, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Brian tries, waving his hand in my vision.

I'm still stunned, but manage a nod, blinking and waiting a moment before sitting up. Aaron helps me stand, and silence reigns as I lead him over to my pack to wrap his arm. 

Then, the explosion.

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

Hey! So, because this is a week late (*Cough* Writer's block *cough*), I've another, if smaller, chapter going to be up shortly. And then a full chapter up tomorrow. It's kinda an apology for being so awful at posting lately, and because of my fail at posting last week's chapter of Phantom Past. So...

What do you think is going on? Why's Justin back? Why did he help Bryna and them?

Who was near the explosion? Do you think someone's died? 

You'll find out the two questions above in the next chapter, after I edit and stuff. ;P

Off to go murder innocents.

-Musical_Author