The next morning, Lea's still alive, and the only reason we're not moving on. We could leave them to their own devices, but I couldn't do that knowing the chances of her and Aaron surviving without proper tools are slim to none.

Alex, Brian and I are in the corner of the room, trying to work this out, while Aaron keeps Lea company.

"I don't know," Alex says, glancing over at them. "Can we really take on two more people? Especially one who's injured?"

"Well, what do you suggest we do? Leave them to die?" I ask. "They may have made it this far, but they don't have proper equipment, and his sister is injured. We've killed, but only to keep ourselves from being discovered. Can we really kill two innocent people who share our passion for freedom? They've gotten this far, we can't just leave them to die."

"We have to move soon, though. With Lea's injuries, she won't be able to do much."

"Her injuries aren't even that bad. The most damage was done to her arms. She could probably walk on her leg; it just might hurt for awhile. Her side injury is pretty deep, but not enough to warrant abandonment. We'd only be abandoning them out of cold blood."

"She's weak, though."'

"Yes, but so am I, technically speaking. My leg's going to cause some problems, too. But Aaron can provide more muscle, and I don't really think he's going to be as much as a problem as a benefit. He can be the one to watch his sister, if that's what you're worried about, but we could use them both."

"This is all just speculation. We don't even know if they'll want to stay with us," Brian says.

"We just saved their lives, and I have medical experience that I can use to keep Lea alive. I don't think they can really afford to say no. Plus, I'm tired of being the only girl here. I'm sure you two could use new company as well, and Mr. Ego over there's as good as we've got at the moment."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have personal reasons for keeping them with us," Alex says, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I make a face. "Ew. That's disgusting, Al. I'm just trying to figure out what'd be best for everyone."

"But with more people we'll travel slower," Brian points out.

"True, but we made time just fine with the original twenty people."

Brian shrugs. "Whatever. You're the boss, it's your decision. Don't know why you even bother consulting us; when your mind is made, it's made."

I smirk softly. "You love me for it, though."

He shrugs, not denying it. "Can't not love you. You're family."

"Aw, that's sweet. Love you too, Brian."

Brian grins, and I stand, walking over to the couch.

"So," Aaron says, looking at me impassively.

"So," I respond, sitting on the arm of the couch and crossing my arms. "We've come to an impasse. On one hand, we don't want to leave you two here, but on the other, it'll be hectic to allow you guys to tag along, with Lea's injury. Right now, I'm all for you guys coming along. It's just up to you two."

"What happened to the last person who was with you guys?" Lea asks.

"He gave in to the CS because his sister was going to go off to the Camps, and he didn't want that for her." I shrug delicately. "This isn't easy; I'm sure you know that now. We've killed, and we've seen our best friends die. We've definitely suffered. But we're also close knit and willing to lay our lives down for one another. Right now, our goal is to get to Rhode Island. That's our main goal at the moment. We're more than happy to get you to another goal, but if it's rebelling, that's not what we're for. Maybe at one point, but right now it's just escape."

"We don't want to rebel," Aaron says. "We know that's stupid. We just want a life of our own."

"Oh, good. Our views are similar. That's only beneficial."

"We don't have any tools, though. What will we do about that?" Lea asks softly.

"We'll raid, naturally. We have to do another supply run shortly, anyways."

Aaron and Lea look at one another, and I watch them in silence, waiting for their answer.

Aaron shrugs. "It sounds like it's our only option, at this point, Lee. I don't see how we could get along on our own with your injuries, and Rhode Island does sound promising. But it's your decision."

Lea looks around, at Alex and Brian, then to me. I give her a warm smile, and she smiles back, before looking at Aaron. "It's been awhile since I've been able to converse with an intelligent person of my same gender," she replies. "And we haven't really had time to be social, what with running on our own and all. It'll be fun. Maybe Bryna'll humble you down."

Aaron eyes me, arching his eyebrow and giving me an amused smile. "I don't think so."

I raise my own eyebrow and lean against the couch. "You wanna bet?" I ask.

"You don't bet against Bryna," Alex calls. "She's never wrong. It's partially why she's our leader."

"Didn't know you were the leader," Aaron says.

I shrug. "Nah, I just boss the guys around because it's fun, and they listen because they've nothing better to do."

Aaron can't stop himself from smiling. "Someone with wit. I could get used to this."

"I'm witty," Lea frowns.

"Yeah, but you don't meet my style of wit."

"Glad you could appreciate my sarcasm. Not many people do."

"Sabrina sure didn't," Brian remarks in amusement.

I glance over at him, shrugging. "Sabrina the Witch is just jealous that her ex was hanging around someone prettier than she is. Really, she can't win. Unless she kills me. Then, you know, it's fair game."

"Sorry, what?" Lea asks. Her and Aaron frown.

"Sabrina the Witch is a Sentry, who happened to be Justin's - the guy who left just before you came - ex girlfriend. She's the reason Justin departed so soon. She's also jealous of me, and couldn't help but speak the fantasies that her and Justin would finally have a life together. Forgot to remind her that Justin doesn't rebound."

Brian and Alex laugh, and I get Lea to smile. Aaron looks amused as well.

"She's a Sentry? I thought you had to be at least twenty?"

I shrug. "They must have made an exception. She probably has contacts high up, or something. She couldn't even understand me when I backhandedly called her a bitch, so it couldn't be because she's intelligent. Maybe she's not a Sentry at all, and they just put her out here to get Justin out of our way so we'd weaken. There're many reasons it could have been done."

Aaron snorts. "Think she'll be a problem in the future?"

"It's likely we'll have a run in again. Maybe I'm just biased. You'll have to give me your opinion of her if we meet again. A problem... Well, she managed to manipulate my friend - though, he was planning on leaving anyways - and thinks she's better than me." I shrug. "I doubt she's nothing I can't handle, but she's definitely going to be difficult."

"We'll be ready for her, though," Lea says with a smile. "And you have more sass behind you, now."

I grin at her. "Looking forward to it."

Brian stands. "Well, I'm going to do a perimeter check. Who's coming?"

"You don't do checks alone?" Aaron asks.

"No, we think it's smarter to have backup in case someone tries to sneak up on us," I explain, before looking up at Brian. "I'll do it. I need to stretch my leg, anyways."

Brian nods, and I grab my knife from my pack, following him out of the basement. We check the inside of the house, before walking out to the perimeter.

Brian stops me, though, after a moment. "Do you think you let Aaron join partly because you wanted someone to take Justin's place?"

I stare at him for a moment. "Where's this coming from?"

"Justin meant a lot to all of us, Brie. Him leaving so abruptly hurt us all. You, especially. He was your best friend. And here you are, welcoming these guys in, acting like nothing's happened."

"Justin did what Justin wanted to do. I accepted it before it even happened, Brian. I'm alright with him leaving. I'm just feeling friendly with the newbies, is all. That's nothing to be concerned about."

Brian nods, reassured.

"Did you seriously think I'd let Justin go that easily?" I ask with an amused smile.

Brian shrugs. "I dunno what I thought." He motions to the space in front of us, indicating to resume our check. "Shall we?" He heads in the opposite direction.

I laugh and walk, turning around the corner, only to bump into a Sentry. I stumble back, muttering a curse as he advances.

"Brian!" I shout, dodging an uppercut and aiming a kick to his groin that he deflects. "A little help?"

"A little busy!" he calls, and I hear him grunt.

"Damn!" I hiss, dodging another attack and walking backwards towards Brian.

I hear a man cry out, then Brian's "Give me a bit, Brie!", just as the man sweeps my feet from under me. I topple, losing my knife in the process. The man straddles me, pulling out a syringe. I mutter a curse, trying to throw my weight, thrashing so as to make it difficult for him to inject me with the no doubt lethal injection.

"Sit still, bitch!" the man hisses.

"Brian!" I call out, still thrashing. I go to poke the man's eyes, but he grabs my wrist with his free hand.

He grunts and lets go of my wrist, slapping me so hard my head spins. My thrashing stops as I try to get my wits about me, and he takes this chance to poke the needle into my neck. He pushes down on the plunger briefly, before a gunshot rings out, and he's forced back.

Footsteps run towards me as I shove the man off of me. My head spins, but I pull the syringe from my neck and sit up, move over to the man, and inject the rest of it into his neck. He looks dazed for a moment, before his eyes close. Whatever he did to me, he must have gotten enough into my system for it to take effect, as my whole world seems to be spinning.

"Brie," someone says, and I realize that I'm on the ground, staring up at the sky. One of the twins' face appears in my vision. "Brie, can you hear me?"

"Which... twin...?" I murmur, frowning. I must sound like an idiot.

"It's Brian, Brie. Alex is preparing Lea and Aaron to move. Do you think you can get up? We have to get out of here."

I hum softly, closing my eyes. "Yeah..." I lie. Because in all truth, we do need to get out of here, and I don't care if I have to walk in my dazed state for us to get to safety.

Brian helps me stand, and we walk into the basement.

"Brie," Alex says, walking over to me. "Are you alright?"

"Eh... a bit... um, out of sorts, but I'll be fine in a bit." I observe Aaron, carrying his sister in his arms.

"I'ma help you get your pack on, Brie," Brian says from behind me. "I have your knife with me."

"Okay..." I struggle into my pack, which seems to have gained at least five pounds. Maybe that's just my deluded state.

"Are you sure you'll be able to walk?" Alex asks, concerned.

"I should be fine... he didn't get to inject much of whatever into my system. I'm just a bit... eh, dazed, at the moment."

"Well, you're speaking more coherently. That counts for something," Brian says. He places a hand on my back to guide me, and we walk from the basement, out of the house, and out into the night.

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

Hey, guys!

What do you think was in that serum?

So, yeah. Just one question today, because I can't really think of anything else to possibly be asked.

Anyways. My friend, , is doing this writing contest, and she needs more people to join. It'd be great if you guys could help her out. You can check out the blurb on her profile, under Writing Contests, along with the prizes and whatnot. But basically, you have to write a chapter (300-1000 words), about a bandit fighting a mob of murderers in a life of mystery and crime (Trying to summarize here. Apologies if it sounds bad, I've never been good at summarizing). Again, you can check it out on her profile if you're interested, and it'd mean a lot if you joined. I think I'll have a reward if you join, like a dedication, or something close to that, if you decide to join. If not, it's no big deal, I still love you. ;)

I am, in fact, entering, with a small excerpt as to what Brie's life was like before meeting her group.

Thanks for reading, your feedback is always welcome!

Off to write and kill more characters,

-Musical_Author