Bryna's P.O.V

Alex leads us into a small gas station, and then into the backroom.

"Alex?" Brian calls faintly. "That you?"

"Yeah," he calls. "I have some guests, too."

"Do they have medicine?" a voice that can only be Lea's asks.

"I'm almost certain," Alex replies, leading us to where they're sitting.

Lea and Justin are all sitting on either side of Brian, who's laying down on a make-shift cot of sleeping bags and blankets lain down on top of a metal table. Lea's clutching Brian's hand like it's her lifeline, and Justin's sleeping with his head in his arms, propped onto the table.

When Lea sees Aaron, she lets out a gasp and leaps up, running to him and enveloping him into a hug. I watch the two of them with a smile, noting Aaron's ear-to-ear grin in satisfaction.

Brian's staring at me with wide eyes, like he can't believe I'm here.

I walk over to him, sitting on the table at his side. "Hey."

"Bryna? You're actually here?"

I look down at myself. "I mean... unless this is one of my crazier dreams and we're both hallucinating, then yeah, I think so."

He grins, and I lean down, hugging him. He wraps his arms around me. "Thank God, Brie. I thought you were dead."

I laugh. "Careful of my ribs. But I wouldn't leave you without so much as a goodbye, Brian. We both know I'm too stubborn to let a silly thing like death get in my way."

Brian laughs. "I know. God, Brie. You don't know how upset I was when we had to move on without you. It killed me."

"I know. And I'm sorry. But I was too busy being held captive to do anything about it." I pull away. "So, you and Lea, huh?"

His cheeks redden, and I grin. "She... I... Ugh. Can we not do this right now?"

I laugh. "So Lea's your type then?" I shrug. "Not exactly complaining. She's a great girl." I poke him. "Be good to her or Aaron'll castrate you. Pre-warning."

"Heh. I figured as much. So what's up with your ribs?"

"Small incident." I shrug. "Nothing to worry about. They're just a bit bruised."

He nods. "You're lying."

"Underplaying it, more like. But don't worry about it. Worry about healing up, yeah?"

He sighs. "Sure, Brie."

I smile, before standing up and walking over to Lea and Aaron, who are sitting on the ground, Aaron's arm wrapped around Lea as they talk. I sit in front of them, shrugging off my bag and propping it in front of me, resting my arms on it and then my head on top of my arms. "Hello."

Lea looks at me, grinning broadly. She moves away from Aaron and wraps me in an hug, made awkward by the bag between us both. I laugh, hugging her back.

"Thank you for keeping my brother alive," she whispers.

I smile. "No problem, Lea. Thank you for being there for Brian."

She giggles. "It wasn't that hard," she says. 

"Neither was keeping Aaron alive," I chuckle. "But I did all the same."

She smiles, pulling away. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," I reply, shifting back into my previous position. "But I'm glad you were here instead of there. It... wasn't fun." 

"I know. I heard." She smiles sympathetically. 

"Yeah," I let out an airy laugh. "But it's alright now. We're safe, and we have a vehicle that'll get us to where we need to go."

She brightens. "Really?"

I nod. "It'll be a tight sit, because there's not enough seats to fit six, but we'll make it work."

Lea nods, grinning. "Yeah."

~~~

After awhile, Lea's asleep by Brian, and Justin's still out of it. I've been helping Alex with dinner and cleaning up the area. Aaron's been sitting and helping out Brian and Lea, but for the most part I've been doing more.

"Rest," Alex tells me after we successfully move the Jeep to the back of the station and fill it up with some more gas.

"You sure?" I ask him.

He pokes me in the ribs and I let out a gasp. He nods. "Yeah."

I scowl at him and turn on my heels, walking to a far corner and setting down my sleeping bag. I shrug out of my jacket and take off my boots, slipping inside of the bag. I shift so that I can rest my hands on my stomach in an instinctively protective gesture as I close my eyes. Of course, it's definitely not the best way to be laying in my state, but it's the only way I can be laying in our predicament.

I'm halfway to sleep when Aaron lays his stuff down next to me, sitting on top of his sleeping bag.

"Hi," he whispers softly as I look up at him.

"Hello," I greet him. In the soft glow of the electronic lanterns, I can see Aaron's smile. I smile back, shifting so that I can look at him better. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," he says. "Tried helping Alex with something but he told me to get to sleep."

I let out a soft laugh. "Yeah. When Alex takes charge, he's a little bossy."

"Just a little," Aaron agrees.

I smile in amusement. "Yeah."

He sighs. "How're you holding up?"

"As well as one can be," I reply. "You?"

"Great. I'm back with my sister and we're free from the psycho, and everything's close to okay again."

I smile softly. "We're almost there."

"Yeah." He's silent for a moment. "What's your current opinion on Justin being here?"

I shrug. "He's not causing trouble, and he saved Lea's life. I don't have a standing opinion."

Aaron nods slowly, glancing over at the guy in question.

"Do you have an opinion on him?" I ask, noticing his unease.

"I... I just don't think that he should be trusted so easily. First he plays innocent, then he joins the enemy, and after he loses everything, as Lea told me, he just tried to jump back in, proving himself by saving you and then Lea when chaos conveniently erupts? I shouldn't be so mistrusting, but no one else seems to be asking the logical questions. I don't know how to feel about him. I can't trust him, but I can't not trust him." He lets out a small sigh. "Dunno. Maybe I'm just paranoid after Damien turned out to be that damned spy."

"You're not paranoid. I think that they let him back after he saved both you and I from Damien because they felt like turning him away was a bit too harsh. They all thought they lost us. Justin knew me the most and we were way closer. Sending him away in that state would have killed him more than likely, and they couldn't do that, betrayed as they might feel. He's still the same guy who risked his neck to make sure a twelve year old girl didn't get caught when he did, even not knowing the girl at all. He still saved us all on multiple occasions, and helped provide last minute escapes when we could have lost it all." I shrug. "I haven't seen him awake yet. Maybe when I do, I'll be able to make a call on his being here."

"Are you still the leader, though?"

"Technically, Brian still is until he passes it back to me. But he's injured and I doubt Alex will take the role when I'm around to do so." I shrug. "Justin is here, but no one wants him to be leader, and you and Lea aren't exactly on the table, as you're both newer and less eligible for the role. No offense. It'll all be discussed tomorrow."

He sighs. "Why do I feel so unnerved? I should feel a little more... relaxed. I just feel restless. Why?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe it's your gut telling you that we're not in the clear yet. Listen to it. It can't be as easy as escaping, finding our companions, and then arriving to Rhode Island without any problems."

"You say that so casually. You think something bigger is coming?"

I sigh, resting my hand on his. "I know there is, Aaron. Maybe not now, but this definitely isn't the end. It's too easy."

Aaron doesn't respond, instead entwining our fingers together and squeezing my hand lightly. I squeeze back. A mutual agreement to stay together and prevent anything from getting so close as to hurt us or our comrades.

I slip into slumber, but swear that Aaron picked up our entwined hands and kissed my knuckles as I drift off. It leaves a small smile on my face.

~~~

The next day brings me into consciousness with the unnerving feeling of being stared at.

I open my eyes to see Alex, Lea, and Brian all staring at me from various places in the room with smirks of all sorts. I frown at them.

"You three have a problem or something?" I deadpan, too tired to deal with their stares.

"Nope," Brian says. "In fact, it's the opposite of a problem."

I raise an eyebrow. "A solution, then?" I ask. "What solution would that be to, and why does it involve staring at me with such sly smirks, like I've done something scandalous?"

"I didn't even know scandalous was a word," Alex remarks stupidly. We roll our eyes at him.

"Not a solution. We're just in awe that you could be so reckless with your affections. You usually hide emotions well," Brian explains cryptically.

As if on some subconscious cue, I glance at my hand, which, to my horror - and slight satisfaction - is still interlaced with Aaron's. I quickly remove my hand, causing Aaron to stir slightly before going back to sleep.

I turn back to Brian and the other two with a roll of my eyes. "You three are absurd. Have you ever considered that maybe the experiences at our prison has put us into a routine of remaining in close contact with each other for comfort and assurance as we sleep?" I scoff, brushing their insinuations as mere overspecialization, when they perhaps couldn't have been closer to the truth.

So much for being upfront with my emotions, I muse silently as I watch them turn from smug to a tad horror-stricken at my insinuation.

I pull on my boots and tie them before standing up with a light grimace, my jacket in hand. I slip it on.

"Oh..." Alex says. "Well, when you put it like that..."

I sigh. "This is why I'm the brains of the group, and not any of you."

"Ouch," Brian replies. "Are you backhandedly calling us idiots?"

"Yes," I deadpan.

Lea giggles, immediately assuming that I wasn't referring to her. She'd be correct.

Alex and Brian gasp in dramatic unison.

"Bryna, you wound us!" Alex wails.

I roll my eyes. "Says the only person here who isn't injured in any way," I reply.

Alex grins broadly. "You say it like it's a bad thing."

I shrug. "Depends on who you ask."

Brian smiles. "It's good to have you back," he says.

I smile as well. "It's good to be back," I respond, rolling up my sleeping bag and putting it into my backpack.

"How're your ribs?" Alex asks.

I shrug. "Sore."

Brian raises an eyebrow. "How sore?"

"Like I repeatedly got kicked in the stomach with steel-toed boots," I reply bluntly.

"Did you?" Lea asks.

"Oh, no. They were regular boots. And there were batons, too."

The three of them grimace at my tone. 

"How bad was it there?" Brian asks me.

I tilt my head. "On a scale of one to ten, ten being in league with the Slave Camps, I'd give it an eleven. The Slave Camps at least gave us food and water and cots to sleep on."

Lea frowns. "They didn't feed you?"

"No. But a guy did give us granola bars, water bottles, and a mini med kit. In a tattered plastic bag. Before double-crossing us."

"Yikes. Is there anyone who wouldn't double-cross you, Brie?" Alex asks.

I tilt my head. "All the people in this room, except for Mr. Sleepy-head over there?" I offer, motioning to Justin.

"Seems about right," Brian confirms with a decisive nod.

I smile. "I know."

"Someone should wake him up," Alex says. "He's been asleep for too long."

I nod, deciding to take my chances with him. I walk over, touching his shoulder lightly, being careful not to touch his injury. "Justin," I say. 

I'm not being gentle because I care, it's because Justin gets a little... defensive when woken up too roughly. 

I shake his shoulder lightly and he stirs slightly. "Justin, wake up."

Justin lunges suddenly, turning and grabbing me, shoving me against the wall with his arm pressing against my airways, ultimately preventing me from breathing and causing my ribs to jar with the sudden impact.

I gasp for air, trying to free myself as everyone else shouts for him to let me go. "Justin!" I wheeze.

Aaron wakes, scrambling up. He notices my predicament and comes over quickly, effectively throwing Justin off of me. 

I gasp for air, collapsing on the ground, clutching my ribs and my throat with either hand.

My ribs ache like hell as I curl into a ball, trying to breathe again. I look up at Aaron as he kneels next to me, hand on my back.

"What the hell happened?" he asks no one in particular.

"Bryna tried waking Justin up. He snapped and lunged at her, trapping her against the wall trying to suffocate her," Brian explains.

"He was half-asleep," I whisper. "Not his fault. It happens sometimes."

Aaron frowns at me. "Are you sure?"

"Positive, Aaron," I assure him, uncurling even though my body protests.

Aaron stands and helps me up. "Alright."

Justin wakes up from his half-sleep state and looks at me, still massaging my throat. "Bryna?" he asks, equally shocked and alarmed. "What...?"

"I'm here, been here since yesterday." I sigh.

The look of defeat in his eyes says everything as he stands, eyeing the hand rubbing my throat. "I did that, didn't I? While I was sleeping?"

 I nod. "Yeah. It was partially my fault, though. I think touching your injured shoulder triggered something." I shrug lightly. "No matter."

He sighs, rubbing his face. "I'm so sorry, Bryna. I..."

"I know. It's fine, really. Not like it hasn't happened before. I'm still standing, anyways, so it's all good."

"No, I mean for everything. I shouldn't have betrayed your trust like that. You trusted me, and I let you down. I can blame it on my sister, but that doesn't change anything except that my loyalty was misplaced." He sighs again. "I'm sure my apology doesn't fix anything. But I'm solely with you guys now. No more treachery. I'll do what I can to fix it."

I tilt my head at him. I think about what Alex had explained to me last night about Justin sacrificing himself for Lea, and how he had lost his sister. How he had so easily saved my life that night, even if I just got captured later on. How he seems so guilty right now that he can't even rejoice that I'm back, and more or less okay. I think about the boy who saved my life without even knowing about it. I think about the guy who easily became my best friend. 

He may have betrayed us, but he never had any intent to kill us. He took that offer to fight me to let everyone else go. He wasn't fighting at his best, and he knew my tactics, despite what I said to him. He was more or less going easy on me. Giving me a chance to get away. He was easily resigned to the fact that I could have killed him. But I didn't. 

I thought I'd convinced myself I hated him. But maybe that was just so I spared my own conflicted feelings, because quite honestly, I may feel betrayed by him, but he's always going to be my best friend. I can't hate the guy who's shown me mercy on so many occasions. Who's been there for me these past six years, whether or not I wanted him there. I'm still angry, but perhaps it's not as straightforward as I had made myself believe.

I look at him and I see my best friend trying to apologize while knowing nothing he could ever do would be good enough to explain his guilt. 

I smile fleetingly. "Welcome back to the team, Justin."

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

Hey! I'm more or less on time today!

What do we think about Bryna's decision to forgive Justin? Is she giving in too easily, or is it time for her to let bygones be bygones?

Any opinions on the chapter?

As usual, off to kill more fictional characters,

-Musical_Author