Chapter fourteen!

╔ ✧･: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ╗

"Hey, any you guys
seen my sister Max?"

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

It was around ten in the morning and the teens were long gone.
They'd swallowed their food and gotten dressed in a matter of minutes, leaving everything the way they'd gotten up.

With no working lock at their disposal, they left what had been their home for the past eight months, open to anyone or anything that wished to enter.

The giant white clouds overhead covered up what little blue the sky had left as they trudged through the clearings between trees.

Roots stood out at odd angles which caught Una off guard. Unaware of the protruding objects, she walked with her head up and her eyes to the sky. Her foot got caught under a loop and she fell, face first, into a large puddle of muck. The large splash that echoed through the derelict area grabbed the attention of her friends quickly and they stopped speed walking.

"Hey, Una you okay?" Andi giggled walking over to her friend. The others joined in on her laughter slightly aggressive.

The sight was pretty laughable, so it was understandable, Una's face fully submerged in a pile of muck. Anyone would have, given the right sense of humour.but when the girl didn't stir, they grew worrisome.

"Una?"

Kai and Andi walked over to her and crouched down so they were right beside her. "Hey, you okay?"

After Una failed to respond, Kai thought up another option. "Here, help me turn her over. She probably hit her head"

Zack nodded as he and Andi helped the other teen turn her over while Zoey stood off to the size. "Oh my god," she said when Una's head was removed from the brown liquid. "What the hell happened!?"

"Jesus" Kai commented, feeling around the mucky area with his fingers in search of something that could have caused the mess. "A fucking rock". He pointed to a blunt, grey stone covered in a deep red substance.

Una had obviously hit her head off the object which resulted in a blood trail down her cheek beginning near her hairline.

"She okay?" Andi asked. Awkwardly standing up.

"Knocked out cold" Zack observed.

He had read about these moments in his shortage of books when somebody, the main character normally, injured themselves at a key moment of their journey. He knew exactly what to do. Ripping off a long strip of the girl's old T-shirt which then transformed it into something like a crop top. Zack stretched it and wrapped it tightly around her head, adding extra pressure to the wound to stop it from bleeding. Una stirred and let out a sequel from the pain. Zack continued, finalizing the bandage with a loop.

"You sure that's gonna work?" Kai queried.

"Yup"

"And it's secure?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. It'll be fine until we can get her some proper help"

"What do you mean by proper help?"

"Like medical services, she needs it, she's concussed"

"But we can't let anyone see us"

"Well if you have a better idea, I'm all ears," Zack said followed by a long pause. "Exactly. Now link her, under the arms."

The two boys grabbed her arms and supported the girl up onto her feet as she gradually regained her consciousness.

  "What?" She began.

"Shh, You hit your head. Don't push yourself"

|___________|

After a while, the trees started to disperse and a neighbourhood came into view.

It was the usual superb with a large road and neat footpaths that led to lengthy houses, shaded by pretty oak trees of different shape and sizes.

It was the real, what you'd call, 'American dream' and was nothing short of amazing for the group. There were kids out playing in shorts, throwing water balloons at each other while their mothers kept a close watch on them from their sunbeds in the front yard. The sun blazed and many people licked up the last reminisces of their ice creams in a desperate attempt to keep themselves some-what cool.

Una had started to walk by herself, refusing to be kept up by the boys and actually felt fine apart from a continues din of pain.
Her lips were severely chapped and her throat, begging for a drop of water. Everyone was in a similar thirst situation as they fumbled down the road earning unwanted looks from sunbathing parents in their front gardens. These adults we're shielded by brilliantly white picket fences, the only thing that comforted them while throwing these dirty glances.

Una's hand found its way into her pocket where her fingers grasped a rectangular box of Marlboro's. Flipping the red lid off, by pushing it up and backwards, the girl sneakily slid one of the cancer sticks into her hand.

"Hey, Zack- Light me up" She pressed making all head turn to her because she hadn't spoken since that morning when Andi and Zoey were annoying her.

Zack looked to her, spotted the cigarette, turned back around and kept on walking. "No"

"What, what do you mean no?" She whispered.

"Not in front of an entire neighbourhood of people" he grimaced, declining her request. "and even if we weren't I wouldn't. Not in your state"

Una threw her hands into the air. "Come on!" she begged.

"No"

She huffed and fell behind the group. Sometimes she just needed one of them.

To calm her nerves.

Her hands started shaking and her breathing became heavy.

She felt a hand on her own and her breathing slowed almost immediately. She looked up at Kai and smiled. He brought her into a sideways hug as they walked, the other three in front.

"Una?" He began.

She responded with a nod of her head and he proceeded. "You should cut down on the smokes. I read something somewhere that they're no good for your lungs. They can kill you" 

Una looked at him and scoffed. "Yeah Kai, I think I know that. I'm tryna speed this shit up."

He looked at her to see if she was serious. "Una! Don't say that!" He berated. "Look. For me? ". He rounded on her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Can we keep going, we're going to lose the others-"

"Not until you promise," He said, finally.

"But they're walking away".

She pointed to her friends who were getting smaller and smaller.

"promise"

"they're not stopping-"

"promise" he repeated.

She looked around and then back to him with a sarcastic puppy dog face. "Okay, okay. Fine."

He smiled. "See, not that hard is it?"

They all continued walking, Una twiddling the smoke between her fingers. Where were they even supposed to go? What were they even trying to do?

Una didn't believe that any of them had thought it through but her and Kai had been overruled so her opinion hadn't mattered.

"I'm soooooo tired, can we take a break?" Zoey announced, assaulting the group's ears with her loud booming voice. She slowed down to catch her breath.

"What? we haven't even reached town yet!" Andi complained, spinning round to face her stationary friend.

"Doesn't mean I can't be tired, does it?"

Zack stopped and let out an aggravated groan. "fine. We'll stop. But only if you stop arguing!"

"We're not- Oh right."

They stopped at a junction that led to other neighbourhood and all took some seats on a patch of grass that looked dry enough to sit on.

"Happy now?" Zack muttered after a while of resting, preparing to get up.

Zoey grabbed his hand and forcefully pulled him back down. "Not yet"

He rolled his eyes and they all casually chilled as the sun bared down on them harshly from above.

A blue car rolled down the street, dangerously close to the sidewalk. It was a shiny Chevrolet Camaro and the person driving it didn't look happy at all. It flew straight by the group, blowing their hair in all directions weirdly similar to the likes of cartoons.

"What's his problem?" Andi muttered, eyeing the licence plate. "he must be enjoying whatever stick is up his ass"

She snickered and looked back to a small flickering ball of light on her hand that she'd been messing with. Zack smacked it and she frowned but understood.

A car engine revved up the street that the car had just taken. A long screech from some tires sounded, like nails on a chalkboard. The blue Chevrolet Camaro started speeding the other way, right towards them.

Zoey looked to her pal, an extended toothy grin etched from one ear to the other. "Think he heard you"

The car took a surprising while to reach them and when it did, did nothing for a few seconds. Then the door swung open with a 'click' and a person stepped out.

The figure was around 5'10 and walked with a cocky swagger. His hair was an elevated curly blonde tangle that somehow didn't look bad. He wore some light blue skinny bellbottom jeans although the temperature and matched them with a loose purple shirt that wasn't buttoned up completely. He was scarily cocky, the way he strutted over to the group with no motive. Billie's eyes lingered on Andi and Zoey and then travelled to Una. They looked around her age.

"Hey, any you guys seen my sister Max?" Billy questioned as the group got to their feet.

Elaborating he said; "Redhead, about yay high, you'd be in her class I'd say." he pointed to Andi, ignoring Zoey.

"Uh we ain't from here" Zack lied. "Just visiting"

"Oh, Where bouts you come from then, eh?"

He was weirdly passive and none of them knew why he had stopped, so they didn't answer. Getting the memo, he moved on. "What append to you?

He had been starting at Una without trying to hide it and only then, noticed the large bandage wrapped around her head.

Una didn't answer and bowed her head.

"She fell and she hit it, simple as" Kai explained wanting nothing more than for this dude, whoever he was, to leave. He radiated nothing but bad energy and the whole group was uncomfortable.

"No, let her answer" he pressed pointing a finger to her.

Una backed off just as the teen got closer. "eh?"

Kai stepped in front of her and though taller than Billy by a considerable amount, he cowered. Still, he wouldn't stand to see Una like that. "Leave her alone, she's a mute"

That statement was nothing short of false. The correct terminology would be 'she was a mute'.

Spending time with Kai and others over the eight months showed her that there was more to speaking that just saying words. But still, she didn't talk much and definitely wasn't prepared to talk to this dick standing in front of her.

Billy glared at him making him shrink again, and fall of to the side. Kai might have been a powerful science experiment that could have made the other boy wet his undergarments in a matter of second, but he couldn't help but admit that Billy's stare was like looking into the gates of hell.

He looked down and spotted the cigarette Una was passing from one finger to the other. He stalked forward, far too close for comfort so that his and Una's breaths intertwined. He removed the cigarette from the girls grasp and popped it into his mouth. She was taken aback but glad he wasn't trying anything else.

He stood back and reached for a light in his back pocket. The lighter was a varnished red with a painted fire on the bottom. He lit it right in front of Una and the others and took a long swig of it.

The others furrowed their brows in confusion.

What was he playing at?

He removed the cigarette from his mouth and breathed a substantial smoke cloud into both Kai and Una's faces which set off a coughing rampage, mostly on behalf of Kai who wasn't as used to smoke as Una.

Zoey's eyes widened and her brows knitted together in the space of two seconds. "Dickwad!"

She walked in front of the two who were struggling to catch their breaths and rolled up her sleeves.

Billy smirked at the short 5'3 girl who in his eyes didn't stand a chance.

Zoey swung at his face, looking like a mini MMA fighter. His smile faded once her hand made contact with his face and he was propelled backwards.

"Zoey!" Zack shouted. "What the hell?!". He was fed up. Every little thing was trying to get in their way.

With Billy on the ground, she turned around to Zack with a bright smile on her face. "That was something I had to get out of my system. "

She put up her hand for a high-five which was ignored by Zack but caught by Andi who radiated the same motivating energy. It quickly disappeared, however, when she saw the figure on the ground move and stand up.

"Rotten bitch!"

He caught the girl completely off guard and in an instant his hand was around Zoey's throat. He picked her off the ground and she struggled against his grasp. She was undoubtedly strong enough to make him let her go but the shock of his cold, rough grasp was enough to put anyone into a stupid state of terror.

He was strangling her and it didn't look like he was going to stop. His hatred toward her was indeed obvious and the glint in his eyes was devilishly malicious.

For a bunch of enchanted individuals, they sure as hell weren't using what they were given. That was until Zack finally snapped himself back into reality.

He stood where he was and with a sharp quick, snap of his fingers Billy's leg was on fire. He dropped Zoey to the ground where she started gasping for breaths. Zack ran forward and helped her get to her feet. "Come on! Come on! Before it goes off!" Zack yelled.

"Before what?" She began, confused and sore around her neck.

"Just go!"

They ran into the trees nearby, Zack clutched onto Zoey. They heard some profanities throne around curtesy of Billy and then the screeching of tires.

"What did you do?!" Andi whispered

"Just wait" Zack responded, cringing as he prepared for the result.

A large 'boom' cried outside the clearing pursued by other loud noises. Kai stumbled up to Zack with a mix of shock and anger on his face. "You set off a fucking explosion?!"

~authors note~

This the longest chapter of the book and the longest chapter I've ever written! Hope you enjoyed it!

What do you think is going to happen next? How do you think the book is going to end?

Always ly all and Byeeee!