Who We Were | Book One

39. They Found Us

Will's demeanour changed almost instantly to his familiar portrait of authority as he swung open the door. The expression on Ben's face was one I had not seen before; his jaw was clenched, his chest rose and fell faster than the normal rate and where there had once been warmth in his eyes, all I saw was panic.

"What is it?" Will asked, looking the boy up and down.

Ben let the words spill out between heavy breaths. "Someone's shooting at us," he panted. "They almost hit Tom, he's still on the platform."

Fear combined with pure adrenaline found my body once again, wrapping around me like a snake around its prey. My body became rooted to the spot, every natural movement on hold as I watched the chaos ensue around me. While Will wasted no time in striding out the door towards the fence, Ben did the opposite. Instead, he pushed his way inside, a brief hand on my shoulder as he passed.

"You okay?" He said breathlessly into the open room.

I turned my body, watching him as he searched. Another hand on my shoulder caught me off guard, this time more reassuring. His fingers, which were now carefully clutched around another rifle, were bright red from slamming on the front door.

"They're used to this here... They know how to handle it," he said, a concerned scowl covering his face.

I shook my head, not bothering to lie. "It's them isn't it?" I asked. "It's Dawn Hill?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. "They found us." There was a pause where his eyes didn't leave mine, as if ensuring that I was still alive was his main priority. "We're going to be okay," he nodded.

His dark lashes flickered before his lips were on mine, desperation there that there wasn't before. A hand reached for mine and his touch sent static dances across my skin. He pulled back and his pupils lingered on me. "We need to go." His hands were softer than I expected, and it was the squeeze he gave mine that was all I needed to believe his words.

I inhaled, nodding. "Alright," I breathed, and his hand dropped mine, leaving it hanging by my side as he took a step closer towards the door.

Ben didn't hesitate. He took off first, running towards the sea of people that had gathered by the gate and I trailed close behind. My lungs rattled and my heart pounded at the pure fear of what we would find. I tried to take in the chaos that had broken out around me. Not half an hour before Carnelian had been dead silent, now all hell had broken loose. People stormed from their homes, crowding in the road, searching for answers.

I pushed my way through the sea of bodies to the fence. As I reached the opening, I realised there was something almost comedic about watching Will and Ben standing side by side. It was their movements, the way they paralleled each other. Will muttered something to Ben which caused him to pull his rifle in front of him before he took to the ladder and made his way up to the platform.

"What is he doing?" I whispered. "Why is Will going up there?"

Ben didn't break eye contact with the platform. "If it really is Dawn Hill, Will is the only one who can reason with them," he said, straining his neck. "Liz won't listen to anybody else."

"Do we have your attention yet?" A female voice yelled from behind the fence.

"Undivided," Will shouted in response. "What is this all for?"

"You know what we want, Will," the female replied calmer. "Just hand them over and we'll be on our way."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Will replied, trying to break the tension. His eyes flickered only briefly to the two of us stood side by side, neither of us daring to move.