Pride, Mates, and Past Mistakes

It's a Slightly Anti-Climatic Situation

*Cody*

I had no idea why I was so awake.

I shouldn't be this awake. Not after what happened last night.

I kind of missed the sound of Nolan's steady snoring. I'd never admit it, but as irritating and maddening I found it, it did help me sleep sometimes, even if just for a little bit.

Nolan. My empty stomach churned as I thought of my best friend, bleeding all over the floor. If only I'd seen Khron coming with the knife, I could've stopped it...

But I hadn't. And now he was hurt, we all had no idea how badly, and I could have helped avoid all this extra tension.

I turned on my side, trying to fall back asleep, but my efforts were in vain. My brain was too alert, racing, trying to keep up with and comprehend all that had happened so far. Not that I even understood half if what was happening, but still.

My eyes flicked to the sleek Martinez 6000 phone that Sierra had given each of us. Going on these life-or-death missions were exhausting, mentally anguishing, and extremely dangerous, but it had its perks.

For example, top-of-the-line electronics.

I frowned, glancing at the time on the phone. It read 7:10AM. Rolling back onto my back, I sat up. Sierra had told everyone to start waking up around 6:45, but I didn't hear anyone moving around.

I sighed. It wasn't like I was going to fall back asleep, right?

I crawled out of bed, yanked on a T-shirt, and padded to the door, and carefully pried it open. Sunlight was just beginning to peek through the windows and light up the main room of the hotel suite we were in. As I walked out of my bedroom, my eyes immediately flickered to Nolan lying on the couch. I saw his shirt, ridden up to expose the bandaging on the wound on the left side of his body. I could see a tinge of yellow-red blood through the white gauze and my stomach churned.

He would be alright. Right? Sierra was taking care of him.

My eyebrows flickered up in surprise, however, when I saw Casey, curled up on the ground in front of the sofa Nolan was on, hair covering most of her face. Next to her head was a plastic bag filled with what looked like trash from all the bandage changes she'd had to do on him.

Huh. So she really had taken care of Nolan at night. I guess she didn't hate us as much as I'd originally thought. I frowned, staring hard at Nolan's wound, checking for any foul play. Unless she'd put poison in his wound or something. For some reason, I wouldn't have been surprised if she had.

I glanced at the digital clock under the T.V, feeling lost as to what to do.
7:16AM.
Why hadn't Sierra woken up yet?

I padded to Doreen and Sierra's bedroom door and slowly creaked it open. I reach out blindly on the wall and found the light switch and flipped it on, hoping that the two girls would wake up from the light and that I wouldn't have to wake them up myself. But unfortunately the two lumps under the blankets slept soundly through the light change. I sighed. Maybe Sierra had wanted to sleep in today. For all I knew, she'd wanted today to be a lazy day.

Yes, absolutely, I chided myself. There are definitely 'lazy days' when a gang/terrorist group threatens the government and you're trying to stop them in 10 days.

Holding back a groan, I crept forward, trying not to look too creepy. I hoped none of them would wake up before I got there—then it'd look like I was just creepily hanging out in their room and that was the last thing Sierra needed to see me doing right now.

I peered over them quietly from the base of the bed so I could figure out who was on which side. From the right side I could see a mess of blonde curls spread out on the pillow, which meant Sierra was on the left. I tried to approach her as quietly as possible. Please don't wake up yet.