ZERO (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-One

Lauren did what she was told and kept an eye on Blane. She continued to talk to him in hopes he would reveal some piece of information, a backstory that sounded unconvincing, or some other detail that seemed off.

At one point in the day, Blane snuck off discreetly, but Lauren took notice. While it was common for people to venture out on their own, it was mainly for the purpose of using the washroom or gathering supplies. Blane didn't appear to be doing either of these things.

Lauren followed Blane into the woods until they were both far removed from camp. With each step, she felt more afraid. After all, she was alone in the woods, too far away for anyone to hear her cries for help. She kept her distance, but was unwilling to head back.

The entire time, he kept looking over his shoulder to ensure no one was following him. That was another red flag. Lauren desperately wanted to know what he was hiding.

When Blane stopped, Lauren eventually became close enough where she could get a good look at what he was up to. He appeared to have some sort of communication device in his hand. While remaining hidden from view, Lauren accidentally stepped on a twig, causing Blane to quickly turn in her direction. It was no use attempting to hide. He had already seen her.

Lauren's heart was racing. She was too far away to run and too weak to fight. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. At the top of that list was the thought that Blane would rape and kill her, then blend back into the group as if nothing happened. She hadn't told anybody where she was. People would just assume she wandered off and got lost again. They may not even go looking for her.

Thinking fast, she felt there was only one option. She emerged from behind the tree she was hiding behind with a seductive smile. "You found me," she said in a flirtatious manner.

"I didn't know you were lost," Blane said. "Were you following me?"

"I was trying to surprise you."

"You were?"

"Uh-huh."

Blane approached closer and was trying to get a read on her. Lauren was being flirtatious. She placed her hand on his shoulder and slowly circled around him, playing coy. Her hands rubbed on his back and arms, her fingers ran through his hair.

"I'm glad we're finally alone," she said.

Blane didn't say anything. It wasn't common for him to be seduced by a famous supermodel.

"From the moment I saw you on the bus, I thought you were cute."

"Yeah?"

"I remember standing on the road and wanting to be in your group, and now here we are."

"Call it destiny," he said with a nervous laugh.

"Okay, then... it's destiny," she said, getting even closer to him. "And you know what else?"

"What?"

Just then, Lauren grabbed the gun that was tucked in the back of his jeans and pulled it out. "You were never on that bus, motherfu—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Blane said, putting his hands up in the air. "Don't shoot."

"Who the hell are you?" Lauren barked at him.

"I'm Blane, you know me. I'm just like you, okay. Please, you have to believe me."

"I'm sick of disgusting, nasty, deceitful men lying to me. Say your name is Blane one more time and I will blow your head off."

"Okay, look. My name is Andre Warner, and you're right I was never on the bus with you guys. The truth is, I'm on the run just like you. I assure you our interests are aligned."

"Lies."

"No, honestly, I'm telling the truth. I just figured everyone was talking about a bus and nobody seemed to know each other. I guess I just sort of got caught up in the mix and lied. It was a stupid decision, but I figured it was the best chance of survival. Look at me, I'm not an outdoorsy person."

"Who were you communicating with?"

"My family. They're worried about me and I was just telling them that I made some new friends and I was going to be okay."

"More lies. Show me the device."

"Lauren, look," the man paused, clearly unwilling to cooperate. "Let's go back to camp and I will tell everyone the truth. Let the group decide what they want to do with me. Just... put the gun down, okay?"

Lauren thought about it for a moment and agreed. "Start walking."

"Thank you. I'll clear everything up, okay? I promise."

"Shut up and walk."

The two began walking back to camp. The whole time Blane, or Andre, whatever his actual name was, kept talking.

"You made the right decision, Lauren. Thank you."

"Just keep moving," she said sternly. "Hurry up."

"Look, I want to apologize again for lying to you. It was wrong and I shouldn't have done that."

"Say another word and I'll shoot you where you stand."

"Please, you don't have to do that."

As the two walked back to camp, Lauren kept an intense focus on her target. She held the gun high and her arms were beginning to fatigue. She was also trying not to trip so she kept looking at the ground.

Blane took notice and waited for the right moment to strike. He saw that she had relaxed her focus and was no longer pointing the gun at him. When Lauren least expected, Blane turned around and lunged forward, grabbing Lauren by the wrist. A struggle ensued as they wrestled for the loaded gun. Lauren screamed and the two fell to the ground with Blane landing on top of her.

A gunshot blasted through the tall trees causing flocks of birds to scatter. Then there was silence.

Blood soaked Lauren's shirt and her facial expression was frozen. Everyone heard the scream and the gunshot, and came running. When they arrived, they saw Blane on top of Lauren and weren't sure what they had stumbled upon.

"Lauren!" Train called out.

He ran over to them and pushed Blane off her. His lifeless body slumped over and his dead eyes starred up at the sky. In Lauren's hand was a small calibre handgun, still hot.

Lauren was covered in Blane's blood and was in complete shock. It was the third traumatic event that she had experienced in the past week. She immediately dropped the gun and scrambled to her feet, plunging into Train's chest. She began crying uncontrollably. Train wrapped his giant arms around her and told her everything was going to be okay.

"I got you, don't worry," he reassured her.

Lauren wasn't the only one in shock. Everyone was completely caught off guard and confused. They were asking each other what happened even though Lauren was the only one who truly knew.

Lauren was escorted back to camp, leaving Blane in his final resting place. The group gathered around her.

"Everyone, please, back up and give Lauren some space," Train said defensively, still holding her tightly.

She was given a moment to catch her breath and collect her thoughts, but everyone was eager to find out what had happened. Some members of the group became concerned for her mental well-being, questioning her sanity. They wondered what could have possibly led to one member of their team to fatally shoot another, and where did she obtain a gun?