AHH IT'S PART FIVE MARR

With her new ally by her side, Claire took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what she would say when confronting Nicholas. The group walked through the airport with no threat of bots. Soon enough, they arrived at the portals where they had come in from. Ulrich stood at the keypad, entering a series of numbers as if it was a second nature to him. The keys made their dinging noises as they were pressed, this song more rushed than when Doni had entered the code for the last portal. He stepped back, watching with the rest of the group as the portal clicked unlocked. Reaching for the knob, he swung open the portal and stepped through, everyone else piling through right behind him. The familiar sight greeted them again. Violet and Ulrich looked in all directions to see the new environment they were in. With an excited jump, Violet grabbed for a door. “Let’s go through this one!” she demanded, grabbing onto the knob without asking for the other opinions. When no one objected, she flung open the door and stepped through. Emma wrapped tape around the knob as everyone else followed with no objections.

         What waited on the other side was a scene that seemed familiar in a way. The country hillsides greeted them once more. After a few looks around, they decided it wasn’t in fact the same place where they had hid in the barn and stolen a person’s truck. Although the craters in the ground looked identical, their surroundings were completely different. No barns or houses were still standing. In their place were makeshift houses that seemed messily put together with broken boards and sheets of metal. In the ground were holes that seemed to be dug up on purpose as if they served some kind of secret purpose to the residents in the area.

As they looked around at their surroundings, a resident stopped and looked at them curiously, as if they knew they didn’t belong. “You there!” the woman said in a loud booming voice. The woman that had been shouting had tan skin that went well with her dark brown hair and pools of matching brown eyes. Sweat dripped down her face as the sun became brighter and warmer. Everyone froze, as if being there was a crime they had just been caught committing. “I don’t remember seeing you all around here before. Who are you?” she demanded, walking towards them at a brisk pace. She looked around, her face more serious than when she first spotted them. “Forget answer. Follow me and don’t ask questions,” she mumbled, taking the lead and leading them to one of the holes in the ground.

Upon further inspection, Claire saw that the hole wasn’t as simple as she had first thought. This hole in particular was much larger than the rest. After getting on their knees and putting their face right to the opening of the hole, they could vaguely see a metallic glint when the sun shone on it. Claire squinted, unable to guess what could be at the bottom. The woman pushed them out of the way and kneeled down beside the hole. She reached her arm down into the hole and grabbed a hold of something invisible to the rest of them. It sounded as if a metal was scraping against metal. “It’s a door,” the woman explained. “There’s a ladder to climb down. Close the door behind you,” she ordered, lowering herself into the hole and slowly climbing down out of sight. After exchanging looks, Violet followed after her. Violet was followed by Dane, Ulrich, Claire, Emma, and Nicholas who at the end made sure to close and secure the sliding metal door. After the door was closed, their only source of light was gone, leaving them in the deep, damp hole, all except the woman sure of where it would lead. The sound of footsteps echoed as the woman got to the bottom. With the flick of the switch, the hole was lit up with thousands of small lights. Claire reached the bottom, in awe at the structure they had created yards underground. At the bottom of the hole was the skeleton of an old school bus, the yellow paint chipping away horribly. The seats that would hold up to three students was torn from their original place and forced to line the walls. Four of the seats would be put together, two against the wall and then the other two lined up with them, forming a makeshift bed. There were two of these beds, both on the left side of the bus. On the right side were seats lined up along the side.

“I know you have questions, but you’re going to answer mine before you try ask anything. Got it?” the woman asked, taking a seat on the right side of the bus. The group stood, unsure if they were to sit or stand. “Sit down,” she said, as if she could read their minds. They listened and looked about, wondering who to assign the task of answering any questions she might throw at them. “First of all, who are you all? By that I mean, what are your names, where do you come from, and why are you here?” Her question seemed straight forward enough but she also seemed ready to judge and pick at their answers until she was satisfied with the result.

         Nicholas began to answer her question as best as he could. “I’m sure I could explain why we’re all here. We’re all traveling through the portals together in order to find the Snake and reset the hacked system. If we can’t do that, we want to at least try to get out of this country although I’m sure that’s impossible at this point. That aside, my name is Nicholas White. I come from the city of Middleton.”

         Emma let out a sigh of relief, clearly glad that their purpose could be explained in one simple sentence. Her relief doubled when she found the woman didn’t question their objectives or purpose. “I’m Emma Steen and I’m also from Middleton.

         Claire looked at Emma who gave her an encouraging smile, prodding her to go next. “My name is Claire Lovell. I’m from Coalsprings. It’s a small town farther up north. Well, I’m guessing its north of here at least since it’s much warmer here,” she rambled, shutting her mouth when Emma gave her a stern look.

         Dane stepped up next. “I’m also from Coalsprings and my name is Dane Hansen,” he stated, adding nothing more to his answer.

         Violet grinned at Dane, taking his hand. “I’m Violet Kings. This is my brother, Ulrich Kings,” she explained, pointing to Ulrich and bailing him out of speaking for himself. “We’re both from the Stillton area. We lived within a mile of the airport there.”

         The woman looked them all over suspiciously until she seemed satisfied. “Fair enough. I’m Tara Rays. You are currently in the country side of Shaffer County. Even if I told you the exact town name, you wouldn’t know it. We’re in a fairly small area so just refer to this as Shaffer County if you must. I imagine you’re all dying to ask your questions. Go ahead,” she allowed.

         Nicholas took the lead again. “What is this place? I don’t mean the town, I mean this carved out hole in the ground. How did you make it? Are you alone? Those are just starting questions,” he demanded, taking on the straight forward nature Tara had showed and throwing it back at her tenfold.

         Tara smiled only slightly. “This is what some people in the older days would call a bomb shelter. But for now, we like to refer to it as a bot shelter. It’s more stable than the houses that the other people chose to throw together after the barns and original houses had been set on fire and burned to the ground. If I explained to you exactly how we made it, we would be here for days on end. All you need to know is that it took a lot of digging and a lot of work over the course of the many months we’ve been tortured with security bots that seem to enjoy killing us off one by one even though it’s said they don’t possess emotions. As for the rest of your questions, no, I’m not alone. I live here with my younger sister. Every now and then we’ll allow others to stay with us when their houses are demolished though. The bots here have no problems spotting the people who try to travel during the night. This is countryside. There are hardly any places to hide when you’re running from a bot which are impressive in numbers. It’s barely even safe being out in the daylight. The bots here take rounds and go after anything that comes across as even a little suspicious regardless of the time of day. I assumed it would be in your best interests if I warned you of this beforehand. I don’t necessarily want your blood on my hands,” Tara explained.

         “Thank you. We appreciate it,” Nicholas said.

         “Don’t thank me. So what are your plans now? Will you be staying for a few days or heading through the portal right away tonight?” Tara asked.

         “We plan on moving on as soon as possible,” Nicholas said, not giving anyone else a chance to speak up.

         “I figured that much. If you don’t mind, I would like to tell you what I know about the Snake. I don’t know anything incredibly life changing or important, but there are some small details and rumors that may be helpful in some way. Of course, I’m not going to waste my breath telling you if you’re not going to listen or care,” Tara continued.

         “If you know something, we want to hear it. Go ahead and tell us,” Nicholas replied.

         Emma growled irritably. “Nick! Why don’t you let the group actually talk about this rather than assuming you know what we all want,” she argued.

         “Excuse me?” he shot back, annoyance filling his voice. He turned to Emma, glaring at her as if she had just committed mutiny aboard his ship.

         “What could she possibly know about the hacker? It could just be a waste of our time for all you know. Stop trying to force yourself into a leadership position,” Emma argued back, becoming just as frustrated with him as he was with her. “I know that you’re not in the best of moods right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work with the rest of us. Get over yourself.”

         “We have nothing to do all day,” Nicholas began, his face turning red with anger. “Who cares if we waste our time? Anything can be helpful at this point. I don’t know how you feel, but personally, I feel like we’ve been running around in circles, chasing an invisible man with no leads and no information. It’s like some sick and twisted game that the game master is playing with us. Guess what. We’re losing and he’s off somewhere completely safe and hidden away while we continue to do the same things that produce no results. Something is better than nothing,” he finished.

         Emma turned away. “Whatever. Do whatever you want,” she spat, done arguing.

         “Tara, please tell us what you know about the hacker,” Nicholas asked, rubbing his head in an attempt to calm down.

         Tara shrugged. “Remember, I said it wasn’t much of anything; just small details and rumors. What I do know is that the Snake travels. There’s no way he stays in one area at the computer all day. He needs food and water like all the rest of us here. However, he probably spends most of his time in the city of Emerson where Dr. Wick’s main computer operating system was when he created the program that we had been using. In my opinion, he probably travels alone. He has to stay under the radar after all. Also, I remember a young man coming here before the bot increase happened. I have a hypothesis that the young man that was visiting here found some of us a threat and increased our bot security after he left. Sadly enough, he wasn’t someone I had befriended so I barely saw him. I imagine the Snake is a young man traveling alone. I think if you find the door to Dr. Wick’s old computer lab, you’ll be able to find the Snake’s virus and get rid of it,” Tara explained.

         Nicholas nodded. “That’s actually very helpful. It’s too bad that we don’t know which door will get us to that computer lab in Emerson,” he added on a negative note.

         “Actually…” Tara trailed off.

         “Is there something else that you aren’t telling us?” Nicholas questioned.

         “Well, I may be able to help you more than I originally thought. It’s more of a rumor though so it may be completely untrue,” Tara continued, being completely vague still.

         “What is it?” Nicholas questioned further, become more irritable with the lack of information being given out freely.

         Tara glared at him, detecting his impatience. “I don’t have to tell you anything, you know. If you’re going to become irritated with me, you can leave my bot shelter right now and find your own place to hide. Good luck finding somewhere to hide and pass through the portal without at least one of you being injured or killed,” Tara spat.

         Emma stepped up, shoving Nicholas to the back of the group. “Don’t mind him. He’s been in a bad mood lately so nothing he says should be taken to heart. Please, tell us what you know,” she asked.

         “So now you want to know what she has to say.” Nicholas protested.

         “Will you just stay out of this?” Emma growled back.

         “You all need to calm down. If you’re arguing over something as simple as this, you’ll never make it as a group. I don’t mind helping you; however, you’re going to have to do something for me first,” Tara explained, a grin forming wickedly on her face. “How does that sound?”

         Emma scrunched her nose up in discontent. “What do you want us to do?” she questioned, being sure not to give an official answer before she knew what the demands were. She eyed Tara suspiciously.

         “My sister, Hana, is wandering around outside. I was hoping two of you could go retrieve her and bring her back here. If you do that for me, I’ll show you to the portal station and help you get somewhere that might actually help you find the Snake faster than at the pace you’re going,” Tara said. “If you go outside this shelter and go straight for the small cluster of trees, you should be able to find her somewhere in that small area. I wanted her back by now, but she always manages to lose track of time.”

         The group exchanged looks, wondering who would be the two to chance the possible bot attacks to find one small girl that they didn’t know in the least. Violet grinned mischievously, jumping excitedly to the front of the group. “Dane and I will go find her,” she volunteered eagerly, grabbing Dane’s hand and holding onto it firmly. “What does this girl look like? We’re not going to be able to find her unless we have a good idea of who we’re exactly looking for after all. Does she look like you?” Violet asked curiously, practically jumping out of her skin in excitement. Claire stared at her in confusion, wondering why someone would be so ready to take on such a dangerous task and have no doubts about it. She wondered if anyone was really that positive to the point of being completely naïve when it came to serious situations and problems. Was this all a game to her or was she just covering up the real fear and nervousness inside?

         Tara thought on it for a moment, as if it was a difficult task to remember exactly what her younger sister looked like. “Well, she was an adopted sister so we don’t share any similarities. She’s a young, short, fourteen year old girl. Her hair is black and if you can get a good look at her eyes, you’ll see that they are the brightest of blues. She’s wearing some dirty jeans and a cut up shirt last time I checked. There’s a good chance that she’ll try to make a run for it if you approach her without any explanation so you’ll have to find her from a distance and yell out to her that I sent you. If that doesn’t work, just catch her and carry her back by force. Got it?” Tara’s adding of “by force” seemed to only add to the difficulty of the mission. From this, they could assume that this Hana girl was against trusting people too quickly which, in a way, was better for those trying to survive in times like those.

         Violet and Dane exchanged a nod. “That sounds easy enough,” Violet piped in. Claire held back her burst of emotion, wanting so much to express that this wasn’t the easiest in the least. Did she not realize that she had just signed them both up for a bot chase if they weren’t careful enough? This all seemed to come across as a simple Girl Scout badge earning experience. Claire’s fists clenched tightly as she held back the interjection that was trying to force itself out of her throat. “We will be back as soon as we can with your sister, Tara,” Violet promised with a confident smile plastered on her face. “See you all soon,” she chimed, pulling Dane along with her back to the ladder to head to the outside.

         Claire bit her lip, turning to Dane before he started to climb. “Be careful,” she told him, receiving a nod in return. She watched as Violet and then Dane climbed up the ladder and disappeared above ground. The metal door slid open and then shut, verifying that they were officially out of the bot shelter. “Do you think they’ll be okay?” Claire asked Emma, worrying already about Dane’s safety. With their last fight ending on a confusing note, Claire wasn’t ready to give up their friendship then. She always assumed that they would grow up together, sharing their lives with each other along with whomever they found to satisfy their love lives.

         Emma patted her on the back reassuringly. “Dane’s a smart guy. He’ll be careful and get back without a problem. Soon enough, we’ll hear that annoying door open again and down the ladder they’ll come with a new person to meet.”

         Ulrich, for the first time since they had arrived in the country side of Shaffer County, spoke up to add to the reassuring mood. “Violet may seem like a careless ditz, but she’s actually one of the most crafty people I know. She always manages to get herself in and out of weird and dangerous situations. She’s good to rely on in stressful times, too. Don’t worry about them, Claire. I think they’re a good fit for this job.” He smiled down at her, patting her on the head as if she were a child.

         While Claire was receiving all these pats and comforting declarations, she turned her own attention to Nicholas who was brooding in the corner of the shelter by himself. She debated going over to talk with him, but thought it best to ask Emma first. “Emma, do you think I should try talking to Nick now?” Claire asked, relying on Emma more than she expected to and feeling pathetic in the process.

         Emma turned to Nicholas, observing his brooding. “To be honest, it’s a bit of a toss-up. He may want the company, but then again he may want to cool off away from the rest of us for a bit after that embarrassing argument.”

         “But what do you think I should do?” Claire pleaded.

         “The decision is entirely up to you. I can’t help you with this. Use your judgment to decide on your course of action. If you do end up talking to him, don’t kiss his ass just to get on his good side because it won’t work. Trust me on that. Don’t get quickly frustrated with him either, though,” Emma explained as if this speech was a normal thing for her.

         Claire nodded, disappointed at Emma’s lack of help. After glancing at Nicholas once more, she took a deep breath and began to slowly walk over to him. During her slow walk, she attempted to both increase her confidence and prepare herself for the rejection she had a good chance of receiving from him.

         Dane and Violet were now outside of the shelter and climbing completely out of the hole, practically throwing themselves onto the green grass that awaited them outside. Violet giggled. “Finally! I wasn’t sure I could take another minute cooped up so far underground. Was I the only one who was bothered by the smell?” she questioned, pulling herself up into a standing position.

         “No, I was getting antsy too. I wasn’t sure if I smelled rotted metal or burnt clumps of dirt. Honestly, it was giving me a bit of a headache. I was actually tempted to volunteer, but I wasn’t sure who would want to come with,” Dane added with a smile as he stood up as well. Both of them turned in circles, looking for the cluster of trees that Tara had spoken of just a few minutes ago. Soon enough, they spotted them not too far off in the distance.

         “There’s the cluster of trees. That way!” she chimed, pointing dramatically in the direction of the trees that they had both spotted at the same time. Dane laughed at her silliness. “In all seriousness though, what do you think the bots would consider suspicious behavior? I really didn’t think of asking that before we left, but now that I’m up here, I realize that it would be a nice thing to know,” Violet added, her tone growing serious but her smile still shining brightly on her face.

         “I imagine we just act natural. Don’t look around too much and don’t act dramatic or suspicious in anyway,” Dane thought out loud.

         Violet nodded in agreement. “That sounds about right, but the bots could assume we’re being suspicious even if we aren’t trying. Are you ready to brave through this?” she asked, holding out her hand. Dane looked down at it as if it were a foreign object. “I’d feel safer if you would hold my hand while we walked,” she added shyly, forcing a small laugh in an attempt to shrug off the awkwardness of the situation. All the other times their hands had met, it was because she had forcefully grabbed his hand and dragged him off somewhere. Her shyness was unexpected and surprisingly, causing Dane to freeze for a moment as he tried to understand what was going on.

         “Sure,” he said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it, hoping that it would comfort her. Hand in hand, they began their trek to the trees that they were supposed to be able to find Hana in. “So, do you mind if I ask you a question?” she asked, her shyness resurfacing.

         Dane shrugged. “I don’t mind. Ask away,” he said.

         Violet smiled. “I don’t mean to stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong, but what is your relationship with Claire? I mean, when I first met you all, I thought that she was dating...” she trailed off. “What’s his name? It’s the guy with the brown hair and freckles. I’m terrible with names,” she grumbled, frustrated with her terrible memory.

         Dane chuckled. “His name is Nick,” he added helpfully.

         “That’s right!” she exclaimed. “I saw the way they looked at each other and assumed that something was going on between them. Was I wrong? They seem so distant all of a sudden so I wasn’t sure if Claire had something with you instead. If she does, I’m really sorry that I butted in the way I did,” she whispered.

         “No, we’re just friends. I mean, I do have some feelings left for her, but we never dated so they’re not a big deal. After we kissed the other night and she out right told me that she didn’t have feelings for me, I guess I got my closure. I figure, if her feelings for me have yet to change, they aren’t going to so I need to move on,” Dane explained openly, feeling the weight of his feelings lifted off his shoulders after talking about it.

         Violet smiled, directing her attention to the ground. “So you’re not completely over Claire, but you’re trying to move on?” she asked. Dane nodded. “If that’s the case, then you should just spend more time with me. I’ve been told that I can be the perfect distraction sometimes,” she said, her voice growing quieter because of the embarrassment she was feeling. While she was usually confident around guys in a group, being alone with one was a completely different story. Her shy side would often show itself, creating practically a whole new person.

         Dane smiled. “I would like that,” he said. Violet blushed, but managed to return the gesture. Before they knew it, they were faced with their destination. “It looks like we made it without being spotted. Do you think Tara was trying to scare us a bit with all the bot talk?” he asked, questioning Tara’s honesty. Was she actually dangerous?

         Violet shook her head. “No, no. She said that the bots took shifts or something like that. They may be patrolling another area or taking a small break. If that’s the case, we should probably hurry up and find Hana so we can head back before they decide to come around here.” With their new objective in mind, Dane and Violet charged into the small cluster of thick trees, searching for the blue eyed, black haired girl that would be the key to possibly finding the Snake and ending the devastation that he had brought upon the entire country.

         Back down in the shelter, Claire managed to make her way over to Nicholas and sit beside him. Still, he refused to look at her, turning away and shutting her completely out of his mind. “Nick…” she whispered, trying to lay her hand on his shoulder to console him. He quickly jerked away from the touch of her hand, sliding away from her in the process. “Don’t be like this Nick,” she continued, still getting no reaction out of him. She held back her tears as she felt the rejection already beginning. “Will you at least listen to me?” she asked, waiting for a response. When it was apparent she wouldn’t get on, she took a deep breath and braved through the rest of her speech that she had tried to plan out before sitting down. Once she tried talking though, all the words she had perfectly melted together into beautiful sentences disappeared from her head, leaving her with a pile of mush that made no sense when she tried to speak it out loud.

         “Just leave me alone, Claire,” Nicholas said, his voice sounding calmer than before. In fact, there was more of a saddened tone as if he too were holding back tears of his own.

         Claire relaxed, hearing the sorrow in his voice and immediately feeling bad for not already trying to say something to make him feel better. “I’m not going to leave you alone,” she said, refusing to step down now that the circumstances had been flipped around. “Nick, I’m so sorry that you walked in on what you did, but it’s not what you think. I swear I don’t have feelings for Dane. I never had feelings for him and I never will,” she started off, hoping to get a reaction. Instead, Nicholas remained silent. She continued on even with the discouragement she was feeling. “I didn’t mean for that whole kiss to happen. In fact, all I remember was being so upset for a stupid reason and being comforted by one of my oldest and best friends. The rest was confusing, but it just felt wrong,” she said, unsure if what she was saying was even making sense to him.

         “And why were you upset?” Nicholas asked. “You were upset because you saw Violet hanging on Dane as if she were a lost puppy, right? People who don’t have feelings for another person don’t get jealous when they find someone who likes them and expresses it openly. In fact, if you were just his friend, you would have been happy for him rather than upset,” Nicholas argued, his voice growing quieter with every word he spoke.

         Claire drew back a bit, a bit crushed with his response. “I was jealous because I didn’t want to lose a friend. I thought that if he started to like Violet, he wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore at all. I was confused with it too, though. I thought for a second that maybe I had feelings for him, but I figured it out now. I don’t,” Claire explained desperately, wanting to hug Nicholas and make him happy.

         Nicholas sighed. “I understand that, but you still kissed him. I saw it happen. I’m hurt and a little bit heartbroken. I need some time to get over that,” he muttered.

         “If I learned anything at all from that kiss, it was that the only person that I have feelings for is you. Nick, I like you so much that I can’t even stand it myself sometimes. I just want to impress you in any way I can and try to make you happy no matter what I have to do. If I like anyone, it’s you and only you. I promise that,” Claire said, tears slowing pouring out of her eyes, down her cheeks, and onto the ground.

Dane and Violet stayed together, weaving carefully around the trees and making sure to avoid the roots that protruded hazardously from the uneven ground. Although they tripped over several shallow holes that had undoubtedly been caused by the bots, they continued onward, never letting go of the other’s hand. Violet, dazed by the speed they were running, slipped up, her foot landing directly in the center of a hole that appeared out of nowhere. The force of her fall caused them both to crash to the ground, leaving them groaning and mumbling in pain. “Ow…” Violet whined, carefully picking her leg out of the hole, finding a few scratches that bled slightly on her ankle but nothing serious. “I’m sorry, Dane. I can’t keep up with you,” she sniffed, rubbing at the scratches tenderly.

         Nodding, Dane observed the scratches, being sure to only touch them gently. “It’s fine. I didn’t realize I was running that fast. You should have said something,” he said, taking a bandana out of his pocket that he had stashed away from their bag of clothes they had snatched back in Cratersquake. It was a dark purple shade and decorated with white star designs. He assumed that it had previously belonged to a young girl and secretly thanked whoever left it. Quickly but carefully, Dane wrapped the purple bandana around Violet’s ankle securely. “You have to keep the dirt out of it or it might get infected. I wish we had something better for you,” he said, tying the final knot and checking to make sure his crude replacement for medical wrap would stay in place when they began walking again.

         Violet winced. “I should have just been more careful. Thank you for the makeshift band aid, though. I really appreciate it,” she said, her smile returning to her face once more.

         Dane smiled back, helping her to her feet and taking her hand once more. “We can just walk the rest of the way. If we run, we might miss her or scare her away anyway. I’m sorry that you fell.”

         “It’s alright. I just have to be more careful I suppose. At least I have you to help me up and fix my injuries.”

         “I didn’t do much but cover it.”

         “But that’s more than enough to me so just accept my thank you already,” she demanded playfully, pushing him slightly.

         He grinned. “In that case, you’re welcome. I would advise not pushing me though because I will push back.”

         “Oh really?” Violet started. Dane looked as though he was about to continue their rambling when his attention was taken and directed to something else in the area. Violet followed his gaze to see it rest on a girl off in the distance, one with cascading black hair and perfectly tanned skin. “Is that her?” Violet whispered. She didn’t wait for an answer, assuming that this girl was who they were looking for. The chances of another girl matching the description Tara had given them seemed slim to none in a county where everyone hid away even in the sunlight because the bots were that aggressive. After a few minutes of watching her, they saw she was actually on the ground, digging a hole in the ground. “Should we try to move toward her or should we just yell from here?” Violet asked debating what would have the best results. “If we yell, any bots in the immediate area may hear and chase after us; however, if we try to get closer to her and she runs, we’ll have a harder time finding her again. Who knows how long we’ll be out here then,” Violet said, thinking out loud of all the possibilities.

         Dane listened intently. “We should just yell from here. It will get us back sooner. Even if a bot hears us, we’re surrounded by trees. They can’t navigate as well when there are so many obstacles in their way. How does that sound?” he asked, waiting for approval.

         Violet nodded in agreement. “I’ll do it. I imagine she would find me less intimidating than you,” she said with a small, joking laugh. “Hana!” she yelled, keeping her voice at a minimum so it would not exceed the tree cluster that surrounded them. “Your sister Tara sent us to come get you!” she continued, crossing her fingers for a positive result. She listened intently, half expecting the clamber of metal to appear any moment and began chasing them.

Hana looked up in shock, her eyes as wide as a deer’s eyes when it hears the snap of a branch caused by a hunter. She looked to the skies, looking for a bot just as they were. When it was evident none were in the vicinity, she rushed over to them at once, shaking her head. “Don’t be so loud,” she demanded. “Come over here,” she said, running back to the hole in the ground that she had been working on. Dane and Violet both apologized quietly and followed after her at their own walking pace. She waited for them impatiently, standing over the hole and tapping her foot against the ground to show them her annoyance with their speed. Once they were beside her, she began digging once more, scraping away the dirt as fast as she could manage. Dane and Violet looked at each other, unsure of what they should do. Before they had a chance to decide, Hana shot back up into a standing position, holding a pile of apples in her arms. “Alright, I’m ready to go back now,” she said, handing some of the apples to Dane, forcing the two to let go of each other’s hands.

“Where did you get the apples from?” Violet asked, confused at what had just happened. Her head couldn’t seem to wrap around the sudden appearance of the bright red fruit from nowhere.

Hana rolled her eyes, starting to walk off without them already. “I’ll explain on the way back,” she said, stopping for a moment and holding the rest of her apples stingily in her arms. When she was sure they were both following, she began walking again. “These apple trees were once filled to the brim with red apples every apple season. We would pick them and eat them fresh off the branches. When the bots arrived, we began to pick them, but found that taking them from here to the shelter was too much of a hassle and took too much time. Time is something we can’t afford to lose here because the bots will not give time to think when they attack you; they’ll just do it. To save time and preserve the apples for longer, we began to dig small holes in the ground and burying the apples in them to dig up later when we needed them. It was my idea. If a bot thinks that a tree is producing too many apples, they’ll immediately destroy it and every tree we lose is detrimental to our entire food supply,” she explained; her tone quick and serious.

“I don’t mean to sound intrusive, but how old are you, Hana?” Violet asked.

“I’m fourteen,” she stated bluntly. “What are your names anyway? If you know mine, it’s only fair if I know yours.”

“I’m Violet and this is Dane,” Violet answered. “I’m surprised that someone so young can be so serious and cunning. It’s just astounding that you thought of such a great idea,” she praised.

Hana seemed to take it the opposite way though. “Are you saying that I don’t seem smart to you?” she asked.

“That’s not what I meant,” Violet quickly said. “I’m just saying that when I was your age, I didn’t have to worry about surviving like this yet. It actually makes me a bit sad that your childhood isn’t a better time for you.”

Hana forced a smile. “Thanks, but we don’t have much of a choice at this point. I’d rather lose my childhood than lose my life.” Violet nodded in understanding, still torn up about seeing a child so serious and mature for her age. Hana led on, seeming unfazed by Violet’s questions and disappointed answers. Violet shook her head, wondering what their entire lives were coming to, feeling as though the whole situation was just outright wrong.

Nicholas hid his surprise well, still refusing to face Claire even after her passionate confessions. His feelings were all over the place, and he was unsure if he should feel happy that Claire felt this way or upset that it had taken a kiss from someone else to realize it. “Nick, please look at me,” she continued to plead desperately. He could hear her sniffling, unable to take the sound of her crying. He forced himself to turn around, only to come face to face with a broken girl who was doing everything she could to keep herself together. Immediately, he felt guilty for being so cold. “Say something…” she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Nicholas opened his mouth, ready to speak his mind but found it nearly impossible. “I…” he started off, trying to form the sentences in his head before he tried to speak them out loud. “I can’t say that I’m happy about this,” he muttered, crushing Claire even more. “I can’t put myself in the line of fire again. I’m completely torn up about this just like you are so you have to understand what I’m feeling right now. I may have liked you before, but right now, I’m unsure of where my feelings are. We can be friends, but I can’t guarantee anything else past that,” he admitted, regretting it as soon as he saw Claire’s reaction.

The reality of what Nicholas said was slowly setting in. Claire first was happy, glad that their friendship wasn’t completely dead, but then came to the realization that everything would be entirely different from that point on. Her feelings were left unreciprocated and she hated herself even more for the kiss with Dane that had destroyed her chances at a relationship with the guy she truly did like. She forced herself to nod. “I’m glad we can still be friends,” she managed to choke out. She stood up, unable to face him anymore until she could calm down. Taking off in a speed walk, Claire made her way over to Emma, hoping for someone to console her.

“How did it go?” Emma questioned as soon as Claire had reached her.

“He said we could be friends but he doesn’t know what he feels for me anymore,” she sobbed, muffling the sobs with her hands. Tara approached them curiously, raising an eyebrow at the destroyed Claire.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Claire, who was ready to pour her feelings out to anyone who would listen, began to spill everything that was on her mind right away. “I like Nicholas, but something stupid I did caused him to completely lose interest in me. I’ve upset him too much and left him scarred from what happened. It’s all my fault and I feel so guilty for it,” Claire muttered, keeping her voice down so that Nicholas wouldn’t hear.

Tara shook her head as Claire waited expectantly for her answer. “You’re overreacting,” she said bluntly. “You’re also worrying too much about yourself. Don’t be so selfish,” she said as if she were that simple.

“How am I being selfish?” Claire questioned defensively.

“You expect him to just forgive whatever you did with just a few words and a small talk about how you feel. He’s a human being that has been damaged emotionally in some way. The least you can do is to give him time to think over what you’ve said and what you’ve done. People don’t always bounce back as quickly as you expect them to so give the guy a break. I don’t know what you’re little fight was about, but it sounds like you have a lot to make up to him. You can start by giving him the space he needs and stop forcing him to make difficult decisions when he’s not in the right state of mind to anyway.” Tara spoke bitterly, giving Claire a lecture that she never expected to hear.

Claire was prepared to shoot back a defensive remark but quieted herself after the words finally sunk in. She began to realize that Tara’s speech did have some truth to it. She couldn’t deny that she was being impatient with Nicholas, but she still refused to admit that it was out of selfishness. Tara looked at her, waiting for a response of some sort. Claire sighed. “I guess you’re right,” she muttered, ashamed at how she was being scolded as if she were still a small child. Rather than beginning another conflict and possibly risking angering the person that could advance them significantly in their mission, Claire managed to hold her tongue, simply agreeing with Tara and not adding anything else of her own opinion into the mix.

Before anything else could be said, the sharp clang of the metal door sliding open sounded once more, announcing the return of their two companions and the stranger they had brought back upon request. Dane was the first down the ladder, followed by Violet and then by the black haired girl that was Hana. Both Dane and Hana seemed to be holding apples that were covered in dirt, somehow managing to climb the ladder without dropping a single one. Once they reached the bottom, Violet quickly climbed back up to close the metal door that Hana had been incapable of doing due to the apples. Tara smiled at her, ruffling the young girl’s hair as a greeting. “How many people did you invite inside, Tara?” Hana questioning, silently counting the number of people they had crammed in their bot shelter. “I’ve never seen six new people here at once. What’s the occasion?”

Tara laughed, her mood lightening with her sister’s presence. “They just need some help and then they’ll be on their way out the portal hopefully by tonight,” she explained.

         “Speaking of help…” Nicholas cut in, leaving his brooding corner to join the rest of the group at last. “You told us that when your sister was brought back, you would tell us something that would help us out a lot. As you can see, Dane and Violet brought back your sister so would you care to tell us what you’ve been holding back from us?” he asked, ready to pounce on any new information he could.

         Tara nodded in understanding. “I almost forgot. How about we have a seat first?” she asked, directing everyone to take a seat along the right side of the bus. After everyone was comfortable, she began to talk slower, hoping to hold their attention so she wouldn’t have to repeat herself. “I heard rumors that there is a city where the Snake keeps the code for Emerson. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but I do have the code for the city in the rumors. It’s called Bington if I remember correctly. Supposedly, Emerson’s portal code lies at the bottom of Bington’s tallest skyscraper which is also where the portal station is. Don’t take my word for it though,” she explained, retrieving a crumpled piece of paper from a compartment she had at the front of the bus. “Do you want it?” she asked.

         The group all turned to each other, giving each other nods and reassuring glances. Emma stepped up, holding out her hand to receive the paper. “Yes, we want the paper. If it’s only a false rumor, we got another portal option out of the way. If it’s true, we’ll have what we need to find the Snake’s computer lab,” she said confidently as Tara handed over the paper. Emma thanked her, sitting back down in her original seat.

         “The last thing you’ll need is an escort to the portal station in this area. I’ll take you to the portal station in a little bit. The bots are probably up and around doing their rounds so it would be best if we wait until their searches have calmed down,” Tara answered.

         “So, how did you hear this rumor and get this code in the first place?” Nicholas asked. The rest silently thanked them for asking the question that had been haunting all of them during her entire explanation.

         “One of the portal travelers that I took in was telling me about it. Apparently, he had originally been from Bington but took off running as soon as the conspiracy rumors began spreading around. He took the portal code with him, though in case he wanted to come back if the rumors were proven false. Of course, during his portal travels, he heard about Bington and its supposed possession of Emerson city’s portal code. He gave it to me, telling me he had no use for it anymore since everything he once knew from his old life was in ruin. The funny part was that he tried convincing me that I might need this code in the future. I guess he knew more than both of us had thought,” Tara said, growing weary of explaining every gesture she made.

         “Thank you, Tara. We are so thankful for everything you’ve done for us. We won’t forget it,” Violet chimed in, trying to lean over Emma’s shoulder in order to take a peek at the portal code.

         “The only way you can thank me is by reversing the virus that the Snake created. Make that bastard pay for what he has done for me and I’ll be satisfied,” Tara said with a confident smile.

         “We will,” Violet promised, making a difficult task seem simple once more. Claire fought back the urge to submit her input, gaining a better feel for her self control in the process. “Now, how about we eat and get on our way?” she asked, making a dash for the bags they had carried in of clothes and food. Upon inspection of the contents of the bags, they realized how low their supply really was. “Oh no,” Violet whispered, grabbing the last of the food and throwing it to everyone’s feet. “This is all we have left. One more meal?” she asked. Everyone nodded in agreement, taking their own piece of the food and diving in while Tara and Hana shared their apples after rubbing them clean of dirt.