To Die Unknown

“And that, was Synyster Gates, our resident playboy.” I turned slowly, seeing Jason at my side, once again. He reached his hand out and wiped a trail of blood off my chin. “Sorry about that, I didn’t expect you to wipe out.”

“What’s with all of these stupid names?” I groaned out, now more embarrassed than anything else. Jason smiled lightly at me.

“Well before all of this,” Jason waved his hands around us for emphasis. “The five of them were part of this exclusive military group in the government. Very secretive, very deadly. They were the behind the scenes guys. When something needed to get done, they were called into action. Hence the names. In fact, their boss actually runs this place. We wouldn’t have been where we are today without them all.”

“But Synyster Gates? I refuse to address him by that.” I decided I didn’t like this Synyster Gates person at all. I didn’t like the shade of chocolate brown his eyes were; the curve of his lips; nor the height of his cheekbones. But most of all, I didn’t like him because of the feelings that had erupted in me from just the sight of him. And then, the way he so quickly made me feel insignificant.

“We all just call him Brian around here. Don’t worry about the playboy thing. It’s a joke. He used to be a big ladies man. But, the whole “end of the world” thing is holding him back.” He grinned stupidly before guiding me forward.

We walked quickly through the passing crowd, Jason bringing us back to the front of the people. We walked through the door, and still there was nothing. I narrowed my eyes, and they focused on another large door; about two hundred meters in the distance.

“Through that door, and we’re home.” Jason seemed to gain an extra bounce to his step. I clenched my hands into fists, trying to stop the sudden shaking that had begun.

This is ridiculous. I shouldn’t be cowering before these strangers, I shouldn’t be acting as if everything if fine. It’s not. I’ve been assaulted, and taken by force. I was kept in an uncomfortable cage, like some sort of animal. And now, I’ve been tied up and am being led to my possibly, impending doom. I raised my head and hardened my gaze. Compliant my ass.

Jason stopped walking, next to the Guardians. I stood behind them, not wanting to put my back to them. I watched as Jimmy walked to the final door, and began undoing the number of locks bolted down the door. Jimmy was suddenly knocked back, the door’s thrown wide.

“You!” A woman came barreling through the open doors. She stormed her way to Shadows. She brought her hand up, and slapped Shadows across the face. His head whipped to the side.

“Matthew Sanders! You were supposed to be back two days ago! Were you off gallivanting around with some whore? I bet you thought I wouldn’t have caught on, but I did!” Her gaze landed on me. Her eyes narrowing dangerously. She looked from Matt back to me. I suddenly understood.

“No, you’ve got it all wrong.” I tried to reason with her as she walked over to me.

“Who do you think you are? Shut your mouth you dirty slut!” She had long wavy blonde hair, and dark brown eyes. The yellow summer dress she was wearing gave off an air of innocence. A look at her face changed it all. Her face was set in a menacing grimace.

Her fist raised and I was knocked backwards by the force of her blow. My back thudded against the hard floor. A grunt forced its way from my lips. The right side of my face began throbbing uncontrollably.

“What the hell is wrong with you people? You’re all so violent.” I groaned

“Oh my gosh! Hayley, are you all right?” Victoria’s face was suddenly in my view. She dropped to her knee’s beside me. Unable to offer any condolences, she turned to the violent woman. “Hey psycho! Your boyfriend hit my sister with a baseball bat! I highly doubt there’s some form of a romance blooming from that.”

“You did?” Her overall demeanor visibly changed. He nodded, still shocked my the entire situation. She jumped at Matt, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her lips attaching to his in a very passionate kiss, as she wound her hands in his hair.

“With all the violence, I can see why they’re perfect for each other.” I grumbled, irritated. Victoria rose from her knee’s, a frown apparent on her face. I struggled to raise my upper body without the use of my arms. When I got myself to a sitting position, I nodded my thanks to Matt Berry as he gripped my forearm; guiding me to my feet.

Others were walking past us, as if this happened everyday. I rolled my eyes, and stumbled forward.

“Are you ready?” I turned to Sebastian and Victoria, both looking a mix of excitement and anxiousness. I nodded, squaring my shoulders. We began to walk through the doors.

I was shocked and amazed. This was not what I had been expecting at all.

Children were running around. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d seen a living child. And ones that looked so happy. Men, women, and children, were gathering around. Most likely to greet their returning members.

Some were whispering and pointing at us.

It didn’t take long to notice the small amount of women standing around. A good portion of the women were pregnant as well.

Glancing around, there was bright green grass, large tree’s, and buildings. A cobblestone road led the way, winding around little houses and shops. I definitely didn’t expect any of this. It looked like a thriving town.

A man stepped through the crowd. He was tall, with broad shoulders, and light brown hair cut short. His brown eyes were dark, with laugh lines creasing beside them. He looked casual in the dark jeans, and brown t-shirt he adorned. It was a man I never expected to see again.

“Uncle Robbie?” His eyes widened as he looked my way.

Robert “Robbie” Smith, was probably the greatest uncle in existence, when he was around. His job was basically his life. He was away for up to eight months a year, working excessively for the government. He would have made a great father, but didn’t have time to settle down. So he made up for it with being a phenomenal uncle.

“Hayley? Victoria? My God! I can’t believe you’re both alive.” He exclaimed, laughing loudly. Before I knew it, he was wrapping me and Victoria into his arms. Holding us just the way he used to. I squeezed my eyelids shut, trying to push back the sudden moisture. After all of this time, the last person I’d ever expected to be alive, and here he was.

I could feel the sobs racking Victoria’s body. I tried even harder to stop mine.

Uncle Robbie pulled back, looking into our faces. “Look at the two of you, you’ve grown so much.”

“What happened to your face?” He put his hand to my cheek, and I couldn’t stop the few tears sliding down my face.

“People around here are terribly violent.” I choked out, my emotions beginning to overwhelm me. He frowned just the slightest. He turned to Victoria, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“And you! Last time I saw you, you were just a little girl. What about your mother, and your father? Are they around? Anyone else?” His eyes lightened at the prospect of seeing his older brother, my father. I shook my head.

“It’s just us. Roland and Adrianna are gone as well.” I said, referring to his other niece, and his only nephew. He nodded understandingly. He then seemed to notice our third member.

“Who is this?” He inquired, glancing at Sebastian curiously. Sebastian smiled brightly at the acknowledgment. Uncle Robbie raised a questioning eyebrow.

“That’s Sebastian, he’s been with us for the past couple of years.” Victoria responded, smiling, though her eyes were still glimmering with the tears she hadn’t shed.

“Oh!” He exclaimed, his eyes widening. I could feel the eyes of everyone else on us. “You’re the three survivors that they radioed about!”

“Yes. You should reconsider the men you’ve all been sending out. They were not very accommodating.” Victoria said, a grimace passing her face, as she glanced at my cheek. I’m sure it looked worse then it felt.

“You’re hands are tied?” Uncle Robbie observed. I nodded, it was obvious. “Is it because you refused to be searched for bites? Or was someone violent?”

“It was a bit of b-“ I was abruptly cut off by Jimmy’s voice.

“She is the definition of violence!” Jimmy exclaimed loudly, pointing his finger at me. I wouldn’t admit it aloud, but he had a point.

“Jimmy, what happened to you?” A short redhead came limping through the gathered crowd. Her long red hair was pulled back from her pale face, into a sleek ponytail. She was wearing a silky blue blouse, and beige knee length shorts. I then took into account the wrap she had on her ankle.

Jimmy smiled largely before he walked forward, embracing the woman. “Me? What happened to your ankle?”

“I fell out of a tree.” She grinned up at him. He laughed to himself, leaning over to brush his lips against hers.

“Ah, Diana. Just the person I was thinking of. Perhaps you and Sophia could do the appropriate search. Take Hayley and Victoria, and have them cleaned off. The boys can take Sebastian for the same.” Uncle Robbie said, he nodded to the redhead, and the violent blonde. “Ladies, we’ll catch up later."

The redhead stepped back from Jimmy, and approached us. She pulled a knife from her pocket and took my wrists. The release of pressure on my wrists, was instantaneous. I brought my hands in front of me, massaging the circulation back into them. Slight rope burn decorated my wrists.

“I’m Diana. It’s so nice to have some new girls around here. It doesn’t happen very often.” The redhead, Diana, smiled. She cut through the rope binding Victoria’s wrists.

The crowd was dissipating. The angry blonde approached us. From what I could gather, her name must have been Sophia. She paused in front of me, and angry scowl on her face. “Well? Let’s go. I have other responsibilities to be taken care of.”

“Sophia!” Diana snapped, placing a slim hand on her right hip. Sophia merely rolled her eyes. She marched off to the left, following a cobblestone pathway. Diana beckoned for us to follow.

“Don’t worry about her. She’s just threatened, that’s all.” Diana mused, as if it explained everything.

“What is she threatened of, exactly?” Victoria questioned, stuffing her hands into the front pocket of her dirty jeans. She turned suddenly. I turned to see what she was looking at. Sebastian was being led off by Guardians, and my Uncle. He whipped his head around, smiling largely at us. He raise his now free hand, and waved enthusiastically. He finally had what he wanted, a place to settle down. Victoria waved back, and I let a small smile cross my lips.

“She’s frightened that one day, someone is going to come and change everything. Mostly Matt’s love for her. If she even catches him looking at another girl, she goes ballistic.” Diana explained, scratching the back of her neck. We were winding around and in between various buildings. Where were we going?

“She has a nasty left hook.” I scowled, the pain in the right side of my face had dimmed.

“Well, she is left handed. So, that was your uncle? It must be nice to have some family left.” She said, her shoulders sagged a bit.

“Yeah, we certainly didn’t expect him to be alive, let alone the amount of people that are here.” Victoria admitted, awed.

"Well he's a good man. He basically runs the place, we all wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him." Uncle Robbie was the boss? I tried to hide my astonishment. I'd have to have a chat with him about what was going on. Why they were herding survivors here.

“So, you’re with Jimmy then?” I inquired, changing the subject. Her smile intensified.
“Yes, we’ve been together for 4 years. He found me, and saved my life.”

“I hit him.” Diana looked at me, her eyes widening dramatically. “In the head, with a spear.”

“Oh. Did he deserve it?” It was my turn to be shocked.

“I thought he did.”

“Well then, knowing Jimmy, he probably did deserve it.” She grinned, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“So are you excited for a nice hot bath? You look like you need it.” She asked, gesturing towards my obviously grimy self. And then it hit me.

“A bath?”