Traitors

I never imagined being behind the wheel again, but under the circumstances I have to face this fear. It's too cold at The Tunnel for Fierce to stay there and he needs to monitored by Mae. I get him safely secured in the passenger's seat before facing the steering wheel. We went through this two years ago, and it didn't turn out so well the last time. I take a deep breath and start the car. Flashes of the crash play in my head causing me to suddenly jerk away like I'm experiencing it all over again. I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth hoping it'll somehow calm me down, but to no avail. Fierce begins to mumble nonsense distracting me from the brief scenes. Taking advantage of no flashbacks, I quickly pull out of the parking garage and out onto the road.

My heart races in my chest as I hear the sounds of glass shattering and metal being crushed. I encourage Fierce to continue talking to keep me distracted from myself. He happily obliges and rambles on about his family. He tells me stories of his childhood and how he always wanted some sort of escape from his home.

He was twelve when we were attacked. He goes on to explain that when the first of the bombs went off, his father grabbed his brother and found safety. He left him behind with his mother and Mae. His mother did the best should could to get them somewhere safe, but they got separated and Mae took charge. She kept him close and protected him from any debris and panic stricken people who were also trying to find somewhere safe to go. They eventually found a bunker and waited it out for a few days with some neighbours. Eventually, they were found by someone who worked for his father.

They were brought into the capitol building where his father happily hugged Mae, but neglected to say anything to him. That's when he snapped and started shouting profusely, telling his father how much of a dick he was being to him. He yelled something on the lines of he doesn't want to be like him before leaving and never coming back.

He walked for awhile until he came across a shelter where he spent the next few years of his life. He helped out the best he could and that's where he met Hunter and Gabe. When he turned sixteen, they started forming the rebellion. Hunter recruited Quela because she could play up her blind and innocent act so well. It was just the four of them for years until they realized they needed more help. I attempt to ask about his ramblings of being a murderer, but he drops the subject when I pull into the driveway.

I put the car in park and turn it off releasing the biggest sigh of relief. He tilts his head toward me with a smirk on his lips, but he eyes reveal how proud he is of me. He places his hand on my trembling arm letting me it's okay and that it's over. I yank the keys from the ignition and leap from the car. I rush to the passenger's side and help him out. We walk up the stairs to the front door where it's already unlocked. I hear Kyra barking on the other side.

We walk inside and she greets us at the door before charging up the stairs to Mae who is pacing with a tear stained face. She stops to look at the two of us. Relief washes over her before suddenly turning to rage. Fierce hobbles up the stairs with me following behind him. Mae marches over to him giving him a rough slap to the face. He sighs gripping his cheek and steadying his balance.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She screams. Her voice echoes throughout the house making her yelling even louder. "You get up in the middle of the night and just take off? No note? No warning? Do you have any idea what could of happened to you?" Her voice cracks slightly like she's about to start crying again. "If you were caught, they would have done worse to you than what your back is now." He looks up at her.

"I wasn't going to get caught." He huffs walking past her. She glances down at me looking for some sort of support.

"Alright you cocky son of a bitch --"

"Careful, Maeve. That's mom you're talking about." He lashes back at her, but his remark earns him another slap to the face. "Stop hitting me!" He yells at her.

"Stop acting like a child!" They stare at each other in silence for a few seconds before Mae sighs. "Just go back to bed. You need rest." He drags himself down the hall and out of sight.

Mae hunches her shoulders in defeat before collapsing into a chair at the island. I climb the rest of the stairs and slide into the chair next to her. She rests her head in her hands letting out another sigh. We sit in silence for awhile, but I know she wants to talk.

"Do you have any siblings?" She mumbles to me. I return a nod.

"A little brother." I offer. "He's a tech wiz. He's really into cameras and filming things. He's wanted to be director since he was little." I suddenly realize I'm wearing a smile. Mae faces me.

"So you get it, right?" She motions down the hall. "If your brother was doing something life threatening, but didn't see it dangerous, wouldn't you be worried sick everyday?" I nod slowly. "I know you guys are fighting for our freedom, but you're playing with fire."

"Literally." I smirk but realize that she isn't finding my joke amusing.

"You guys don't realize that you're not invincible. You can get caught at any time and they won't hesitate to eliminate you. I've seen it happen before. Some traitors don't get the pleasure of being hung. I've seen people get their fingernails torn from their hands, teeth pulled, eyes gauged out, and limbs removed. Then they're left there to die slowly. Being hung is probably the least painful." She looks away shaking her head. "I don't want that to happen to him. I want to be optimistic in all of this, but I know in Logan's head that when it comes down to the end, it will either be him or our dad. So I lose someone either way." She wipes a tear from her cheek. "Sorry to dump all of this on you. I should probably go back to sleep." She rises whispering goodnight to me before locking herself in her room.

I turn the chair away from the island and look down at Kyra. She rolls over onto her back offering me her belly. I reach down and give her a little rub before I collapse onto the couch. I pull the afghan off the back of the couch and wrap it around me. I stare up at the ceiling thinking over everything Mae said. I know part of me feels invincible because I've gotten away with so much, but I know I can easily be broken down. I've faced death a few times that it doesn't seem to phase me anymore.

I know Fierce is so sure of himself that he won't get caught. Even if he tried, he would still somehow not get caught. I never really thought about the impact this would have on my family if I were caught. I mean Mom knows, but she doesn't seem to worry about me. I was barely home to begin with before I joined the rebellion. As for Dad, once he figured out why I was taken in, I don't think he would really care what would happen to me. But Fierce? He's got multiple people who would be torn up if he got caught. The entire rebellion would be in a state of panic, Mae would be devastated, and as for me? I don't know what I'd do.

Kyra nudges my arm pulling me out of my train of thought. She lets out a whimper before sitting down looking me in the eyes. I roll over toward her and ask what she wants. She nudges my arm again, nabbing the afghan between her teeth and dragging it off of me. I shoot upright and watch her drag it away down the hall. I chase after her and notice her trotting into Fierce's room. I shake my head and follow after her.

I peer into his room and watch Kyra drop the afghan onto the bed. She quickly jumps down and curls up on the floor. Fierce lifts his head and looks at her on the floor. He slowly pushes himself up and notices I'm in the doorway. He glances at the afghan and then over at Kyra again.

"Did you teach her that?" I ask leaning on the door frame. He snickers shaking his head.

"She picked that up on her own. I would fall asleep on the couch a lot and that's how she would get me to go to bed." I raise an eyebrow at her.

"She's smart." I casually throw myself next to him resting my head on his knee. "You know Mae really cares about you." I mumble. He nods sighing softly. "Go easy on her, Fierce. She's just worried."

"I know, but I'm twenty-two. She doesn't need to treat me like I'm seven." He brushes some of my hair out of my face.

"I'm just saying she doesn't want to lose you." I slowly sit up. "I don't want to lose you either."

"You won't. I'm not going to get caught." He giggles, but stops when he notices I'm not laughing with him.

"That's not what I meant, Logan." I sigh running my fingers through my hair. "The night of the party, your dad told me to put a stop whatever is happening between us or else he'd have us both killed." He knits his eyebrows together looking furious. "The mole at The Tunnel is keeping him updated on what we've decided to do. Gabe and I have a plan set, we just need you to be the one to go in. I have to talk to my brother for the extra cameras and you have to bug your dad's office so we can find out who he is contacting. We have monitors in The Tunnel keeping an eye on anyone suspicious. I would like to be able to continue what we have going on right now, but I can't do that if there is someone watching us. I would try to keep my distance," I press my lips against his, "but look how well I'm doing."

"We'll figure this out, Phoe." He kisses my forehead. "Let's just get some sleep. We can deal with this in the morning."

He lays back forgetting about the mark on his back. He makes a face before relaxing. I crawl under the covers and lie next to him. I stare at him as he drifts off to sleep almost immediately. I try to ignore the nagging voice in my head dying to know why he freaked out early. I don't want to push him if it's painful to talk about. I try to ease my running thoughts long enough to fall asleep.