Secret Silver | hiatus

xv. Lucy & Thomas

"Have you ever held a gun before?"

As the words left my mouth, my hands tossed the heavy metal pistol to Silas, who stood a few feet away. We'd found that the abandoned warehouse was concealed by a small forest similar to Falls, but not nearly as vast. My stomach twisted with a mixture of emotions, but among all: excitement. The monster within me I'd let remain dormant was now awake, ready to fight.

Silas caught the gun clumsily, gulping as his wide eyes stared down at it. He licked his lips and shook his head. "A water gun, yeah."

Rolling my eyes, I stepped towards him and took the gun back from his hands. "Never mind. I don't need you shooting me by accident."

I'd said it jokingly, but he narrowed his eyes, his jaw clenched, unmistakable anger seeping through his expression. "You keep underestimating me, and it's getting a little annoying."
His voice was deeper than usual as his eyes refused to meet mine. My stomach twisted at his words. I sighed and stepped back, tucking the weapon back into my belt. My hands reached for my mother's switchblade; the cold metal handle sent shivers down my spine.

"I just don't want to take any chances." I averted my gaze and held the knife out for him to take. Tentatively, he wrapped his hand around the handle, his features softening. "Just stay close, and if we run into someone, please don't start blabbering."

This time, Silas's lips turned up into a soft smile. He nodded and slipped the switchblade into his jacket, standing up straighter once he was ready.

"What do you think we'll find?" he asked, excitement swirling in his green eyes.

"A lot of times, these buildings look like office buildings. Factories. Warehouses. But inside, it's a whole other world. If there's anyone here, it'll be hard to get in unseen." My eyes were on my feet as they avoided the twigs and branches strewn about the ground, studying the dirt for signs of signs or wires. Silas kept up with me, his arm brushing against mine, providing a strange sense of comfort.

Once the silhouette of a building came into view about half a mile away, I stopped in my tracks. I stared down at the ground, kicking aside the dark brown dirt. To my left and right were large oak trees, and we stood directly in between them. The compass on my watch said that we were directly South of the building.

Silas crouched down next to me, where I was moving aside the dry dirt with my hands, my eyebrows knit together in frustration. "What are you looking for? Did you drop something?"

I answered his question with one of my own. "Is there a red mark on the big tree to our right?"

I felt him shift next to me as he turned to look. "Yeah, like a circle."

My hands continued to sift through the dirt until finally, I found the red painted line that extended about two feet towards the two trees. My heart skipped a beat.

Silas peered over my shoulder and reached his hand out to touch the ground. "What is that?"

"Half-mile markings. We used them for field training. There's one North, East, South, and West of each building, and the circles on the trees are from arrows." The words left my mouth mindlessly as I subconsciously ventured over to the large tree, feeling the tarnished bark with my cold fingers. Archery was always my favorite, and even as I stood there, I could imagine a younger ghost of myself standing a few feet away, struggling to hold the large bow in her hands, her mother laughing and supporting her arms from behind.

"So this is definitely G.O.L.D.?" Silas asked, snatching me out of my trance. The ghosts dissipated into the cold evening's air.

Nodding, I placed my hands lightly on his arms, searching his eyes for concern or regret, but only found more excitement. His smile fell.