Permafrost [COMPLETED]

Cade

I never thought today would go like this.

It started off pretty normally.

Levi, Katie, and Dylan had left the day before but where they are now is totally a mystery.

Riley and I had decided to go out before the group as well, in search of something that neither of us knew.

Maybe it was a journey to find the others, that would result in a successful retrieval of our friends, no Reapers for miles.

An adventure full of twists and turns and happy memories emerging all around while we roamed the empty streets of the joyful town that we once knew.

Or maybe it was a quest to finally kill Bradley, a knife into his chest and his blood seeping into the carpet in a big, thick pool.

But that's not what happened.

Well there was definitely blood. But it wasn't his.

It started in a dark part of town.

Reepers and Watchers right out of the gate, shooting and firing at us in every way shape and form, chasing us down 3 blocks, getting lost in a tricky street, ending us up in an abandoned building on North.

We hid for a bit, rocking back and forth in the shadow of a musty window, the smell of death lingering through the thick, heavy air.

Our breath paralyzed in our lungs, the thought of someone catching us chilling me to the core. 

If you would have told me 6 months ago that I'd be running for my life from Reepers, trying not to be brutally murdered, I probably would have laughed and looked around at the wonder of Brookwall.

Now, sitting here with Riley who I've come to know over the time that we've spent together in Levi's brother's house, the thought of any of us not surviving this was scary.

I mean I don't want to die at all, but watching someone else- one of your friends- die? That's so much worse.

And knowing you can't do anything to help them.

I squeeze my eyes shut and press the heels of my hands to my temples.

Riley reaches over and grabs my hand, her chipped yellow nail polish digging into my skin.

I try to imagine Lori and if this was our last moment together, sitting close and scared for our lives, our minds reeling as any sound outside could be the one thing trying to kill us.

Riley looks at me and I see all the freckles covering every inch of her face, one curl of her brown hair falling in front of her eyes.

If this were Lori I would push it back and behind her ear, and she'd probably take it as a sign of affection but really I'd be doing it to get it out of the way.

Riley looks down before I have a chance to tell her and she lets go of my hand immediately.

"Lori wouldn't like that." She mumbles, wrapping her arms around herself, leaning back against the wall.

I almost mention that Lori isn't here but I don't.

Nothing would happen either way.

I had kissed Lori goodbye but thinking about it now, she seemed upset.

Was it because I was going out again? With Riley?

Maybe Riley didn't have anything to do with it.

I had hoped that when I got back to Lori that I would hold her and never let go.

If I get back.

The sound of a guy's voice breaks me out of my head and I realize it's not one that I recognize.