The Camp of Fighters

The wind is cold tonight, and it reminds me of the lake between Lucas's and my house for a second. Whenever the weather started to hit below 68 degrees, I always went on an unplanned hangout at the lake with Liam just to make him suffer the skin-piercing temperature.

Lucas wanted to introduce me to everyone in the Camp, I don't know why he calls this place as such. It looks more like a village to me, but Lucas insisted that it's not a village because the people came here from various places though most were from Suburbia, and the majority of the residents here are young adults.

This place is like a secluded camp for Rebel runaways. They are all called the Fighters, and they are trained here to fight, hunt, and mostly just commit violence... at least that's what I think.

Lucas said that he's one of the Fighters in training since Daisy found him 7 years ago. "She's like my own grandmother," he would describe her to me.

After he came to the camp, he was introduced to three other Rebels that would soon become close to him. Savannah, Mason, and Olivia are the trainers in this camp, they were already here before Lucas joined.

Savannah was an orphan from the Rebel's orphanage, but she ran away. Olivia and Mason are friends before running away from school one day, and Daisy found them beating up some kids. They come from a pure Riotist bloodline, and their parents are one of the Councils of Monarch. Now there are over 300 Rebels in this camp, all in hiding and training to fight.

"Wait, if this camp is only for Rebels, why are you here? You're not even one of them!" I ask, even though Lucas had already explained that several hours ago.

Lucas nods his head adamantly. "I have always been a Rebel," Lucas sighs, but there's this unmistakable uneasiness in the way he talked.

"No, you're not! None of your family members are Rebels! Are you adopted?" I'm starting to get confused and probably a little disoriented with all of this news. How is it possible that I didn't know it though we were friends for almost my whole life!?

Lucas doesn't say anything as he just stares blankly ahead. "Let's go, Ava! I'll introduce you to everyone," he says, ignoring me. Maybe there's a story he's currently keeping from me, something must have happened to him in the past 7 years.

My eyes widen, "you can't!" I dodge away from him when he tried to grab my hand to lead me out of the house.

"Why not?"

At that moment I realize that I haven't told him about anything that has happened to me since he was gone as well. All I can think of is that he should've realized that I am an Obel, and I'm not even supposed to be here in this camp right now.

"Because...." should I zip my lips until he notices himself? Will that get both of us into trouble?

Lucas narrows his eyes on me, "nights don't last forever, Ava!"

"I know," I say while nibbling on the inside of my lower lip. "You said that this is a Rebel runaway camp, right? So what will happen if there's a non-Rebel person roaming around this place?"

"They will be captured, tortured, and finally killed," Lucas says without showing any contortions in each inhumane commotion he just said... he's like a fully-developed psychopath.

"You're kidding..."

He probably can see the shock and fear in me as he suddenly laughs while sweeping away the tears from his eyes. "Oh my God, you should see your face!" he takes a deep breath though nothing seems particularly funny to me. "No, I'm not kidding! But that's not going to happen to you, Ava! You're safe as long as you're on my side!"

I still can't be sure, and I can never let my guard down. He might be saying it now because he does not know that I'm on the list of the 'Test Subject', but in the meantime, I let him take me to wherever it is that we are going.

"Welcome to the camp of Fighters!" he says with a smile before walking me out of the cottage.

Is it weird that I'm excited?

***

Everyone in the camp greets Lucas, and he always replies with a warm smile. Then we stop in front of a half-empty pub where there's a round table in the far corner of the packed place. We walk towards the three people who are sitting at that table. Jittery, I half hide behind Lucas as we approach them.

"Attention everyone," Lucas announces, and all eyes instantly turn to me who's still quivering behind his broad shoulder. "Let me introduce you all to someone! Everyone this is Ava, and Ava this is everyone!"

"Hi, Ava!" A girl with straight red hair that touches her nape and a pair of big brown eyes offers me her hand, and I take it gracefully.

"This is Olivia," Lucas mentioned their names to me during dinner and briefly told me enough information about each of them.

"That is Mason," Olivia nudges her chin towards someone who is sitting across from her. Mason is a little leaner than Lucas, and he has a very pointy nose.

What catches my attention right away is his beautiful ocean eyes, they are so enchanting. Especially with his dark hair that accentuates those eyes.

"I'm Savannah," a blonde girl who is sitting in between Mason and Olivia says to me. Savannah. What a pretty name, and I can see right away that she is a Rebel. Those fiery hazel eyes can rip the soul off of my body. Her long hair looks so smooth with curls that fall effortlessly down her chest, covering her huge breasts, I almost get lost in that view. Reflexively, I try to cover my flat chest with my arms and smile as wide as I can to conceal the harsh reality.

"Hello, nice meeting you all here!" I hope I sound more convincing than I look.

"She's so cute!" Olivia beams with happiness as she drags me into a tight embrace. "Where did you find her?"

"Daisy just took her in this evening," Lucas helps me out of her arms. I thought I was going to die when she squeezed me. "Ava's an old friend of mine, so I hope you can treat her the same!"

"Of course!" Olivia cheers almost too excitedly.

"Where is she going to stay?" Savannah asks this time Her reaction has been different than Olivia's since I revealed my existence from behind Lucas. I don't really feel welcomed by her, but maybe it's just my introverted ass feeling anxious about meeting new people.

Lucas doesn't seem to be receiving the same signal Savannah is giving me, "Ava is going to stay with Daisy and me." As he proceeds to tell everyone.

I look up at him and give him a confused look. Okay, why is he making that decision without consulting me first?

"Now that you've met everyone, let's go somewhere else," Lucas says, dragging me to the exit. "I'm going to show her around the camp," he says, wasting no time to get out of there.

***

I slept in one of the vacant bedrooms upstairs which has a view of the forest. I feel like I was on a vacation for a moment as I stare out the window.

I walk out of the bedroom and decide to take a quick shower before heading down for breakfast. After I put on my clothes, the door suddenly bursts open. Lucas barges in, ignoring my existence, and I practically scream.

I know that I am all dressed up, but can he at least knock?

"What the hell are you doing?" I say, pushing him out the door. I accidentally touched his naked chest, and it makes me snap my hands back. Lucas notices it, and he chuckles.

"You took forever in there," he says, pushing me aside.

"What can be so important that you have to spoil my privacy?" I can't believe this guy! One moment he is so sweet, and the next minute he'll act like Lucas I know 7 years ago.

"I need to pee," as he says while turning his back on me. He puts the toilet sit up, and starts unzipping his pant.

I stomp my foot in frustration and grumpily walk out of the bathroom. "Can you at least fucking wait until I get out?" then I slam the door behind me. I can hear him laughing from inside.

My feet are still glued to the floor when I hear the sound of flushing. When I realize that I'm still standing in the exact spot, I start moving back to my room. But Lucas catches me rushing as he comes out, "were you peeping?" he laughs, stopping me from running away.

I turn around to mock him back, but seeing Lucas under the sunlight gives me this unexplainable nostalgic feeling, and it stops me from saying anything.

Lucas has his hair tied up into a messy man bun. He wears a sleeveless shirt that shows up his long arms and toned biceps.

"Like what you see, eh?" Lucas snaps his fingers in front of me before sending me a smirk, and I really want to punch his smug face.

"Shut up," I shake my head, washing off the heat from my cheeks. I wonder if Liam looks like him now. Liam has always been taller than Lucas, but he was thin back then.

The thought of Liam hurts me, and I stare blankly at the window behind Lucas's back.

"Luke," I say. Liam and I used to call him that. Though no one calls him that except us, Lucas doesn't hate it.

"What?" he snaps back at me.

I take a deep breath, suddenly feeling nervous about what I'm about to ask. "Is Liam here? In this cottage or maybe around the camp?" my voice sounds so hoarse like the wind in the desert.

I can see that he's tensed up for a moment in his place. "No," and that's all he says.

So that means I'm still nowhere near finding Liam, and I didn't even try to look for Liam in the first place. I met Lucas coincidentally and hoped that Liam would be here too.

But if Liam was here, I would've seen him last night, or at least Lucas would've mentioned his name somehow.

"Why do you ask? I thought you and Liam broke up, and that's why you ran away from Suburbia." He says, staring at me quizzically.

"First of all, Liam and I have never dated before," I say, lowering my voice as if it is meant to be confidential. "And Liam went missing four months after you ran away! He was trying to find you, and never came back home."

His eyes are so full of horror like he's just seen a ghost. He runs his fingers through his hair, looking frustrated and angry. "Liam was never here! I didn't even know he was gone until you told me."

"So, Liam is still missing..."