Mel

I jump side to side, dodging each tree as it comes into vision. I look over to Jae who wraps his red mask around his face. The soft breeze of a hot summer day brushes past me, not sufficient in comparison to the blazing heat. I can feel the sweat trickle down my neck and down to my lower back. Looking forward, I notice dark cloud formations far in the distance.

"Hey Mel!" Jae's voice grabs my attention. "Looks like we might get some rain," Jae yells while pointing to the sky, "we should have enough time to get what we want since the wind speed is not excessive."

I notice the town in the distance is surprisingly far along in their construction. The marketplace that was once held at the center of town is now being held at the very edge. Despite this, there are bustling market stalls lining the streets, and crowds of people surround them. "We should check it out," Jae says, grabbing my hand and pulling me through the crowd.

I look down at Jae's hand strangely; has he always done this or is this new? The sound of music becomes louder and louder. One strums the guitar, another beats a barrel with sticks, and another shakes a container full of rocks. I squeeze by people feeling drawn in by the music. Some of the townspeople are dancing while others are standing around clapping. Behind my mother's scarf I can't help but smile at their happiness despite the destruction that fell on them. Despite my muscles screaming at me to join their dancing, I have trained myself to resist my emotional impulses. I sigh, and turn around, but I run into Jae.

"We need to hurry," Jae says, "I saw lightning in the distance"

I nod trusting Jae's eyesight, slightly disappointed I didn't get to join. I brush past him to find the food stalls sensing his eyes on my back.

I fill my basket full of seasonings, fruits, and vegetables, "I'm finished."

"Let's go home."

"Young miss!" Jae and I turn towards the voice and see an old woman standing behind a stall.

I look at Jae and he nods towards the woman, so I walk up to her stand, "How can I help you ma'am?"

"Are you with the rebellion group?" The old woman asks.

"I cannot answer that," I responded. The sensation of my knives covering my sides become more noticeable .

"I'll take that as a yes," the woman says with a chuckle, "please take this." The woman takes my hand and a chain fails into my palm

I open my hand and study the necklace. It was a beautiful silver color, and it was in the shape of a cross. Mom used to have one just like this, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any money on me to repay you."

"I wish to give it to you as a gift. This used to be a symbol for a religion back before the chaos year," the woman informs, "Nowadays, it's rare to find physical connections to before the chaos year."

I look down at the necklace and smile. I slip the necklace into my pocket, and I gently take the old woman's hands, "Thank you so much for your kindness."

The woman returns the smile and I jog over to Jae. The two of us begin to run up the mountain, "What did the woman want?"

"She gave me a necklace," I told him.

"I see," Jae says.

Something wet taps my shoulder. Then on my back. Then on my head. Rain began to pour from the heavens, obstructing my vision. Thunder starts to roar throughout the dark gray sky, and lightning provides a source of light.

"Be careful where you step!" Jae yells out as if I wasn't already doing that. The rain becomes more and more intense and the wind makes my balance shaky. If it was anyone else out here they might have been thrown off the mountain.

We burst open the doors of the house.

Damian screams, "Don't get the floor dirty!"

"Fine, but bring us some towels at least," Jae says, "At least the porch has a roof."

I take off my cloak and twist it to get the water out. My clothes are completely soaked and my white shirt is sticking to every inch of my torso. I can feel Jae's eyes scanning my body.

Damian comes back with towels and hands it to us, "Hand me the food. You two can go get cleaned up, but be careful not to make a mess; I don't want to lose this wager." Damian's eyes lock with mine which I silently appreciate and commend.

After changing I scan the halls. I run my hand over every wall and every crevice, analyzing every aspect of the house. By the time I make it to the living room, everyone is already sitting there waiting for my decision.

I take a seat next to Anna and Tess. "It's not perfect," I notice Tess perk up, "However, for the little amount of time given, I am very impressed. Thus, Damian wins."

Damian jumps up from his chair and cheers, while Tess slaps her knee and yells, "Dammit! I wanted to see him run laps until he passed out."

Anna asks, "So, what are you going to make us all do?"

Damian looks around trying to think of something, "There is this cafe that I heard of in town," Damian says, and I look at him confused, "and I want Mel to go with me to check it out."

My eyes widen and my mouth parts from shock; thankfully I'm wearing my mask. Anna giggles and Tess asks, "Really, that's it?"

Anna keeps giggling, "This is going to be fun!" while elbowing me.

"Okay, you can go tomorrow if the rain stops," Derek jumps in. I watch as Jae stands up and leaves without saying anything.

The rain kept pouring outside as we sat around the fireplace talking. They were all talking and laughing, telling old stories and conversations. Even I allowed myself to laugh and enjoy some of the memories. I mean this is okay right? Is it wrong that I'm starting to feel a bit of...happiness?

Derek continues telling his story, "So when we walked up to the King, Leo slipped and knocked him over."

Everyone laughs at the thought of Leo tripping and falling on top of the King and Damian added while laughing, "I remember him coming into the dinning hall and ranting about how some kid toppled him."

"That's probably the real reason why we got kicked out," Derek chuckles.

"Yea, yea," Leo says annoyed, "it's funny for you guys but imagine how terrifying it was for me."

I look up and notice Jae coming back into the room holding a guitar, a bowl, sticks, and a cup full of rocks.

"No way!" Anna excitedly jumps up, "Guys we are going to be the next famous band that comes out of the South," Anna says and grabs the cup with rocks

"Yea, I don't know about that," Jae scratches the back of his head and looks over to me. "I don't know, I just thought it might give us something fun to do while it rains."

Leo stands up and grabs the guitar and Derek grabs the stick and bowl, "It's not like the rain is going to stop anytime soon anyway," he begins to beat the bowl with sticks creating a decent beat. Leo starts strumming and soon they start making good music. Tess runs to the kitchen and comes back out holding way too much alcohol.

Leo and Anna start to dance together and Tess brings an entire bottle of alcohol to me. "Drink!"

"Um…"

"Trust me," Tess says with a grin.

I sigh and take the bottle and lift it to my lips only planning to take a sip to satisfy her. However, she grabs the bottle and pours 5 shots worth of alcohol down my throat.

"Tess!"

"What?" She asks innocently. "Just dance with me" Tess grabs my hands and I reluctantly start dancing with her.

After only a few minutes of dancing I can already feel the alcohol starting to hit me while Tess is already drunk.

While dancing, I take a step back, but the table is in the way. I can feel my body start to lose control and fall backwards. I instinctively reach my arms forward wishing there was someone there to take my hand, but I don't see anyone. Accepting my fate, I close my eyes bracing myself for impact. A pair of strong arms grab me. I look behind me and see Daminan standing firm behind me. His hands around my waist feel like they are heating up.

"Are you okay?" His charming voice asks.

"Yea," I say feeling an excessive amount of happiness, "Do you want to dance?"

"I, um, sure?"