A Life for A Life

Most of the forest regions out in the middle circle ring were manmade or rather man-placed since the natural trees found on the ground were all but gone. The trees still gave it a rustic feel for those who wanted an escape from their busy lives, but it wasn't a popular destination so most of the greenery was overgrown.

The highway roads that zipped across the circle in never-ending stacks of layers seemed to cut off abruptly once they got over to the side where the forest was with the roads turning to an uneven rock path one would say. The highways in the city were notorious for being exotic in the ways that the engineers had crafted them.

Charlotte held onto the seat in front of her as the road started getting bumpy, and it made her realize that over in this direction was an area that was almost untouched by the people with it being an intentional thought. She would have to be grateful because once inside the thick of the trees, it didn't even feel as though they were in the city.

It did leave her to wonder why the government decided to leave this area, but for now, she would have to leave her guesses under the radar since they had larger obstacles in their way at the moment.

The dip of the road made her stomach turn, and she glanced out the windows to see nothing more than the green moss that lined the trees and fanning out leaves from the bushes below.

The forest did serve as a great retreat spot knowing that it wasn't what most people would think of as a vacation or a rather safe spot but rather more along the lines of a chore.

In a whole new world in this place, the drive was long and uncomfortable, to say the least in the way that the turns and dips in the path were quite an arduous trip to stomach.

Charlotte passed Lucia some water after taking some, and Lucia dipped her head in thanks before unscrewing the lid to take a sip. Wiping her lips with the back of her hand, Lucia sighed and leaned her head back on the headrest and voiced her question. "How much further before we are at the safe house?"

"We are about thirty minutes out," Stone replied. "It shouldn't be too far out now that we make the last turn to go southwest on the pathing."

"Are you going off of memory, Stone?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes. I know where it is," he answered calmly.

"Okay," Charlotte said while cracking her fingers idly. "Do you know where it is, Vincent?" 

He slid her a look. "No."

Charlotte ignored his short words since he would often do it whenever she gave him a so-called common sense question and gave him a sugary sweet smile. "One would think that you're in the loop."

"You forgot my position," Vincent said easily. "I am not the one to inform but rather be informed."

Charlotte crossed her arms and pivoted her body so that she was facing the window not wanting him to talk down to her as if he often did. She knew that he was supposed to be grateful for her, but in moments like these, she felt as if she was getting played. Vincent was one to hold integrity high but for him to follow through doing so smoothly didn't tend to go so well.

"What is the plan when we get to the safe house though?" Lucia asked.

"There isn't much that we can do," Stone retorted. "We'll have to get all our weapons situated as well as organize the information that we salvaged to see what we lost once Hendrey and the rest get to us."

Lucia sighed. "Are we just going to wait idly for the vigilantes or whatever they are to make their move first?" 

"Not precisely," Stone acknowledged. "In hindsight, we are doing this for our own matters to get ourselves figured out first. We cannot be going into a fight blind or empty-handed. This may be a good time for you all to train."

"Train?" Lucia questioned.

Stone didn't bother to put it nicely. "To kill."

Charlotte saw how Lucia's expression stuttered, and she knew the alarming thoughts that had to be flying through Lucia's mind. It took time for Charlotte to come to terms with it as well, but at the end of the day, the realization hit her hard when she knew it was a kill-or-be-killed fight that she couldn't lose.

Lucia didn't sign up for her hands to be dirty, but it was soon going to be her reality. The true hope would be that Lucia would be able to get her life afterwards once everything had died down whether it be for better or for worse.

Whether it be that they were on the winning side or the losing side. A life was a life. But soon, it might turn into a life for a life.