Chapter 111
Clementine:
“That’s hectic. They’re asking us to join another mission,” I complained after we finished eating. As I walked ahead, I noticed Ian keeping a good distance from us, while the others stayed right beside me. We had been talking about the missions and everything, and of course Ian wasn’t involved, just like he’d told us he never would be.
“Isn’t it odd?” Haiden asked, pointing at Ian. “He’s been awfully quiet. Usually he would argue or speak his mind p>
We all stared at Ian in silence. Haiden wasn’t wrong. Ian usually had something to say, but now his silence felt deadly.
“Aren’t you guys happy he’s quiet for a minute?” Troy remarked.
I agreed. It was better for him to stay quiet, because if he started talking, all the stress we were feeling would double.
We made it back to our room, and after changing into our nightclothes, we sat on the floor between the beds. Mr. Rick had mentioned something today about students staying awake too long. I didn’t get what his problem was, but it felt like he was suggesting we were getting too comfortable with our lives, which was pretty messed up, but whatever. We sat between the beds so none of our heads would be visible from the windows in case the lurker decided to peer inside.
“The entire White Squad made it back last time,” Troy began.
“Well, we all know what messed-up people they are. Don’t you remember how they screwed us over last time?” Yorick reminded us.
He wasn’t wrong. The reason we separated before was because of them. The White Squad swooped in and kicked us out of the place we had found, even though we all could have stayed there peacefully.
“So you two left soon after us?” I asked, even though I already knew they had left eventually.
“Yeah, soon afterwards. Why? Did you really think I’d stay there when you weren’t?” Haiden was the first to answer, though I could tell Troy had something to say.
“Hey, let’s not forget I was the one who said let’s go,” Troy muttered under his breath.
Yorick and Haiden both looked at him, then turned back to me.
“Anyway, the point is we should all work as a team,” I suggested, watching them nod. Thankfully, we were all on board with the idea. I felt much more at ease, knowing the initial conflict was gone. I also felt safer with them in the north than I would have with any other team. I’d seen the White Squad in action, and I would never have been okay hurting others for them. That alone would have caused problems if I’d been in their squad.
As for the Red Squad, which I had once regretted not switching to, I was now glad I hadn’t. They seemed hostile and strange. The Blue and Green squads were just as bad. I was happy with my squad because, so far, none of us had hurt anyone just to make it out of the north alive.
“Yeah, and for this next monster, we’ll need this dude’s help,” Yorick whispered slowly, gesturing toward Ian with his eyes. Ian had his back to us, lying in bed, or so we thought. Because the moment Yorick said that, I noticed a slight movement in Ian’s body. His arm, which he’d wrapped around his head to cover his ears with his elbows, shifted as his hand bent back to hold his head.
“But who’s even going to bell the cat?” Haiden whispered, making sure Ian wouldn’t hear us. They were foolish to think he couldn’t, unless he was actually asleep.
“I don’t know. We can only hope he doesn’t act up. Back when we met on the empty road, he was different. He offered me the bag of food and all. His tone didn’t change much, but he was better than before,” I even praised him for that small effort, though it barely took any from him, because it was still a noticeable change in his body language between the north and the mainland.
“We’ll need to talk to him before we leave. He has a lot of information on these monsters,” Troy reminded us. “He’s always writing things down. Maybe his pack, or he himself, got information from the north. A lot of his squad mates used to board at the academy. That could be the reason p>
“But there were never interactions between pack members and squad mates before,” I pointed out. So how would he even know anything about the monsters? It’s not like the ringleaders went around announcing what monsters their squad mates saw in the packs. It never happened in mine, or in Troy’s, Yorick’s, or Haiden’s. So I doubt it happened in Yorick’s and Ian’s either.
“Anyway, let’s get to bed. We’ll talk more in the morning,” Troy suggested, and we all began to stand. But of course, they couldn’t end the night without starting some small rift.
They started heading towards the beds, and I was caught off guard when I felt soft, warm lips brush my cheek from the left.
“Good night,” Yorick said quickly. His kiss came like a bullet, and when I turned around, I felt another kiss on my right cheek. That one came from Haiden. Now I felt like a lost person, looking left then instantly turning right. But they both pulled away so quickly and were already in their beds. I glanced up and saw Troy staring at me before he grunted and got into his bed as well. I lay down awkwardly, and soon the alphas fell asleep.
I kept turning from side to side until I found something interesting outside the window next to my bed—the weather. It was beautiful. No fog, no mist, no dusty thunderstorm, just wind. I liked windy weather, especially when it was fresh. Taking a deep breath, I had just decided to close my eyes and let sleep take over when I felt a finger tap my shoulder. My eyes snapped open, and I found Ian hunched all the way over to my face.