Axelle scowled, pressing on the breaks. "Choose a damn direction, stupid GPS!" she complained, hitting the wheel as if it did her any good.
Axelle had taken the wheel over a vote. No one seemed to trust Waylen to drive, so there she was.
THUD.
followed by silence. It sounded like something hit the back. Axelle looked through the rear view mirror, but saw nothing.
"..Well.. Ok.." She mumbled, raising an eyebrow. Perry tried getting a look back, but to no avail either.
"Try to redirect it and back." Ruby replied back on topic, poking her head from the middle row.
"Stupid thing!" Axelle raged, before starting to hit the gas again. "Whatever! I'm taking my own route." she said, taking all too many rights at once.
"Does anyone have food?" Maverick asked, rather solemnly.
"No." Rexine said, eating a random half of a protein bar she found.
"Can I have that, then?"
"No."
Maverick groaned way too dramatically, slumping in his seat. He crossed his arms and looked out the window, grumbling like a scolded child.
"..Wait, don't turn here. Straight." Perry instructed, pointing at a sign ahead.
Axelle huffed, but listened anyway.
"What's the place called again?" she asked, speeding up a bit.
"It's a junkyard.. But trust me, it's probably the safest place we can go right now."
"Huh.." Waylen mumbled, eavesdropping, still flipping through one of the notebooks. "How do you know there won't be zombies?"
"Well.. it's a guess. It was abandoned except for my uncle who lived there a few years ago." Perry explained.
Ruby was trying to braid her own hair, failing really badly. Christian refused to help for multiple reasons. The main reason being the fact Ruby wanted to be 'independent' for once. It was her own words to eat, but Ruby was rather annoyed by him.
"Ugh, I can't do this." Ruby groaned, letting her hair undo itself as she let go. "Please can you help? I can be independent after this."
Christian sighed, giving her a knowing look but eventually reached for the hair tie.
Maverick was back to searching every single bag in the car for food like a homeless guy starved.
"I doubt there's anything else, Mave." Rexine mumbled, leaned back in her seat.
"Dont talk to me, you greedy douche bag." he practically said through gritted teeth, still mad at Rexine for not sharing her half a protein bar.
"..Y'all realize we just left Lorrell and Ty, right?" Eli spoke, resulting in a deafening silence.
"...Well crap." Waylen sighed, shutting the book with more aggression than needed.
"We'll.. find them. Eventually, right?" Rexine asked, though the silence spoke more than words could.
•───────•°•𐦂𖨆𐀪𖠋•°•──────•
"This is the place?" Axelle asked, looking to the side, parked beside the gate of the so-called 'junkyard'.
"Yeah." Perry confirmed, already getting out of the van.
Yeah, that wasn't before they heard a softer 'thud', like someone falling on the ground. Perry immediately turned her head, only to see..—
"..What the hell?" she muttered, storming over. "How the hell did you—"
"I was on top of the van.." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.
Ruby said nothing, only saw him once before turning to walk into the junkyard.
"Please, Perry. Hear me out." Nicole insisted.
Perry sighed. She turned around, but.. couldn't help the flicker of hope she felt— only to remember the reason he had left in the first place.
"What?" she replied, trying to sound cold. And, it was working.
"..The organization, they— they've been trying to help, andiknowitsoundscrazy, butipromiseyoutheyareonlyafteryoufora reason." Nicole spoke, a jumble of words, in a rush, worried Perry wouldn't stay and listen as patiently as all the last times.
"Wait— wait. Help? Seriously?" Perry scoffed. "Have you been brainwashed? Help?" she repeated like a chant. "They experimented on innocent lives and you—"
"No. They never did. It was a lie." he firmly stated.
"Why would they lie about that??" Perry asked, still highly unconvinced.
"It.. it's complicated, Perry. But I swear, I'd never lie to you!" he desperately tries to persuade. It all sounded like a sick joke to Perry.
"Nicole?" Rexine appeared behind Perry, looking dumbfounded. Maverick lingered a few feet away, just watching.
"Please.. Just let me explain. I need only a few minutes of your time." he added, after giving a quick glance to Rexine.
So, Perry gave in afterall. No matter how hard she had tried to tell herself that Nicole left them for the organization, she still couldn't resist Nicole. Not her best friend of over 5 years.
That's why now, they sat inside the van, Perry waiting for Nicole to start talking.
"They..— They had to lie. There's this people who they claim are their boss', and apparently had them lie about it. And not to mention.. I had to eavesdrop to get this information. They wouldn't tell me." Nicole explained, searching Perry's eyes. He really, really hoped that she'd believe him.
"And I'm supposed to believe that?" She crossed her arms, a stern expression on her face.
"Yes! Please, Perry. You—... you know I'd never go without a reason. And.. about Laura.. she's gone. I knew that long ago." Nicole admitted, his shoulders subconsciously drooping.
"Nathan.. he and his minions, they wouldn't let me in on anything. No secrets they held. Wanna know why? Because I was just bait. I was bait to get you to them. And trust me, I wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for the better good for both of us."
Perry sat there, in stunned silence. Speechless. And, it showed rather clearly.
After a long moment of silence, she finally spoke. Voice softer, but still unsure.
"Why..? Whywould they need me?" She asked, hoping he'd have the answer. But from his face, she sighed.
"..I wish I could answer that," he started. "But.. No. They never mentioned it."
A pause.
"Can you have me around, even if it's the last time? I really need to figure this out. I don't want you getting in danger because of a stupid mistake that I made. I'd never forgive myself." he confessed.
Perry opened her mouth, but the words got stuck in her throat. He was the same guy she had known for over half a decade.
"..Fine." she reluctantly murmured under her breath. "Good luck with Ruby." Perry said, huffing. She opened the car door, stepping out.
And maybe, just once again she'd trust him again. Just this once.