33

Alayna

Sunday 12th August, Year 825

I lay flat on the wrestling mat completely out of breath. Paul had floored me yet again as he always did.

"Get up!" ordered Paul.

"No! I can't do it and I'm sick of being put on my ass," I protested.

"You are right, you can't do it and you won't learn how to either if you moan every time we try and do some training," Paul reprimanded.

"I don't care! I don't understand how learning how to fight will do any good against the Umbrith. They are huge and strong. If I'm up against them without a weapon there is very little I can do about it," I ranted.

"That isn't true. I have saved my own life four times because I could fight back. Alayna, all you need is a second's distraction and you can escape. Umbrith don't expect us to fight back so when we do it stuns them enough for us to get away," he replied.

As Paul finished talking, I sprang from the floor towards him, hoping he was distracted enough for me to restrain him but I was wrong. He stuck his arm out in front of him and around my waist, throwing me sideways and flinging me onto my back. I lay on the floor completely winded.

"I'm horrible at this," I gasped.

"Yeah you are but you will get better," Paul smiled, helping me up.

Laughing from the corner of the room caught my attention and I turned to see Ben chortling at my expense. He was with Aaron. My heart skipped a beat but not in the right way. Six months without Tiv and I still felt like I was doing something wrong. Still it felt like there was a part of me missing. Sighing, I made my way over to them. I kept reminding myself that, if it wasn't for Tiv, I would probably have been perfect for Aaron. He wasn't overbearing. Wasn't constantly wanting to be with me. Calling me all the time. He just enjoyed me when he had me. He liked a drink and a gamble but it wasn’t my problem. He didn’t constantly keep tabs on me. He was just Aaron. But while it felt different to every other relationship before Tiv, it still paled in comparison to him. I didn't care how much Tiv wanted to speak to me, in fact, when he didn't I found myself missing him after minutes. I had been so pathetic. I still was so pathetic.

"You look like shit," Ben grinned.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Come on Az. Our go," Ben continued, pulling Aaron past me.

Aaron grabbed my ass as he walked by without Ben noticing. It made me giggle and I slapped him across the back of the head as he grinned. The apprehension from seconds previous was completely gone as I reminded myself Aaron was fun-loving and jovial. Not like Tiv who was a stuck-up, cowardly little boy. Ben turned around and I looked away fast, catching Charlotte's smirking face who had not missed our little interaction. After giving Charlotte a "say a word and I'll kill you" look, my attention went back to the wrestling mat, sitting by her.

"We've all got a bet on how long it'll take Ben to figure it out," Charlotte muttered slyly.

"What you bet?" I smirked.

"Next week. You want in?" Her lips tugged up in an uncharacteristic smile.

"What's Aaron got on?" I asked, watching Ben lunge at Aaron who quickly ducked behind him.

"Oh he's out already. He bet Ben would have found out weeks ago," she chuckled. "We've also got money on whether Ben will kick his ass when he finds out."

I laughed loudly, causing Aaron to look up and receiving a blow to the shoulder for his distraction. He immediately found his footing again and jumped away from a second hook from Ben. My gaze fixed on the two men on the mat as they almost defied gravity, throwing kicks and punches rapidly at each other while dodging each other swiftly too. Ben was stronger but Aaron was faster; after a minute Aaron caught Ben by the throat, knocking him back to the floor.

"My ven's on Aaron," I grinned.

"See! If Ben can learn how to do this stuff then you can too," Aaron smiled, turning to me.

Ben swung his legs behind Aaron's and caused him to fall to the floor. Ben towered over him still choking on his own breath with a wide grin.

"That doesn't count!" Aaron moaned.

I rolled my eyes and stood up again. Paul was smirking at me. He shouldn't have enjoyed beating people up this much. We brawled again and he pinned me twice. The third time I knew what Paul's starting move would be so used it against him. He stuck his arm out in front of himself to grab me and in response I dodged it, slapping his arm to the side, punching him in the mouth, this time remembering to have my thumb outside my fist. He staggered backwards and I squealed with excitement, jumping up and down.

"I hit you! I hit you!" I sang.

"You did. And I'm bleeding so congratulations," he laughed rubbing his tongue over his split lip. "We can leave it there for today."

"Ah I see, I get pinned forty-seven times in a row, but the second I get a good hit in, we stop," I mumbled.

He barked a laugh and beckoned Charlotte forward. I didn't realise until then that I had cut my hand on his tooth. It hurt. I turned to Ben and grinned, he returned a smile which didn't reach his worried eyes. Typical Ben. Aaron winked behind him. Electricity ran through my blood when he winked at me. He looked like Tiv when he did that.

He looks nothing like Tiv. Get a grip.

Ben's phone rang, bringing me back to reality. He hummed and responded a few times but overall he did not seem pleased. After about thirty seconds he hung up.

"There's some Day Guard hanging about the Central checkpoint. I want their guns," Ben said.

Immediately, Renee, Aaron and Tom began muttering and formulating plans for how they would go abouts stealing guns from what was left of the Guard. There weren't many of the assholes left and they were precious about their resources. Alarmingly, Tom seemed to know the names of every one of the guards, along with what family they had. When they started muttering about hurting random people whose only crime was being related to a member of the Guard, I piped up.

"That's ridiculous. They're Guard. We'll make a distraction and steal their stuff. We used to do it all the time before Ben started setting things on fire."

"Fire is effective," Tom shrugged.

Ignoring him, I continued, "I take it we can't just get Michael in there?"

Ben rubbed his tired eyes. "No. Michael got fired because he has a barcode. The second we started rioting in Central, he wasn’t welcome anymore. They're not going to let anyone with a tattoo near their supplies."

"If a group of us makes a distraction, we can get in and get their stuff?" Renee suggested.

"They'll not leave the checkpoint unguarded with their shit in there," Tom pointed out.

"You said their commander was that prick, Rapps? He always lolls his tongue like he's got brain damage whenever he sees Aly. She can distract him?" Aaron suggested, looking to me for approval.

"Yeah, easily," I replied.

"Absolutely fucking not," Ben hissed.

"It's that or you want to hurt innocent people. I'd rather risk me than them," I snapped.

"I wouldn't," Ben snapped back. "They're Central. Screw them."

After nearly an hour of arguing back and forth, we decided, much to Ben's disapproval, that Aaron's plan was the best one. Renee, Tom, Ben and Michael would cause a distraction with Riley to help them if shit hit the fan. Aaron was coming with me to make sure I didn't get killed. The moment Ben left, Aaron wrapped his arms around me from behind and spun me around planting a passionate kiss on my lips. I pushed him away, wary of the fact Ben was lurking.

"Stop that," I hissed lightheartedly.

"Come stay at my place tonight," he said, slipping a hand down the back of my jeans.

I grinned, "Keep me alive and I'll think about it."

The air felt thick as me and Aaron crouched in the shadows, the cool breeze playing in the trees around us. The sun barely peeked through the clouds, shrouding us as we prepared to move.

What the hells are you doing?

I had the thought in time to hear the echo of the distant explosion which reverberated through the air. Adrenaline buzzed through my veins as the flicker of distant flames illuminated the sky. We had their attention now. As expected, seven men ran from the checkpoint. None of them were Rapps.

Aaron gave me a quick kiss before slinking off around the side of the building. My heart pounded in my chest as I moved towards the checkpoint, my boots making a soundless shuffle against the background noise. In the shadows of the building, I could make out Rapps, alone and left guarding the supplies. I nervously scanned the surroundings, unsure as to how to get his attention.

Screw it.

I undid the buttons of my shirt to show my bra, shuffling my boobs to add a line of cleavage and knocked on the door. Rapps turned toward me, his eyes widening at the sight of a seemingly lost girl in the chaos. Then immediately his beady gaze went to my chest. Not rolling my eyes took more strength that I'd ever exerted on my body before. He cautiously made his way to the door, sliding the window aside instead of unlocking it.

"You're Alayna, right?," he purred.

I bat my eyelashes as if shocked, "I didn't think you'd have paid attention to me."

A reluctant smile formed on his face, "How can I help you, honey?"

"Do I need to be worried about that?" I said, pointing at Ben's explosion. As I spoke, I lent my arms on the ledge of the door, pushing by boobs together.

Rapps squinted at me, clearly struggling to keep his eyes on my face, "We've got people sorting it out. Don't worry. Whoever did it will hang."

I let my fingers graze lightly against his arm, a subtle gesture that ignited a spark in his eyes. "Lucky I've got you then. I'm pretty scared to be honest. I was hoping for someone to keep me company."

It was such a bad line. There was no damn way I thought he'd bite. But the idiot did. His resolve weakened, "Why don't you come in? I'll keep you safe until they've sorted it."

As Rapps led me away, I stole a glance over my shoulder, catching sight of Aaron slipping through the shadows towards us. I shoved my boot off, quickly jamming it into the door before it closed. When Rapps turned back, I kept his attention firmly fixed on me, bridging the gap between us and standing on my toes, bringing my face so close to his I could taste his rancid breath.

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What the hells are you doing?

It felt like Marco all over again. Except this time, I wasn't going to throw myself from the room. With his lips an inch from mine, he shoved his face forward and I stumbled backwards into the wall where he pinned me in a disgusting kiss. Thinking I was already a total whore, I deepen the kiss, letting him completely forget about the world around us. He shoved a hand down the front of my pants and poked around like he'd never touched a woman before… He was almost double my age.

His poor wife.

I moaned anyway as he buried his head in my shoulder, planting rough and clumsy kisses there. To my horror, Aaron was crouched in the room smirking at me. If I could have killed him with a glare I would have. I jerked my head to the side, indicating for him to 'get the fuck on with it before I kill you'. Rapps, thinking I was responding to his touch, undid the buttons of my jeans, before quickly undoing his. Holding in the shudder, I shoved my hands in my pocket and pulled out a condom, waving it in his face.

"Oh hells no," he barked. "Mood killer."

Instead of saying, "I'm not letting your nasty prick anywhere near me without it," I opted for, "Sweetheart, unless you want me turning up on your door with a kid in nine months, you don't really get a choice."

I realised a bit too late it was pointless making demands from him when he had me pinned to a wall. He shoved his hand down his pants as I tried to shove him away but, thankfully, nothing went further as Aaron brough a metal bar to the back of his head. I unceremoniously fell to the ground as Rapps did. Aaron pulled me away before bringing the metal bar down on his head another four time, each pound making a dull crack which sounded wetter with each strike. Rapps stopped crying out after the second blow.

"I didn't think you'd actually screw him," Aaron barked.

"I wanted to get you as much time as possible…" I muttered.

I felt disgusting. I'd never been more happy Tiv had left; at least he couldn't see how grotty I was. Before I could put the feeling in my little depression box, Aaron sighed roughly pulling me into a hug. With the embrace, I felt calmer. More grounded. He didn't hate me or think I was a whore. He was just warm and safe.

"You okay?" he murmured into my shoulder.

"Yeah, come on. Let's get the shit together before the Guard come back."

He nodded, "Next time you do that, maybe start with the condom before initiating. Then you'll have a better idea if you're going to get raped or not."

There were no words to respond; he didn't care I'd do it again. He didn't care what had to be done to burn Harroworth to the ground.

There was no logical thought behind it, but I did end up at his that night. It was the first night we had sex. And it was a hell of a little better than anything I would have had with Rapps… I wondered how it would have compared to Tiv. I wished I knew.

***

The Grange was thriving. Since the riots began, not a single guard had dared to approach us, that was if there were any Day or Night Guard left. That had been our lives for months now: Ben planned his attacks on Central and every day more and more people flocked to him. That didn't mean he didn't have rotten luck; there had been several failed attempts to overthrow the Lambentian government who had been installed since Anthony Hawes resigned. It's like they knew exactly what we were planning ahead of time. Ben was paranoid that we had a traitor in our midst but if we did, we couldn't figure out who it was.

It wasn't all bad though. With each botched plan, people got madder, hungrier to fight back. Ben's army swelled—a sea of scabs ready to wash the streets clean. But Ben was smart; he sifted through the recruits like gold dust, handpicking the ones who'd get an invite to our rundown base to help fend off Umbrith.

Take Katie for instance. The girl could give you chills in the hottest weather with just a look. Despite the fact she wasn't a familiar, she was almost waif-like. White hair that clashed against her all-black gear and tanned skin with enough metal to make a gun jealous. She was Lambentain, the gold almost swirled in her black eyes, and Ben automatically turned her away. She came back two days later with the new governor's head. You'd have thought she'd given my brother a diamond from the look he wore on his face. I didn’t get out of bed for a few days after that. From then on, Ghost was in. She gave off the worst vibe, like she could tear down the world and ask questions later. Ben's perfect soldier.

And there was Lucas—the guy who found Lucy and Sarah's bodies. He barely spoke two words unless spoken to, but when Ben called, he over-delivered. With his mop of blonde hair and trust-me blue eyes, he looked about as fierce as a kitten, but he had a knack for finding what we needed: food, medicine, guns. And he didn't bring us any dismembered body parts which was something too.

Days bled into each other until the news came that Thruck was sending more Guard to take back Harroworth. Ben prepared and they were overpowered by our numbers within a day. It was a stupid mistake to send the Guard north to us. Ben had heard the second they left the capital, their scabs took Thruck. The capital was burning at the hands of people like us, who had been oppressed for too long.

Ben used this to his advantage, calling for more fighters; sending people out in troves hunting Umbrith, and since, instances of them getting into houses had gone down. He was actually making a change that Anthony Hawes had not achieved in decades.

The consequences were coming though. A lot of our people were already dead, and while it was not enough to quash morale, small factions had started to arise, trying to challenge Ben and his not-insignificant rebel group. Additionally, the electricity was gone. When the rebellion first started, Central cut off our power.

"If Outer Harroworth is in the dark, then they will be too," Ben had said.

The next day, Central's power plant was kissing the sky in a cloud of smoke and flames.

We preyed on Central like bandits after that. Snatched every shiny generator we could find from their hospitals and schools. Guilt gnawed at me every time I flicked on a lamp or charged my phone. But only for a second before I squashed it back down where it came from. But every time I shoved something down, something else broke. Little cracks in myself. Eventually, thinking about what Ben was doing kept me in bed for days, unable to function. I didn't want to think about the cost of the rebellion. The people we were killing. The dead Guard who didn't iron their shirts because they didn't respect their jobs enough to do it.

So I thought about what we still had instead. There wasn't much… Ben had spared the telephone masts as mobile phone signal was useful to him. I thought of Tiv's mobile, always turned off in my bedside drawer. The last time I turned it on, he still had not cancelled the contract.

When me and Aaron went for food, I noted the change in The Grange that started after Ben told people about the Umbrith's day attacks. Large, metal shutters blocked out windows of the buildings and heavy, steel bars had been welded across doors. Surfaces and walls were covered in barbed wire and glass. Some places, including Piker's, had huge, wooden posts pointed upwards at a forty-five-degree angle. They had been sharpened to a dangerous point. Handmade signs decorated the marketplace, mirroring the instructions listed in the encyclopaedia at the base. Everyone knew how to at least escape from the Umbrith now. Ben made sure there was always a group of armed rebels walking the perimeter to make sure Umbrith stayed out, usually with a familiar joining them. Any time he did not spend blowing up parts of our city, he spent training civilians on how to kill Umbrith. He barely slept anymore.

As we arrived at the restaurant–or what passed for a restaurant in The Grange–the downpour of rain began. Franco's was the largest restaurant we had and it was always busy. Aaron and me sat with a couple of surprisingly cool beers and Franco, Dan's dad, lit candles around us, not being privy to a generator. Aaron held my hand as we made comments about the weather. At least it meant that people were not up to rioting. We laughed at the stupidity of people refusing to riot because they didn't want to get wet. It reminded me of walking through the meadows with Tiv, soaked to the bone. I waited for the sinking feeling that followed thoughts of Tiv but for the first time ever it didn't come. The misery I usually suppressed didn't swamp me as much when Aaron was around. Maybe he was the trick to making the pain go away a little bit.

We never ran out of things to talk about. He loved cars and enthusiastically told me everything about his first one. I nodded like I had a single clue what he was saying. He also played guitar and loved music, sparking a conversation in which we realised we had opposite music tastes, giving us another reason to playfully tease each other. It felt good. But what felt better was being with someone who didn't think they were better than me. Someone who didn't hide nasty bets from me. Someone who wasn't a coward.

"Can I get you anything else?" a familiar voice asked sarcastically, placing a small bottle of clear liquid on the table between us.

I looked up to see Ben standing over us with a cloth over his arm, pretending to be a waiter. He did not look pleased. Aaron removed his hand from mine and ran it through his blonde hair, leaning back in his chair with a smirk on his face.

"Alright, mate?" he asked.

Ben raised his eyebrow, "That is my sister… Who is five years younger than you by the way."

"As if I had the audacity to get a boyfriend without running it past you first, you weirdo," I barked.

He completely ignored me and kept his eyebrow raised, staring at Aaron.

"I'm fully aware of who she is and how old she is," Aaron retorted, still smirking. "I think it's only fair. A sister for a sister?"

A look of pure horror quickly flashed across Ben's face and was forcibly replaced by a huge grin, "I'll get you back for this."

"I'm sure I said that once," Aaron grinned back.

They were joking with each other? That surprised me. I wasn't expecting Ben to have such a good reaction to seeing me with his best friend; he'd never even said hello to a boyfriend of mine before let alone smiled at them.

"Don't get pregnant," Ben scoffed, nodding to the clear liquid on the table.

A contraceptive potion.

I burst out laughing, "You're unbelievable."

A red flush started creeping up Ben's neck, making me laugh harder. To Aaron's credit, he didn't join in—probably not wanting punched. Ben stole Aaron's beer and, without another word, he walked away rejoining a table a few down from us with Michael, Alex, Dan and the new girl, Leesa.

"Sister for a sister?" I said when he was out of earshot.

"He was seeing my older sister a few years ago," Aaron said, looking down.

I opened my mouth to speak but the only word that came out was, "Hayley."

"That's the one," he muttered.

"Sorry," I said.

He shrugged and smiled, "Life goes on… Well, maybe not for Ben."

It wasn't that true. Life was going on for Ben. But rather than settling down and being a dad like he'd always wanted, he was burning a city to the ground. Because of Hayley. The thought had black creeping in at the corners of my mind. Aunty Alayna had a much better ring to it than Soldier Alayna.

I looked back to the table Ben was sitting at and noticed Leesa waving us over. She had dark skin and even darker hair. Ben had accidentally hit her with his car when she was fleeing an Umbrith attack about a month ago. After nearly knocking him out in response, he decided she was a good fit for our little group. Clearly, you were only allowed in if you had a personality disorder. Or you were Lucas. Leesa was the youngest of us all, maybe fourteen or fifteen, and lived alone. She never told us where her parents were when prompted, but it was easy to guess what their fate had been.

"Are you going to be in trouble?" I whispered as we walked over.

"Calm down Birdie. It's just a bit of fun," Aaron assert with a squeeze of my hand.

I cocked my head, "Birdie?"

He shrugged, "You flipped me the bird the first time we met. I figured you'd prefer that to Psychopath."

I scoffed playfully as we sat with the others, sitting myself next to Lucas. Ben argued light-heartedly with Aaron and promised to kick his ass on the mat tomorrow. Overall, it was a much better reaction than I expected.

"Who won the bet then?" Aaron asked.

Ben's head snapped around all of us, realising he was the only one in the dark. "Ah, you lot fucking suck." He glared at Michael. "Did you win?"

"Nah, I figured Aly could hide it for months longer," he grinned, raising his beer to toast me. "Lucas was closest."

"Congratulations," I said to Lucas, pursing my lips to stop from laughing.

"Lucky guess," he shrugged, sipping his drink.

Leesa, sat opposite me, playfully jumped into our conversation, grateful that she wasn't the only girl anymore.

"What's Aaron like in bed?" she said, winking at Aaron.

Liquid sputtered from Aaron’s lips as he went to take Ben’s beer, misting the table as an incredulous gasp caught him by surprise. He gave Ben a wide, beseeching grin as he shuffled his chair further away from him. Ben's face was a perfect grimace as he took the beer back.

"Aren't you like, ten?" I grinned.

"Twenty-six," she shrugged.

"Liar," Chris smirked.

"Heard anything from Tom yet?" Michael asked, as he clamped a hand over Leesa's mouth.

"No," Ben grumbled, eyes scanning beyond our circle as if Tom might materialise out of thin air.

"Where is he?" Chris asked.

"He was meant to do a day shift but never showed this morning. I've got Charlotte with a group looking for him but he's not at home and didn't have a phone," Ben explained, clenching and unclenching a fist on the table.

My mouth pulled down in a frown. If people went missing they usually didn't turn up again. I liked Tom.

"He'll be fine," Aaron interjected with unfazed confidence as he wrestled his beer back from Ben's grip. "Mine," he declared, the corners of his mouth curving upwards.

After an hour of playful chatter, gunfire could be heard in the distance. I figured there was something wrong with me as I seemed to be the only one at the table concerned by the sound.

"What have you planned today?" Aaron asked Ben.

"Nothin'. That mob doesn't need me telling them what to do anymore," he replied. Before turning to me, "It's time for you to go home."

"I'm not a child," I whinged… like a child.

He ignored me, turning to Leesa, "Where you sleeping tonight?"

"I own a castle in the Harroworth countryside," she quipped.

Ben's lips quirked, suppressing a laugh, "You go back with Aly and have my bed, I'll kip in the base tonight."

"We'll go in a bit," I said.

"Mum and Dad will kill me if you don't get home soon," he reasoned. "I told them you were on your way back hours ago."

"I'll tell them everything then," I argued.

Ben's jaw tightened and the rest of the table, apart from Aaron, dove into different conversations to give us privacy.

"If Mum and Dad knew I'd been causing all of this trouble rather than just partaking and that you'd been helping, they would get in the way," he said quietly. "So take one for the team, go home and act oblivious."

"They'll find out," I said simply.

"Not from you they won't," he said.

We glared at each other and I knew he wasn't budging.

"Fine, bye," I barked, abruptly standing from the table.

Aaron said hurried goodbyes to the rest of the table and followed me, pulling Leesa with him, "He's just worried about you."

"No, he's worried about his little rebellion," I barked.

"That too," he shrugged.

"I am really late actually. They're going to kill me," I said, checking my watch.

"It's fine. Tell them we were on a date," he grinned.

"What about a threesome?" Leesa chimed in, breaking the tension coiling in me.

"That's definitely illegal," Aaron muttered in exasperation, eying her uncomfortably.

Leesa was intense. I sort of loved it.

As expected, Dad was waiting on the porch. He noticed my hand in Aaron's and rolled his eyes. Aaron was right. I was off the hook. For now.

Leesa danced up to Dad and introduced herself, explaining she was moving in and having her stuff brought from her castle the following day. Dad's eyes shot to me and I shrugged.

"Ben collects the lunatics. This one doesn't have a house so she's staying with us for a while."

"I want one child that's not mad," he grumbled, turning back into the house.