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A/N: welcome back people! *grins* my talented co-writer Ana came out with this chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 28 - Never a Moment's Peace

The group traveled some distance before resting for the evening. They had found a quiet clearing in the middle of the woods. The girls had gathered some sticks and Nick had created a fire for them to keep warm. Paige had gone to the nearby stream and captured several fish to bake. Everyone knew that her powers had created a tie with the creatures of the waters. She had commanded the fish to jump upon the grass. Everyone had engorged themselves upon the fish that evening. It was a primitive way to live, but suited their purposes fine.

Now, Alison lay within Brian’s lap, sleeping peacefully. Paige had curled beside Kevin, falling asleep almost just as quickly. Kevin wrapped his arms around the child, offering her warmth. Natalie and Summer seemed to occupy AJ’s energy as they spoke of the recent tour and other events. Rose and Kimberly continually spoke with Nick, although Rose seemed to occupy most of his attention. Ana watched as Rose shameless flaunted herself toward Nick. Ana muffled back a small chuckle of amusement as she noted that Jamelet and Howie were having a private conversation. Ana tried to denounce the jealousy that was eating at her heart, but couldn’t.

“Hey! What’s with the secret party?” Ana asked as she jumped into the conversation, seating herself in front of Jamelet and Howie. She watched as Jamelet held a bemused smile upon her face. Ana smiled back innocently, acting as if nothing had increased her intentions of stopping by. She leaned back on the grass, waiting for an answer.

“Why do you care? Would there be a note of jealousy in those eyes?” Jamelet teased thoughtfully.

“Never,” Ana answered with a true look of shock.

“That would be wishful thinking on my part,” Howie muttered softly.

“What Howie?” Ana questioned.

Howie blushed furiously. Jamelet smirked, already having overheard Howie’s ‘wishful’ thinking. She decided that she would have to save Howie from his emotions just this once. She gave a laugh, ruffling Ana’s curls. Ana yelped, falling backward onto the grass. Jamelet took the opportunity to steer the conversation away from Howie. “We’re just talking about CAPPA, Little One,” Jamelet told the younger woman.

“What about it?” Ana asked with complete interest.

“We don’t think it’s dead,” Howie told her truthfully. Ana finally leaned upward, staring intently at Howie. He blushed for a moment, averting his gaze. It made him nervous to have her staring so attentively at him. It made him feel like as if she were searching his soul. When she didn’t reply – Howie felt determined to explain his idea. “Ana, we all escaped how long ago, and they came back after us. That was even after Jamelet’s father died. They always find someone to take over when someone dies. It’s just odd that they left those guys go… Don’t you think?”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Ana answered. She watched Jamelet’s eyes grow wide in surprise. Ana leaned closer, already noting that everyone else was listening to their conversation. She really didn’t care. “Mr. Steeles was so fixed on keeping me at his house. I don’t care if I killed him or not – he wouldn’t let me get away that easily. It is weird that they let everyone go. I think they’re planning something. I just don’t know what, and that’s the problem.”

“So you believe us?” Jamelet asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Ana agreed.

“And the rest of you?” Howie asked, already aware that everyone was spying.

“I think they’re finally dead,” Rose answered truthfully.

“Same here,” Nick concluded, swinging his arm around Rose’s shoulder with a goofy smile.

“I really don’t know what to think,” Kevin replied.

“I think you guys are personally crazy,” AJ murmured thoughtfully, standing away from the

burning embers of the fire.

“Why?” Jamelet encountered.

“You guys are just paranoid. If they wanted us, they wouldn’t have let us go in the first

place. You know? They wouldn’t have the patience to let us go. I just think you guys don’t want to believe in miracles,” AJ told her honestly, shrugging his shoulders. Kevin, Brian, and Nick nodded in approval. Paige and Kimberly yawned slightly at the raising of voices. Howie shivered suddenly during AJ’s speech. Howie rubbed his bare shoulders, noting that there wasn’t a wind. He heard a snapping of branches. Howie jumped up, preparing to tell the others that they needed to leave, but was halted by an object being hurdled into the air.

“What the heck is that?” Natalie murmured in curiousness. She stared at the small green ball that spun in a circle. Everyone slowly crawled toward the object. It continued to spin menacingly. Natalie’s eyes grew wide. “That looks like a—”

“GUYS GET DOWN!!!” Ana’s voice shouted as she pulled Jamelet and Howie to the ground. Immediately, there was a small explosion from the ball. Sparks of fire and light shot upward into the sky, blowing everyone backward. Thick piles of gas hovered against the air, immediately choking the group. Everyone was submersed into the sea of wretched gases.

“HOWIE?! BRIAN?! AJ?! NICK?!” Kevin shouted through the smoke.

“GIRLS?!” Jamelet screamed.

“JAMELET, WHERE ARE YOU?” Paige screamed in fright.

“ALI, ALI, WHERE ARE YOU?” Brian’s voice called through the smoke.

Suddenly, the winds began to pick up faster than before. Jamelet groped for the nearest person. She felt warmness rush over her as Kevin began to whisper soothing words in her ear. The smoke whirled in billowy circles as the wind began to howl. Jamelet noted the bright blue eyes of Rose glowing amongst the clouds. The winds picked up stronger than before, blowing the smoke away. Jamelet gagged with relief as darkness settled amongst them. Rose collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

However, the peace didn’t last long. Within moments, bullets penetrated their space. Rose, Kimberly, Paige, and Alison were struck immediately in various limbs. Each girl hit the ground with a thud. Large nets flung out from the darkness, encompassing the girls’ heavy bodies. Jamelet shrieked in terror as more bullets continued to fly. No one knew what to do. One bullet pierced AJ directly in the chest. He glanced down at the red dart as his eyes rolled back into his head. He fell upon the earth in a dreadful slumber.

“AJ!” Summer screamed, falling down to his side. She struggled to wake him up as the rest of the group fell upon the earth in a matter of minutes. More nets were flung into the ocean of bodies, as if fishing for huge quantities of tuna. Summer stroked AJ’s cheeks mechanically, begging for him to get up. Suddenly, there was a cold barrel pointed at the base of her neck.

“Game’s over,” a man whispered as he struck Summer with the butt of his gun.

“WE’RE MISSING ONE!” a voice cried out.

The missing one was Ana.

Ana’s eyes watered heavily as she continued to cough. She pressed herself against the grass, slowly crawling away from the chaos. Once the bullets had flown through the air – she had hit the dirt. She could hear the voices that were crying her name suddenly drown with sleepiness. The constant chaos had created an easy victory. Ana continued to crawl away, hoping to escape. Suddenly, she bumped into a cumbersome object. Ana glanced up through her bleary eyes to find a CAPPA Solider.

“If it isn’t our favorite girl,” a man snarled.

Ana immediately jumped to her feet, clearing her eyes with her tears. She rubbed her eyes, her hands beginning to turn numb. Her anger had pushed to the farthest reaches of her subconscious. She would not be taken hostage again. The men backed up for a slight moment, watching her eyes turn white and blaze with fury. “Leave him alone,” Ana retorted as she watched a man plan to pound Howie in the temple with the butt of his rifle.

“What do you think you’re going to do?” the man hovering over Howie’s weak body questioned.

“Kill you,” she threatened.

“You don’t have the authority anymore,” a man cackled from behind Ana. She turned around, preparing to release her powers, but the man that stood in front of her took action. He grabbed a fistful of Ana’s curls, yanking her backward. Ana fell to the ground. She yelped out in pain at the sudden attack. She was brought to her knees quickly as an injection was planted firmly in her arm. She watched the man that had threatened Howie throw the butt of the rifle into Howie’s temple. Howie’s body immediately went stiff. She closed her eyes as she felt a similar blow enforced into her skull. The pain invaded her soul – and she went limp.

**~To Be Continued...~**