We jog down through the rooftop access into the building. I chose it for many reasons, but this is one of them; it has everything we might need so we won’t have to go far. The mall is six stories and each level has a wide array of options. The food court is on the first floor so we split up; two to stock up on snacks and the others to grab some sleeping bags and such.
We return to the rooftop with our arms full to bursting, taking inventory of our supplies. Cai and Soren settle in for what could be a very long watch rotation and I start walking towards the fire escape.
“Take care of our girl, Yri,” Soren commands, leaning back against the small brick wall that wraps around the edge.
My stomach flips at his words and he winks, as if he knows exactly the effect they have on me.
Shit, he probably does. Talk about giving away our position.
Vyrian puts a hand on the small of my back as we finish crossing to the stairs. “On my honor,” he responds stoically, his body stiff with tension beside me.
I don’t pry, but it certainly feels like there’s something more to the statement than I’m aware of. Yri seems too high strung at the comment, and that in itself is strange. Thus far, I haven’t seen Vyrian as anything other than a hopeless romantic and a zeal for life that matches my own. But then again, that’s the whole point of dating; so I can get to know them before tying my life to theirs.
As we walk, I tie my hair back into a braid. It serves the dual purpose of keeping it out of my face as well as making my shock of hair at least a little less noticeable. We stay off of the main roads, working our way casually towards the southern half of town as we mull over ideas of where they would have put the flag. At the sudden shock of yellow catching my eye in the light, I whip my head up, before seeing it’s just a yellow shirt hanging out someone’s window.
It happens two more times before Yri laughs, shaking his head in disbelief. “They’re evil geniuses, aren’t they? How’d they even accomplish this in such a short time?”
I glare at all of the buildings in the area as if they personally offend me. “Because even when they aren’t being cheaters, they love their damn loopholes. Assholes must’ve texted the entire half of the city.”
I look around, noting that nearly every building has a yellow shirt hanging out of a window somewhere or tied to a front railing. Pillowcases are tied to several street lamps and car antennas, and now that I’m paying closer attention, half of the people walking are wearing the color on some part of their body.
“Why is yellow bedding even this popular?” I complain. “Who the fuck has yellow sheets? Does every guy in town own a damn yellow shirt? Is there an unspoken rule I’m unaware of?” Yri doesn’t even hide his amusement, laughing until he’s doubled over. He tries to speak, but he can’t get words out between his gasps of air. “I hate yellow,” I finish lamely, scowling at everything in distaste.
Yri wipes tears from the corners of his eyes, trying to compose himself. “Noted.”
I roll my eyes at him, grabbing his elbow to pull him along. “Come on, this is going to take a while.”
We spend eleven goddamn hours scouring the city and can’t find their stupid flag. Vyrian eventually grabbed a town map from the gas station and we started checking off places as we cleared them, but it’s slow going.
“Come on, beautiful, let’s head back to camp to check in with Cai and Ren,” Yri suggests.
I sigh in exasperation, but have to agree. I’m hungry, tired, and irritated. Maybe by having the map, they’ll be able to see a pattern we didKn’t.
We trudge back up the six flights of stairs, Cai’s head peeking over the edge at the sound of our footsteps. He offers a hand to help me over the last step that I take gratefully.
“No luck, I take it?” he asks.
We all agreed to keep our phones off unless an emergency to save the battery, but I wish I’d thought to take a few pictures to show them how absolutely ridiculous it was. I flop down on the sleeping bag next to where Ren’s sitting, taking the food he offers me without hesitation.
Vyrian fills them in while I stuff my face, pulling the map from my back pocket and handing it over. They spread it out on the ground and look at it from a few angles, trying to see what we couldn’t.
“And they never once attacked today?” I confirm, stretching out on my stomach.
“Nope,” Cai confirms, furrowing his brow at the map. “It looks like you checked every building.”
Vyrian and I agree, so he adds, “Did you just check it off when you saw a flag without the crossbones and move on?”
I nod and he grimaces. “That doesn’t mean they might not have decoys on the same building. They could have two tied to the roof and the real one hanging out a window.”
I groan, muffling my face in the fabric. Yri pipes up though, “I accounted for that, don’t worry.”
I’m so relieved I could kiss him.
“Now what?” Soren rumbles, patting my shoulder in sympathy.
Over the last week, they’ve started cautiously testing the waters. A brush of the hand here, a quick hug there, but none of them have tried to kiss me. My dreams are only becoming more frequent and intense, leaving me frustrated, yet I can’t seem to voice what I want for two main reasons.
One, if I’m not one hundred percent sure that I want to join their flight, and that’s a hell of a commitment to make, it seems cruel. And two, if I start, I might not want to stop. I’m not ashamed to say I’m a horny mess right now and might not make rational decisions if I put myself in that position.
