Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,224

idiot? She needs a doctor. I demand you get your best healer here at once, or so help me, I will burn this camp to the ground. Don't you know who I am? I'm Jules. Motherfucking. Black."

Huxley dropped me in shock. It took me a moment to clear my head. Did I hear that right?

Jules?

I sprinted towards the fire where a group of men crowded around. I broke through the group, ignoring the various grunts of disapproval. I waded through the Scavengers until all I could see was sleek black hair and a scowl deep enough to wage wars.

"Jules?" I cried out, more tears streaming down my face. When her eyes met mine, her expression softened a bit, but not much. The last time I'd seen Jules, she was a pale skeleton on the brink of death. The vaccine rejection was claiming her bright life. Now, she had scratches on her cheeks and circles beneath her bloodshot eyes. She was thinner than before. Her frame looked malnourished, but she still commanded the attention of everyone within the vicinity. She was alive.

I didn't care that we only tolerated one another, I ran forward and wrapped my thin arms around her in a tight hug. "You're alive," I cooed as white-hot tears streamed down my cheeks. "I've been so worried."

A tentative hand patted my back, and I pulled away to stare at her. She stared deeply into my eyes, seemingly moved by my display of affection. I saw her relief, her fear, her sadness. It all swirled within the black depths of her gaze, and I let out a sigh I didn't know I'd been holding. "You smell awful," Jules replied, her nose wrinkling. I couldn't help but smile. I knew that was her way of saying that she missed me too.

A moan nearby made me pause. I looked down at the ground to see Mia in the fetal position, clutching her stomach as blood the color of scarlet flowed from her chest. I knelt at her feet and screamed.

"Mia!"

Behind me, Huxley and Kemper took turns giving Jules hugs and murmuring their shocked greetings. But I had tunnel vision on my Scavenger friend writhing in pain on the ground beside me. I tried to move her arm to look at the wound, but she swatted me away while rocking back and forth on the ground. I screamed for the healer as Aarav crouched down at my feet and said, "Agrio, I sent my brother to retrieve Lilly."

"What happened?" I asked Jules who was clutching Kemper's arm and staring at us. My eyes began scanning the camp. Were Maverick, Cyler, and Jacob here? Where were…

"They're not here," Jules said, answering my unspoken question. "Mia and I came alone. We ran into an Eastern Scavenger about a mile outside of your camp. He..." Jules looked down at the ground before looking back at me. The green glow of the campfire illuminated her pale face as she crossed her arms over her chest, emulating cool defiance. I saw the crack in her carefully constructed facade though. I understood her persona. "He wanted something he couldn't have. I killed him."

I opened my mouth in surprise and...jealousy. My eyes drifted down to take in her appearance. Before, I was so excited to see her that I didn't notice her torn shirt or the blood on her forest green pants. She'd defended herself. Fought her way out of a deadly situation.

"How do you know them?" Aarav asked, bringing my attention back to a moaning Mia. He brushed Mia's blood-stained white hair aside, revealing her pale face and blue lips.

"She's the one I told you about. The one who called me Agrio." My chest seized as emotion coursed through me. I’ll never forget when I earned the nickname meaning Wild One.

When I'd first met Aarav, he asked me what he should call me. At the time, even hearing my own name hurt. I wanted to steal a bit of Mia's confidence. I wanted to claim some of the Scavenger lifestyle for myself. So I'd told him to call me Agrio.

A loud cough erupted from Mia's chest as she rolled to face me. "Agrio? Is that you?" she asked, eyes half open and swimming in tears. She was struggling to stay awake, and my heart clenched at how weak she sounded. This certainly couldn't be Mia. Mia was strong. Mia always survived.

I leaned closer to stare into her brown eyes. How did Jules survive? How did they make it all