Chapter Three

I stopped at the end of the town, taking my surroundings in. There were a few people on the street and fewer around the convenience store. I had always dreamt of using my abilities but it never crossed my mind that I would be using it for stealing.

Though, I had to say, if thieves were as fast as me there's no way they'll be captured. With that comforting thought, I poised myself for a run. I took a deep breath as I waited for someone to enter or leave the convenience store so that the automatic door would open.

A costumer left and I ran, entering the store without a clue other than a gush of wind. I had no time to choose what to take so I took whatever my hand reached. Though, I made sure to take a trip to the fridge for some drinks. And even before the doors closed, I was out.

I continued to run in fear of someone seeing me. I ran straight to where I parked the truck. Their eyes lit up when I braked in front of them and put the bag on the truck bed before I jumped in. They took the first food their hands touched and ate it. Steven threw me a piece of bread and a bottle of water when he saw I hadn't took anything. I easily caught it and thanked him.

Nobody spoke as we ate. The surrounding air was solemn and nobody dared to break the silence. I looked around and realized aside from Colee, Dr. Carly, Natasha, and Steven, I knew no one from our small group.

"I'm Katra Aima," I said, breaking the silence. All eyes stared at me and I smiled at them. "It's about time we get to know each other,"

Each of them took turns to introduce themselves. And I stared at them as they spoke. Coleen had this twinkle in her eyes every time she smiles and I could see it once more as she reintroduced herself to us. Her red hair was tied in a now messy ponytail which she hadn't had the time to fix again.

Dr. Carly was a tall woman in the height of 6'. She had her brown hair in a pixie cut and her eyes a shining topaz. Steven, seventeen, was several inches taller than me. His blond hair was standing in all direction and his eyes a calming blue. Natasha, on the other hand, was a small woman for her age. She has long raven hair and her eyes were deep, black pools.

The ten-year-old boy was Carlos. He was a charming boy with gold blond hair and blue eyes. There were the triplets, fifteen years-old, Jack, Jake, and James. They looked like each other except for the different shades of their brown hair.

Rose, a fourteen-year-old, had a mane of rose red hair and leaf green eyes. Her older sister, Lily was sixteen, had a light red hair and dark green eyes. Their cousin, Drew, seventeen, had jet black hair and raven eyes. And the last one was Annie, a quiet thirteen-year-old girl with light blonde hair and charming blue eyes.

The food was long consumed and we continued to talk 'til darkness crept in. It seemed like a long time since we had managed to laugh so carefree. It was like we were far from the dangers as we hid in the darkness.

But that thought was quickly swallowed by fear when I noticed a blinking light below the steering wheel. I crawled my way to the front and pushed myself towards it. I could feel every eyes on me as I did so/ I tried my best to take it but I couldn't. So, James told me he'll do it and moved out of the way. He barely touched it when it broke free.

"Super strength, people," he stated as he gave me the small black box and he high-fived his siblings.

I studied it and my brows furrowed in concentration. Then, my eyes widened when I realized what I was holding. "It's a tracking device," I announced. "No wonder they found us real quick,"

"What should we do?" Jake asked.

Drew stretched his hand towards me and I dropped the device in his waiting palm. Suddenly, without a word, the device short-circuited and destroyed itself. All of us were looking at him in awe. He threw the broken device out of the truck and laughed at our dumbfounded expressions.

"Let's just say I'm good with technologies," he explained.

I nodded in understanding and saw that the others did too. I noticed the wrist tag and we were all still wearing it. It was a wrist tag given to all Reins the moment they discovered their powers. It was to keep track of who have and don't have special abilities.

I ripped mine off and the others followed suit. Then, together, we threw it out of the truck. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulder for the first time in a long run. It was like a sign of freedom for us Reins.

~oOo~ ~oOo~ ~oOo~ ~oOo~ ~oOo~

The next morning, we abandoned the army truck in case it had other tracking devices. Since I was the fastest, I was assigned in finding us a new source of transport. Wasting no time, I ran towards the nearest town to scout the area for a vehicle large enough for our group and to find food.

I saw a worn-down, farmer's pick-up truck at the end of the street. Sizing it up, two adults could sit on the passenger seat and the others would have to make do with the truck bed. Letting out a long breath, I walked towards it and I worked on opening the door. When I opened it, I rewired it for a few minutes before it came to life with a roar.

I froze in place.

I looked around in fear someone heard. But thankfully, no one went out of their houses to see what the noise was. Either they were used to the loud roar of the old-model truck or they just don't care. I floored the pedal and raced out of that street. Then I stopped a few blocks away from a convenience store.

I needed to get a supply large enough to last for a few days as we look for some place safe. And it looked like luck was finally on my side because a delivery truck just arrived. I took two boxes at once before running back towards my pick-up and put it in the truck bed. Then, I ran inside the open door of the storeroom and took two more boxes of different supply before running back to the pick-up.

Jumping up the driver seat, I raced away from the town and drove towards where the others were waiting for me. They smiled when I stopped in front of them and jumped down from the truck. Then, I opened the side of the truck and opened up one box before giving them something.

We all sat together on the dirty floor of the ruined building. During times like this, there was no place for being picky. After some food, they climbed up the truck bed and it may have been a tight squeeze but at least they all managed to fit.

"I'll take the wheel," Dr. Carly said. "You should get some sleep,"

I nodded and walked to the passenger side with Coleen. "If you see anyone following us, please stop them," I pleaded before closing my eyes.

It was roughly five hours before someone shook me awake for a bathroom break. The others set off to find some secluded place to do their businesses while I consulted with Coleen, Dr. Carly, and Steven about which way we should go because there was a fork ahead of us.

"Should I run and look where they lead?" I asked them.

"We have been relying on you too much, my dear," Coleen answered.

I smiled t them and told them it was nothing. Since I liked the feeling of the wind and the calmness it gives me every time. They nodded and I quickly set off towards the fork. Within a couple of minutes, I was back.

"One is an endless road. I did not run all the way to the end but I think there's a town near. The other one leads to another fork. One leads to a small village and the other leads to a forest,"

"Should we go to town?" Natasha asked behind me. I had no idea that she was listening to the conversation.

"The forest is the best choice for us," Steven reasoned. "I mean we can create a house out of woods. We'll be safe there,"

"But the town would have an unlimited supply of food and water," Dr. Carly contradicted.

"Let's vote then," I answered.