Juniper continued her soft coo’s and words. Though she didn’t know how to help, and had troubles before, she tried her best to do something for Astrid. After all, Astrid had given her so much already.
“Don’t apologize.” She murmured once Astrid had calmed, giving her hands a soft squeeze. “You’ve been through a lot. All of us have. We’ll get through this together, panic attacks and all.” She promised, though she hardly believed her own words. Getting through any of it was pretty much a gamble at this point. But they had to try. There was no point if they didn’t try.
Stephan walked over and offered Astrid a water, smiling softly at her. “I’m not good with the mental stuff, so I can’t offer more than just an ear and a water but I can promise you that we won’t let you lose what you do still have: your brother Roger and your life.”
Astrid graciously took the water, still quiet as she nodded, eyes avoiding any sort of contact with anyone. Roger didn't want to cut the situation short, so he stood silent, but Eddie knew they had to keep moving.
"I know where to find the stuff for Juniper's arm. They haven't begun mass production with it yet, so they should have a shit ton in storage. Obviously, we'll only need a little bit."
Roger looks over at Eddie, his own doubts finally creeping up.
"Are you sure you want to do this? Considering the risk we're going to take?" He questioned Eddie, voice a bit hushed.
Eddie nodded firmly, straightening his back to appear slightly taller.
"Of course I am. I'm their strongest asset anyway, so no one could overpower me."
Juniper remained focused on Astrid, sitting quietly next to her as she drank. She didn’t add her own opinion. It was obvious they were going to try regardless if she wanted it or not.
It was Stephan who spoke up, shaking his head slightly. “You might be their strongest asset but you have to remember they don’t see you as an equal. I’m sure they have something that could take down even you, Eddie. They fear what’s stronger than them so they create ways to be more powerful even if it’s not physically or mentally. Be careful.” He murmured, looking to Roger next.
“I don’t want any of us to be harmed or in too much danger. Don’t forget we’re all trying to survive here, that means you both have to make it back with me.”
Eddie nodded slightly at Stephan, blinking slowly and looking to the ground.
"I know, they're relentless." He muttered as Stephan continued at him and Roger.
Roger responded with an affirmative nod as he rolled up the sheet Astrid used to sleep on and stuffed it into the pack.
"Of course, I'm not leaving Astrid alone." Though he realized even if something did happen, Astrid would still have Juniper, Roger would still feel an immense amount of guilt leaving her to be the last family member to survive.
Roger gazed at Eddie, waiting for a response to Stephan. Eddie noticed Roger's glare and nodded half-heartedly.
"Yeah, don't worry," Eddie muttered as he began to step away, only for Roger to grab his wrist and stop him.
"Promise me you won't do anything stupid."
Eddie felt small as Roger, already towering over Eddie, stared him down. Eddie wanted to feel threatened by Roger, but all he could feel was Roger caring about Eddie.
"I promise."
Eddie almost whispered out, his voice suddenly escaping him as Roger nods and lets him go.
Atlas snorted softly as Stephan happily accepted the responses and returned to his side. Stephan tilted his head at his long-time friend and shrugged off the teasing comments of ‘what happened to the Stephan that wouldn’t go outside for anyone?’
Juniper glanced between Roger and Eddie, something nagging at her that something wasn’t quite okay with the way Eddie had responded. She had been around a lot of the hopeless and had even witnessed suicide on multiple occasions but that didn’t mean she was any good at recognizing those type of emotions.
“Jesse would want you to keep going.” She said softly to Eddie, avoiding his eyes. “Thank you. For doing this for me, though. I’ll be in your debt for a bit after.”
Eddie turned toward Juniper when she said Jesse's name. For a few moments, everything inside Eddie froze. He became so stiff it looked like he forgot to breathe but after a short moment, he finally looked away, rubbing his face roughly as he sniffed.
"No need to thank me. I'm doing this for my sake."
Astrid blinked as she listened to Eddie.
"He would want you to accept who you really are, too." She called to him, causing him to look over at her, "Accept the gratitude, Eddie. Don't pretend to be selfish. You're allowed to be a good person."
Juniper nodded fervently along with Astrid, watching him with careful eyes.
“It’s true. There’s really no benefit to helping me. I don’t contribute much to this group. I can’t fight, I’m not smart, I don’t know any medical stuff. I’ve just been a survivor. You’re allowed to do things just to do them, or to be selfless or a good person for once. You do deserve it. Nothing that has happened to you was your fault.”
Atlas turned his eyes in Juniper, giving her a warning glare that went ignored.
“You can do what you’d like.”
(ᵒᵐᵍ ᶦ ʰᵃᵛᵉⁿ'ᵗ ʳᵉˢᵖᵒⁿᵈᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᶦˢ ʳᵖ ˢᶦⁿᶜᵉ ˡᵃˢᵗ ʸᵉᵃʳ ʰᵃʰᵃ)
Eddie closed his eyes, hoping to stop the tears as he clenched his fist and jaw, furrowing his brow. A clear sense of overwhelmed emotion came over him as he exhaled like he had been holding his breath.
"I will do what's necessary to bring them down. They deserve to pay for what they did to Jesse."
Roger vaguely shook his head as he looked away from the rest of the group, taking a few steps to calm down.
Astrid, inherently choosing to ignore the tension in the air, turned back to Juniper.
"We will get your arm fixed up, I'm sure of it."
( 😂 😂 😂 Long time no see, huh? Since December of last year XD oh lord)
Stephan gently moved to place a hand on Eddie’s arm, trying to soothe the complex emotions that tried to show all at once.
“Let’s make sure we have everything before we keep going, yeah?” Stephan murmured. Hopefully a distraction would help lesson the tension a little bit.
Juniper looked to Astrid and smiled. She dropped her head, unsure of how to respond exactly. It felt… strange to be with a group that would go a little beyond safety to help her.
“Thank you…”
Eddie nodded shakily as he followed Stephan, chewing the inside of his cheek. He could tell everyone was reading him like a book, and it bothered him, being so used to having no emotions to read, with everyone around him being able to understand him was unfamiliar and slightly uncomfortable.
Astrid smiled as she stood up to walk circles around their camp. It wasn't exactly a morning walk, but there was no way she'd go too far from her friends, especially when she's not familiar with the area, and with how absentminded she often becomes, she wouldn't be able to remember where she came from. Walking in a small circle should be fine for now.
Roger assisted Stephan and Eddie in gathering their things as he began mapping out the plan.
"Eddie hasn't done anything directly against the organization that they know of yet, so they'll let him in no problem. He can bring Stephan and me in and act like he's going to take us in as captives, but we'll make a detour and head to storage which is right next to the holding rooms."
"How am I supposed to walk you guys back out?" Eddie interrupted, furrowing a brow.
Roger grinned at Eddie, clear cockiness in his response.
"There's a back door that leads outside in the storage room. I used it a lot when you told me to get lost."
"Oh," Eddie began, unable to finish.
"Anyway, once we find the stuff, we'll head out through the back door. It's basically considered obsolete so it's not monitored."
Juniper smiled as Astrid walked around the camp, watching her with a soft sigh. It took her a moment to stand, the dull ache set in her burns made it hard to get the motivation to move around.
She pulled herself up to a standing position and stretched herself out. She listened in on the plan, tilting her head curiously.
“That does seem like it would work. But what if they insist someone else take them to the holding cell? Do they trust you a lot, Eddie?” Juniper asked softly, looking to her cousin before back at Roger and Eddie.
(Sorry for my short response! Getting ready for school and hopefully a new job.)
( omg new job:OOO nICE also babe dont even worry! ur response isnt even short it's just that my response was extra long LOL i just needed to get to plannin some stuff ya know)
Roger chuckled a bit at Juniper's question, earning an elbow to the back from Eddie.
"They rely on me. I built up a huge reputation with them. Seeing me walk in with Roger, about to snitch on him was just a normal day for them."
Roger nods with a shit-eating grin on his face, knowing he often did bad things just to make Eddie feel better about himself, but he'd never tell Eddie that.
"Juniper's right, though. If they question it for even a second, you have to be good at lying. You have to manipulate the people that have manipulated you for years. Can you do that?"
(I get that!! You did really good! I love your responses. I’m just getting a little busy is all. Its a new semester and all. It’ll calm down hopefully.)
Juniper nodded along as she listened, smiling softly at the playful words they spoke to each other.
They got along better than they probably even knew.
“I see. That’s perfect for our plan then. We could probably get more than just medical items from the storage while we’re there. Especially if the back door isn’t monitored. Astrid, Atlas and I can wait by the back door and pack things into whatever bag we can find. Weapons, if kept there, would be good.
( I believe in you ! Don't forget to take breaks haha)
"Sounds good," Roger began, looking around at everyone and landing on Eddie. "Eddie, I need you to lie to me. Convince me that you're telling the truth."
With that, Eddie's eyes darkened, a sly smirk spread across his face as he reeled back and punched Roger clean in the jaw, sending Roger tumbling a few steps away. Astrid cried out to Roger as he barely caught himself on his knees.
"I've been waiting for so long to do that." He murmurs, his voice drastically different; it sounded cold. "Now that I've got footage of you conspiring against us, I'll be showing this to Captain to finally have you executed."
Roger managed to pick himself back up as he looked at Eddie, genuine shock in his face.
"I always knew you were stupid, but I didn't think you'd actually believe that I'd team up with you? Against Dr. Rose?"
Roger was silent as he stared at Eddie, trying to read him.
"Okay, that was pretty good, but was the punch really necessary?"
Eddie's face suddenly reverted back to normal as he grinned, eyes soft and voice warmer.
"I figured it would help play into the fact that I'm supposed to turn you in. You wouldn't go down without a fight."
(Thank you!!! I’m trying my best!)
Juniper instantly went into defense mode the second she saw the punch. It felt like every nerve in her body was suddenly activated all at once, leaving her looking like a frightened and vicious animal. Atlas hurried over to take a hold of Juniper’s arms.
“Relax, it’s all an act.” He murmured to her. Stephan only watched in awe at the stunt, grinning stupidly.
“Holy hell Eddie! You’ll have us in for sure!” Stephan brightened up considerably, gently tugging on Roger’s sleeve to get him to show him the place he had been punched. “The punch was probably necessary, but once we get what we need and are away from the compound, I’ll give you something for the bruise. And don’t tell me not to. As long as we are out of city and safety bounds, you all will be treated. We can’t afford injuries in our company. So nothing reckless, you got it?” He chastised, looking from Roger to Eddie to Juniper.
Eddie gave Stephan a nervous smile as he straightened up his back, feeling a sense of pride. He started looking much better from earlier as they began to set off toward the building. Though excited, Eddie still felt a sense of nervousness.
"Don't worry, Eddie." Roger could tell that Eddie was still unsure from Eddie's silence, "You said it yourself, those people rely on you. It's their strongest asset that'll be their downfall. It's what they deserve."
Eddie nodded as Roger gazed at Stephan, making sure he was prepared for what's about to happen as well.
“It is what they deserve. They all deserve a downfall.” Juniper growled, moving to the edge of the wall and glancing over it.
As far as she could see it was all broken and rundown buildings for a few blocks before it turned into wasteland and continued like that for miles.
“We still have a bit to go, though. Where is this place you guys are talking about?” She asked softly, looking over at Stephan for a moment before her eyes drifted to Roger.
Roger returned Juniper's gaze with slow blinks before reverting back to his shifty eyes as they walked.
"It's one of the taller buildings, but the storage and holding cells are just on the first floor. The rest of the floors are used for experiments, training, offices, and some sort of dorms for the guards. Since their memories were wiped, they didn't have a home to go to, so we all just lived in the building."
Eddie nodded as if Roger's explanation needed second confirmation. "There's a basement too, but I've never been down there. I think it's just a parking garage."
“Parking garage huh…?” Juniper bit her lip, her brain whirring over a few ideas. She hadn’t really hotwired anything too complicated but she had been able to get an old van started up.
Maybe a car or vehicle would be easy to attain. Maybe not. It was hard to keep safe in a vehicle at night. Even harder to keep good storage safe from the creatures and wild dogs in one.
“Let’s focus on the storage room. It’s our best bet, right?”
Atlas huffed lightly, poking at one of the bodies with a disgusted expression.
“It’s the only bet we got at the moment. Best to take it.”
Roger nodded as they continued, his pace gradually growing rushed.
"That's true. For all we know it's not a parking garage at all."
He muttered, a sick feeling rising in his gut. Something felt off and he couldn't identify it, so he tried to shrug it off as the nerves of the risk he's about to take going back into the building after all this time.
Roger didn't know it, but Astrid felt the same gut feeling. She remained silent regardless, wondering what to expect of the place that kept her brother all these years.
Juniper grew silent, clutching at her small bag of food and resources as they walked. She herself didn’t like the idea of jumping right into the fire by going to where the enemy was, but it had to be done she supposed.
She walked alongside Astrid, offering her an apple with a smile.
“Best to eat before we do this, right?” She murmured, biting into her own apple with a nervous smile.
Astrid graciously accepted the apple as she nodded, a nervous expression evident in her face as she took a bite.
"I hope everyone gets out okay. I know they planned it, but what if something crazy happens? What if they don't make it out?"
Astrid started cycling through a bunch of What Ifs as her hands started to shake.
Roger noticed her anxiety, and he wanted to help, but instead, he began his own cycle of overthinking, trying to figure out what he could say to calm her down.
"Don't worry, Astrid."
Eddie's voice interrupted both siblings' circle of fear as he continued, "I've got it under control. I won't let this stupid guy get hurt."
He ended his sentence with a smile, allowing Astrid to take a breath of relief, nodding.
Juniper herself was about to say something when Eddie spoke. She watched him for a moment in curiosity, laughing gently at the small smile he gave after.
“Watch after Stephan too, yeah? He’s an idiot at heart as well.” Juniper murmured softly, looking over at Stephan as he scoffed.
“I’m not more an idiot than you are sane, Juniper. Now come on, it’ll be good to get there and out quickly.”
Roger nodded as the overall group's mood lightened a bit, but it only lasted a few minutes as they finally approached the building. As soon as Eddie and Roger locked eyes with the building, their demeanor shifted almost involuntarily as they straightened their posture, standing stiff and very slightly threatening. Neither of them noticed this change as they paused before getting too close to the entrance.
"Alright, the back door is on the right side of the building when you're looking at it from the back." Roger began, turning to the group. "I wouldn't recommend hanging around there the whole time, but I would suggest you make your way to the door in about ten minutes, giving us enough time to do our half."
Roger turned to Stephan and Eddie, nodding affirmatively in hopes that they're ready. Eddie nods back.
