Ashes to Ashes

Natalie

Natalie stared at Amp. Kelsey was hiding behind Natalie, looking scared and shaking violently. She'd ducked behind her when Amp had started yelling. Natalie sighed and turned, crouching and hugging her. "Shh... Kelsey it's okay. Stay out here, and don't run off." She straightened up and entered the building.

She caught up with Amp and caught his shoulder, whirling him around. "You do realize that you said those things in front of my nine year old sister?!" she shouted, furious, "you scared her half to death!"

Cara Rose-Miller

She looked up in pain, seeing the scorched computers and other broken material. What had she done? Everyone probably hated her now. She'd been so angry, acted too quickly. Cara began to to sob uncontrollably. Her wounds now stung and her voice was dry and cracked.

"Leave," she said miserably.

AMBROSE

He had lost his temper. He knew that much. But Cara deserved what he said to her. She had been stupid and he wouldn't forgive her for that. She was just another stupid rich girl.

Amp ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry Natalie," he sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Kelsey. She was the only one out here that he actually cared what happened to.

"I didn't realize she was still out there watching me. Let me talk to her," he replied.

"And scare her even more?" Natalie barked. "No way! I have no idea if you'll even blow up at her."

"Please," Amp sighed. "I feel...well a little guilty. Not saying that Cara didn't deserve what she got."

Amp was lying of course. He didn't feel guilty at all. Not one single bit. He just wanted to talk to Kelsey and set things right with her.

Natalie looked him over, sighed, and led him towards her sister. Kelsey sat huddled by herself. When she caught a glance of him she turned frightened eyes at her sister.

Amp dropped himself to her level, on one knee. He found that kids could relate to you more if you weren't towering over them when you spoke to them.

"Kelsey?" He asked. She looked at him.

"Why did you say those mean things to Cara?" She asked.

Amp frowned. "Because I was angry. I lost my temper. You know that - that I wouldn't have actually hurt her though, right?"

Kelsey looked at him oddly. Amp was actually telling the truth. He had beaten plenty of people senseless but never a girl. That was just wrong.

"I'm serious, Kelsey. I wouldn't ever have hit her or anything. I'm sorry that you had to see me blow up at her. I wish you hadn't. Do you forgive me?" He asked, softly.

Kelsey

Kelsey hesitated. She liked Amp, but he'd really frightened her. She hadn't seen anybody get that mad before.

After a minute she took a deep breath. "O-Okay."

Natalie

Natalie sighed. She walked over to Kyle and laid a hesitant hand on his shoulder. However, one eye was on Amp and Kelsey. "I'm sorry about your stuff," she said softly.

Cara Rose-Miller

Cara listened to Amp's conversation with Kelsey in disgust. Amp was lying. He thought that she deserved it, that he would have actually hit her had he not stopped and thought. All because Cara had been trying to set things right, to save the lives of her friends. All because of how Sam had died. She remembered that she couldn't go over to his house that night because of soccer practice. When it was over, she thought she'd visit him quickly, just to kiss him good night...

Five police cars were gathered at the house. Two men were outside; one was putting caution tape around the perimeter and the other was interviewing a witness. The front windows were both busted. Cara's head was spinning. What was going on? She frantically ran up to a police offers who was just getting out of his car.

"What's happened here?!" She demanded.

"I'm sorry, miss, but this is the scene of a crime. Run along."

"Sir!" Cara insisted. "I know Sam Rewhall, who lives in this house! What happened here?"

"I'm afraid that there was an armed robbery."

Cara was too stunned to move. An armed robbery? But why? What could a burglar possibly want? Sam wasn't rich at all. "Is anyone-" she asked immidetally.

"There were no survivors. Mr and Mrs Rewhall are both dead, as his son." The police officer tried to be sympathetic.

Cara didn't know what do or say. Sam couldn't be dead. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been so happy and upbeat. If Cara had known that that would be the last time, she would have tried to make more of it...but now, she would never see him again, never see his bright shining eyes or kiss his tender lips...Cara began to sob uncontrollably. The police officer tried to comfort her. He'd guessed that Cara was Sam's girlfriend.

"I'm sure he thought of you every minute," he said soothingly.

"I want to see him one last time," she said, and that wish was granted. Taken to an ambulance, she saw his limp body...and he looked every bit as handsome as he did in life. She kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodbye, my darling."


The memory fresh in her mind, she got up and walked over to Amp. He never could understand the importance of leaving. How Cara didn't want them to end up like Sam. She took all anger and sadness and shoved Amp into a wall.

**God, poor Kelsey's going to have some sort of trauma after this is over...**

**lol Crocky**

AMBROSE

"What the hell are you doing?" He hissed as Cara shoved him again.

Cara pushed him again, harder this time, into the wall. Amp's back ached with the force of the push.

"Go on, hit me you coward!" Cara yelled at him.

"No way!" Amp growled. "Stop this. You're going to scare Kelsey!"

Cara shoved him again, causing him to stumble and almost fall. Amp held his ground refusing to join in though he wanted to so badly.

Then Cara slapped him across the face. Amp raised a hand to his cheek gingerly. The girl shoved him backward again and he fell to the ground, shocked. Cara stood over him angrily and Amp flashed back to the times when he was a boy and the rich men caught him stealing, wishing to make him pay without money for what he did.

"Stop it," Amp whispered, standing up suddenly and shoving Cara so hard she toppled to the ground, hard.

"Oh my God," he trembled. He had just hurt her. Like he promised Kelsey - even himself - that he wouldn't.

Amp ran away, not able to speak.

Hey guys I'll try to post something soon.

Natalie

Natalie winced. "I've got to go see Kelsey."

She walked back to her little sister, who was trembling again and curled up into a tight ball. She knelt down and hugged her. Kesley buried her face in Natalie's shoulder and burst into tears. Natalie rocked her gently, trying to calm her down. "Shh... It's okay... Don't cry Kelsey, please..."

Kelsey clung to her tightly, sobbing and shaking. "H-He pushed her. He s-said he wouldn't h-hurt her!"

"I know... I know..." Later she was going to have a nice long talk with that man. "Shh... it's okay."

AMBROSE

"Damn it!" He screamed, punching a tree so hard it spilt his knuckles. "Damn it!"

He had run away from everyone. He couldn't face them. Especially Kelsey. He had promised her he wouldn't hurt Cara and he had shoved her. Amp pulled at his hair, so angry with himself he couldn't say anything.

There was a sound close to the woods. Amp froze. He had been stupid to come out here alone. Still, he would fight. He drew out both of his hidden daggers.

"Who's there?" He called, nervously. "Leave now or reveal yourself unless you want me to gut you like a fish!"

Kelsey

Eventually Kelsey calmed down. She pulled away from Natalie. She wanted to find Amp. She needed to ask him why he'd done it.

"Natalie, I'm hungry."

Natalie sighed. "I'll go see what we have. Stay here." She got up and walked away.

As soon as Kelsey was sure that she wouldn't see she got up and slipped out of the shelter, following Amp's footprints. But it was getting dark, and she wasn't paying that much attention. She made a misstep and tumbled head over heels down a hill, sending up clouds of ash in her wake. She landed facedown. She coughed and sat up, spitting out a mouthful of ash.

She looked up into the face of a huge bee.

Kelsey let out an earsplitting scream and started scrambling to get back up the hill, eyes wide. The bee buzzed angrily and flew at her, trying to hit her with its stinger. Kesley continued to scream, dodging the stinger and sliding further down the hill. At the bottom of it was a good-sized hole, and she saw another set of compound eyes staring up at her from within.

She screamed the first word that came into her mind, but she knew that she was too far away to be heard by anyone.

"NATALIE!"

Kyle

Kyle had heard everything faintly, but he just stood by, looking at his lab burning to the ground. He fell to his knees, everything he had worked so hard on was lost in a matter of seconds. His face hurt from the punch that Cara had given him, and he knew that he'd have a black eye by tonight, but the only thing he could focus on now was his lab.

He snapped out of his trance when he heard a faint scream, his head turned in that direction and saw that some of the others had heard it as well. He got to his feet and ran in the direction, not knowing what he would find.

Cassie

Cassie stepped out of the trees. Shadow trailed behind her. "Why do we always end up pointing knives at each other?" she asked, smiling crookedly.

Amp turned away, shoulders hunched. "What the hell do you want? I told you, I'm not leaving."

"I know," she said softly, taking a step closer to him. "Look, Amp. This has got to stop. Screaming in front of Kelsey, hurting Cara... It's getting ridiculous. Even if you don't like everyone, we're all you have left. Let's go back to the shelter and talk about this, okay?"

"Like I can go back after that!" he snapped, whipping around to face her. "I'm done. I'm done with Cara and her rich girl attitude, I'm done - "

"Stop it," Cassie said, fed up now. "Can't you see what you're doing? Lashing out at me or pushing Cara won't help anyone. Quit taking your anger out on everyone else."

AMBROSE

He couldn't take it. Cassie was right. And he didn't like it. He just couldn't agree that she was right.

"I just need to be away from her right now," he mumbled. "I can't believe I let her get to me like that. It's just she reminded me of the times when I was-"

Amp heard a loud scream in the woods not far from him. It sounded like...

"Kelsey!" Amp yelled, taking off towards her. "Kelsey!"

Then he saw the girl, who was running, branches catching at her clothes and scratching her face. And a giant bee hunting her. It was so close that Amp wouldn't be able to run fast enough to keep it from getting her.

"No!" He screamed. "Over here!"

The bee hesitated long enough for Amp to run at it and give Kelsey a head start. Except she had stopped to stare at him too.

"Run!" He yelled at the foolish girl. "Go find Natalie! Now!"

The bee was no longer confused and it could tell a helpless pray from one that could fight. It flew after Kelsey.

There wasn't time for daggers or thought. Amp blindly threw himself at the bee, knocking it off course. Except the bee knocked him off and he hit his head hard against a tree.

What was he doing here? What was going on? Was that Maddie? She looked so young...

"Amp!" Someone screamed. It was just another voice. But it sounded too familiar.

"Kelsey," he groaned getting up. The bee seemed too intelligent to just be an insect for it was looking at him in an amused way. Almost like it was laughing at his pain. And it was now turning around, going again for Kelsey.

"No!" He screamed. He ran, head pounding and threw his dagger into the bee's head. It didn't stand a chance. It hovered there for a moment and then fell to the ground twitching.

Kelsey looked at it horror-struck. She looked like Maddie had the first time she watched him beat up an old rich guy for trying to guy his sister like some cheap prostitute.

Amp grabbed his dagger and then picked up the girl, not caring if she was still mad at him. They both needed to get out of here.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he whispered, to the point of hugging her. Kelsey was trembling like a leaf.

Amp looked around for Cassie. She was breathing heavily at the farthest tree from him. He jerked his head towards Kyle's house and started back towards his place.

Kelsey

Kelsey clung to Amp, tears streaming down her face. "A-A-Amp. Th-There were more... I-I think I f-found a nest." That was all she managed to get out before she dissolved into terrified sobs. She was shaking violently, and her heart was pounding at a million beats per minute. She'd been so sure that she was going to die...