Day's End

Fidem Meam

Three Spires did indeed live up to its name. Their territory expanded far beyond what Micheal had told them. Inside the 'main' community was the largest of the three spires, and the building from which it rose above sat by the northwest corner of the wall. The second spire resided outside of the entire city itself; however, it was not a sub-community of Three Spires, but a checkpoint or trading station or whatever the use of it was for that day. It was most commonly used as a communication center between Three Spires and the Phoenix. The third spire was the furthest away, about thirty miles, and the only spire that was necessary to reach by horseback. 
        This was the information Sidney found being poured on themselves by the woman they had met at the gate a month before; the woman they now knew as Charlotte. Charlotte insisted that since Sidney was new and relatively inexperienced, they should go out with a small group from Three Spires to retrieve a man who had been injured by a spring trap, supposedly having been set by a member of the Phoenix out hunting. The man's name, she said, was Lafayette.
        When Sidney asked if Hailey was going along, Charlotte simply told them that he was busy with something else, which only caused suspicion to creep up into the back of their mind. Knowing that Hailey had fled from the Phoenix and that Three Spires and the Phoenix were connected, it didn't take long for Sidney to come up with a conspiracy. They further slouched in the plush chair in Alexander's office, stubbornly crossing their arms across their chest.
"So, how does it sound?" Charlotte asked from her seating place on the side of the broad desk. 
"It sounds like bullshit," Sidney grunted. "Why can't Hailey come?" 
"I just said, Sidney, he's busy. Hailey said he'd like to look into helping with the livestock, so someone is showing him how we do things. He's fine. Promise," she smiled. "I'll go with you on the trip if that'd help." 
"Don't think so highly of yourself just yet. We've only known each other for a month," they grumbled back. 
Charlotte leaned back and sighed; she was clearly forcing her smile. "Alright. Fine. If you'd rather be uprooting potatoes or shoveling up horse shit, feel free to stay." 
        Sidney just looked away with a tightly furrowed brow as a teenager, only a few years older than themselves, jokingly slapped their shoulder and loudly laughed at whatever joke he had just cracked. "Be careful with that," Sidney muttered, taking a step to the side. 
"I am, I am, don't worry," Regan reassured the younger, pointing his machete back towards the ground. "I should be the one telling you that, what with you waving around your revolver." 
"I'm not the one waving my weapon around. You're the one that's going to get someone killed, dumbass." 
"Excuse me? Is that how you talk to your elders?" Regan cast a deadly glare.
"Please. Physically, you're older, but mentally is debatable." 
"You little-!"
"Boys, boys, please calm down. We're nearly there," a woman pleaded from atop the horse she had brought along. "I hope Lafayette was able to make his way to the spire. If he didn't, I'd like for at least one of you to be in one piece so we can go looking for him."
"Such a buzzkill as always, Azalia. We were just kidding, right, Sid?" Regan elbowed their arm in an overwhelmingly friendly manner. 
Sidney shirked away from his touch. "Yeah, sure." 
"You're seventeen, Regan. Please act like it," Azalia suggested with a heavy sigh. "Oh, and I forgot to ask before we left: do you have any other weapons, Sidney? If you were ever in trouble alone, that'd only draw more of these things." 
"I'm sure I can manage," Sidney quickly dismissed the question. 
"Alright." She shook her head. "I have another knife if you change your mind." 
Instead of bothering to argue, they responded with a simple, "Thanks."
        The spire wasn't much to look at compared to the one inside the walls; it was old and dilapidated. The weeds and bushes around the exterior were overgrown to the point that they had spilled over the side of the porch. This was a building that was on its last legs, even three and a half years ago. Sidney guessed that keeping it this way was to hide it from potential enemies, being a common meet-up between the two groups, but who would that be? Micheal spoke of warding off intruders via walkers but didn't speak of any other groups besides the Phoenix.
"Lafayette! What on earth happened to you?"
        Sidney averted their gaze from the towering spire to the man that stumbled out of the building below. Lafayette's tan skin was covered in dirt and blood, but his clothes were relatively intact, minus a few, small tears. They weren't very much surprised to see that his left forearm had been severed, leaving behind only a stump. With a wavering grin, Lafayette answered, "I thought you'd already heard the story?" 
Azalia sighed and dismounted the mare. "Get on. The faster we get there, the faster you get taken care of." 
        Lafayette limped over to Azalia, near collapsing on her shoulder as soon as he got within reach and, with some trouble and help from the woman, eagerly rested in the saddle. Wordless and without complication, the group began walking back to Three Spires. "So, Lafayette, you remember Sidney, don't you?" Azalia asked. 
"I believe we've met once before. You were with, ah, Hailey, right?" 
Sidney nodded. "Yeah." They suddenly looked up. "Lafayette, Charlotte told me you take care of the horses."
"That is true, yes." He smiled and stroked the mare's neck. "This one is Lucy." 
"Right, yeah. Did Hailey speak with you about helping with the livestock?"
Lafayette leaned back. "No, I haven't really seen him since you first came, but he may have spoken to someone else." 
"I haven't seen him, either. That's saying a lot. He wouldn't just run from me, would he?" 
"What are you saying?" Regan interrupted. 
"This is probably too much too soon since we've only known each other for a month, but I've thought about it. I think the Phoenix has done something with Hailey." 
"Why would they?" Azalia put in. "You mean because he used to be with them?" 
"As long as you're with us, the Phoenix shouldn't be able to bother you two. Sure, we have an agreement, but we keep them in check," Lafayette assured.
"Really? What guarantees our safety? Andre and Alexander are brothers, and, if they're that close, if one of them wants us dead, the other sure as hell will, too." 
        Sidney pounded their fist on the door to Alexander's office, throwing away all manners as common sense morphed into the fiery pit of anger that swelled in their chest. Regan followed close behind and grabbed Sidney's arm. "Don't do anything you'll regret, kid," he warned. 
"Don't call me that. We're only a year and a half apart."
"I'm really warning you, Sidney." Regan's face grew grave. "You might regret this." 
Incredibly impatient, they simply threw open the door, only to find an empty room. "Where the hell is he?!"
Regan whipped them around by their arm and slapped them. "You're being stupid, even more stupid than I usually am. Just wait it out. Please. You'll find him, just don't do it like this." 
        Sidney returned the stare that Regan cast their way and looked into his deep, brown eyes; the sting of Regan's hand registered in their mind, but, even then, they felt their breathing slow as they calmed down. In no way were Sidney and Regan friends; Regan always pestered them when they were busy doing something and tried way too hard just to be with them, but Sidney could understand why. He was lonely. There were no other children in Three Spires, much less teens like themselves. "Okay?" Regan spoke up; his own gaze had softened. 
"Okay," Sidney whispered. 
        The sun was still high in the sky when Sidney found themselves alone outside, leaning on the fence that enclosed a small, grassed area for a few horses. A swing set and a climbing area stood in the middle of the 'pasture'. With the run-down bathrooms outside of the fence, the area clearly used to be a park but was the only area barely large enough for horses. The two goats that Three Spires contained grazed with the horses and, so long as they didn't do any damage, were allowed to wander the community if they escaped the fence's confines.
"Um, Sidney?" Someone meekly addressed them. 
They quickly turned, not surprised to find Regan. "What?" Disappointed, Sidney resumed their original position. 
"I'm sorry for hitting you," he admitted; his voice was lighter, something it did when he was nervous. "I know you've been outside for so long. I just thought that if you did something drastic they'd kick you out, and I don't want to see that happen." After a pause Regan added, "To anyone, I mean. Not just to you." 
"Don't worry. It's fine."
He stepped up to Sidney's level and pulled himself up to sit on the fence. "And I've been meaning to ask you something. I hope it's not too personal." 
"Yeah? What is it?" They looked up at him, and the sunlight did well to light the object in question. 
"Where did you get those scars?" 
Sidney whipped their head away, staring back towards the ground. They had nearly forgotten about them. "I was in a fire. Are they bad?" 
"I guess they're not too bad, but I like them."
"Huh?" They looked back up at him. "Why?" 
"Not because they look cool, or because they're 'masculine'. I like them because it shows what you've been through, what you've done; stuff like that."
 "Do you have any scars, then?" They fully stood, looking at him with a renewed interest.
Regan smiled. "Don't we all?"