Wildlands (rskde & BurningWillows)

[BurningWillows]

"Yeah right, they love that you took after them Collin."

She took his arm, falling into step with him, "I've tried to bond with dad, but he just complains about my hobbies. And mom's not always home these days."

And that was her biggest problem. With Collin gone, and their mom working long hours it left Willow with their dad, and the two were too alike each other, butting heads over everything. She couldn't tell him, but their dad had had a really bad PTSD episode over the weekend, and she had gotten into a fight with him before, then snuck out of the house to go to a party. Kyle had been having bad flashbacks and when he couldn't find her they'd gotten progressively worse, thinking something had happened to her. Their mom was furious with Willow for being so careless and also breaking the rules. She had come home to Kyle having a complete meltdown, thinking his daughter was kidnapped by someone. Even Willow felt awful, arriving shortly after her mom to see her dad in complete tears, her mother screaming at her for the first time in a long time for what she had done. Willow knew Collin would hear about it shortly, but after what Willow had done she didn't want to speak to her parents more than necessary, feeling awful.

"Don't worry about Nicki, she has a key to the apartment. And she totally does, and probably always will. I don't what she sees, you aren't that hot," she laughed, "She just turned eighteen too...ya know, if your interested."

 

[Risky]

Collin laughs. "I always thought about trying to get a girlfriend, but honestly I'm not making the same mistake mom and dad made.. Y'know that scar dad has under his eye? Mom thought he had died from the wound." He explains to her.

"I'm not gonna ruin someones life because some dude with a gun decides today is my day to fall." He explains as they walk into the apartment.

"You guys can watch TV or something, I'm gonna take a nap." He says to them as he walks into his room, leaving the door cracked open.

 

[BurningWillows]

I understand," she nodded, leaning into her brother, "Break it to her nicely though, because I'm not doing it for you."

As they got into their home Collin disappeared for a nap and Nicki and Willow made snacks before crashing in front of the T.V for a movie.

~

The rest of the work week past smoothly, although tensions remained high in the Wetsworth household. On Friday Willow went into school early to set up her section of the Gallery. Her main work that had gotten in was being displayed along with five others of her choosing which would surround her main piece. It was the only time she would get this kind of media on her work.

As evening approached and school ended she changed into something a little more elegant, substituting her normal school wear for a black dress. Nicki was there too for support, going with a sparkly blue dress that brought out her features. Both of them got to peer through the gallery before it begun, and then Willow had to stay near her piece to answer any questions, while Nicki browsed. It was Nikki who ran into Collin and his guest first, smiling warmly at the two men.

"Andrew right?" she asked, greeting them both.

 

[Risky]

Andrew nods to her. "Yeah, that's me." He says as he looks around, obviously admiring the paintings that surround him.

Collin nods to the two of them before spotting his sister, sneaking up to her and resting his arm on her shoulder. "Heeeey." He says to her, his eyebrows raised as if judging her reaction to him being here.

Vanessa looks around the gallery before spotting Andrew, pulling him aside and starting to talk to him, laughing at his jokes and almost blushing at him when he flirts with her.

They had been going to the same university for a couple of years now, he had been studying Computer Programming while she took an interest in Chemistry.

In downtown Manhatten, Blake sits in a restaurant with the beautiful Iris who's parents had set up a little arrangement for them to date.

He watches her for a moment as their food arrives. "How was your day?" He asks her while fiddling with the dog tags on his neck.

The reason Mr and Mrs Winters like him so much is because of his service, as an off duty Army Lieutenant and an active National Guardsman, he is literally their definition of a perfect man for their daughter.

 

[BurningWillows]

"Collin!" she chirps, hugging him happily, "I thought you were busy?"

Nicki chats with Andrew, having only met him twice but knowing he was close with Collin. Minutes later a blonde bombshell arrives, Nicki guessing his date, and the two disappear, leaving Nicki to hunt down Willow once more.

Dakota Miller sits at home, chatting with her mother over the phone as she watches some mundane t.v show.

"Yeah mom, don't worry about it. You and dad have a good night out with the others. We'll behave."

Letting her go, she dials Andrew's number, hearing her twin and only sibling pick up, "Aaaaaaandrew, where are you? Mom thinks your at home."

The two of them were thick as thieves, although both of them still fought at times. But Dakota had his back, as he had hers. They just liked to keep tabs on one another, in case there was blackmail to be had.

Iris Winters sits opposite her blind date, wishing she had stayed home. Sure he was a nice guy, with lots of credentials. But what they wanted for their daughter, and what she wanted were different. Iris loved computers, and this man was very much military. The perfect guy in her parents eyes. Still she tried to remain pleasant, not wanting to shoot the kid down when he was putting in the effort.

"My day was boring. School dragged. Yours?"

 

[Risky]

"I'm not home I'm at an art show.. I gotta go, I'm talking with Vanessa." He says to her before hanging up the phone, apologizing to the girl in question before comtinuing his chatter.

Collin laughs. "I just said that so that you would be surprised when I-" He is cut off as suddenly the power to the building is shut off.

In fact, all around New York City everything turns.. Silent, the lights go off, cars stop honking as their drivers gawk at the dark city.

Everything is completely silent.

"Work was fine, we sat around and did nothing the entire day." He says with a laugh. When the power goes out he furrows his eyebrows, looking around them.

"Strange.. I'd think the lights from the city would at least help.. It is Manhatten after all." He says to her before standing up.

"Something isn't right.."

 

[BurningWillows]

Willow~

She was hugging him tightly, overjoyed he could make it, when the lights shut off. Instantly her hug turned a little more fearful, holding on to her big brother more for safety.

"What's going on Collin?"

Dakota~

An art show? Sounds boring. But Vanessa...I wonder if that's the same hot blonde I saw in his class last week. She muses over it, almost deciding not to crash his party until the lights shut out. Instantly she's on her toes, staring out at the dark city. Reflexes got her to call Andrew again, needing to know if he was safe. Mom and Dad could handle themselves together, but it was up to the twins to watch over each other. It was just instinct to protect her other half.

"Andrew? Are you okay? Give me an address and I'll come to you."

Iris~

She was trying to listen but when the lights shut off she jumped, her head swivelling around.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Power outage," someone murmured but another person piped up, "that makes no sense, the weathers clear."

Iris whipped out her tablet as Blake surveyed the city. She was looking for news or anything - the young woman was an expert hacker. Not the her parents or most of her friends knew. The only one who had a remote idea of what she could do was Andrew, and he was beginning to get into hacking himself. She'd been at it for years though, her brain just absorbing all the numbers on her screen. So while Blake was busy watching the darkened streets Iris' fingers flew across her tablet, hacking into New Yorks power gird.

"It's not an outage," she whispered to Blake, her cheeks paling, "someone shut the power off manually. This isn't good."

She didn't explain how she knew it. She just grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the restaurant, remembering her parents lessons.

"We need to find somewhere safe," she explained, looking up and down the streets, "Something definitely isn't right."

 

[Risky]

Collin knows exactly what is going on.

He looks at Willow.. Should he tell her?

"Willow, it's just an outage, it'll be back soon." He tries to reassure her, patting her back lightly before stepping away from her embrace. "Listen very closely, grab Nickie and Andrew, and Vanessa, we're gonna leave this place.. Alright?" He asks her.

He nods and squeezes her hand. "There's an abandoned apartment a couple of blocks from here, we can hide there until we know what's going on." He says as he pulls her out of the restaurant. He runs with her up the street, never stopping until they reach the apartment building, yellow tape and trash litters the floor inside, he pulls her into a room and locks the doors, peering through the curtains.

Above them, in the sky.. Hundreds of planes dropping tiny black figures, parachutes deploying above them as they drop around the city at random, gunshots begin to echo in the distance as the paratroopers meet resistance.

"Dak- Brookly-" The service cuts out due to the power outage.

"Fuck.. No service.." He says quietly, looking over at Vanessa with a worried expression. "Something's not right.."

 

[BurningWillows]

"But Collin the exhibit," she whined before he disappeared into the crowd.

She didn't like how serious he was, and as much as she wanted to complain, when her family was that serious nothing good was coming. Stepping away from her art she found Nicki in a flash, the two navigating to each other like magnets. Nicki had seen Andrew off to a corner with some blonde. But as they started heading that way someone pulled an alarm and pure silence erupted into chaos, people scrambling from the gallery. If there were gunshots, no one would be able to hear them over the wail of the alarm an the panicked shouting of people.

Nicki held tight to Willows arm and dragged her to a wall, protecting her best friend from the stampede.

"We need to find the others. And my brother!" Willow yelled over the commotion.

"We have to wait or we will be trampled," Nicki yelled back, "just stay close Willow. We will find them."

"Brooklyn," she finished, guessing what he meant. The only thing she new was the Art Academy Collins little sister Willow went to. It was her best guess for a place.

Dakota wasn't about to go unprepared though. A second glance outside and she caught sight of planes, knowing this was no ordinary outage. But she was no ordinary redhead either.

Grabbing her duffle, she stuffed clothes for both her and Andrew before loading up from her weapons cache under her bed. If her parents knew how big her collection was, she was sure her mom would kill her.

The last piece she grabbed was her customized rifle, a gift her father had given her for her 18th birthday, and shed modded to her liking. Strapping it over her back she grabbed her keys and raced to the garage, starting her motorcycle. Yep, she was that kind of gal.

Veering out of the driveway she hightailed it through the streets, ignoring speed limits and traffic. Her bike got her in all the tight spaces, and in ten minutes she was pulling up into the alley beside the academy as people started rushing out the main doors in a panic. Pulling her glock from her duffle she loaded it and jumped off her bike, watching the stampede for familiar faces, worried that something was happening inside.

She sunk to the floor in the apartment, staring at her dark tablet. Cursing, she tried and failed to turn it back on.

"It was an EMP that dropped," she sighed, storing her tablet in her computer bag, stuffing it next to her laptop and shutting the bag, "This is getting worse and worse. I can't even get a hold of my parents, or my friends. What do we do Blake?"

 

[Risky]

Collin makes his way through the crowd, grabbing his sister and Nicki before navigating through the crowd, finding a small locked door with an exit sign.

He lets go of them before smashing the door in with his foot, motioning for them to follow him. He kicks in another door before they are outside, the planes are now above them, dropping their payloads..

"We need to get back to the apartment." Collin says before grabbing them and starting to run, run as he fast as he can, hoping that they can keep up wiyh him.

Blake bites the inside of his cheek softly before turning to face her. "We just gotta wait this out, see what happens from here.. I'm sure we'll get you back to your family and friends by tomorrow.. For now we just gotta wait." He explains to her.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris ran her fingers through her hair, sighing, "So we just wait? People are dying and we just w-"

A crash down the hall makes her stop, both of them listening.

"What was that?" she whispered.

Willow gripped her brothers hand tightly, trying to keep up to his pace. Nicki ran behind them, looking over her shoulder. People were running left and right, looking for safety.

"We need to get to my family!" she exclaimed, keeping up with them, "Please!"

"We can't," Willow exclaimed, "We can go when things die down Nicki. It's not safe out here."

She looked back in time to see her best friend turn and run right, down the street towards her apartment. Willow yelled at her, pulling Collin to a stop.

"Come back!" she yelled, watching her run, "Collin please go get her. The apartment is around the corner. I'll hide, I promise."

People always made jokes about twin telepathy, but they never realized there was some truth to it. It was like she just knew he was there. Here eyes turning and looking at the perfect time to catch his gaze. She waved at him, seeing him split from the crowd with Vanessa.

"You two alright?" she asked, smiling at Vanessa first as she pocketed her Glock in the back of her jeans.

 

[Risky]

He sees that smile.. Hell no.

Andrew decides to speak to his sister about that later, Dakota had always hit on the girls he liked, sometimes it was funny to see her turned down.. But other times.. Hell no.

Collin nods to his sister before taking off after Nicki, sprinting towards her to catch up. He finally reaches her when she gets into the apartment building.

"Nicki, we gotta go!" He yells to her, looking around as the paratroopers begin to land, different flags sit on their shoulders.. France.. England.. Germany...

Blake motions for her to be quiet before slipping out a tiny concealable pistol, aiming it at the door and grabbing her with his free hand, moving her behind him as to protect her.

"Stay quiet.. And we'lol be okay.." He whispers to her as footsteps start walking to their door..

 

[BurningWillows]

Dakota saw her brother's look, and her grin turned up a notch, dazzling white teeth and all. Then she turned back to her bike, motioning at it.

"I was at mom's and dad's," she explained.

Their mom and dad had moved out of New York a few years ago to a town outside the city, preferring the quieter, less crazy life. Andrew and Dakota shared their owned apartment inside the city now.

Nicki pulled out of his grasp and ran up the stairs two at a time, making it to the second floor where her family lived. She was an only child with her parents. Running to her apartment door, she slowed only when she saw the door wide open. Looking inside, she feared she'd find them dead, but instead it was empty. There was a note on the dining table, her parents hoping she would find it. All it said was they were being evacuated. No one was sure where to go, but people were being told to get out of the city fast.

Turning around she saw Collin in the doorway, looking a little annoyed at her for evading him.

"I had to try," she muttered, upset.

Willow ran forward, her feet slapping down on the concrete as she booked it towards the apartment. Her dad and mom were out for the night with Dakota and Andrews parents, but the apartment was still safe. Rounding the corner, she skidded to a stop, seeing three men in masks with guns pulling their parachutes off. All three turned as she stopped, guns pointed at her. Turning, she ran like hell, back the way she came as bullets ricocheted off the wall. Without thinking she turned into an alley way and then out into another street, hearing their pounding steps behind her. Willow could do nothing but keep running, trying to lose her tail as she got further and further from the apartment, knowing Collin wouldn't find her unless she could get back.

Iris let Blake pull her behind him, swallowing the bile filling her throat as she stared down the door, waiting for all hell to break loose.

 

[Risky]

The footsteps just pass, Blake reluctantly lets down his gun. He walks over to the furniture around them, pushing it against the door with a groan at how heavy it was.

He lets out a sigh of relief when he is done barricading, turning back to Iris before chuckling. "Worst date ever.. Huh?" He asks, a grin appearing on his face.

"We'll talk about it later.. We gotta find Willow." He says to her before grabbing her hand, making sure she wouldn't book it again before walking out of the apartment.

He looks around before spotting the apartment building Willow was talking about. "Cmon Nicki, she said she'd meet us in there.." He says as he jogs with her up the road, not even noticing that his hand is still clasped with hers.

He searches through the building with her.. No Willow.. He enters the last room before not finding her and deciding to hole up for the night, closing the door and barricading it up before sitting down on a couch, running his hands over his head.

"What have I done..?" He mumbles, tears startigm to streak down his face as he visualizes Willow alone in the dark.. Dead for all he knows.

Vanessa and Andrew both get on the bike with Dakota, Vanessa practically sitting on Andrew's lap. She leans forward and whispers to Dakota. "Thank you for saving us..."

 

[BurningWillows]

For the first time all night, Iris is happy she was with Blake and not some other bloke. At least he knew how to protect them. She curled back up in the corner, patting the space beside her for him to join.

"Guess we are stuck here for the night, till things settle. In the morning, we need to find our parents. I'm sure they are all fine. Your dad and mine are both SWAT, and my mom's in the FBI."

Nicki found a spot near the window, looking out.

"She's tough, she'll be okay. Maybe she got sidetracked and she'll come back around. We can keep our eyes out for her. Don't give up on your sister Collin."

Her bike really wasn't made for three people. She smiled at Vanessa's words, winking at her over her shoulder before starting up and driving down the streets, trying to find a car Andrew could hot wire. They needed a way out. Three blocks later she finds one, getting off her bike and breaking the window into a white van, before hotwiring it. Another trick her parents and military training had taught her. She hadn't been in the field yet, but she was on the fast track to already becoming a Ghost, top of her class when she was in military training.

"Take the van Andrew," she exclaimed, "If we see anyone needing a lift we can help them out. We'll meet up back at mom and dad's. Vanessa, you going to jump in with him or stay with me?"

She said her last words with a soft smile, hitting on the blonde subtly, unsure if the blonde swung that way or not.

 

[Risky]

She bites her lip softly before looking over at Andrew. "Andy, your sister really seems to know what she's doing.. I'm gonna go with her." She says before hopping on the bike with Dakota, wrapping her arms around her waist in order to stay on.

"I.. I should've taken her with me.." He says softly, putting his head in his hands, he obviously loves his little sister a lot. "I want to go out there and find her.. But I know that getting killed won't help our case.." He says quietly.

He moves over to her, laying down next to her before hesitantly wrapping his arms around her. "Do you mind..?" He whispers to her as he pulls her closer to him.

 

[BurningWillows]

Dakota's grin got wider, winking at her brother as he stared at her angrily, "I definitely know what I'm doing. Meet me at home bro?"

She veered away, zipping through the streets with Andrew following behind. They were halfway through the city when she stopped, seeing a familiar head of brown hair running from three men.

"Hold tight beautiful," she flirted, pulling her rifle off her back, "Just need to save the day."

Pressing the scope to one eye she took aim and fired, hitting the closet man to Willow then popping two more bullets into the other men.

"Willow!" she yelled, beckoning the terrified girl to them, watching as she bolted towards them, tears streaking down her face.

She stood up in time to wrap her arms around the scared 16 year old, pulling her towards Andrew's van as he idled.

"C'mon sweetheart, get in. Andrew will watch you while we get somewhere safe."

Getting her inside she nodded at Andrew to take off, running back to her bike and jumping on.

"Hold tight Vanessa."

 

[Risky]

She blushes fiercely at the compliment before watching her take down the soldiers, Vanessa jumps off of the bike and runs over to them, grabbing their rifles and tossing them into Andrew's can while Willow gets inside.

She then jumps back on the bike with Dakota. "You're amazing." She says with a laugh, winking at the beautiful redhead as she wraps her arms around the girls waist again, holding on to her tightly as they speed off.

 

[BurningWillows]

Nicki moved away from the window, sitting down and putting her hand on his knee, obviously flirting. She knew this wasn't the time, but she was rarely around him and alone. And she was a tad selfish. Willow always pointed it out, that Nicki could be selfish at the worst of times, but it was her and she didn't want to change.

"We can look for her when its safe. I'm sure she's holed up somewhere now, waiting it out too."

Probably terrified, but telling him that won't help.

Iris shrugged, fine with his arm around her. She was still not that interested. Sure he was cute, but right now her mind was focused on survival, not making out with the man beside her.

"We should take turns napping," she whispered, "So we are ready when we need to be."

 

[Risky]

He just nods and moves away form her. "I'll take first watch, I'll wake you in a bit." He says to her before walking over to the opposite side of the room, pressing his back against the wall and staring at the barricaded door.

He doesn't wake her.

 

[BurningWillows]

It took them a while to get home, having to be careful where they drove. When they did get back they dropped the van off a block away as to not get tracked, and hid the bike in the garage. Then while Andrew and Vanessa tried to calm a shocked and tearful Willow, Dakota boarded up the house, making sure everything was locked and secured. Returning to the living room, she brought Willow was cold water, handing it to her.

"Your big brother is tough," Dakota stated, "When this dies down the first thing he's going to do is come find you. And you are safe now. We got you Will, we got you."

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris curled up, pulling her jacket off to use as a pillow. It took her a while but she finally fell into an uneasy sleep, worried about her friends, her family, and her city.

 

[Risky]

He picks his head up out of his hands, looking at her dead in the eyes. "Willow told me you had a crush on me.. I didn't believe it." He says with a nervous chuckle, obviously trying to pick himself up.

"Willow is tough.. She's probably fine.." He says, mostly speaking out himself. He wipes his face off with his hand, blinking as he does so. "Sorry, I never really break down like this.." He says with a laugh.

He places his hand on hers before looking at her. "Now what?" He asks her. "Its too dark to go out there.."

 

[BurningWillows]

Nicki blushed, Of course she did. She doesn't keep anything from her big brother.

"Uh yeah," she muttered, obviously embarrassed while she looks away, "I do, but I was only trying to comfort you. And its okay Collin, you worry about her. It's sweet how much you two care for each other."

Feeling his hand on hers makes her cheeks heat more, "I guess we wait till there aren't men outside with guns? It looks awful outside. Do you know why people are attacking?"

 

[Risky]

"Like I said, things have been heating up for awhile." He says to her while putting his hands back at his side, resting his back against the couch. "We're being invaded by the UN, I saw the flags on their uniforms." He explains.

He looks at her face and bites the inside of his cheek softly.. Maybe they could be together.. But it would have to wait. "Get some sleep, I'll watch the door." He says to her while putting a soft smile on his face.

---

Andrew waits for Dakota to be done talking with Willow before pulling her aside, looking around to make sure nobody it listening.

"Dakota, what the hell?" He asks her. "Everytime I find a goddamn girl who seems interested in me you swoop in and make me look like I'm second best, you give them that fucking wink and smile of yours and they just melt.. How do you do that... A-and.. Why?!"