[preferred path] Follow Kenji

Kenji comes to a stop in front of the stone building and jogs up the steps to the entrance. From there, he looks back and points at you. “Just follow the armory - you’re bound to find her in there tinkering with their equipment.”

“I have no idea what she looks like,” you sigh. “I need someone with me.”

“Scarlet is probably hurt. I need Flora’s assistance in patching her up.” Kenji argued. “It won’t be hard; you’ll know her when you see her.”

Flora shifted legs and looked down the street. You followed her gaze and saw a dozen, if not more, armed soldiers, marching towards you. They didn’t seem to notice anyone in your group, but that could change…

Kenji was the last person to notice, but he realized there was nowhere to go as soon as the soldiers came to match by. He darted his face away and yanked Flora towards him. “Do. Not. Look. At. Them.” Kenji warned.

You could feel Flora’s eyes on you as all three of you looked at the entrance. Of course, this wasn’t going to work, though. The soldier in front of the others stopped and barked out a question, asking all of you to present yourselves. When you failed to answer, you could hear him stomping up the steps. Kenji shifted and looked up.

“I got this.” You murmured. This was going to be the best time to split the group. “Kenji. Get ready to run.”

“What?” He hissed.

You grabbed Flora’s wrist and pulled her towards you, allowing you a full view of the soldier that came up the stairs to confront you.

In one fluid motion, you presented your sidearm and pointed the dead-end of your barrel, and squeezed the trigger, sending a full metal jacket from your sidearm straight into the unfortunate man. Kenji cursed you, now presenting his rifle too. Unlike you, he had something automatic and handy, but the column was in the middle of disbursing, so it wasn’t likely he killed anyone.

With Kenji (unintentionally?) covering your entry into the building, you ran through the interior in a panic. You followed the signs that pointed to where the armory was supposed to be. Your mind raced with your feet, praying to God Almighty Himself that you weren’t going to be caught by anyone. Somewhere outside, the battle continued to spiral out of control - which was both comforting and terrifying at the same time. Kenji was surely alive, but you aren’t sure for much longer.

For the moment your mind was blank, you were guided at the rear of the structure. You stood in front of the door with the words “ARSENAL” stamped to a metal nameplate.

“You’re hurting me.” Flora whimpered, twisting away from you.

You looked down and noticed you never let go of her. You blinked and then loosened your grip. “Sorry.”

“It’s OK.” She sighed. “Do you think she’s in there?”

You reached for the knob and twisted. “I hope so.” On the other end was a poorly lit room with shelves filled with boxes and ammo cans. Waco’s filled with metal parts like firing pins, bolts, and tiny springs. It smelled of gun oil and cleaner. Flora shuffled in. “This would make sense…”

“Yeah?” You whispered, stepping in. “Where is she, though?”

“The room can’t be that big,” Flora sounded like she was assuring herself rather than you. “Let’s stick together.”

The corridors were tight. The stock of your rifle kept dragging some of the Waco’s from their regular spots, causing Flora to lag behind and cover the tracks of your movements. Just as you were to turn to another corner, you tripped over a fallen cupboard box but caught yourself on the steel racks.

“That was close,” you said, fighting a laugh. You turned to smile at Flora, but you spotted a figure advancing towards you as you were turning. They’re holding a shotgun with the choked end pointed directly at you.

You stick your hands out in front of you in a defensive manner. You stared into the darkest brown eyes that you have ever looked into. They were fiery and wild, trained and focused - winged by eyeliner that was faintly blue. They were accompanied by dark almond skin and short deep black hair.

That must be her...Amara.

“Amara?” You hardly move a muscle. You fear that even the slightest twitch will set off her trigger finger. She lowered the shotgun and licked her lips.

“What of it?” Amara spits, her accent heavy but unidentifiable.

“Kenji,” you follow up with her. “I’m here with Flora, too.”

Flora comes into view. You relax and then let out a heavy exhale. She shakes her head, now obtaining an angry look. “I told Kenji I wasn’t in danger and that I didn’t need help getting out.”

“Well, we’re here now.” You intend to say more, but Flora cuts in.

“I want to go home, Amara. You can get me connected with the right people in Bozeman before winter is here.”

Amara blinks but retains her stern expression. She doesn’t seem to really like what is happening, but she exhales and nods anyway. “You idiots really kicked the hornet's nest. Until we're out of here, we're not going to split our attention anywhere else.”

Flora shook her head. “It was Kenji’s idea. We need you as a group-”

Amara sighed, regarding you with a careful gaze. “Sure, is it nice being loved, I guess. But, if the others are here, we shouldn’t stick around.”

“They did it for you. We did it for you.” Flora says, but Amara disregards it and pushes past you.

“Let’s just hope we can find Kenji then and get the hell out of here.”