Rhea Brenner's Story

"You too run along and go find stuff..." "Alright." That's all it took before Leo was out of the shelter, and out of Rhea's hair. "Okay, we're out," going off with Chloe. They were alone, and Leo was a bit happy. Rhea was left alone, and Chloe wasn't complaining, at least for a moment. "Leeeeeeoooooo" whining his name and stretching it out. It effected him more than it should of. "Can you go get me some food while I lay outside in the sand? My back really hurts right now and the hot sand might really help it. Pleeeease?" At first he hesitated as he thought about it. "Well... I don't really wanna go alone..." Turning down to her, she was looking back up at him. "Uh..." it took him away a bit, but not completely. "Here, have these," giving up his peanuts to her. "Sorry, could you just stay near?" Feeling the objects he'd recovered in his pockets, he felt he would be okay. Pointing to the trees, Leo explained his plan. "Gonna go in there, find some stuff, come back and get the rest. Just stay in earshot, k?" Rhea had advised against going inland alone, Leo still listened to her, but being under Chloe's illusions warped his logic a bit. I should be fine, not going to far in. Anything to reason with himself that he wasn't putting himself up for her.

Rhea was now alone in the shelter. She thought it would be nice to go back to sleep but instead ate her peanuts and hummed some Ed Sheeran music. The two others had left and she could hear Chloe's chatter fade away the farther they got. All she needed was Leo to bring her some material. She'd have to wait though...patiently.

Seeing her smile made it better for Leo. Did something right. Soon, she had pulled him into a hug. A bit surprised and confused at first, he eventually moved his arms to her back. He felt a little light and floating, but he always had when he interacted with attractive girls, especially this close. "N-no problem." He was sure his cheeks were red, and he was smiling ear to ear. "Thank you Leo for letting me stay behind! You don't even know how much this will help my back." He thought they were close, but Chloe showed they could be even closer, squeezing him tight. "I bet..." She let him go, and he kind of wished she hadn't and it'd last longer, but he had things to do.

Heading for the tree line, he looked to the ground for some sticks that had been knocked over from the storm. With a handful, he decided that would do. Heading back to the plane for the string, Leo decided cutting strips of a shirt would work. After the walks, he returned to the shelter and the two others. "Got 'em." Laying the sticks and fabric in front of Rhea.

"Thank you." Rhea said quietly and quickly. She kept her eyes on the material and didn't look up at Leo. Then she took the 2b biggest sticks and a small stick and started trying to make the crutch. Ray knew it would take time and patience so she hummed softly trying to tie the sticks together. She looked up at Leo the back down he was going back out to get food she thought. Smart guy. The sticks began to for a makeshift crutch and Rhea used a stick and some of her ripped off sleeve to form a under the arm pad. She wasn't exactly sure if it would hold up but the amount of stirng he had brought had been put to good use and was keeping it together.

Oliver watched the one guy and Emily wonder out of the shelter and snorted after they left. At least wait until everyone was okay before you start taking each other's pants off... Especially in front of him. He turned and crawled back out into the beach, the stood up. It felt okay for him to walk, although he doubts that he could do so for long. He wandered over to the ocean and sat in front of it, and looked out across the water. It was pretty, with the sun reflecting off the water so that it sparkled, but just so that it didn't blind you. 'Aw, look at you, checking out the pretty pretty water now are we?' Said Ben. "Shut it..." He murmured. He heard footsteps behind him and looked, seeing the other guy and the complainer walking. They stopped behind him and she hugged him. They both failed to notice him and he almost snorted again. 'Aw, someone doesn't have someone to love...' Ben said mockingly. Oliver decided it would be best to ignore him for now, and he looked up into the sky. It was bright blue, much different that Chicago.
Chicago had a lot of different people there, each had their own story to tell. Something he was never good at was getting them to tell him that story... He glanced back at the shelters, scanning the little inside he could see. He saw the one girl he saved inside. 'Ooo, someone looking for some love?' Mocked Ben, but because he was something his own mind cooked up, both knew that he was actually annoyed that he could only refer to each of them as 'you' or 'that girl/guy'. It was embarrassing, so it would be best to find out their names as soon as possible. He stood up stiffly and walked over to the shelter and knocked on the frame. "Hey, uh... Could I come in?" He said hesitantly. That was what you were supposed to do before you entered a room where a girl slept, right?

"Hey, uh... Could I come in?" Rhea looked up startled to see the slightly insane one of the group knocking on the shabby frame of the shelter. She looked up at him "Sure as long as you don't yell" Rhea joked referring to the rule she told Chloe earlier that morning. She moved all her stuff aside and put the almost finished crutch in her lap. "So how are you feeling?" Rhea asked, she was actually glad some one had come to keep her company besides Leo and Chloe. Oliver though scared Ray a bit because he may have been going insane and often talked to himself and yelled and cursed.

Oliver paused. No yelling? Was he getting that loud? He shrugged, and crawled inside. "Yeah, alright. I don't know anyone here, so I just thought that I should probably get to know everyone, and they're all kinda busy so..." He positioned himself so that he was opposite her. He held out his hand. "My name's Oliver. I lost my brother in the crash. He was the only family I had so... I guess it kinda messed me up, I guess." Now that he was there, he had no clue what to say. His brother was the one to always talk to people. The most talking he ever did was getting local kids into sticky situations so that he can steal what little cash they got. "So, uh... You lose anyone during the crash?"

"Thank you." She spoke quiet and expeditiously. Rhea was focused on her work, not looking up to Leo. He watched her grab the sticks and knew she had it under control, no need for his assistance. He left to get some more food, as he was hungry himself after giving up his peanuts. Worth it to give it to her. The hug still had it's slight effects. Once he was off a ways and returning to the trees, he spotted Oliver going to the shelter. At first Leo was weary of it, though after remembering that he carried her across the beach and it was unlikely that he'd harm her, his worries went down.

Leo headed for the trees again with food on his mind, looking over his shoulder to see where Chloe had gone. She was by the shore. Good enough. He saw movement in the brush, and went after it. Leo was luckier and didn't find a snake, instead it hopped. "We can eat that.." Curiosity drove him more than hunger, though Leo'd personally blame it on 'just being a boy.' He'd caught many things before, frogs being one of them. Granted, this one squirmed more than he had expected, and he rolled on the ground wrangling it. "Oh boy." Leo forgot that his side was banged up already, but he soon remembered.

Something pushed him to go see Chloe with his catch. As if he needed verification for it, or that it'd impress. She was laying down, probably tanning. "Is your back feeling better?" Holding the frog up, "Look what I got. We can eat these. Never done it myself, but I've heard how," still unsure how her reaction would be.

Oliver came into the shelter and sat down by Rhea. He introduced himself nicely. "My names Rhea and thanks for finding me the other day" She smiled at him and played with her fingers. Then he mentioned to her he lost his brother in the crash, gosh that would suck. She couldn't imagine losing her older siblings...it must be horrible. "So, uh... You lose anyone during the crash?" He said interrupting her thoughts. "Well no, my brothers are at home taking care of my mom." She sighed of relief. "I'm so sorry about you brother...I'm sure he is in a better place..." Ray spoke quietly not wanting to upset him. She put the crutch to the side glad it was done and made and then leaned back on her elbows comfortably.

"Well no, my brothers are at home taking care of my mom." Rhea sighed. "I'm so sorry about you brother...I'm sure he is in a better place..." Oliver suppressed a laugh. It was almost as if this was some soap opera or something. "I doubt it. He... Wasn't a very nice guy. Still, he was the only one who took care of me, so I guess that's something." He said, nodding slightly at the last part. "Me and him were living in Chicago. Street-rats, really. Taking handouts from people, then stealing more when they turned their backs. Probably should see who was handing out those then, cause we got into a little trouble with the mob, or some big group, not sure exactly who, and I remember Ben saying they were out for blood, so he signed us up for the volunteer program and, well, here we are." He was looking at the ground while he spoke, lost in the memory, then looked up, looking somewhat embarrassed about losing control of his tongue for a second. "Sorry." He said, looking at the ground again. 'Aw, look at the poor poor Oliver, he's telling his story! Can't wait until we reach the part where he starts hearing his dead brother's voice in his head!' It took a lot of will power to stop himself from speaking out loud, but he pulled it off by tensing up his body.

"Wow" Ray sat in silence for a minute looking at the sand. She had to take in his whole story bit by bit. "They won't get you now" She whispered not looking up at him. Rhea'd never been to the Chicago before it was much to far away. Little Creek Delaware wasn't exactly city-like. When she was ready she looked up to Oliver. "Hey you wanna walk out there with me? I want to test out my crutch" Ray gestured towards the thing. "Unless you injuries are to horrible, then we could stay in here." She really wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere but stretching her leg wouldn't hurt her.

"Its only my back, burned real bad, I can walk." Oliver said. "If you need help, or something, let me know." He started to stand, then sat back down. "I'm fine, just gotta get up in a certain way..." He got up, carefully minding his back. He put his hand out to help Rhea, who was still sitting. "Here..." He normally wouldn't be acting as nice, but he knew he probably couldn't make it out here by himself, so until then, he'd have to be nice... 'Put up an act, then stab em' in the back!' Ben said enthusiastically. Oliver wasn't sure if he spoke what he was really thinking... He stepped outside before Rhea. He covered his eyes. "Augh, that's no sun, that's a big bright-fuck-you-in-the-eye!" Oliver said instinctively, then looked at Rhea. "That's, uh, just something that Ben said sometimes..." He looked away. Great, act like a moron, everyone's gonna think your not as evil as you really are if you keep this up... He thought to himself privately.

Oliver had explained he was okay besides his back and he'd even offered to help Ray up. "I've got it" She smiled. Maybe Oliver wasn't so bad after all... So Rhea positioned herself carefully using the crutch and her right leg she pretended her left leg was gone and she was able to stand up. The crutch rested under her left armpit and was almost perfectly measured to fit her height. Oliver led the way out of the shelter and in to the bright sun. He cursed at it suddenly. Rhea had to squint and let her eyes readjust to the sun light. She was really excited to be able to move again. "Uh that's just something Ben said." He half apologized. Rhea walked forward using her crutch careful not to break it. She walked out onto the sand and breathed in the ocean air. "I'm Rhea by the way." She looked back at him smiling. She could see Leo and Chloe and looked away from them quickly. "Wanna walk that way?" She asked pointing down the left side of the beach. "We could just talk and look for stuff that has washed up..." Her voice dragged off and she waited patiently for the half insane boy to respond.

"Yeah, why not." He didn't know what they'd talk about, but hopefully nothing to do with his past. It tends to get... Bad at parts, and he didn't want her to think that he was okay with all that happened. 'Oh, but you are...' Whispered Ben. Oliver twitched. He was pretty sure that Ben was more of his evil side than anything at this point... Well, good. Makes it easier to ignore. "So, what's your story? What were you doing before all... This happened?" He said after a few seconds. Her crutch was allowing her to keep a fairly good speed, so he wasn't worried about her falling behind. His back forced him to slow down a little as well, so they were going around the same speed.

Rhea almost laughed as he asked about her past. "Before I lived with my mom and 3 older brother." She paused, there was no way to make her past exciting. "Well, My family is really poor and I worked most of the time so we could all eat. So did my brothers. My mom is really sick right now and..." She stopped. Completely forgetting about her mom the last few days. Rhea wondered how her mom was holding up. "I went on this trip so there would be 1 less mouth to feed at home...and my mom insisted I go because I love travel." Her conclusion to her story was awkward and choked. She didn't want to think about her family, it made er want to puke how homesick she was becoming from thinking about them. She wanted to cry too but that wasn't happening. If Ray made it back alive she would be able to tell her family how she didn't cry once the entire trip, her own bragging rights.

Oliver nodded. What was he doing? He was talking to this chick that could barely walk on her own about their pasts, and it looked like she didn't really want to talk about her's. He really wanted to avoid his, but he had no idea what to talk about... He bit his lip. Then he stopped and looked out over the water. He always dreamed of the ocean, but never imagined it would be this pretty. The water looked so sparkly and cool... He took his shoes off. "Never been to the ocean before, and I always wanted to try this..." He said, not looking at her. He then walked quickly over to the surf. The sand was burning hot, but when he reached the surf, it was like dumping snow all over your hand that was on fire. Oliver's eyes widened. He never felt something quite like that. The heat from the sand really made the water feel... Amazing. The water was cool, and he was tired of the damnable sun. He walked a little bit into the water, waist high, before crouching. "Ah..." He said, the water covering his burn. He was told to get burns under cold water as soon as he could when they occur, but it was too late to get to the water by the time he woke up. He looked over to Rhea. "This is the best feeling I have ever felt." He said, standing back up. He started walking back to the shore. "I've never been to a beach before. Not even a lake or a pond or anything. That was... Something else." He said, still in awe of how good that felt. Then he looked at Rhea. "I doubt that it would feel good to you, though. Salt water and all..." He looked down. Why was he acting so damn childish?! 'Because, I never gave you a chance to experience anything good. I only looked for things to keep you alive, and that was all you were used too.' Ben explained. For once, Oliver didn't mind the random voice. It helped him put things as they were, which probably was the best it could do. Maybe the voice was trying to help him like his brother can, just can't use his muscle. If Ben couldn't get something done through muscle, he always got it done through cunning, and intimidation. Maybe... Oliver looked around. He saw that they past the place he woke up. Looking back, he saw his brother's body. "Still can't believe that he's dead..." He said, staring at the body.

Rhea watched Oliver take his shoes off and run down to the water. She was slowly learning he was a strange guy. Rhea laughed watching him. He seemed to be enjoying the water very much, must be cold. "I've never been to a beach before. Not even a lake or a pond or anything. That was... Something else." He was cooling his feet in the water and she sighed. He seemed very happy at that one moment, more happy than anyone this whole trip. "Well you should have!" She giggled. "The ocean is a great place, well water in general I used to love going to my friends lake houses when I was little..." She told him still smiling. Rhea felt the warm sun and the ocean breeze and for once this whole trip she felt, calm. That is until Oliver looked down the beach. His brothers body was laying there and Oliver spoke the words "I can't believe he's dead" Rhea frowned and looked at the ground the back up at Oliver and then out to the sea. "Don't look at him Oliver, you shouldn't have to remember him like that." Ray spoke softly limping a little closer to Oliver. She felt bad, she really did. But she had no idea how to help people who mourned the dead.

"Yay, finished. Would you mind calling for Oliver? I'm not very loud, so he probably wouldn't hear me."Devon nodded in agreement. "Yeah sure thing. I'll just go outside so he has a better chance of hearing. Don't miss me too much." He smiled. Standing up, he walked out of the shelter.

Once outside, he walked a little further outside so that he could at least see Oliver before calling out to him. It would be pointless to shout from a point where he couldn't hear him anyways.

After walking for a minute or so, he saw two heads in the distance. He could recognize Oliver's haircut, and he seemed to be walking with Rhea. Hey, awesome, now you get the chance to get to know another girl here. After thinking that, he felt the unfamiliar feeling of guilt, but only for a second. Cupping his hands to make a fake megaphone, he shouted out to the two walking. "Hey Oliver! We made your burn cream!!" He tried not to strain his voice, but it certainly didn't feel pleasant.

Oliver looked up, confused for a second. "Oh, right. On my way!" He shouted back. He looked at Rhea. "Looks like they're ready to treat my back..." He said, then turned and started toward to where the voice came from. He could see the guy that was with Emily from before and Emily standing outside one of the shelters, and Oliver started walking that way. Boy, was he exhausted... He had forgotten to eat some of the peanuts he gathered. Feeling his pocket, he felt the three packs he kept for himself. 'Give some to others, but always keep more for yourself.' Said Ben. Oliver ignored him as he walked up to the guy. "Thanks, uh..." He said, holding out his hand and waiting for a name.

Rhea decided to follow Oliver, she of course didn't want to stay behind by herself. So hobbling she made her way over to the rest of the crew. It seemed at Emily was going to fix Oliver up. All the sudden Emily has come out of her shell It was strange but true, the little thing seemed to be in charge of everything. Rhea approached them and quietly sat down near the group to rest her leg. She watched every one. Then Emily took Oliver and Devon into the shelter and Ray was left wondering where Leo and Chloe were. Rhea actually missed Leo, not Chloe of course. But he had seemed to be a lot more friendly and social than Oliver. She shook it off with a sigh and looked out over the water wondering how she could possibly make herself useful.