When Pigs Fly: Chapter 13

I didn’t cry.

                Let me rephrase that.  I couldn’t cry.  My entire family was dead.  God knows I wanted to cry—that I needed to cry—but I couldn’t.  I had to be strong.

                Looking at my family, I felt more pain than I could have ever imagined, but I held it inside.

                I walked to my dad and held his calloused hand in mine.  How could you do this to me?  I screamed in my head.  My eyes watered, but I didn’t let the tears fall.  You left me when I needed you the most!  How COULD you?!

                Zeke chose that moment to walk through the doorway.  All I saw was the limp object Zeke had in his arms.

                “Well?”  Ben sounded hopeful.

                “I got there too late,” Zeke replied, shaking his head.  “Gone, just like the others.”

                I watched as Zeke placed my little brother on the cot next to Katie.  Looking up, I noticed that Doc’s eyes had welled up with tears; Zeke was trying to comfort him, his hand on Ben’s shoulder.  I probably should have felt angry—or jealous—that Zeke was comforting Ben rather than me, but I didn’t.  My mind only processed that Ben was taking their death almost as hard as I was.

                “Don’t worry, Ben,” Zeke said soothingly.  “There’s always next time.”  He turned to me.  “Nicole, are you okay?  You’ve been weirdly quiet all this time.”

                “They’re all dead.” I whispered.  I didn’t have the strength to say it any louder.

                Sighing, Zeke ran his fingers through his hair.  “Yeah, we’ve been trying to figure out how to get the parasites out of the bodies for a while now.  It all keeps going to shit, though.”

                I walked over to the cot Sarah was lying on.  Stroking her blonde curls I sighed.  “Why did you do this to me?” I whispered to her, though I knew she couldn’t hear me.  “Oh, Sarah…”  Holding the pain inside became even harder.

                “Nicole,” Zeke started carefully.  “Did you…did you know them?”

                I looked into his eyes.  When I spoke, it was barely a whisper.  “All gone.  They’re all gone.  My whole family…just…gone.”

                I couldn’t name the expression on Zeke’s face.  It was a mixture of probably a dozen emotions.  Sadness, anger, and pity were all a fraction of his expression.

                I needed to do something before I completely broke down.  Normally, in a fight or flight situation, I choose fight.  But, how could I fight this?  How could I fight my family being dead?  I really only had one option. 

                I ran.

****************

                After running for a few minutes, I realized that I actually didn’t know where I was headed.  I turned down one of the darker hallways to catch my breath and decide what my next move would be. 

                I knew that I needed to be alone; I couldn’t face people right now—especially not Zeke.  I don’t think there even is somewhere in these caves where I can go to be alone, I thought.  I could always go outside—I shuddered.  Even now, there was no way I was leaving the safety of the caves by myself. 

                Quicker than a blink, I saw—in my mind’s eye—where I could go.  I briefly checked to make sure that the coast was clear, and then, I was off again.

****************

                As I sat, hiding, I was determined not to cry.  I would be strong.  However, I couldn’t do anything about the memories that bombarded me.  At least no one would come looking for me in the middle of the cornfield…I hoped.

                Struggling against the nearly overwhelming tears, I let the memories envelop me; they were all I had left of my family.

When Pigs Fly: Chapter 12

No!  No, please, God.  No!  The alien was still inside of him.  The hope that had vanished.

                “NO!” I cried, tears welling up in my eyes.  “No, no, no, no!  Leo, please!  I know you’re in there!  You have to be there!  I need you!  Leo!  Dammit, Leo, I can’t do this on my own!”  At this point, I was clutching his shoulders in desperation.  This couldn’t be happening—not now!

                “Star, what’s wrong with you?!” He cried. 

                “Leo, it’s not Star!  It’s me, it’s Nikki!  Your sister!  Please, Leo, fight it!  Take back control!  Please, Leo!  Do it for me!”

                Leo shook his head.  “Who are you talking to?  There’s no one in here,” he said.  “Only me.  This is my body.”

                My mind searched for ideas frantically.  Maybe I can talk to the thing inside his head…make him give Leo back!  It was worth a shot.  What did I have to lose?

                “Look…uh…Running Through the Snow,” I tried.  “This is my little brother’s body.  I need him!”   I crouched down so our eyes were level.  “He’s all that I have left!  Can’t you see that?  Please.”  I started sobbing and I found that my legs could no longer support me; they were shaking too much.  I fell to my knees and pleaded with him—it—silently with my eyes. 

                But, my plan had failed.  I knew that as soon as I looked the parasite in the eyes.  They were cold and unfeeling.  “I’m sorry,” he said.

                My entire body went numb with those two words.  Leo wasn’t there. 

                “But,” I started; some small part of me still clinging to a tiny shard of hope, “if Leo isn’t there, why are you here?”

                “I—“

                “Nicole!”  I turned around to find Zeke running down the hall towards me.  “Grab it!” he yelled.  “Don’t let it go!”

                “What’s going on?” I looked at my brother’s face, searching for answers.  He looked me straight in the eyes and said two words:

                “I’m sorry.” 

                And with that, he collapsed.

********************

                The blood drained from my face.  “L…Leo?” I whispered.  This couldn’t be happening.

                “Leo!  Leo, talk to me!”  I had started to tremble when something caught my attention:

                A trail of blood running out of my brother’s nostril. 

                My throat constricted and I couldn’t breathe.  No, I have to be wrong.  He just…he just…fainted…  I couldn’t, no, I wouldn’t believe that the unthinkable had just happened.

                “Nicole!  Nicole, what happened?”  Zeke had finally reached us.

                “I…I don’t know!  He just…collapsed!”

                Zeke yelled out a few choice words and ran his hand through his hair. 

                “Zeke,” I asked, “What is he doing here?  Is he okay?”

                Zeke shook his head and acted as if he hadn’t heard me.  “Shit.  Why do they all do that?”

                “Do what?!  Zeke!  What.  Is.  Going.  On?!”  My voice was becoming increasingly louder.  I didn’t want to know what Zeke was going to say; I had a horrible feeling about it.  But, I had to know.

                “We were on the raid, finishing up, you know?  These buggers were getting too close to us, so…we grabbed them.  We figured that Ben could try to get the centipedes out of the bodies, but, before he could touch them, they did this.”  He gestured to Leo.  “Ben opened one up.  I guess it, sort of, committed suicide or something.  The human’s brain was shredded; it looked like cottage cheese.”

                I gagged.  “But wait, that would mean that…“ My eyes grew wide and I couldn’t finish.  I looked at my brother in horror.

                “LEO!” I was screaming now.  I was hysterical; I could barely form coherent thoughts.  Only one thing ran through my head over and over.  Leo is dead.  He’s never coming back.  Leo is dead.

                Zeke didn’t know what to make of the scene before him.  He just stared at me, flabbergasted.

                As I cried over my little brother’s broken body, something in my head clicked and my blood ran colder than it ever had before. 

                Barely a second had passed and I was up and running towards Ben’s.  “Why do they all do that?” Zeke had asked.  He said buggers.  Plural.  God, please let me be wrong.

*******************

                I made it to Ben’s in record time.  He looked up at me when I walked in—his eyes red and puffy like he’d been crying—and spoke.  “Nicole?  What are you doing here?”

                I couldn’t answer, though.  My eyes were locked on the four shapes hidden under a blanket.  I couldn’t think; couldn’t speak; couldn’t breathe; couldn’t move.  But, I had to.  I walked over to the shapes robotically, afraid of what would come next.  Reaching towards the blanket, my mind was screaming at me.  Don’t do this!  Walk away!  You don’t want to know what’s under there!  I didn’t want to know.  I had to.

                I ripped the blanket away, barely comprehending what was lying before me.  I looked into the four pale, still faces of the only family I that had left and realized something.

                My life was a lot like Humpty Dumpty’s.  Once I’m up, it’s only a matter of time before everything comes crashing down.

When Pigs Fly: Chapter 11

“…Leo?”

                That one word, that one name, brought back a multitude of memories.  Before I knew it, I was engulfed in them.

************

                My face was becoming increasingly red.  “LEO!” I gasped between laughs.  “Stop…tickling…ME!  SERIOUSLY!  I’m…gonna…PEE!”  I could hardly breath, I was laughing so hard.  Leo was sitting on top of me, pinning me to the floor.

                “Not until you say it!” my little brother laughed. 

                “FINE!” I cried.  “Oh most….great and….incredible Leo….please let…..me UP!....PLEASE!!!”  I couldn’t take it anymore.

                Laughing darkly, Leo stopped tickling me and let me up.  Slowly, I could feel the oxygen returning to my lungs. 

                Glaring at him, I whispered “You’re going to pay for that.”

                “Oh, really?” he asked sarcastically.

                “Yup.”  And with that, I pounced.

*************

                It took a lot of energy to stop crying about my break up with Christian.  I was still sniffling when Leo knocked. 

                “Nikki?”  He asked carefully.  He sounded like he was afraid he might make me start crying again.

                Wiping my eyes quickly, I let him into my room.  Leo took one look at me and then frowned.

                “I’ll kill him,” he stated murderously.  “He made you cry.  He shouldn’t do that, not to you.”

                I sniffed.  “Thanks, Leo, but you don’t have to do that.”  He hugged me.

                “Want me to compare him to dog barf?” he asked innocently.  “’Cause I will…”

                Laughing, I wondered how this eleven year old kid always managed to cheer me up.

*************

                I was babysitting Leo and we decided to go to the mall.  However, after a few hours, we were bored.

                Leo’s eyes suddenly lit up.  “You know what would be awesome?” he asked excitedly.

                “What?”

                Leo whispered his plan into my ear and a grin slowly spread across my face.  I nodded at him and we high-fived.

                As we neared the exit, I executed his plan.

                “No, Leo!” I shouted.  “We’re leaving.  Now!”

                “But mom,” he whined, “I don’t want to!”

                I dragged him out of the mall, chastising him for being such an awful child and we laughed the whole walk home at the priceless looks people had on their faces.

**************

                Quoting A Very Potter Musical and funny comedians with him; laughing at each other on April Fool’s days; fighting and then making up an hour later; watching superhero movies on the couch; singing I’ll Make A Man Out Of You from Mulan at the top of our lungs as off key as we possibly could.  All these memories and more flooded my thoughts. 

                When my mind had finally cleared, I noticed that Leo was giving me a strange look.

                “Leo?” he asked, looking around.  He pointed to himself.  “Are you talking to me?”

                The hair on the back of my neck stood up; something didn’t feel right.  “Leo,” I said, “don’t kid around.  This is serious.”

                “Oh,” he cried, a look of understanding crossing his face.  “You mean my body!  No, it’s me, Running Through the Snow.  What are you doing here, Star?”

When Pigs Fly: Chapter 10

After that night, Zeke and I were inseparable.  He introduced me to everyone in the caves and gave me a more detailed tour.  I also found out what Joe had meant when he told Zeke he had to “talk to Matt about the corn”; they had a vegetable garden inside the caves!  The room where they grew their crops was very well lit, and they had created an irrigation system to keep everything from drying out!  The more Zeke showed me, the more amazed I became.  It was incredible down here!  Being with Zeke made it all the better.  After waking up in his arms, the morning after I cried on him, I had to accept the fact that I was in love…or at least…very deep in “like.”  However, I was afraid that he wouldn’t reciprocate the feeling.  My fears were quickly replaced with pleasure, though, when he took my hand wordlessly and kissed the top of my head. 

                I loved it here.  Something about the caves made me feel…alive again! 

                One day, while I was shucking corn, I found myself in a particularly good mood.  So, I did something I hadn’t in over three years; I sang. 

                “So, shut up, shut up, shut up,

                Don’t wanna hear it!

                Get out, get out, get out,

                Get out of my way!

                Step up, step up, step up,

                You’ll never stop me!

                Nothing you say today is gonna bring me down!”

                “Are you…are you singing?” asked Zeke, hearing my outburst.

                Blushing, I replied “Yes.  I kind of got carried away.  Sorry, I’ll stop.”

                “No, please!  Sing some more!” he exclaimed.  “Your face brighten right up when you sing!  I haven’t seen you this happy since…well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy!” 

                Smiling, I teasingly asked if he had any requests.

                “Hmmm…do you know…”The Lazy Song” by Bruno Mars?”

                I scoffed.  Do I know it!

                “Today I don’t feel like doing anything!” I paused to laugh after someone joined in and whistled.

                “I just wanna lay in my bed!

                Don’t feel like picking up my phone,

                So leave a message at the tone,

                ‘Cause today I don’t feel like doing anything…”

                Pretty soon everyone was putting in requests for songs they wanted me to sing.  It was a bit overwhelming; I had never sung in front of a crowd before.  It certainly did liven up the caves, though.

                When I was by myself, however, my singing expressed how I was feeling.  Knowing that I may never get back the life I had before the aliens: “Kiss It All Better” by He is We.  Thinking about Zeke and Joe finding me: “I’m With You” by Avril Lavigne.  My thrilled mood when I finally got to take a bath: “Tonight Tonight” by Hot Chelle Rae.  I even sang the Pokemon Theme song a few times. 

                My life was, somewhat, back to normal.

*****************

                I had been living happily in the caves for a few months now.  But not today.

                Looking down at my hands, I sighed.  Where are you, Zeke? I wondered. 

                A few weeks ago, Zeke, Joe, Caulin, TJ, Tim, Nico, and Dylan all went raiding.  Our food supply was running low and we needed some medical supplies.  I wanted to go too, but Zeke was dead set on me staying.  I missed him terribly. 

                Sighing, I remembered our conversation about the raid.

*****************

                “Nicole?”  I could hear him coming from down the hall but I didn’t answer; I was still sulking.  “Nicole?  I know you’re in there!”  Walking through the doorway he sighed.  “Nicole, why didn’t you answer me?” 

                I turned my head away from him.  It was petty and childish, but I was giving him the silent treatment.

                Sighing, Zeke sat next to me.  “I’ve told you a thousand times, Nicole.  The only reason you aren’t coming on the raid is that I don’t want you getting hurt!”

                “But you guys could use me!  I’ve told you a thousand times that I won’t get hurt!”  Oops.  So much for the silent treatment, I thought.  I never was one to keep quiet for very long…

                “I know, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you got hurt.”  Zeke embraced me and I sighed.  I didn’t like worrying him, but I was worried for him too!

                “I’m just so scared that you won’t come back.  I don’t know what I would do if—“  I couldn’t even finish the thought.  It was heart wrenching. 

                “I swear, Nicole.  I will come back to you.  I don’t care what I have to do, but I will not let you down!”  His voice was so fierce.  I looked up at him and saw that his eyes blazing; he really meant it.  I knew that there was no way I would win this argument.

                Sighing in defeat, I squeezed him as tightly as I could and whispered two words:

                “Be safe.”

************

                They had been gone for three weeks now and I was sick with worry.  I hadn’t sung in a while; I was too depressed.  Everyone tried to console me, saying that they were normally gone for this long, but it didn’t help.  I would feel better with Zeke’s hand back in mine.

                 I was on my way to help make some bread, when someone came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.  I turned around to see Faith, a huge grin plastered onto her face. 

                “Just thought you might like to know…they’re back!”  She had barely finished her sentence before I was racing through the caves, looking for Zeke.  I didn’t notice someone standing in my way until we had both crashed to the ground.

                “Sorry,” I started, rubbing my head.  I never got to finish apologizing, though, because when I looked up, I saw a mop of brown hair that I would know anywhere.

                No, it isn’t possible!  My thought raced.  How did he get here?!  I had dreamt of him just the other night and now he was sitting in front of me, nursing his wounds, so to speak!  I tried to say something to him, but all that came out was a garbled, choking sound.  Clearing my throat, I tried again.

                “…Leo?”

When Pigs Fly: Chapter 9

                My tears didn’t fall for long.  Suck it up, Nikki! I scolded myself.  You need to be strong.  You will find your family and you will find a way to save them!  Stop feeling sorry for yourself.  What if someone sees you like this?  I hated feeling weak.  I never cried in front of people.  Never.

                “Nicole?” Zeke asked.  His voice came from the floor next to me; it was still groggy from sleep.  I was struck again at how nice he had been; insisting that I take his bed while he slept on the ground.  “What are you doing up?  It’s still dark out.”  He yawned, emphasizing the statement.  When he sat up and looked at me, he asked what was wrong.  It was only then that I realized that I had pulled my knees to my chest and was now hugging them.

                Zeke’s expression softened.  “Nicole, tell me what’s wrong, please.” 

                My eyes welled up and I squeezed them shut and bit down on my lip, trying to keep the tears from spilling over.

                “Are you scared or something?” Zeke asked.  I knew that if I spoke, I wouldn’t be able to stop the waterworks.  I shook my head.

                Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t—

                I couldn’t hold it in any longer; I felt so hopeless.  I started sobbing and I hated myself for it.  Zeke was going to think that I was just some scared little kid.  Which, I guess, I kind of was.  There was no way he would respect me after this.

                “Shhh, shh, Nicole.  Come on.  Don’t cry.  It’s okay…”

                I felt movement on the bed and before I knew it, Zeke had his arms around me.  I didn’t care about what he thought about me anymore.  I needed someone to be with me right now.  I turned into his hug and sobbed against his chest.

                I cried for about an hour.  The entire time, Zeke was silent.  He just sat there with his arms around me, letting me ruin his shirt with my tears.  He waited to make sure I was finished before he spoke.

                “Nicole, why are you so upset?”

                I sighed.  “It’s kind of a stupid reason, actually.  I just had a dream—well, it was more like a memory—of the big fight me and my boyfriend had before breaking up.  I guess…I guess it just made me think…”  I paused and breathed a shaky breath in.  “Zeke?  If I ask you something, you’ll tell me the truth, right?”  I asked tentatively.

                “Always,” he answered.  He looked at me quizzically.  “What’s up?”

                “I…I’m never going to see them again…am I?” 

                Zeke sighed.  “I’m sorry.”

                I leaned my head against his chest.  I wasn’t…sad really.  I guess I had known all along.  The hopelessness filled me once again, but this time, I didn’t cry.

                I fell into a dreamless sleep just listening to the sound of Zeke’s breathing, his arms around me.

When Pigs Fly: Chapter 8

As Zeke and I walked down the corridor, towards the sleeping quarters, we passed a lot of people.  Zeke told me that everyone here was human, so I stopped freaking out every time someone passed by us.  Zeke also introduced me to them.  Caulin had come from California with his sister, Abbey and best friends Amber and Shawna were from Ontario!  There was also TJ, Dan, Tyler, Catherine, and the twins: Hope and Faith.

                “How many people are living here?” I asked.  I had counted thirteen so far and was already amazed at the number.

                “Umm…I think there’s about twenty,” he replied.  “Twenty-one now that you’re here.”

                It was more than I could have ever hoped for.

                “Showing her around, Zeke?”

                I froze as I recognized the voice that was coming from behind me.  It was the man Zeke was with when they found me.  Joe.

                I turned around to face him and blushed, remembering what had happened when we first…met.

                “Yeah,” Zeke replied.  “Nicole, this is Joe.  Joe, Nicole.”

                “We’ve met…” he said, wincing at the memory. 

                I turned a deeper shade of red.  “Sorry,” I apologized, “but, you really shouldn’t have scared me like that.”

                “Well I won’t be forgetting that lesson any time soon…” He turned to Zeke.  “Where are you taking her?”

                “I was going to try to find her a place to sleep.”

                “Well good luck with that,” Joe snorted.  “Pretty much everywhere is full right now.  Anyways, I have to go talk to Matt about the corn.  See you guys later!”

                As Joe walked away, Zeke turned to me.  “So, if the rooms are full, where are we going to put you?”

                “Well, I guess I can stay in the infirmary…I’ll be okay.”  I tried to suppress a grimace while I told him this.  Zeke saw right through my lie though. 

                “Nicole, I’m not going to make you sleep in there.  You can bunk with me for now.  Until we find a better spot for you, that is.”

                A small smile crept onto my face.  “Are you sure?” I asked.  “I don’t want you to feel like you have to or anything.”

                “It’s fine with me,” he assured me.  “Are you okay with it?”

                This was turning into a great day!  What started out as a day that would consist of me running from aliens, changed to me finding a home that was safe and filled with humans.  One of which was incredibly kind and understood me better than I did,

                “That sounds perfect.”

*****************

                As we walked out of the theatre, Christian held my hand.  I know that practically every teenager on the face of the earth says this, but it felt like my hand fit perfectly in his.

                Star Trek had been an awesome movie!  I always had been into sci-fi.

                “So, what did you think of the movie?” Christian asked me.

                “It was great; the perfect movie for our one year anniversary!”

                He kissed me.  “I’m glad you liked it,” he whispered into my ear.  I sighed contently.

                “I love you.”

                “I love you, too.”

                We kissed again; it was all very romantic.  When we broke apart, Christian took my hand again and we continued walking.

                “So,” I asked, “do you think it’s possible?”

                “Do I think what is possible?”

                “Aliens.”

                “Do you?”

                I nodded.  “Sure.  There are billions of universes and probably hundreds of billions of planets out there.  Who’s to say that Earth is the only one with intelligent life?”

                He gave me a stern look.  “Aliens are cool in movies and stuff I guess, but there’s no such thing!”

                “Why don’t you think it’s possible?”  Whatever answer I was expecting, it wasn’t the one he gave me.

                “Because it’s a stupid idea.  I’ll believe aliens exist when Big Foot parties with me and pigs start flying!  There’s no such thing as aliens and anyone who believes in them is an idiot!”

                I glared at him.  “So now I’m an idiot?”

                “Do you believe in aliens?” he asked me, as if that answered my question.

                “God, Christian, when did you get to be such a jackass?!” I yelled.

                “A jackass?  Geez, Nick, you really are stupid!”

                “Don’t call me that!  I can’t believe I spent an entire year with you!” I spat.  “I should have known better!  My mom was right about you—“

                “Well,” he interrupted.  “I guess being a bitch is hereditary!”

                I gasped; now he was calling my mom names?!  He had gone too far.

                “Screw you, Christian,” I hissed.  “Good luck finding someone else that will put up with all of your crap!  We’re through!”

                As I stormed off, I could hear him yelling obscenities after me.

                When I got home, I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room.  My anger had melted away.  All I was left with was despair and I couldn’t hold it in any longer; I cried.

                Moments of Christian and I flashed through my head as I sobbed, ending with that fight.  I was torn.  On the one hand, I couldn’t believe that I had spent so much time with a dick like him.  I should have seen it coming.  On the other hand, I had just broken up with my boyfriend of a year—on our anniversary to boot—and it hurt. 

                It’s for the best, I chanted again and again in my head, trying to stop the tears from falling.

                God, my life was such a mess.

***************

                I woke up crying and disoriented; the memory of me dumping Christian still burning strongly in my mind. 

                Well, Christian, I thought as the tears streaked down my face.  I hope you had a good time with Big Foot.

My Book: Chapter 7

Chapter 7

                As I sat with Zeke, eating macaroni and cheese—seriously, how did they get this stuff?  I could never get food this good when I was running—I thought about Ben and his brother, Jason.  I felt bad for bringing the subject up with Ben, but there wasn’t really anything I could do about it now.  When Zeke first told me that Jason was Ben’s brother, I obviously needed to know more.  Zeke wanted to get something to eat first, but I talked him into telling me the story.  I can be pretty convincing when I want to be…

************

                I dug my heels into the ground.  “Pleeease!” I cried.  “C’mon, Zeke, just tell me about Ben’s brother!”

                “Later, Nicole.” He protested.  “Right now I’m starving!”  Zeke continued to walk away, so I sat down, still holding onto his wrists, attempting to keep him from leaving.  He looked down at me, snorted at my stubbornness and threw me over his shoulder with a resulting “oof” from me.  He started walking towards the mess hall.

                “Zeke, long nails hurt a lot more than you would expect them to when stabbed into a person’s back.  Now, you have exactly five seconds to put me down and tell me about Jason or, so help me God—“

                Zeke stopped, set me down and looked me in the eyes.  “Nice try but, you have your nails chewed off.”  Dammit!  Why did he have to notice everything?! I thought. 

                “You really want to know about Ben’s brother, don’t you?”  I nodded.  Sighing, Zeke sat down against the wall.  “Fine.  But promise me we’ll get food after.”

                I raised my right hand.  “Scout’s honor,” I replied, sitting across from him.

                Zeke rolled his eyes.  “Alright.  So me, Ben, Jason, Floyd, and Neil—you’ll meet them later—were on a raid.”

                “A raid?” I asked. 

                 “You know, a raid.  When we run low on food or supplies we go and raid some houses.”

                “Oh.”  Well don’t I feel stupid, I thought.

                “Anyways,” he continued, “we had already been gone a few days and were just about ready to come back.  We were just going to stop at one last house.  What we didn’t know was that the Seekers were expecting us.”

                I shuddered.  It didn’t matter if you were on your own or with twenty armed guards.  The Seekers—they’re basically parasite cops who hunt down humans—scared everyone.

                “The house was dark and the parasites that lived there had left a few hours ago, so we made our move.  Ben and Jason were keeping watch outside.  Floyd, Neil and I went into the house—the back door was unlocked—and headed straight for the kitchen.  We were filling up our satchels with food when we heard a loud bang outside.  I was the first one out the door.  I saw Jason on the ground by a gun, lying in a pool of blood, and Ben trying to fight off three Seekers at once.  Floyd and Neil came outside and we easily killed the Seekers.  I told the guys that we had to book it out of there before more Seekers arrived, but Ben was in hysterics.  He threw punches at anyone who tried to get him away from Jason’s broken body.  We tried to calm him down enough to get him out of the yard, but we couldn’t take Jason with us, and Ben wasn’t going to leave without him.  I could hear sirens coming, so I panicked.  I knocked Ben out and we carried him back to the Jeep, leaving Jason’s body behind. 

                “It was months before Ben spoke, or even looked at any of us again.  I felt horrible for doing what I did, but we couldn’t lose both guys in one night, and we didn’t have time to get Jason’s body out of there too.  Ben spoke to Floyd and Neil long before he spoke to me again.  He only just started talking to me about two months ago.”

***********

                I was still speechless. 

                “Nicole, you haven’t said one word since I told you about Jason.  Are you okay?” Zeke asked me.

                “Yeah, I’m fine.  It’s just…I don’t know what to say.  Poor Ben.  I can’t even begin to fathom the amount of pain he must be in.”

                Zeke raised an eyebrow.  Seriously?!  How does he do that?  “Fathom?”

                “Yes, fathom.  It’s a good word.”  I sighed.  “I just feel horrible now.  I shouldn’t have brought up Jason.”

                “Don’t worry about it,” Zeke assured me.  “Ben won’t hold it against you.  You didn’t know.”

                “But—“

                “Listen.  Ben will get over it.  He isn’t mad at you for not knowing about something...are you finished eating?”

                I handed him my empty bowl and he brought it over to the dish bin along with his own.  When he came back he said “Come with me.”

                “Where?” I asked.

                “We’re going to find you somewhere to sleep tonight.  Unless you want to sleep in the infirmary…”

                I jumped up and grabbed Zeke’s wrist, pulling him out the door.

                “Let’s go.”

Menu Test Part Deux

I PASSED I PASSED I PASSED!!!!! *dances happy dance, fires confetti cannons, unleashes the hounds* ...that last part MAY have been too far...but ya.  I passed my menu test!  It may have taken me 2 tries...but i did it!!  I'm now OFFICIALLY into the restaurant!!  HUZZAH!

Also, sorry that chapter 7 is taking so long...but I'm having a bit of trouble getting it JUST right...don't worry though!  It will work!!  ...eventually...