Chapter two

We walked in silence for a while, neither of us wanting to talk about what had just happened. Finally, Jamie said,"Lex?"

"Yeah?" I replied, rather wearily.

"D'you think she, I mean it, is really bad? I mean…It doesn't seem all that dangerous to me. And I know what happened with your parents, but what if it's different?"

I looked up at him, ignoring the comment about my parents. That was the last thing I needed to think about now. His eyes looked a little nervous, maybe about what I was going to say. I thought for a moment before answering.

"Maybe…I don't know Jamie. It doesn't seem like the others, that's for sure. But what if it's acting?"

"I don't think it is. Besides, parasites are horrible actors. Don't you remember seeing any of their TV shows?" He laughed at this, and the sound echoed through the silent cave.

"TV…It seems like it's been so long since I've seen anything on TV." I thought back, to before the Invasion. I remembered sitting on my father's lap in between Ian and my mother, with Kyle sitting beside Ian. We had been laughing at a movie. I had forgotten the name now, and why it had been so funny, but I remembered the laughter and smiles. We had been so happy then, so unaware of what was to come.

The memory made me sad, but I didn't cry. I hadn't cried since I was eleven, before the Invasion. "You have to be tough now," my father had told me one night. We had been hiding in an abandoned cabin in the woods, and Ian, Kyle, and my mother were all sleeping. But I had had a nightmare, and I had woken my father. We were sitting on an old bench on the cabin's porch. It was cold, but I didn't mind. "You have to be strong, and you have to protect your brothers. They need you. You have to stay together." I could still hear his voice, soft but firm, gentle yet commanding.

"I will, I promise Daddy. But you'll be with us too, right? You'll protect us," my twelve year old self had said, looking up with affection at her father.

"I don't know Lexi. I hope so. But Lexi, no matter what, I will always love you. Never forget that." His answer had not been what I had been expecting. I was sitting beside him. Now I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around him, telling him I loved him over and over again, and that he could never leave me. He held me for several minutes, and then he sent me to bed. That had been the last time I had seen him.

"Lex? Lexi?" Jamie's voice brought me back to the present.

"Sorry," I said, feeling as though I had just woken up from a dream. "You're right," I said, after pausing for a moment to remember his question. "They always were terrible actors."

"So I don't think it's acting. Maybe it's just not like the others."

"I guess we'll have to see." At that moment, we arrived at my room. I shared it with Kyle and Ian. "Well, see you later." I waved to him and entered the room, moving the two doors – one red-painted wood and one gray metal – out of the way and replacing them.

"See you." Jamie called back.

When I stepped inside, Ian was waiting for me. I groaned silently.

"I heard," he said.

"From who?" I asked, wanting to know who had ratted me out.

"Jared told me. He was pretty upset." Ian sighed. "I told you specifically not to go near it. Why don't you ever listen to me Lex?"

"I do listen to you! Just not for everything."

"Name one time you've listened to me," Ian said, crossing his arms.

"I brush my teeth." I said after thinking for a moment.

Ian laughed, and tousled my hair. "I'll give you that one."

"So, am I off the hook?" I asked.

"Well…"

"Please Ian? I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'll try harder."

"And will you promise to stay away from it?"

I thought about this. I couldn't could I? Jamie would want to go back, I was sure of that. And that meant I had to go with him, for safety reasons if nothing else. Jamie was smart, but he could be reckless, too, and he got into trouble easily.

"I can't," I said finally.

Ian's expression turned hard. "Why not?"

"First of all, we both know Jamie will go back, no matter what Jared says. I have to go with him; you know how careless he can be. And second of all, I was talking to Jamie, and we don't think it's necessarily bad Ian. We don't think it's lying; it's certainly not a Seeker. What if it's different? What if it's good? What if – "

"Yeah, well what if it's not good? What if you trust it and then it kills you? Do you not remember what they have done? Don't you remember what they did to our parents?"

That was going too far. He should have known better than to bring our parents into this. I felt my anger boiling up inside me, and before I could try to stop it, I exploded.

"Oh yeah? And how's it going to kill me exactly Ian? Huh?" I was yelling now, and I didn't care who heard. "With Jeb's gun? He's not stupid! Besides, it wouldn't even touch the gun! That's right! It wouldn't even touch the gun! Today Jeb dropped the gun and it rolled toward her. And guess what? She cringed away from it? She's scared of us!"

"It's not human, Lexi!" Ian yelled. "It's not like us!"

"So that gives you the right to hurt it? That's Kyle's job, to be a moron. You're supposed to be the smart one! But instead you're being stupid! You're all so stupid! What if that was dad's body? Would you hurt it? Even if he is gone, it would still be his body."

"That's different." Ian said more quietly.

"No, Ian," I said, lowering my voice as well, "It's really not."

And with that, I turned and fled.

Okay, so I didn't exactly flee. Actually, I walked over to Ian, grabbed my clothes and the few possessions I had, stuffed them in my canvas bag, and left. Over my shoulder, I called, "I'm going to Jamie's!" There was no reply.

I walked over to a small circle with a jade green screen. I pulled back the screen to see Jamie sitting on a mattress on the floor. He raised his eyebrows when I came in, and I quickly explained my fight with Ian. He understood, of course, and told me I could stay with him as long as I wanted.

He also pointed out that I would have to deal with Kyle too, sooner or later. I groaned at this, and said"Don't remind me." After this, I became aware that the busy morning had left me exhausted, and Jamie left so I could sleep.


When I woke up it was darker, but it was still light enough that it must have been day. I was wondering what to do, and where I could go to avoid Kyle, when my stomach grumbled. I worried that I might see Kyle, but after another grumble from my stomach I obeyed it and made my way to the kitchen.

I walked cautiously into the kitchen, ready to make my escape if necessary. Wes was the first to spot me, and he grinned at me.

"No worries, Lex. He's not here."

I breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to join him, grabbing a piece of bread on my way.

"So," Wes said, trying to sound casual, "What did you do this time?"

"It's not me," I said between chews, "It's he and Ian. They're the ones who are being stupid. They won't let me go near it." I emphasized the 'it' so he would know what I was talking about.

Wes raised his eyebrows in surprise. "And you want to because…"

"Jamie wants to, first of all, and I don't think it's bad. I'm curious, though. I bet it could tell us some interesting stories."

Wes shrugged, and asked, "Why won't they let you visit it?"

I scowled,"They say it's dangerous."

"You know they only want the best for you, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But they're being so stupid. I mean, Jeb would be with me, and so would Jamie. I would be safe."

Wes nodded. "I guess you're right. Uh-oh, here comes Kyle."

I didn't have time to run. Kyle was walking into the kitchen, talking to Andy. When he saw me, he stopped immediately and walked towards me, his face grim.

"Ian told me you went to see it." He said.

"Yeah, so?" I replied, trying to sound nonchalant, although I suddenly felt nervous.

"We told you to stay away. It's dangerous Lex. I don't care if you think it might be good. It's still not human. Stay away from it Lex, or I'll make you stay away."

I stood my ground, glaring back at him. "You can't make me. Jamie and I are going to keep visiting it and that's that. You can hit me as many times as you want, the bruises won't make a difference."

Kyle narrowed his eyes. He hated it when he didn't get his way. "Listen to me, Alexandra Mallory O'Shea. You are going to stay away from it, or I will physically tie you to a chair and put you in our room. Do you understand?"

I said nothing, still glaring at him. I hated being called by my full name.

"I said do you understand?" He yelled the words this time. "How about this? Either you stay away from it, or you won't be able to see Jamie. That means no talking to him, no looking at him, no breathing in the same area as him. I will not allow it. You know I always have my way, Lex."

My mouth fell open as I realized that he could, in fact, force me to stay away. He would stay with me everywhere I went, even the bathroom if he had to. Like he had said, he always got his way.

"Are we agreed then?" He said, smirking at his victory. "You'll stay away from it?"

"Fine," I grumbled angrily.

Kyle nodded, satisfied, and turned back to Andy.

I stalked away, grabbed some bread, and went back to Jamie and Jared's room.


I spent the rest of the week sulking, for the most part. I did my chores, I ate, and I slept. I was still in Jamie and Jared's room, but no one seemed to care. Jared had taken up guard duty down by the storage, where they were keeping it, so he was never in the room anyways.

I tried a few times to visit it, but someone always caught me. Kyle, Ian, Brandt, even Andy seemed to be watching me, making sure I didn't go to see it.

One day, Kyle went down to see Jared, and I followed him silently. When Jared saw him, he lunged to his feet.

"Get out of here," he warned, holding the gun ready.

"Just checking," Kyle said. "Someday you might not be here. Someday you might sleep too soundly."

I wanted to punch him as hard as I could when he said that, but I couldn't. Instead I crept silently back down the hall, and went to report the news to Jamie. I hadn't been able to see much of it, but from what I had seen, it looked okay.

A week later, Ian came back from the visiting Jared with a cut on his cheek.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"Jared," He replied. He wouldn't tell me any more than that, so I wasn't sure what had happened. But I overheard him one day, talking to Jeb, and I found out that Jared had been questioning it, and Ian had taken a punch for it.

Later that night, when I was sure Kyle was asleep, I crawled over to Ian.

"What's gotten into you?" I whispered. "I thought you were a parasite hater. Now you take punches for your enemies?"

Ian scowled. "How did you find out?"

"I heard you talking to Jeb."

"Of course," He sighed.

We were silent for a moment, and then Ian said, "I think you're right, though. I think it is different. Maybe it's even good."

"So can I go see it? Please Ian? I'll be careful, promise. And Kyle doesn't have to know."

Ian sighed again, and then replied, "Fine. Just promise you'll be careful."

"I will Ian, I promise." Then, he opened his arms to me, so I hugged him. I fell asleep in his arms that night, dreaming about my mother and father, and happy memories of our family, together.

That's the end of chapter 2. Please review, commentary is greatly appreciated! Also, please excuse any grammatical or spelling errors. I will try my best to use good grammar and spelling, but I may miss a few things now and then. Thanks, Serafina Silvertongue