Time seemed to crawl by as I sat outside the small prison. There was nothing to do to keep the time ticking by. The thought of conversation with it crossed my mind, but it never spoke, anyway. If it didn't speak to Jeb, I doubted it would speak to me. It was hard to tell whether I was being brought breakfast or dinner after a few days.
"Here we go." Jeb said as cheerful as ever. He wasn't talking to me; which he knew angered me more than anything else.
I saw it smile up at him politely as it took the tray he offered. I closed my eyes so I couldn't be reminded of Melanie's smile, though, this one wasn't particularly hers. Her smiles were always brighter, wider… happier.
When Jeb stood up, stretching from having to bend over awkwardly, he met my glare.
"Oh, please," he huffed.
"This ends now." I demanded.
"My house, kid." Jeb shook his head.
I pointed to the dark hole where it silently ate. "My girl."
Jeb raised one eyebrow.
I rolled my eyes. "I meant the body belongs to me, remember, Jeb?"
He shrugged, looking down at a spot on the floor beside my feet. I could clearly see the smirk on his lips behind his beard.
"You are to bring the food to the end of the hall and leave it. I will then retrieve it."
Jeb shifted his weight from one leg to the other." So you're going to starve it? I know you won't care whether it eats or not-"
"It'll eat, Jeb," I cocked the gun in my hands and he chuckled. "End of the hall."
"You got nerve, boy." Jeb clicked his tongue as he turned to walk away.
The dark hole was silent when I turned around. I must have startled it. Good.
When I was finished eating- I made sure to eat slowly to help pass the time- I listened for chewing sounds from inside the hole. It was long finished by the time I was done.
The tray scraped loudly across the floor as it pushed it towards me. I watched it flinch away from me when I stuck my hand in to take it away.
I met Jeb at the end of the hall and shoved the empty trays to his chest. He stood starring at me. He has something to say.
I rolled my eyes. "What now?" I groaned.
"It's probably got to go. If you know what I mean."
"Fine," I grumbled and turned to storm back to the hole.
"Let's go!" I snapped. "You in there, you need to use the bathroom? Move it!" I had to look away when it's eyes peered up at me, full of fear. I walked faster this time, making sure not to have to feel it's hands again.
It immediately crawled back into it's hole as soon as we got back. I settled in to sleep on the mat again.
The next day was identical to the first. The only difference was Jeb had left the trays at the end of the hall like I had asked. No words were spoken between us or him and the alien. Things were quiet. I didn't particularly like it this way, but it was better than him befriending the enemy.
I heard the footsteps sooner than anyone would. I was used to having to listen for intruders. I jumped to my feet. "Get out of here!" I warned, holding the gun out in front of me. Whoever it was better have a death wish if they continued around that corner. I would shoot first and ask questions later.
"Just checking," My shoulders relaxed when I realized it was Kyle. I was half expecting Jamie to try and sneak his way down here. "Someday you might not be here. Someday you might sleep too soundly."
He didn't know me too well. I would never let my guard down. I cocked the gun to let him know I wasn't messing around.
Kyle laughed as he left. But he left. I won this one. I knew he wasn't going to give up, but neither was I.
The next night it was Brandt. He retreated quickly. I knew he was sent by Kyle to try and get past me. He needed to learn that it wasn't going to work.
Kyle tried again, but I was ready and losing my patience. My finger wrapped around the trigger and I was so lost in my anger that I almost pulled it as soon as I saw his dark figure appear around the corner. His eyes widened quickly as they met mine. He saw something there he's never seen before and he turned and walked quickly away.
The next day was more silent than the first. No one came to try and see if I was asleep. Just Jeb silently bringing the trays. I hurried to get them. I was starving.
My smile spread across my face when I noticed the bag of Cheetos. I knew very well that Melanie loved Cheetos. I knew her body would be craving it the moment I opened the bag. It was my turn to make the alien inside her body pay for what she's done. I slowly opened the bag and brought one to my lips. I munched on it slowly and loudly, savoring the flavor. I knew it was listening to me closely. Even if it didn't like the cheesy snack, the body did.
The laughter coming from the darkness angered me. Did it find this amusing instead of desirable? Not the emotion I was looking for. My chews became angered as I ate. It's laughter grew more hysterical as I consumed the rest of the bag. How did my amusement of having it suffer, turn into it's amusement from me eating? I was beginning to lose control. I could feel it.
I settled in to sleep when the footsteps had me rolling onto my knees. I cursed as I grabbed the gun and fumbled to get it pointed in the direction I wanted. I couldn't believe how much I was asleep. It was hard to get myself fully awake.
"Easy," It was Ian this time. So he sent his brother to take the bullet for him. Didn't matter to me. "I come in peace."
"Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying." I growled. Was Kyle going out this in a different way? Sending his brother in to act as if he was being nice to me, then the attack would happen when I least expected it? Not gonna work.
"I just want to talk." Ian's approach didn't falter. "You're buried down here, missing the important discussions… we miss your take on things."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure."
Ian walked around the corner and I rose the gun. He held his hands up, palms towards me. His hands were empty. "Oh, put the gun down." If I was planning to fight you, I would have come with four guys this time."
He couldn't be more right. Ian and I were around the same size, but I could take him down easily. No one ever started a fight with me. No one but Kyle, and he never won. He was just hot-headed. "How's your brother these days?" I asked, both reminding him that I could take him down, and warning him that I was stronger than anyone in these caves.
Ian was the good brother. There were too many times when we had each others backs when out on a raid. It didn't feel right to have the gun pointed at him.
I slumped down to the floor, but made sure to place myself in front of the hole. He didn't have any room to get past me if he wanted to.
Ian relaxed in front of me, too. "He's still fuming about his nose," he shrugged and smiled at me. "Oh, well - it's not the first time it's been broken. I'll tell him you said you were sorry."
I squared my shoulders. "I'm not."
Ian laughed quietly, nodding. "I know. No one is ever sorry for hitting Kyle."
We both laughed and it felt good. It's been too long since I laughed. It didn't quite warm my insides, but it felt nice to have another emotion rather than anger and hurt and pain.
I was beginning to realize that I enjoyed having Ian's company down here with me. It was nice to talk to someone. To talk to a brother who respected me as I respected him. The only thing that tied Ian and Kyle as brothers were their looks. Their attitudes were completely different.