Chapter 10 - HOME
"This got to be a joke" Jade said as she arrived to the union station. A group of five persons were sitting, checking the contents of bags when she recognize them. "So, you survived" said a bald guy with a red motocross suit.
"Unfortunately for you, yes I did. And even more unfortunately, I need all that stuff you're taking so you better stop what you're doing and get out of here before you piss me off even more" Jade said, getting off her bike and taking out the discharged gun.
"We are five, you are one. What could you do against us?" Said the same bald guy. "Well, I have so much stress bottled since what happened that night and believe me, you don't want me to explode" Jade answered.
The five jumpers laughed at her and while two of them pointed at Jade, the other three turned around to keep checking bags and else. They took everything they could and put it in three bags. "You can't take everything. Not all of that stuff is yours" Jade said. "You're wrong. None of this stuff is ours. We didn't get anything here that night but hey, we were lucky enough to get out alive and now we can't leave this to waste right? Here, have a can of soup and fuck off, Raven". He threw a can of soup at Jade's feet, it broke open and all the content spread over Jade's boots. Next thing she could remember was an iron in her hands, two bleeding guys being dragged for other two and one unconscious being carried, all of them running filled with fear. And without saying it, Jade knew they wouldn't come back. She cleaned her boots and hands, took the bags she could carry and went back with the group under the mall.
"And how do you say your hands got those little blisters?" Tori asked when cleaning Jade's hands.
"I don't know, I guess it was for driving without gloves?" Jade answered.
"Yeah, that could be why. Once we make it to Sikowitz, I'll make some brine for you to dip your hands in" Tori said, wrapping Jade's left hand with a bandage. "We are close, we just have to make sure Viper's place is safe for them"
"Why ain't they coming with us? I thought Cat said to me there was plenty of space" Jade asked.
"They don't want to. Ashley is way better than yesterday -again, thanks to you- and they have to look for the rest of their people... There's a lot to do for us too, we have to start planing something new since our first act of rebellion turned out more than wrong. It was catastrophic..." Tori answered.
"You didn't know about Beck and his troop. Had you know, you could have beaten him" Jade said. "Even in the last moment Robbie miraculously managed to think of something to help"
"Hey! I heard that!" Robbie said, standing some feet away from them. "You say it like I never have good ideas"
"You usually didn't, but I imagine so much has changed since we were attending school till now that we are staying alive... But I still think you're pretty much a dork"
Tori slapped Jade's arm making the goth to frown "leave Robbie alone, he's done way too much. His dorkyness alongside with Freddie's and Sinjin's had kept us safe and communicated" Tori said to an eye-rolling Jade. "However, lets go home. I bet Sikowitz misses us and to be honest I miss my bed"
"You do have beds?" Jade asked
"Matresses" Cat answered, getting of Jade's bike and rubbing her upper arms. "Tori, can I go in the car now? I'm getting chilly... You can go with Jade, you have a jacket"
Jade's eyes widened for a millisecond and she then climbed up, looking anywhere but Tori. "You can borrow the jacket, Cat. I can go without it" Tori said feeling a little awkward.
"Oh no, thanks. I am tired of holding to the seat and I'm feeling sleepy" Cat said faking a yawn. "I know what you're doing, Caterina" Jade said when handing Cat's bag through the car's window. "No you don't. Lets go Robbie! Drive!"
"Okay then... We'll see you in a few hours guys" Tori said while climbing the bike behind Jade. "Hours? I thought we were like, half an hour from there?" Jade asked, turning to face Tori.
"It's a precaution. Simon and Trina are coming till tomorrow so we don't attract caspers with the noise. So, in the mean time we're looking for supplies" Tori explained holding an empty bag so Jade could see it. "Oh. I thought the supplies I got were enough but okay then. Where are we going? You're the boss, Lady Banshee" said the goth with a smirk.
Tori rolled her eyes and put on a pair of sunglasses. "Well, Trina and Simon are going back to the union station parking for the rest of things, so I was thinking... Uh... How much fuel do we have?"
Jade's eyes widened for a second when she heard about Trina and Simon going to the parking "they ran away, they're not there anymore. Calm down" she thought and answered Tori's question. "Well, I got to fill the tank when we stopped this morning, so I guess we'll be okay. Why? Where are we going?"
"Do you think is enough?" Tori asked again. They had started moving out of the tunnel and on to the street as soon as Viper had stood up. They took the food and divided it for them and the ones that went with Circus. Silver's group and other were reduced. Some decided to go alone and some got together with Viper's. "I can't tell you if it is enough if you do not tell me where the hell we are going, Vega" Jade answered, getting annoyed.
Tori bit her lower lip, she sighed and took off the glasses to look Jade in the eye. "I want to go home... I haven't had the chance to go there unlike Trina, and I... I want to go and... I want to see... I need to see"
Jade kept silence for a few seconds, she then turned around and started the bike. "Well, if we want to go there and come back in time we better get going... Hold on tight, Vega"
Jade drove smoothly. There were no caspers or patrols in sight and soon they made it to the old Vega house. Broken windows, graffiti in every wall and the collapsed door. Inside, the familiar red couch ripped, filling coming out of everywhere, dusted and with lots of stains that neither Tori nor Jade wanted to know what they were. In the middle of the dining room, where the table used to be, there was a steel barrel with what seemed to be rests of, precisely, the table, chairs, parts of the couch and papers. When Tori approached the barrel she saw some rests of pictures in there. "I guess this is why Trina only got a pair of photos from home... She never told me our house had ended like this" Tori said, more to herself than anything.
"Then you won't want to go upstairs and see your room" Jade said coming behind her with a burned photo album; "seems like someone set your bed on fire purposely. I guess your desk was used as wood too aaand your bathroom, well, you really REALLY don't want to go in there".
"My bed was set on fire!?" Tori ran upstairs to find her bedroom down collapsed as well and her bed cushion reduced to ashes. "Damn it... Jade! I need your help here!" Tori shouted. The goth took her time to get there, trying to retrieve a photo from the photo album but just destroying the entire thing.
Jade looked up to Tori with the remains of the album and put on her best 'sorry' face. "Uh...". Tori's eyes widened for a sec before shaking her head and motioning Jade to get closer, "Doesn't matter. Come help me here" said the tanned girl. "I had a box with... Things under the cushion... It was an old lunch box, just help me to look for it"
Moving pieces of wood and fabric, some springs and lots of ashes, Jade huffed "how do you know it still is here? It also may have burned and we're just getting all sooted and... Never mind" she finished, taking a sooted aluminium lunch box and handling it to Tori. "Great! Now we just need a computer. I guess it will be Sinjin's one" said Tori, taking the box and tucking it in the still empty bag they had; "now the supplies".
Tori walked out of the room, downstairs and into the garage. "Dad used to have a stock of protein bars in the garage for when he was 'working on the car' but, he was just avoiding Trina and mom... And probably me too"
"Could you blame him? He was the only man in here" said Jade, following Tori. "Hey! That wasn't nice!" Tori argued, turning around to look Jade. The goth smirked proudly and said "oh Vega, Vega, Vega. It seems like all this time without me has made you forget. I am not a nice person".
Tori rolled her eyes while Jade passed by her, smiling once the goth couldn't see her. That was something she missed from Jade but that wasn't willing to admit in front of her.
Once in the garage, they both realized it was useless to search for anything since the box that contained the protein bars was on the floor, empty. "Well... They tasted awful anyway..." Said Tori, but her face showed a bit of disappointment. "But I was hoping they tasted better than canned food tho" she thought. Jade spent her time picking up old screwdrivers and a pair of pliers and screws. "I definitely could use some of this tools with my bike. Can we take them?" She asked. Tori shook her head no, "There are plenty of tools back with Sikowitz. They're from Simon and Freddie and well, whoever who can use them. Better not to take this ones. We should go..."
The younger Vega went out of the garage, just wanting to get out of the place since it was getting depressing to be in her destroyed home. Jade left the tools and threw the pair of pliers hitting an open and empty toolbox, making it sound hollow. "The hell?" Jade said, since the box was empty, it was a weird sound to make. The goth took it and felt it kinda heavy. She shook the thing and it sounded like there was something inside of it. "Vega? Do you have an idea what your dad could've hide in here?" She said, but Tori didn't hear. Jade managed to open the double bottom finding a revolver; "finders, keepers" Jade thought, taking the revolver, the last handful of bullets into her jacket and heading to the front door to find Tori. "Where are we going now?" Jade asked.
"We're going home" Tori answered, giving a last look to her old house, holding her lunch box against her chest. "You're not going to cry, are you?" Jade asked. Tori kept looking the entrance of the house, from the now dead bushes to the faded front walls, the collapsed door and the window from her old room. "No. I'm just saying goodbye... Deny it all you want Jade, but you will miss this house too. I'm pretty sure you missed it since ever and now we're never coming back. All those afternoons with our friends, by myself and... The ones with you? All of that is staying behind in this house and everything is broken now. All I have now are memories... I was late for school the day this started, so I didn't kiss my parents goodbye, I just ran outside to get in Trina's car... Lets just get out of here"
Jade sighed. She took a last look to the Vega house admitting for herself that in fact, Tori was right. She had missed this house more than hers. She had even missed Tori's parents more than her and had hardly think of her family at all. "Home is where you feel loved" Jade thought, and indeed, the Vega house was the place she feel more loved. Even more than her own house or Beck's place when she loved him. "Lets go then..." She mumbled, and rode her bike with Tori behind her.
"Yes! Finally! Take us home baby!" Said a white dressed figure, hopping in the driver's seat of a white car where another figure ocuppied the passenger seat. "So, how do you like a visit to our old friends huh? Betcha they'll be really surprised to see us" asked the driver occupant, not getting any kind of answer of the afro american boy besides him, nothing but an empty look. "Yo know what Andre? You used to be fun... Or I guess you used to. Can't really remember much but this need of revenge against those two... However. Hold on tight man!"
WELL, I'M TAKING MY TIME, OBVIOUSLY... SORRY U.U BUT HEY IT STILL IS GOING ON. PLEASE LEAVE REVIWES OR SOMETHING? THANKS FOR READING AND THE FOLLOWS! :D