Werewolves and Aliens
Chapter 10: A Sunny Aftermath
The afterward was horrible. We were all taken care of by paramedics, though none of them could figure out why I wasn't as beat up as I should be. I healed pretty quickly. The police questions were idiotic, and I found myself snapping at them. They didn't believe us when we said it was an alien. Parents came next. Bill and Linda offered to take Zeke home since he pretty much didn't have anyone to take him home, and his car was currently smashed into the side of a bus.
On the way home I told them everything that happened. They believed every single word. They offered Zeke a place for the night, since they had those weird parent radars and probably knew that none of us wanted to be alone. We sat in the kitchen most of the night, Zeke and I. Too tired to move, yet too terrified to close our eyes. It was as if this was the dream…the winning of the fight.
"I should have known it was her…it makes perfect sense now." Zeke muttered looking at the table where his hands lay. Hands that had ultimately killed Miss. Drake.
"Don't blame yourself…none of us could have known, she hid it really well." I said wanting to rub the back of my neck.
"That's not the point." he rubbed his temples. The paramedics said he might have a concussion.
"Yes it is. It's not your fault Zeke." I hesitantly grasped his hand. His thumb softly grazed over the scar on mine. "It was my uncle." his thumb stopped moving over the scar. "The man who murdered my family." I looked into his dark eyes. "It was my uncle. So when you say it's your fault, I know first hand why your blaming yourself. But you couldn't have done anything, it would have still gone over the same way." I knew I had tears running down my face. I was in pain physically and mentally. It was like I was six all over again.
"Did I ever mention why I liked you?" he asked with a small smile, thanking me silently for my understanding. I laughed besides myself and wiped away the tears.
"No I don't think you ever did."
A month passed and things went back to normal. Well as normal as one place could get after an alien invasion. At first we were questioned constantly by police, then the FBI, CIA and every other secret government official took away every shred of evidence of it ever happening. And the six of us were made to swear to secrecy. The town itself wanted to talk about it for the first two weeks, then they just wanted to forget about it. Forget about the time when they were all connected.
I personally had no idea what they were talking about when saying they were everyone else and themselves. I was one of only two people who were never infected. The other being Zeke. Who I was waiting for at this moment. I'm sitting on the bleachers in the field, a notebook in my lap and a pen in hand. I'm waiting for football practice to end.
It was an abrupt decision on his part. One day when I got into his car before school, he had his car fixed and gave me rides, he told me he wanted to join football. I didn't say anything against it, and here I was sitting in the slight chill of an autumn afternoon waiting for the coach to end practice. Zeke looks up at the bleachers and smiled, that big bright smile that showed so much more then most realized. I give him a smile and a wave back before going back to writing.
From the far end of the field I could see Stan looking into the practice. Stokely comes up in a full on purple outfit. Yes I know extremely freaky. She's in purple. Getting with Stan did a three sixty on her wardrobe. Now she was all about the soft blues, purples, yellows, and pinks. Her and Linda would get along great now.
When they start kissing I divert my attention to the media vans. No doubt in my mind looking for Casey. He was the hero of the school. And one of the most popular now. No more flag poles and bloody noses. Him and Delilah got together. At first I suspected it was because of the whole social ladder, but I could see the love shining in her eyes. True feelings for him, she had opened up her protective shell and let Casey in.
As for me, well, I don't believe I changed much. I didn't go from drug dealer to football player like Zeke, Goth to soft like Stokely, or school rag doll to school hero like Casey. My role was different. I was the girl who finally got Zeke to settle down, and the new girl who didn't turn out to be an alien hell bent on creating her Utopia.
Zeke's lab was slowly but surely built back up. There was no way any of us were taking chances on not having the only known weapon to kill the creatures. Funny thing was, a lot of the equipment this time wasn't stolen. Turns out Stokely's father was some high and mighty person and was able to get the stuff. Though I don't think he sold any, or really made a lot. Just enough to protect and destroy aliens.
After football practice we were all suppose to be meeting up at Zeke's house. He was the only one of us that didn't have to worry about annoying adults with our presence. We were a weird group of friends, totally different from each other in every aspect, but it was because of a crazy ass alien invasion we were all friends. I guess one good thing came out of it.
We'd all be out of high school soon. Well…that is if Zeke decides not to fail again. I mean seriously the guys a down right genius, but doesn't give a fuck about school so doesn't do anything to pass. Though he was getting slightly better at passing, at least he had a C in all his classes now.
"Has that muse of yours killed you?" I blinked before looking down seeing Zeke smirking up at me from the field.
"Just thinking, Practice over?" he nodded. "Well then hurry up and take a shower I can smell you from here." he laughed at my tone.
"Of course you can Scrappy." I glared at the back of his head while he walked away. We fought on a regular basis, but about idiotic shit that had us smiling through most of it. Like he ragged on me about being able to turn into a canine, and I always made sure to add in jock insults. I walked to his car then, knowing he'd get there after he was done showering. I was pounced on by a damn media lady though.
"You're Olivia Dahn right?" she asked speaking into the mic. I glanced at the big camera behind her then at her.
"Why'd you want to know?" I asked leaning against the bumper of Zeke's car.
"What is your belief about the accounts on it being an alien invasion?" she asked before swinging the mic towards me. A slow, small predatory smile spread across my face.
"That blonde bitch deserved the fate she got." I said my voice perfectly smooth. The lady blinked at my confusedly before spotting someone across the way.
"AH and here come's Zeke Tyler another student that was in the invasion."
"Hey babe…news people bothering you again?" Zeke asked ignoring the camera's completely. I turned my smile widening and nodded. He bent down kissed me quickly on the lips and encircled my waist before addressing the people. "Would you leave? You're kind of disrupting something." he smirked and kissed me again. They news people left looking bewildered.
"You know? I don't think any of the news people like me anymore." I state against his lips as I watched them walk off. Zeke laughed and let go of me.
"Of course they don't. You keep on talking about a chick none of them know about." we get into the car.
"Not my fault they don't know that Atlanta was an alien." I say with a shrug. One thing we never did was say her name. It was an unspoken rule between all us friends. He drives like his usual maniac self to his house.
"Do we have to let them in?" Zeke groans when he pulls up in his driveway. The rest of them are waiting outside his front door. I chuckle and lean over the middle console kissing the side of his neck. "mmm…" he hums when I gently nibble the sensitive skin. "Do we really have to?"
"Be nice and you'll get a reward." I say with a wicked smile and climb out the car. He gets out of the car a few seconds later.
"Took you two long enough." Delilah said with a tiny smirk, like she knew what we were doing.
"God Delilah do you really have to give me mental images?" Casey muttered making me laugh. Zeke unlocked the door to his house.
"Ahh don't be modest Casey, we all know you like them." I flash him a shit eating grin and he blushes from ear to ear.
"Sometimes I wonder how the hell I'm friends with you guys." Stokely mutters affectionately as she leans into Stan. I roll my eyes at the pair and we all go into the living room. There were two couches now, because Zeke does little things to show he actually gives a fuck about these people.
"Does anyone else not understand Mr. Tate's homework?" Stan said bringing his backpack to his lap. Homework…we usually start everything off with homework.
"How can you not? You're practically restating everything the stupid books says." Casey says pulling out his own homework.
"You mean to tell me you don't know how to create a time line?" Delilah looked at Stan. He blushed slightly.
"Once a meat head always a meat head huh Stan?" I tease him while leaning against Zeke. I feel his rumbling laugh more then hear it. Stokely come's to his rescue.
"And who's dating a current meat head?" she asked with a fierce smile.
"You know…one of these day's I'll think of a come back." the others laugh at me. We all banter back and forth for a while as we finish up the homework we were all given.
"Things have changed a lot since after the aliens." We had two categories of our lives now. Before the aliens and after the aliens. It's a fucked up way to live, but it's how we all cope.
"Well Stokely is wearing purple." Delilah pointed out messing with Casey's hair.
"Fuck you." Stokely says on reflex. Delilah simply shrugs. "But ya, Casey, I know what you mean."
"We've all grown from it." Stan said quietly still looking at his math homework.
"Well we were attacked by aliens…" Casey pointed out tapping his pencil against his lips. "Saved each other's lives a couple of times…and fought off news casters. Is that really all it takes to become friends?" Friends…not really, but people you could trust to have your back? Most definitely.
"Except for Livvy, she's only gotten more obsessed with writing in those notebooks of hers." I glance up from what I'm writing. I mock glare at Delilah.
"What are you writing in those things anyhow?" Stan asks finally looking away from his homework, probably giving up on ever figuring it out.
"Do you really want to know?" I asked glancing at them all. Even Zeke's looking at me curiously, I haven't let him near any of my notebooks since he stole my personal one. "I'm writing a story about an alien taking over a small town in Utah." the silence that follow is grand.
"Seriously?" Stokely was the one to ask.
"Mmhmm…I figure I was forced to experience the damn thing, why not write about it? Though there's no me in the story. And I've heard all your guys separate accounts on what happened when I wasn't around." I shrug and close the notebook placing it beside me.
"So who wins in the end?" Casey asked sitting forward. I smile broadly.
"Who do you think Mr. Let's-save-the-school?" Casey smiles.
"why aren't you in it?" Zeke asked, seemingly speaking for the first time. He usually did that anyways, always silently listened to the rest of us talk.
"Cause a werewolf in an alien invasion book is just wayy too random." He nods, accepting my reasoning.
"What do you think you'll call it?" Delilah asks, and for once I can hear no teasing malice in her tone.
"The Faculty." The laugh we share is light hearted and warm. You couldn't have guessed that our rag-tag group had managed to stop an alien invasion in it's tracks. I couldn't help but feel like maybe I'd finally found my pack. People I could trust implicitly, no matter the circumstance. It was a nice feeling.