It has been way to long, and I apologize for that. Junior year has been more draining then I ever thought it could be, and my time to write diminishs ever day. A/N at the end but for now enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 11
For Family and Friends
The blood was beginning to smell terrible.
My parents had managed to drag my aunt and uncle out of the RV and lay them down on someone's lawn across the street from where the RV was. My mother was washing both of their faces to get the blood off and my father was wrapping up their wounds. They had found the stuff in the RV after they had gotten a nearly catatonic Terry to tell them where the emergency medical kit was.
Terry couldn't do anything other than stare wide eyed at his parents while Bethany was wailing at the top of her lungs, tears flowing down from her eyes. I tried to comfort her with words but it came out awkwardly and I think I did more harm than good.
'We need to get them to a hospital Sam.' My dad said. My mom threw down another bloody washcloth, looking ten years older.
'How? The phones don't work and the nearest hospital is a half an hour away driving!' Mom said.
'I don't know but we can't deal with them properly if we don't get help!'
'Ibb… ibb mommy going to b…bb..be alright?' Bethany cried, tears running do her cheeks and her lower lip shaking faster than I thought possible.
'I don't know.' I whispered. That was the wrong thing to say since Bethany stared wailing again. Dad turned to me, his face warped in anger.
'Can you get her to shut up Michael?' He yelled, which caused me to shutter and Terry to yell as if someone had just hit him. Bethany continued to cry, only now louder than before.
'Daryl don't yell at them!' Mom said. My dad looked flustered, like he wanted nothing else than to just leave my aunt and uncle there. Suddenly there was some coughing and we all screamed when Uncle James started to get up.
'Daddy!' Bethany called, running out of my embrace and jumping on her father. Terry rushed forward and joined his sister and father, visibly crying now. Uncle James was wild eyed and still had traces of blood on him which gave him a crazed look. He awkwardly hugged his daughter and son before looking up at my mom and dad.
'What are you doing here?' He asked.
'Saving you.' My dad said bluntly. My mom gave him a look which said to cool it. It wouldn't do for fighting to start between my dad and my uncle.
Uncle James began to take in his surroundings, looking as if we had just dropped him on another planet. It was when he saw his wife when things started to go downhill.
'Cindy?' He said, leaning over to grab his wife's hand. He started to shake her lightly but it began to become more violent when she didn't respond.
'CINDY!' He was screaming, causing his children to shrink away in fear. My dad grabbed Uncle James and pulled him away from his wife.
'That's enough James! You need to calm down!'
'Calm down?' Uncle James yelled violently, 'My wife is dying and you want me to calm down?'
'We don't know that yet James!' My dad said, unable to stop his frustration from forming in his voice. 'But we need to get her somewhere safe so she can get better.'
'Look at all that blood!' My uncle screamed, his voice becoming more and more panicked. He turned to my family, accusation written all over his face. 'This is your fault! I told Cindy that we shouldn't come for you guys, but she made us! And now she's going to die! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU BASTARDS!'
'That's enough James! Think about your children!' Mom pleaded, gesturing to his two children who were now crying with no shame.
'They won't have a mother soon!' Uncle James said, his voice full of panic now. Dad grabbed him and pulled him to his feet, holding him face to face.
'You need to stop this James! We need to get your wife somewhere safe before-' Dad began, but was interrupted by a loud screeching sound.
Suddenly light was almost everywhere and when it disappeared we all looked up worriedly. Just then Aunt Cindy began to cry out. Uncle James escaped from my dad's grasp and began to cradle his wife.
'Cindy! Can you hear me?' Aunt Cindy began to cough and grabbed her husband's hand. Terry and Bethany ran forward again, now falling to their mother's side. She looked up dazed.
'What?' Was all she could managed, stunned that she had woken up at all.
'It's ok Cindy.' My mother said, crying now herself. 'You're safe, but we still need to get you to a doctor.'
'Dad…' I said looking up at the sky, 'Mom… look!' I pointed upwards and I heard my mom gasp in shock. Above the neighborhood were about a dozen ships, all floating in place. Suddenly doors began to open on the bottom of the ship and light poured down onto the ground in a circular shape like in those old movies.
I was so stunned that I almost missed the dark mass falling down from the ship closest to us. I saw it descend and then crash into the street intersection nearby. Smoke covered most of the area, blocking my view of the object, but I could still see something. Two slits of blue light were visible in the smoke, rising up with the sound of gears shifting and turning…..
Flashes of lights and blood were the last images I saw as I pulled myself from my dreamscape and shot straight up in my cot. I was breathing heavily and saw that sweat was glistening down my chest, a common occurrence for me now. It was the reason that I was now sleeping with minimal clothing also, since sweaty clothing wasn't that fun to wear for the rest of the day.
Shakily I pulled myself out of bed and put on my pants and shirt. 'It was only a dream.' I thought.
'But it did happen.' Another voice said in my head. I nodded to myself, acknowledging that it had. These dreams were coming more and more often, and I have to admit that I was starting to worry about my mental well being. I began to walk to the wash bins that were located in our wing, splashing warm water on my face. I looked at myself in the makeshift mirror above the bin, drying off my face at the same time.
The bruising from the Mech attack and Uncle James had started to disappear, but I still looked terrible. I had this tired look about me that made me look like I was up for hours, and it didn't help that I was in desperate need for a shave and haircut. I had considered growing a beard like Mr. Mason's but after some thinking I thought that I would look too much like a lumberjack. I assumed that the Masons had razors since both Ben and Hal never seemed to grow facial hair, so I asked Ben if I could borrow one of theirs. He surprised me however when he told me that they didn't really shave.
Strange genetics I guess.
I looked at the clock and saw that it was only about 6:30 and slid back into my wet cot. After about a few minutes of smelling my own perspiration I got back up and decided to go for a walk around the school. I knew that people were already working with laundry or preparing breakfast so I wouldn't be the only one up. I passed by the Mason's room and thought about waking up Ben but changed my mind. He had a late night last night and also seemed as tired as me.
After meeting Alyssa he began to talk to me about how pretty she was. I was kind of sickening by just how taken he was with this girl after meeting her once. After about ten minutes of him talking about her I was ready for a break and told him to go find her and talk to her. Ben didn't even say good bye to me as he bolted off to find her. Without anybody to hang out with I decided to just head to bed, but I unfortunately had the ill timing of seeing Aunt Cindy who was pointed enough to remind me that I had one more day to get Terry in as a fighter.
I entered the cafeteria early and was happy to find that the workers in the cafeteria had already laid out some food. I stopped moving towards it when I saw Jimmy standing by the food and decided that I was still too tired to get into a fight. So I turned around and sat down at one of the tables, hoping Jimmy hadn't seen me yet.
I was distracted when I saw Terry and Bethany sitting by themselves with only some bread and water in between them. Terry noticed me and looked away as to ignore me, but Bethany followed her brother's gaze and smiled when she saw me.
"Michael!" She called out, running across the cafeteria to hug me. I had to smile at Bethany, she was still too young to fully understand that her parents didn't like me so I really felt she was the last real family member that I had.
"Bethany! How've you been?" I asked smiling.
The ten year old shrugged. "School is really boring. I wish we could use computers again, it would make this writing so much easier."
"Would it?" I asked with amusement while Terry gave me the stink eye.
"Yes!" Bethany exclaimed, "I never realized how bad of a speller I am without the computer to tell me that I'm wrong."
"No! I'm sure you're a great speller." I said.
"I'm not the best." Bethany said modestly. She was so sweet, how the hell did two monsters of parents and an older brother like Terry not twist this girl into ruin? Bethany had grabbed my hand and had begun dragging me towards Terry. "Come sit with us! I haven't seen you in forever Michael!"
"There's good reason for that." Terry said as we sat down, I more reluctantly than Bethany.
"Sorry about not being around Bethany." I said, "But you don't have to worry about me too much. I'm doing ok. Actually better than ok." I knew it wasn't much but I hoped that it would irritate Terry.
"Let me go get you some food Michael!" Bethany offered, getting out of her seat.
"No it's ok, I can go get it myself Bethany." I said quickly, rising slightly in preparation. I did not want to be at a table alone with Terry.
"I'll be right back!" Bethany said, sprinting off towards the food. I stood raised for a few more seconds and then awkwardly sat down across from Terry. He smiled.
"So you're doing better than ok?" Terry said mockingly, "That razor back making life fun for you?"
"Your mom is a bitch." I said plainly. Terry's eyes shot open and he stared at me hard, his face filled with spots of red.
"What the hell did you say about my mom?" He almost shouted.
"What? Is your hearing going now?" I said, wanting to provoke my cousin. "I have advice for you if you want to do ok, stop letting you mom do everything for you. Threatening me so that you can be a fighter is pathetic."
Terry ignored that barb and looked at me threateningly. "You have to make me a fighter!" Terry said, grinding his teeth together.
"I don't have to do anything for you." I said mockingly.
"We took you in Michael. We looked after you, you owe us. Make me a fighter or mom will tell your razor back friend how you used him as your bitch." Terry said, sounding just like his mother.
"Was that supposed to be threatening? Do what I tell you to do or I'll run to my mommy? That's pretty wimpy." I said smiling. Terry probably would have throttled me if he could but Bethany came back at that moment.
"I brought the food!" She said, smiling happily.
"Bethany, go away for a minute." Terry said, his entire posture tight and upright.
"What? Why?" She asked.
"Just go!" Terry shouted. Bethany recoiled back and I momentarily felt bad for her. She began to cry.
"You sound like daddy!" She screeched and ran from the cafeteria. Terry sighed and buried his head in his hands, groaning loudly. Everybody in the cafeteria was looking at us and I grew angry with the look that Jimmy was giving me.
"You are so lucky." Terry said, pulling his head from his hands and looking straight at me. "You are so lucky that your life it so good right now."
I was stunned. Terry was being… nice? No not nice, but maybe not being a jackass? "What?" I said dumbly.
"You," Terry said, pointing at me, "You are so damn lucky! You have something to do with your life. You have a friend and his family that actually give a damn about you. You make a difference and have done so much better without my parents around. But me, what have I got? Two parents who yell at each other all the time, a younger a sister who cries all day, and friends who don't even care that much about you. I have nothing and you have everything!"
I began laughing at my cousin. "Is that supposed to make me feel something? You can't blame anybody but yourself for the situation you're in Terry. You chose your own friends so don't act like they were just thrust upon you. My only friend is hated by the rest of the people here, which means that I socialize without alienating Ben. You mother threatened and demanded that I make you a fighter after her and your father treated me like crap. And should I also remind you that both of my parents are dead! Does that sound like a lucky life to you?"
I got up and walked quickly out of the cafeteria to escape the glares of the people there and Terry. I was only halfway down the hall when I heard footsteps coming up behind me. I jumped to the side and Terry came running past me. He stopped himself and I was able to grab the back of his shirt with my hand and swing him around. He hit the wall and I pushed myself up against him to hold him in place.
"Please!" Terry begged, struggling to get out of my grasp. "I need this!"
"Like I needed people who cared about me?" I screamed, "Like I need an actually family, but instead got you and you're screwed up family?"
"Well I need to be a fighter for my screwed up family!" Terry shouted back, equally as loud.
"So you can impress your mommy and daddy?" I said mockingly.
"Yes!" Terry shouted with full seriousness in his voice. "If I become a fighter then my parents may actually respect me for once in my life!"
"Why in hell would you want their respect?" I said angry, "They are some of the worst people in this entire camp!"
"Their my parents!" Terry said with anger.
"Who suck at their job!"I said. I wasn't able to hold onto Terry anymore and he escaped my grasp, pushing back towards the opposite wall. I was able to stop myself before I hit it and I prepared myself for Terry to tackle me into the wall. Terry didn't charge however, just standing on the opposite side of the hallway with his shoulders slumped over and his body sagged.
"Please," he begged, his voice cracking. "You have no idea what it's like. You had parents that loved you, and you always knew that they did. But mine, they fight all the time. Sometimes it's like me and Bethany don't even exist to them."
"Terry-" I started.
"DON'T!" Terry shouted at the top his lungs. I looked both down both ways of the hallway, surprised that nobody had heard us yet. "I need this to prove to them that I'm someone, that they have a son that they can respect and be proud of! I. Need. THIS!"
I was torn. Part of me wanted to punch and kick him over and over again, to flaunt my power as a fighter to the guy who had teased and bullied me and my friends for as long as I could remember. But another part felt bad for him. I didn't know what it was like to have parents who seemed to not like you. What I did know however was that Terry was being whiny.
"I won't help you." I said.
Terry looked up at me, desperation in his eyes. "Then I'll tell that razor back that you used him."
I scoffed, "Don't bother." I said, "Because I'm going to do that."
Terry was shocked, "Why would you do that?" he said disbelieving, "You would hurt your own friend? What kind of person are you Michael?"
"I'm someone who did a terrible thing." I explained, "I used somebody to get where I am now. That somebody was nobody to me, but he became my friend. My best friend. Now I have to tell him because I don't want our friendship to live on a lie anymore."
"You're lying!" Terry sneered, "You just don't want me or my parents to tell that razor back that he truly has no friends!"
I stepped forward and punched Terry in the gut with all the force I had. I caught him off guard and he fell forward, gasping for breath as he did. I pulled my fist back and tried to mask my face to show a neutral expression, instead of the discomfort I felt rocking through my hand. Terry was on the ground now, coughing violently.
"That's not the reason at all." I said, "I'm doing it for a reason that you could never understand. And his name is Ben, remember it." I walked away, leaving Terry gasping for breath on the ground. He's tough, I'm sure he'll be ok.
I made my way back to the fighter's quarter, my heart beating every step I took. Despite what I said to Terry I was still incredible nervous. My mind was screaming at me that Ben would hate me forever, that he would never forgive me. The majority of my brain, however, compelled me to do the right thing and tell him.
'He'll hate me.' I thought.
'It's the right thing to do.' Another part of me thought.
I was relieved to see that the majority of the quarter was empty, but then that's when I realized that I was missing morning exercises for the soldiers. I thought about going just to give myself a reason not to talk to Ben but I shoved that thought to back of my mind. This is more important to me right now.
I reached the door to Ben's sleeping area and with several deep breaths I raised my hand and knocked on the door.
I hope that you enjoyed, the big scene is up next so stay tune for that!
Bully's always have a troubled past, remember that the next time you see one.
I'm terribly sorry about not being able to update like I promised I would. Junior year is a lot of work and most of the time I'm up late doing it. I don't want to give you guys (if your still reading this) story material that is total crap. I want something that is good and that you'll enjoy reading. With that said I want to say that we're coming to the end of this story. I estimate that there will be about five more chapters before the end. I don't know about a sequel yet, so voice your opinion if you want one.
So to reconfirm that you still care about this story, please REVIEW! I promise that I will try to update more often and won't keep you waiting to see what happens next.
