I know that I keep taking forever. I've been finishing school and my last day was Monday, so now I have triple the free time I used to have. Anyway this is somewhat of a filler chapter but I think it has some important interactions in it. Sorry all you James fans but he probably won't appear again for a couple of chapters. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I don't own anything that I don't own.
Logan and Camille were finally alone, sitting on the air mattress while Drew was explaining things to Katie and Jo. It felt like it had been forever since the two had gotten to be with each other. Their hands were intertwined and her head was leaning on his shoulder, both smiling.
"I was so scared that I wasn't going to find you," she whispered.
"But what about your family?" he asked. He couldn't help but feel mixed about her finding him. It killed him when she was away from him, but he knew that she would have been safer if she stayed behind.
"They're going to be safe at home," she answered confidently. "I'll see them again, I know I will."
"I just…" Logan trailed off, unsure of how to say it.
"What?" she inquired.
"I left because I didn't want to put any of you in danger," he told her. "I didn't want you to get involved in this." Her head moved from his shoulder and she looked at him.
"Logan, I know that you had your reasons for leaving," she stated firmly. "But I had my reasons for coming after you. I love the guys, but the real reason I came was because I thought there was a chance you were still alive. There is nothing on heaven or hell, no force of nature, no human being alive that could keep me from getting to you. I love you."
"I love you too." He put his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her gently. She wasn't as gentle, pushing him onto his back and then returning his kiss as she lay there on top of him.
Before they could progress any further, they heard knocking on the wall and looked up to see Drew standing there. He had a nervous smile and it was clear how awkward he was feeling. They quickly moved apart and sat up.
"I'm interrupting right?" he questioned with an uncomfortable stance. Both nodded.
"Can't it wait?" asked Logan.
"No, we're dealing with an emergency here," Drew insisted. Logan and Camille got up and followed Drew into the other room.
"Drew won't tell us what's going on," Katie informed them as they entered, sitting on the couch next to Jo.
"I figured you'd start trying to punch me as soon as I told you," Drew explained. "They won't be able to find the other boys, they're hidden away and they're safe." Logan noted that he purposefully didn't mention James. "So they're going after… your mom." Everyone instantly became shocked.
"Why?" Katie demanded. "She's at home, she doesn't even know anything."
"She's been asking questions about you," replied Drew. "They want to draw you out using her."
"We have to do something!" Logan exclaimed. "We have to go get her!"
"Okay, I need you all to calm the hell down for one minute," Drew snapped irritably. "I'm going to find her and bring her back here. They won't be looking for me, they're looking for all of you."
"She's not going to know who you are," Katie pointed out. "We have to go with you so she'll know we're okay."
"I'm not taking all of you," insisted Drew. "We'll be too much of a target. One of you can come with me to convince her to leave with us. I'll leave it up to you." He exited to give them some time to talk it over.
Back in the Underground, Riley was exploring the halls of the massive complex. Bethany had told him that Jared was gone to rescue some woman from being killed. It made him nervous, and he needed to take his mind off of it. The tennis ball was clutched tightly in the grip of his hand as he strolled. There were so many rooms to choose from that he didn't know which one to try first.
He came to a door that read LIQUOR BAR. When he opened the door he saw a room fully stocked with shelves and shelves of all kinds of alcohol. Against the far wall there was even a bar counter complete with stools around it. Jared would be so mad if he knew Riley was going in here but at the moment there was no one to tell him he couldn't. Quietly he snuck inside and closed the door behind him.
The first bottle he grabbed was just plain beer. There was a bottle opener lying on the counter and he used it to crack open the bottle. He took his first swig and couldn't help but smile, glad to have the familiar taste in his mouth.
"You certainly know how to drink," Marty commented as he walked in. "No hesitation, I'm impressed. Most of the minors I get in my bar give themselves away when they hesitate. But you're really bad at sneaking around."
"Go tell on me then," Riley responded bitterly. Marty approached and went behind the counter, examining some of the bottles.
"I figure that wouldn't really change anything," he told Riley. "I am trying to find anything in this place that could qualify as a real drink."
"What about beer?" asked Riley.
"Beer's a beginner's drink," Marty explained. "No a real drink is something hard like vodka or something." He picked up a bottle and said, "Whiskey, here we go." As he set the bottle on the counter he crouched down and inspected under the counter, coming back up with two shot glasses.
"You're going to let me have whiskey?" Riley inquired with a skeptical look.
"If you're going to drink, you're going to drink like a man," answered Marty, grinning. He set the shot glasses down and poured some whiskey into both, pushing one over to Riley. Then he walked around and sat on one of the stools, raising his glass. Still in somewhat disbelief, Riley raised his glass as well and tapped Marty's. The two downed the shots and Riley made a face of disgust.
"Shit, that tastes nasty," he commented, drawing a laugh from Marty.
"Everyone says that the first few times," he informed Riley. "It's an acquired taste, but once you get used to it you can't get enough."
"What was your first drink?" asked Riley.
"Oh boy, that was a long time ago," Marty responded, "but if I remember correctly it was when I tasted my dad's bourbon that he hid in his closet. At the time I was a little younger than you, it was so disgusting that I didn't drink again until I was eighteen."
"One of my friends came to school freshman year with a bottle shoved in his backpack," Riley confessed. "His dad was an alcoholic, real asshole, but he let his son take one of his beers to show off to us. We passed the bottle around and I was the last one to get it. At first I thought about my parents and Jared and what they'd think, and then I just did it."
"So why are we drinking tonight?" Marty inquired curiously.
"A lot of reasons," stated Riley. "For my parents, and for Jared. I'm really worried about him."
"Might want to tell him that," Marty advised, "because Jared's perception is that you hate his guts."
"Is that what he thinks?" Riley questioned, guilt evident in his tone. "I don't know, I guess I've just always been a little jealous of Jared. He's the real son, I'm just me. He's always so good and responsible and he's got a steady job and then I'm always getting into trouble and getting yelled at. I had two sets of parents and I wasn't good enough for either one of them."
"You know, I used to know your parents," Marty explained. "I lived in the neighborhood for thirty years. In that time I saw Jared go from a baby to a teenager to an adult. I remember when you were brought home too. I thought there was no way Jared was going to like that, him being thirteen and a new baby coming into his life. But he handled it better than most of the adults I've seen. He was obsessed with taking care of you. He never called you his adopted brother, you were always his brother Riley." As he told this to Riley he poured two more shots and the two drank the contents again.
"You see this?" Riley asked, displaying the tennis ball. "This is all my parents left for me to remember them by. Not a picture, a tennis ball. For the first ten years of my life I was sure that everything was the way it was supposed to be, because I thought my parents were my real parents. Then I found out I was just a replacement, things weren't the way they were supposed to be."
"Who says they didn't?" demanded Marty. "Family is family, blood doesn't matter. Think about this, with all the trouble you got into do you think your parents would have put up with it if they didn't love you? Don't you think once Jared moved out that he could have just forgotten about you?"
"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Riley poured his own shot and quickly swallowed every drop. "Now they're gone."
"Jared's still here," Marty pointed out. "All you can do is live with what you've been dealt."
They kept drinking for another thirty minutes, pouring more and more shots. By that time the bottle was starting to get low in quantity and Riley was far past drunk. His eyes were half-lidded and he looked about ready to fall off the stool. Marty stood up, putting his hand on Riley's shoulder.
"I think you've had enough," he suggested, helping Riley to his feet.
"Did I do good?" Riley asked in his slurred speech.
"Not bad for your first time," Marty told him, guiding him out of the bar. He walked Riley down the hall until they reached one of the bedrooms. Jared and Riley had been given their own room with a carpeted floor and a relatively wide space, courtesy of Roxanne. Riley's bed was on the left side of the room, pushed into the corner. This was where Marty set Riley down.
"Whiskey is a better drink," Riley agreed, lying down. Marty smiled and left the room, leaving Riley to get some sleep.
Lori managed to find Bethany still in the monitor room, watching every single screen with unceasing vigilance. She cast a glance in Lori's direction but didn't turn around. Lori took a seat next to Bethany and observed the screens as well.
"Don't you think you've earned a break?" she inquired.
"They need someone to watch their back tonight," Bethany informed her. "If they're going out there then I'm going to make sure they get back safely."
"I get the sense that you don't like Jared very much," Lori noted.
"Roxanne's a street agent," Bethany stated. "If she were to get caught, her cover would be blown and she'd be executed. We've been pushing them back a little bit every day by playing it smart. Now she's just making decisions on a whim."
"Jared got pulled into this against his will," Lori argued. "He's just trying to help people because he's a nice guy."
"This world wasn't built for nice people," said Bethany. "It was built for people who can make decisions without feeling, because that's how you beat people like them."
"If you don't feel then what's the point of being alive?" asked Lori.
"Because when we win we'll still be alive to feel," Bethany answered matter-of-factly. "I know Jared means well but this isn't a game of best intentions. This is the entire world we're talking about, and every decision has to be made with that in mind."
"I think they made the right decision," Lori told Bethany. "Now is the time to help people. Because the more you try to fight this on your own the more people that die. Eventually there will be no one left to help you when you finally need it." Instead of replying Bethany zoomed in on one of the screens.
"Paladin 1 just left to go kill Jennifer Knight," she informed Lori. "Fabian's with him, Link must have forced him. I guess it's up to Jared and Roxanne now."
Next chapter we get to see the actual action scene, I promise. What do you guys think is going to happen? Who do you think should go with Drew? Don't forget Jared and James are currently last in the poll, you can PM me your choices to survive, leave it in a review, or take the poll on my profile page. Fingers crossed this action scene should be easy to write. Let me know what you thought.