A/N: Oi, Mondays and Wednesdays are kicking my ass.
To the awesome reviewers: keep rocking, thank you as always for the continued support!
A couple things I keep forgetting to mention: the flashbacks aren't all necessarily in chronological order, some obviously tie together and follow after one another, but some are precariously placed in the timeline of Jimmy's past. They all basically take place at some point within the last year before the aliens invaded, if that helps. :)
Read please.
XXXVIII.
Jimmy limped from the warehouse remains and down the street, holding his left arm and panting from the effort of moving. He kept waiting for a Skitter to be around the next corner, or worse, a mech, too weary to care that it would mean certain death for him but expecting it nonetheless. Part of him kept hoping he would find a member of the 2nd Mass, someone who stayed behind to report on Skitter activity. But the longer he wandered, and the more corners he passed that were completely devoid of life, the more aware he became of his solitude. He really was completely alone.
Beside him Cass walked, holding his hand, a phantom touch he never truly felt. She was humming a lullaby, the one about the horse carriage.
"Where are we going, James?" she finally asked.
"I have to get back to the 2nd Mass," he mumbled reply, mainly because talking, even if it was with a hallucination, somehow made him feel a little better, "The first checkpoint was south west of here. If I can find the highway, I can follow it to there and maybe keep going to meet up with them at the second checkpoint."
"It's not gonna work," she told him.
"It has to," he whispered, "I don't have any other choice."
"It's too far away. You'll never make it," she argued. She grinned up at him, her eyes lighting ecstatic, "Just stay here with me. We'll play a game!"
"I can't, Cass," Jimmy moaned, "I have to get back. The 2nd Mass needs me."
"No they don't," Cass retorted, stamping her foot and whining, "They left you behind, James. Why would they leave you behind if they needed you? That's just stupid!"
Jimmy, slowed to a stop, shut his eyes and gasped for air, fighting back the fresh tears.
"That's not true…" he started, but his words faltered, weak with his dampened spirits.
"Isn't it, though? You left me behind because you didn't need me," Cass pointed out, then grinning cheerfully and swinging their joined hands back and forth, she proclaimed, "Worthless things get left behind, things that are useless, things that are broken, things that make a mess and cause trouble. Like I was to you. Like you are to them: worthless, useless, broken. Nobody needs you, James, nobody wants you. You know that."
Gary and Kevin leaned over the bridge, attempting to see who could spit the farthest into the river below. Ryan leaned against the bridge railing, punching buttons on his cell phone, his brow furrowed. He glanced up at the sound of approaching footsteps, and grinned at James, then looked puzzled at the little girl clutching his hand. Gary and Kevin paused to look as well.
"My mom had errands to run," James muttered explanation, gesturing to his sister; "I have to watch her for the next few hours."
"Nice. Real nice. What do we look like? The fucking Babysitters' Club?" Kevin griped.
"Hey, man, watch your mouth," Gary complained, smacking Kevin's shoulder lightly, then nodded to the gaping Cass, "You shouldn't say those kinds of words in front of little kids. It's okay with me that you had to bring her, James, I'm great with kids. They love me. I baby-sit my younger cousins all the time, they're four and five. We watch Sesame Street and eat ice cream all day."
"Holy Stinky Gym Socks, fatman, no wonder you've got these jelly rolls," Kevin teased, pinching Gary's side, and the other boy pulled away, slapping at his hands, "And on top of that, you're passing your flatulent ways on to the next generation? Honestly, why would anyone with half-a-brain leave their progeny in your care?"
"Hey, shut up! I'm not fat; I'm just big-boned…"
Ryan approached James and held out a palm at eye level to the little girl, "Hey shorty, give me some skin."
"Very big-boned."
Eagerly, Cass smacked the outstretched hand with her own, grinning toothily up at James, as Ryan ruffled her hair.
"Where's Lenny?" James questioned, ignoring all comments from the Peanut gallery and skimming the area for their missing friend. Ryan shrugged.
"Last minute family bonding trip. His mom woke up with the sudden desire to see her folks, so their en route to Salem as we speak. He said he was literally packing his overnight bag as his folks were shoving him out the door," Ryan explained.
"Typical," James muttered, "That's the third time this month. Do his parents even know the word 'plan'?"
"They have five kids and one on the way, so that's an obvious 'no'," Ryan replied, with a self-satisfied smirk.
"Hey, Ry-ry-ry-ry-ry," Cass cried desperately, tugging the boy's shirt in time to her chant.
Ryan leaned forward to look at the girl and replied in kind, "Hey, what-what-what-what-what?"
"Me and Jimmy rode the bus to get here," Cass excitedly announced.
"Is that right, Jimmy?" Ryan questioned her brother.
"Don't call me that," James grumbled.
Then Cass's eyes went wide and her voice became an exaggerated whisper, as though she were spilling a great secret, "We sat in the back and there was this man in the seat in front of us and he was like as big as like five people! And he smelled like cabbage!"
"That is fascinating," Ryan told Cass, "Did you ask him if he had any friends who smelled of corned beef?"
Cass dropped her mouth in surprise, then it formed a delighted smile.
"No," she giggled, "Why would I ask him that?"
"Well, then they'd be Corned Beef and Cabbage," Ryan explained, "Like a team of superheroes or like those Veggie Tales characters. Corned Beef, Cabbage, and then you would need Potatoes, maybe some carrots…Barley and Hops, of course…"
Cass didn't look convinced and she peeked up curiously at James. He rolled his eyes.
"Why would you tell her that, man?" James asked Ryan, peevishly.
"Chill out, Jimmy, she doesn't get it, and she thinks it's funny," Ryan answered easily, hands in his pockets, and grinning cheerfully down at Cass.
"I said don't call me that. You know I hate it," James muttered.
"You are funny, Ry-ry," Cass informed Ryan earnestly.
"See?" Ryan arched a brow at James. James rolled his eyes.
"Are we gonna get going anytime soon, ladies?" Kevin piped up, "I smell circus peanuts, and you know how much I love circus peanuts."
"Why did he say 'ladies', Jimmy? Ladies are girls and you're all boys," Cass questioned.
"I'm more of a cotton candy man, myself," Gary commented.
"Just ignore and never repeat anything that guy says, ever, Cass," James replied.
"Are you sure you're not both?" Kevin chirped to Gary, "'Cause you're big enough to be both."
The boys started to trek towards downtown, where the annual circus had set up. Kevin and Gary took the lead, falling into a conversation about some cartoon they'd watched the night before. James and Ryan brought up the rear with Cass between them still clutching her brother's hand.
"Looks like little Casablanca here is our substitute Lenny for the day," Ryan noted wistfully, patting the girl's head and she glanced curiously up at him, her mouth pursed together, her brow quirked.
"What's a Casablanca?" she wondered.
"It's a city," James answered distractedly, "This is so lame. My mom knew I had plans today. I can't believe she's making me drag my baby sister around with me."
"I'm not a baby!"
"It's not so bad," Ryan retorted, "I mean we don't care that she's here. Even Kevin. He's just being his usual obnoxious self; he doesn't really mind her. And I love hanging out with Cass. She's a cool kid."
"Hey, Ry-ry, my daddy said you're a 'degenerative punk', what does that mean?"
"It means I'm awesome," Ryan said, then to James, "Don't stress it, man."
"He also said that you're a 'bad influence' on Jimmy, what does that mean?"
"Cass, shut up," James snapped. He turned her around and leaned down to look meaningfully into her eyes, promising her, "If you annoy me too much today, I will give you to the circus."
Cass swallowed hard, her eyes shimmering wide. The other boys averted their gazes and shuffled uncomfortably. Then James straightened and they continued.
For an hour and a half, things at the circus went well. They rode the rides, ate the circus food – Gary eating more than double what the other boys ate, saw a few of the sideshow acts and then they came up to the Whirl-A-Majig, a ride that comprised of swings spinning outward from a spinning top that rose high into the air. The boys eagerly ran to the line, except Gary who clutched his stomach, staring greenly up at the spinning top, and Cass who dug her heels into the ground and brought her brother to a sharp halt by his hand.
James looked back at Cass questioning and agitated. She shook her head furiously, staring fearful up at the ride spinning overhead. James turned exasperated to Gary.
"Will you watch her for a minute?" he pleaded.
Gary shrugged, "Sure."
James left Cass on a nearby bench, Gary sitting next to her, and with Kevin and Ryan, he got in line for the ride. Two minutes in the air later, James and the other two boys stumbled back to the bench, laughing and coming down from their adrenaline high, then James looked to the bench and his stomach dropped to the floor. It was empty. He found Gary returning from a nearby vendor with a large soda in one hand and a bag of cotton candy in the other.
"What the hell, man? Where's my sister?" James demanded.
Gary glanced confused to the bench, stuttering around a mouthful of pink sugary fluff, "She was right there…"
James face contorted from confusion to anger to dread. He took off running around the area shouting his sister's name. Ryan shook his head at Gary before following after and Kevin grabbed some of the cotton candy from Gary's bag, shoving it in his mouth, and muttered, "You idiot."
"I asked if she wanted popcorn!" Gary called after.
Another hour passed as the boys ran around the park searching for the missing girl but to no avail. They wandered back towards the bench, James in full blown panic mode and the others attempting to calm him.
"My mom is gonna kill me. I was gone for two fucking minutes, and now I'm dead," James ranted, running his hands through his hair.
"It's okay, man. We'll alert security," Ryan said, a hand on James' shoulder, "They'll know what to do."
"Yeah, it's not like a clown just came and walked off with her or anything," Kevin put in. He received dark looks from all the other boys and shrugged sheepishly, "Okay, maybe it could be just like that…"
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Ryan hissed at Kevin, then back to James, "It's gonna be okay, we'll find her."
They all came to a dead stop when the bench was in sight. A small crowd had gathered and there sitting on the bench was Cass, sobbing uncontrollably, a circus worker attempting desperately to console her.
"Sweetheart, it'll be okay, we'll find your family, okay. Just tell me your name, sweetie, and we can announce it over the PA," the worker was saying.
"He…he…he left me," Cass wailed, "It doesn't matter! My brother…he…he left. He said he would…I tried so hard…so hard to be good and to…to…" She sniffled loudly, her face twisted with tears and sorrow, "But he left me and he's never coming back! He left me…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…I tried…"
"Way to go, brother-dearest," Kevin murmured to James.
Ryan punched Kevin's arm, hissing, "Shut the fuck up man."
James closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face, the guilt weighing in his stomach and overshadowing his relief.
"Cass," he called and she raised her tear filled eyes to look at him. A heartbeat passed as she stared disbelieving at him, then she jumped up and sprinted from the bench, tossing herself at him and burying her face in his stomach.
"I'm so sorry, Jimmy, I'll be good from now on, I promise, please don't ever leave me again, please, I'm sorry," she sobbed.
James rest a hand on Cass's head, and in that moment wondered if there could be a worse feeling in the world.
Twenty, maybe thirty minutes of staggered walking later, Jimmy slowed to a stop, spitting a clot of blood from his mouth. The sky overhead had blistered a creamy orange color. He would be out of daylight in another couple hours. In the middle of the street there was a truck not upended and aside from a large chunk missing off its rear, in otherwise good condition. He eyed it wretchedly. It was almost too much to hope.
Well, Jimmy sighed; he was the fucking 'Ghost of Dorchester', wasn't he? All he had was hope.
.
.
A/N: Jimmy's friends aren't in every chapter if you're wondering. It's just that at that age, kids spend more time at school and with their friends then they do with their family, so I figured the best way to reveal his relationship with his family was through his friends. Um...I had more to say, but I got to go, I got a quiz today.
Please review, let me know what you think!
Real quick, reviewers: U-know-u-luv-me-99, it's all good, I like talking too, even tho it gets me in trouble a lot...T_T, no happy medium. Glad you dig Cass, she's meant to be eight in the story. Haley, glad to hear it! JDMlvr1, lol, acts like her brother? I didn't see it that way...she is a bit of a spitfire, yeah...glad you like her! Heracratzarism, nail on head, she is a tad crazy. And yeah, the name, you'll see in this chapter, that before Jimmy never liked being referred to as 'Jimmy', it was his sister's name for him, she was the only one who got away with calling him that, so it's kind of tied to his sister, but it also helps to distinguish the flashbacks. And please read too much into everything, I love it, I do, :D. WhisperMaw, lol, yeah...they certainly did. It was sweet. I'm am so happy to hear that you like his sister, everyone seems pleased with her, which is good because she plays a predominant role in the next several chapters! The Jimmy/Ben reunion...yeah, I'm really trying to build up to it, I hope everyone is happy with it. You know, I don't know Orson Scott Card personally, so I can't say much about his personality, but the man can write, so I respect his advice on writing. I respect Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, (sigh, yes) JK Rowling and Neil Gaimain's advice on writing even more, but that's beside the point.
We'll swing back and check on Ben in a couple more chapters, which'll be fun because we get a brief glimpse of his views on Jimmy, which we haven't seen throughout this whole story. We know he loves Jimmy, but why does he love Jimmy, that is the question...that won't be thoroughly answered, but his perspective on Jimmy is very different than Jimmy's own perspective of himself.
See you guys tomorrow, got to go study!
さようなら。