Here's part 10! Wow, I didn't think it would get this long. Hope you enjoy it, and again, thanks for all the reviews!!
Oh, the part about the wars, the Balkan War means the war in which Max's friend Theo died from, the Balkan War Syndrome. At least I thnk that was what it was called.
So if I'm wrong, sorry. Let me know, and I'll change it.
-egbkid

The next morning, Rory woke up to sunshine on his face. 'A nice difference from Seattle' he thought. He got up and went to the window, outside Meiying and Max were chasing each other around the yard. He saw Jace come to the door and call them to breakfast, so he quickly showered and got dressed, and then went downstairs.
In the kitchen, Meiying and Max were sitting at the table, Meiying talking at full force like the night before. Both children were eating bowls of cereal, and Jace was making toast on the small propane stove.
"Good morning." Greeted Rory, finding a bowl in the cupboard and sitting down.
"Good morning. I can make you some eggs or something if you like."
"That's alright. I like cereal. You guys going to school today?"
"Yup, we have to leave soon. School's fun." Answered Meiying. "We're learning about Pre-Pulse History."
"Like what?"
"Well, we have to memorize all the presidents from before the Pulse. It's hard, but not to bad. And we have to know about the wars: World War 1, World War 2, the Balkan War, you know."
"Yeah, I remember taking all that stuff."
"Speaking off 'all that stuff' you guys should get going, before you're late." Jace interrupted, sitting down at the table. "Wash your faces and hands, and we'll see you at lunch."
"'Kay, bye!" Meiying got up and ran out of the kitchen with Max on her heals.
"Whoa, slow down!" a voice came from the next room, and Zack walked in. He grabbed a piece of toast and sat down. "Morning, Jace, Rory."
"Good morning, Zack." Rory said, getting up to rinse out his bowl. He took the bottle of milk from the table and put it in the icebox.
"Are you going somewhere, Zack?" Jace asked, noticing he had a large backpack with him.
"Yeah, I gotta go up to Kansas, to see Zane. He needs a hand with a few things. I won't be back for a few weeks, I have to ride my bike up there and back."
"Well, the kids will miss you, but be careful."
"Don't worry, I will." Zack finished his toast then stood up. He offered his hand to Rory, who stood by the sink. "It was nice meeting you, Rory. Hope you get back to Portland alright."
"Thanks. Have a safe trip to Kansas." Then Zack left and Rory helped ace with the dishes. After the dishes were done, Jace taught Rory how to collect the eggs from the three chickens they had. He found it difficult to find the small eggs among the old toys and debris scattered around the backyard. Just before lunch, he called Logan again, but there was so much static on the line that all he could manage was that Zack had left.
At lunchtime, Meiying and Max came home. Max was not feeling good, so Jace decided to keep him home for the afternoon. Rory still couldn't get a connection with Logan, so he decided to explore the small town. There wasn't much to see, and a lot of the locals were not very friendly. He was kind of glad he didn't live there. He like the way they talked, though. It was a mixture of English and Spanish, with an accent.
The next day, Max was still not feeling well. Meiying ran off to school alone. Rory couldn't find much to do, so he and Max mostly sat around and read books. In the afternoon, Rory finally got a clear connection with Logan.
"How's it going?" Logan asked.
"Pretty good, but boring. One of the children is sick, and the other's in school."
"McKenzie isn't sick, is she?"
"No. The bus comes tomorrow afternoon. If Max is still not feeling well, Jace is going to take him to the doctor, but he lives in the next town. That means it will be a day trip, she will have to go with a friend who works there, and can't come back until the evening."
"What about McKenzie? Is she going to take her too?"
"Well, I'll be here until four or five anyway, and she'll be home around six thirty, so I don't think so, why?"
"Maybe you can get McKenzie to come with you. She's always been gullible. Make up a good excuse and she'll get on the bus with you."
"I can't do that!"
"Why not? Who's going to stop you, the cops?"
"Yeah, but don't you think they'll figure it out?"
"But then what? This is all she knows."
"She has absolutely no memories of Seattle?"
"None at all."
"We'll figure that out when you get here."
"And she'll figure it out before we get there."
"Rory, please. Do this for Max. She's been so sad the last six years, and now she's actually starting to decorate her old room for McKenzie's homecoming."
"What about her own room?"
"We were planning to leave it the way it is for a while, maybe it will trigger some memories."
"I'll try to do what I can, but this won't be easy."
"Thank you."
"Yup. See you in a few days."
"See you, and thank you." Rory closed the phone. He didn't really like Logan's plan, but it was all there was. There would be no second chances of anyone coming down to get McKenzie. And with the added bonus of Zack being away, it was as if Fate had dealt them a winning hand.
'How am I going to do this?' he thought, going back into the house.

To Be Continued...