**Disclaimer**: Still none are mine, except Maria, whose name im changing to Marie, and you will finally meet her in this chapter, along with her family! ta-dah! That is, if I can ever post again. FF.net is all screwed up, and I want to kill it with a scythe as an offering to He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Anyway, I figure that I should be ready to post at least 2 more chapters (This&7) by the time it's fixed. Hmmm, all characters belong to their owners, and Micah STILL isn't mine, even though I want him really bad. Happy Reading!
The next morning, I was woken up by the bright sunlight hitting my face."Unghhhhhhh. Please close the drapes. Please. Bright! Bright!" Danny and Lacey both laughed, and told me that we were leaving for the airport in about two hours. I groaned and rolled back over. "Wake me up about twenty minutes before we leave, please." I heard the door close as the two left. Falling back into a deep sleep, I dreamt about the corn.
"THEY WERE adults!!! They were of that world and we have seen the way of that world and it is evil. You, do not see the truth Jedediah. Because it is not yet with us.
The children looked at their leader as he spoke.
"It is like the light from the corn. Not from the hand of man, but the mark, of He Who Walks Behind the Rows."
They all crowded around him and looked on with watchful eyes.
"With the harvest moon tomorrow night, our reign of peace shall dwell upon the land. And a sword of righteousness shall strike down the infidel!!!
He looked at the girl tied to the bed of cornstalks.
First cut out her tongue. Then when her pitiful protestations are silenced, CARVE OUT HER HEART!!!Each drop of their blood shall nourish the seeds of new life. Let the new harvest begin.
His hands clawed at the ground as he struggled to regain his footing.
"Please, Danny, you're my friend!"
It all went black.
I sat bolt upright in my bed, and noticed that I was paler then normal, and extremely cold and clammy. It was just a dream. I wasn't back in the corn, with He Who Walks Behind the Rows telling me what to do. I was 14 year old Micah Balding, and I was free to do what I wanted, not what some stupid monster wanted. Danny and Lacey came back into the room, and as Lacey looked at me, I remembered my dream. "What's wrong, Micah? did we scare you?" she asked.
"No, I just woke up, that's all. I'm still half asleep." I smiled, and walked into the bathroom with my bag, where I changed, brushed my hair and teeth, and tried to calm down. When I was done, I walked back into the other room, where Danny, Lacey, John, and Angela were waiting for me. We went down the stairs and out the front door, right to a waiting cab. (Thanks again to Danny for explaining) On the way to the airport, we didn't talk much, just looked out the windows. there was not very much to see, but I was amused.
"Well, Micah. Get ready to leave the corn behind. In Ohio, there really aren't that many cornfields. you have to drive to see them. Especially where we're going to stay. My sister, Brittany, and her family live in Middleburg Heights, and that's by Cleveland. They're going to let us stay with them. It'll be fun!" I highly doubted that.
"That's great, John. I'm glad to hear that. I hope that I like Ohio, it sounds fun." A voice inside of me was telling me to get out of the cab, to stay in Nebraska. My friends. " What happened to Jedediah? Where is he now?" An uncomfortable look passed between all four of my companions. No one said anything. Later, I would find out from Danny that he died in the explosion, along with everyone else, except myself and the four I was with. We reached the airport, and went inside. Someone saw me, screamed, and proceeded to tell the whole damn airport that the Corn Cult leader was in the airport. This person also said that I was going to kill every adult in the airport unless I was killed myself. What stupid people. Does everyone believe EVERYTHING that they see on t.v. or hear on the radio? I guess so. Anyway, we hurried through the airport to our gate, and waited to board the plane. As I stepped into the tunnel when our flight was called, I wasn't scared, just kind of nervous. Then I heard Isaac's voice 'I always have your back. No matter where you are or what you do, I'm always there.' I felt much better. I stepped onto the plane, found my seat next to the window and Danny, buckled in, and got ready for my first plane ride.
(about 3 hours later)
That was really fun, I thought as we stepped off the plane. I don't remember a thing. See, when we were taking off, I had passed out from fright, and slept through the whole trip, because Danny thought that I was just asleep. Seeing a food place, I told them where I was going and went over to get a doughnut and water. When I got back, there were four new people. they were introduced as Brittany, Jason, and Robbie, their son. The other person was Cory, who was Robbie's friend. No one asked questions, so I assumed that my situation had already been explained. They helped us with our bags, and on the way to the car, Lacey and I were introduced to each of them.
On the way back to the house, I learned that Robbie and Cory were 13 years old, and that while Robbie liked Danny, Cory hated him. Everyone took an instant liking to Lacey, but seemed kind of distant towards me. It wasn't that I blamed them, I just felt kind of awkward. When we pulled into the driveway, as soon as the car stopped, Danny grabbed mine and Lacey's hands and pulled us towards the house. When we got to the door, Danny ran right in, and plopped down on the couch, flipping through the cable channels. He seemed happy. Lacey and I just stood there, until Brittany came in and showed us where our rooms were. She took Lacey to hers first, and then showed me mine, which I would be sharing with Danny. She sat down on the bed, and looked at me. She wasn't trying to be rude, she wasn't staring, and she wasn't accusing me of anything with her look.
"Oh, Micah. I'm so sorry. I wasn't going to say anything, but I have to. I -." She then burst into tears. I sat down next to her, and she didn't move away. I told her that she shouldn't cry, that it was OK. She calmed down enough to tell me that she was sorry that she had said anything, that I should forget about it. I agreed, and went to explore the backyard. I passed Danny on my way out, and he was still watching t.v., flipping channels contentedly.
It was about 1:30 PM, and the sun was behind a cloud, so the backyard was full of shadows. I looked around for a little while, and realized how different this place was from Gatlin and Hemmingford. After about fifteen minutes, I was ready to go back inside. The yard was pretty big, but the house was huge. I went and sat by Danny, and we passed about 2 and a half hours with the t.v., watching stupid shows. The first dinner was really good, and I was happy to be back with people again, not just kids. Cory left right after dinner, and everyone wanted to go when he was dropped off. I didn't though because I was tired of moving. I just wanted to sit. Everyone left, and about five minutes later, the doorbell rang.
I got up to answer the door, and just before I opened it, I asked who it was. It sounded like a girl, and she said she was the neighbor. I opened the door, and saw a girl about my age, dressed for the summer in a pair of shorts and a bathing suit top. she was pretty tan, and then when I looked at her face, I realized that she was really pretty. I was trying to think of something else to say to her, when she filled in the gap.
" Hi. Im Marie. I live across the street. Are you Micah?"
