Finally, after who knows how long, I can write the next chapter. Yeah, I
know, right about now you're probably thinking that I must be the slowest
writer in the history of mankind. I really have no excuse for it, I guess
you could say I was just out of the groove for a while. That's not to say
that I didn't try to write this chapter. In fact, I think I wrote this
chapter at least five times but it was never good enough to post. Then,
when I read the last set of reviews, I kicked it into gear and decided to
write this chapter from this perspective. I can only hope that it is worth
your time to read. This chapter is kind of open ended so I guess I'm going
to have to start writing the next chapter very soon so you don't have to
wait another month just for another chapter. Once, again, sorry for the
wait, I'll work on it but in the meantime I hope you enjoy this chapter
Note: Wow! I'm on four people's favorite stories list, or at least I was. I'm probably not on them anymore but I just wanted to say thanks to those people. You really have no idea how encouraging it was to see that. In addition, thanks to everyone who took the time to write reviews, it truly encourages me.
Sidenote: For some reason, every time I post something, it gets distorted. Usually, I have character's thoughts in italics and I have dividing lines between each section or change of view. Unfortunately, none of these things are showing up on the posted copies because I read some of the latest chapters and realized that you couldn't tell which lines were the character thoughts and which were just my words because fanfiction.net must not take the italics into account. So, from now on, I'm going to put character's thoughts in single quotations ('_') and I'll try a different way of separating the sections. Eventually, I'll try to go back and change the other chapters so they are less confusing. Just wanted to say that, I was a little embarrassed about the last few chapters when I read them over.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned them but I don't. Sadly, I don't think I ever will. Oh well, life goes on, right?
POV: Challenger
Challenger woke to yet another rainy, dreary day. He rubbed his eyes and slowly made his way out of bed and to the balcony. He had planned on running some more checks to make sure everything survived the near doomsday but with rain pouring as hard as it was those thoughts flew out the window. It looked like everyone was caught inside for yet another day of misery. He made his way up the stairs to the kitchen to yet again make breakfast for the inhabitants of the tree house.
As he passed by the couch, he noticed Malone lying on top of Veronica. There was no doubt in his mind that Malone would never get over this. It was too much for someone like him to have to handle. Challenger was actually surprised by how little emotion he had shown so far. Every time someone else was around he seemed to be in a different world altogether. Silently, he vowed to try to talk to Malone when he woke up. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he could coerce him into actually sleeping in his bed tonight.
As he started to roast the coffee, he was reminded of a very unenviable topic, how, where, and when they were going to bury Veronica. The first thought that crossed his mind was that they should bury her next to her father. Of course, he would have to bide his time in bringing up the subject because he was pretty sure it wouldn't sit well with Malone. Any reference to burying Veronica might very well prove too much for the young man and he knew, somehow, that if he chose the wrong time he could very well end up the focus of every emotion Malone was trying so hard to suppress.
The young man definitely wasn't looking too well. As a matter of fact, Challenger noticed that he seemed more pale than usual. I guess that's what happens when you don't hardly eat or sleep for two days straight, he thought to himself and shook his head in pity of the young reporter. He tried to turn his attention to the preparing food for breakfast but something just didn't feel right. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something seemed different today, as if the world had somehow changed and Challenger didn't know if it was for the better or the worse.
He tried his best to shrug the feeling off but it continued all during his preparation of the food and kept hounding him as he waited for Roxton and Marguerite to get up. After what seemed like entirely too long of a wait, Challenger spotted them making their way up the stairs. It was no surprise that they were walking together. Ever since the incident with Veronica, Roxton had appointed himself guardian of Marguerite. They spent most of their waking hours in sight of one another and at night, Roxton usually slept in a chair next to Marguerite's bed.
He found himself smiling as Marguerite reached for the coffee pot, only to have Roxton grab it before her. With a smile, he insisted, "allow me," while pulling out a cup and filling it with coffee. He handed the cup to Marguerite and was rewarded with what seemed like a genuine smile. The two made their way to the table and sat down next to each other, glancing up from their food every once in a while with no real attempt to hide it.
For some reason, Challenger almost laughed at the irony. Although it was highly inappropriate, it seemed ironic that the destruction of one relationship was actually leading to the building of another. Just as he thought that, an intense wave of guilt passed over him and he mentally kicked himself for the thought. He slowly picked away at his fried egg when Finn stepped into the dining area.
All three of them looked up as Finn approached the table and reluctantly pulled out a chair to sit in. Challenger immediately went to get a plate for her while both Roxton and Marguerite smiled at her, thanking Finn for her bravery in finally coming out of her room. Within seconds, Challenger had a full plate placed in front of her and as he went to get her something to drink, he heard Roxton speak up. "What about Malone?"
A quick glance at Malone, and Challenger knew exactly what he meant. Eventually, Malone was going to have to eat something. Going two days without hardly eating anything definitely wasn't healthy and there was no telling how much food he had in his journey back to the treehouse but Challenger was almost confident he didn't have much. In fact, there was so little Challenger knew about what had happened to Malone. He had dozens of questions he wanted to ask the young man but now was definitely not the right time to ask them. '.and after what happened, I'm not sure if there will ever be a right time,' Challenger thought to himself as he opened the cupboard and searched for a plate
He found one and brought it out onto the stove, filling it with eggs, a couple of fruits, and some dried jerky from one of Roxton's many hunting adventures. When he turned around, he spotted Marguerite leaning against the counter next to him, silently regarding the form of the man across the room. He turned to her and she reached for the plate without more than a glance in Challenger's direction. She stated plainly, "I'll give it to him," and reached for the platter Challenger was holding. Considering Malone's reaction to the first time he was woken up, Challenger was actually a little relieved at Marguerite's foresight, if only because she was willing to risk her neck to save them from having to do the same.
He handed her the plate and she walked towards Malone with a little too much focus. As she neared the couch, her boot hit a loose plank that apparently had been overlooked by Challenger's inspection of the house the day after the incident. Startled by the plank, Marguerite was thrown off balance and landed face first with an undignified "thump." The platter she was holding rattled as it spread its contents across the floor, with the silverware clattering nearby. All the noise made Challenger cringe, mostly because of what it must be like for Malone, since he was only a couple of meters from the incident and probably got a good ear full.
To Challenger and everyone else's surprise, Malone didn't even react to what happened. In fact, he didn't even move. 'I guess that the lack of sleep is finally getting to him,' Challenger thought, in an effort to calm the fear that for some reason was instinctively taking hold of him. While Marguerite picked herself up from the embarrassing fall and wiped off some of the spilt eggs from her shirt, Challenger glanced at Roxton and noticed that he too was focused on Malone. Challenger could almost see a small twitch of fear on his face, and apparently, Marguerite could too because she started to approach Malone again.
As she came up to his bent down form, she tensed but reluctantly tapped Malone on the shoulder, calling out, "Malone?" When he didn't reply, she tapped him a little harder and once again got no reply. By now, Challenger was unconsciously making his way over to the couch. A number of possible situations came to mind, none of which were good. With Malone's lack of sleep and nutrition, there was no telling how many possible diseases and illnesses he could have contracted but Challenger was almost sure that was what was happening. Malone must be sick with something, it was the only reason why he wouldn't respond. 'Or is it,' he thought to himself as he came up alongside Marguerite.
He reached to feel Malone's forehead and instead of Malone being burning up, he found that he was ice cold. Fear immediately started to run through him, as he called out Malone's name and gave him a good jostling. By now, Roxton had made his way over to Malone and reached to turn him over. As he wrestled to pick up the man, something dropped from his hand and hit the floor with a "clank." Roxton continued trying to keep Malone upright while Challenger reached down to examine the object that had rolled slightly out of view. He reached for and it and brought it into sight, only to have his heart skip a beat.
It was a vial, an empty vial. Immediately, Challenger knew what it was without any question. His breath stopped and his hand started to slightly shake. No, it couldn't be real, this couldn't have happened again. His mind cried out in objection but his body seemed to lose all its strength. This had to be a nightmare, this couldn't be real. This couldn't happen again, not to him, not to the rest of his family.
But it wasn't a nightmare. He never woke to find himself safe in his room, he never got to breath a sigh of relief and say it was just a dream. As he glanced up at Roxton and Marguerite, he realized that this was reality and he was stuck in it. Roxton looked down at Challenger for an explanation but Challenger found the lump in his throat impossible to speak over. All he could do was hold the vial up to Roxton for his own inspection.
If Marguerite's gasp at reading the symbol etched into the side of the vial wasn't enough, Roxton's look of shock was definitely more than enough to tell Challenger that they understood. Finn, who had curiously made her way over to the group, approached and was about to ask what was wrong when she spotted the vial and stopped. Her eyes seemed to get three times bigger and mouth dropped open in disbelief.
The air seemed to fall completely silent between the remaining members of Challenger's tree house family. Both Marguerite and Finn looked like they were going to break out crying at any moment and, to his own surprise, Challenger found tears building up in his own eyes. No one had to question what happened, they all instinctively knew.
Malone had gone to join Veronica. He had gone to be with the only one he loved.
POV: Malone
Glancing around, Malone found himself in an all too familiar darkness. It felt completely and utterly black both inside and outside, without a single ray of light. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Then, as if triggered by some outside force, a light began to illuminate a small patch of land ahead of him. He walked towards it, drawn to it somehow, and when he found himself in the exact center of the circle of light, he realized that it was the exact same setting as his first dream.
As the realization dawned on him, a beam of light seemed to once again shine down and a figure emerged from it. Malone stood in shock as the figure materialized in front of him. She had beautiful blond hair, and a tanned complexion, with a golden-looking crown adorning her head and a long braided ponytail running down her back. She looked every bit royalty, wearing shimmering clothes that almost sparkled as she walked out of the beam of light. Slowly, her face materialized in front of him and he gasped in shock. There in front of him, was a woman who looked almost exactly like Veronica and if it weren't for her older looking appearance, Malone would have sworn it was her.
She approached him, eyeing him with a blank expression. "Welcome, Ned Malone," she greeted in a voice that seemed somehow familiar. She continued forward and Malone's mind could swear he knew her. She closed to within a couple of yards of Malone and smiled at him. He found himself fumbling through his thoughts in search of her identity. He knew her, he just couldn't put a finger on a name or identity.
"You don't remember me, do you?" Her words seemed less like a question and more like a statement to Malone but he absently shook his head no and continued to stare. Everything about her seemed completely familiar, almost as if he'd seen those features presented in a different way. He glanced into her eyes and then he recognition swept through him. The glimmer in her eyes, it was the same one he'd dreamed of for months, the same one that had changed his life.
As realization hit him, she seemed to almost smirk, as if she knew he had finally recognized her. His eyes got a little wider from the shock and he looked at her again from head to toe. From out of no where, he called forth a name he didn't know how he remembered. "Abigail.?"
End of Chapter 7
Well, that was chapter seven. I know, it took me long enough, and I will give you my word the next one won't take that long to get out. I am trying my best to get myself into the story. I only hope you can forgive me for the last delay. If you want to and you have time, you can review and tell me what I did that you like or dislike. If you didn't read it before, the reviews are encouraging and to be honest, I use them as a sort of inspiration on how to keep writing. So, if you have time, I'd appreciate it. Anyway, I hope you liked this.
Note: Wow! I'm on four people's favorite stories list, or at least I was. I'm probably not on them anymore but I just wanted to say thanks to those people. You really have no idea how encouraging it was to see that. In addition, thanks to everyone who took the time to write reviews, it truly encourages me.
Sidenote: For some reason, every time I post something, it gets distorted. Usually, I have character's thoughts in italics and I have dividing lines between each section or change of view. Unfortunately, none of these things are showing up on the posted copies because I read some of the latest chapters and realized that you couldn't tell which lines were the character thoughts and which were just my words because fanfiction.net must not take the italics into account. So, from now on, I'm going to put character's thoughts in single quotations ('_') and I'll try a different way of separating the sections. Eventually, I'll try to go back and change the other chapters so they are less confusing. Just wanted to say that, I was a little embarrassed about the last few chapters when I read them over.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned them but I don't. Sadly, I don't think I ever will. Oh well, life goes on, right?
POV: Challenger
Challenger woke to yet another rainy, dreary day. He rubbed his eyes and slowly made his way out of bed and to the balcony. He had planned on running some more checks to make sure everything survived the near doomsday but with rain pouring as hard as it was those thoughts flew out the window. It looked like everyone was caught inside for yet another day of misery. He made his way up the stairs to the kitchen to yet again make breakfast for the inhabitants of the tree house.
As he passed by the couch, he noticed Malone lying on top of Veronica. There was no doubt in his mind that Malone would never get over this. It was too much for someone like him to have to handle. Challenger was actually surprised by how little emotion he had shown so far. Every time someone else was around he seemed to be in a different world altogether. Silently, he vowed to try to talk to Malone when he woke up. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he could coerce him into actually sleeping in his bed tonight.
As he started to roast the coffee, he was reminded of a very unenviable topic, how, where, and when they were going to bury Veronica. The first thought that crossed his mind was that they should bury her next to her father. Of course, he would have to bide his time in bringing up the subject because he was pretty sure it wouldn't sit well with Malone. Any reference to burying Veronica might very well prove too much for the young man and he knew, somehow, that if he chose the wrong time he could very well end up the focus of every emotion Malone was trying so hard to suppress.
The young man definitely wasn't looking too well. As a matter of fact, Challenger noticed that he seemed more pale than usual. I guess that's what happens when you don't hardly eat or sleep for two days straight, he thought to himself and shook his head in pity of the young reporter. He tried to turn his attention to the preparing food for breakfast but something just didn't feel right. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something seemed different today, as if the world had somehow changed and Challenger didn't know if it was for the better or the worse.
He tried his best to shrug the feeling off but it continued all during his preparation of the food and kept hounding him as he waited for Roxton and Marguerite to get up. After what seemed like entirely too long of a wait, Challenger spotted them making their way up the stairs. It was no surprise that they were walking together. Ever since the incident with Veronica, Roxton had appointed himself guardian of Marguerite. They spent most of their waking hours in sight of one another and at night, Roxton usually slept in a chair next to Marguerite's bed.
He found himself smiling as Marguerite reached for the coffee pot, only to have Roxton grab it before her. With a smile, he insisted, "allow me," while pulling out a cup and filling it with coffee. He handed the cup to Marguerite and was rewarded with what seemed like a genuine smile. The two made their way to the table and sat down next to each other, glancing up from their food every once in a while with no real attempt to hide it.
For some reason, Challenger almost laughed at the irony. Although it was highly inappropriate, it seemed ironic that the destruction of one relationship was actually leading to the building of another. Just as he thought that, an intense wave of guilt passed over him and he mentally kicked himself for the thought. He slowly picked away at his fried egg when Finn stepped into the dining area.
All three of them looked up as Finn approached the table and reluctantly pulled out a chair to sit in. Challenger immediately went to get a plate for her while both Roxton and Marguerite smiled at her, thanking Finn for her bravery in finally coming out of her room. Within seconds, Challenger had a full plate placed in front of her and as he went to get her something to drink, he heard Roxton speak up. "What about Malone?"
A quick glance at Malone, and Challenger knew exactly what he meant. Eventually, Malone was going to have to eat something. Going two days without hardly eating anything definitely wasn't healthy and there was no telling how much food he had in his journey back to the treehouse but Challenger was almost confident he didn't have much. In fact, there was so little Challenger knew about what had happened to Malone. He had dozens of questions he wanted to ask the young man but now was definitely not the right time to ask them. '.and after what happened, I'm not sure if there will ever be a right time,' Challenger thought to himself as he opened the cupboard and searched for a plate
He found one and brought it out onto the stove, filling it with eggs, a couple of fruits, and some dried jerky from one of Roxton's many hunting adventures. When he turned around, he spotted Marguerite leaning against the counter next to him, silently regarding the form of the man across the room. He turned to her and she reached for the plate without more than a glance in Challenger's direction. She stated plainly, "I'll give it to him," and reached for the platter Challenger was holding. Considering Malone's reaction to the first time he was woken up, Challenger was actually a little relieved at Marguerite's foresight, if only because she was willing to risk her neck to save them from having to do the same.
He handed her the plate and she walked towards Malone with a little too much focus. As she neared the couch, her boot hit a loose plank that apparently had been overlooked by Challenger's inspection of the house the day after the incident. Startled by the plank, Marguerite was thrown off balance and landed face first with an undignified "thump." The platter she was holding rattled as it spread its contents across the floor, with the silverware clattering nearby. All the noise made Challenger cringe, mostly because of what it must be like for Malone, since he was only a couple of meters from the incident and probably got a good ear full.
To Challenger and everyone else's surprise, Malone didn't even react to what happened. In fact, he didn't even move. 'I guess that the lack of sleep is finally getting to him,' Challenger thought, in an effort to calm the fear that for some reason was instinctively taking hold of him. While Marguerite picked herself up from the embarrassing fall and wiped off some of the spilt eggs from her shirt, Challenger glanced at Roxton and noticed that he too was focused on Malone. Challenger could almost see a small twitch of fear on his face, and apparently, Marguerite could too because she started to approach Malone again.
As she came up to his bent down form, she tensed but reluctantly tapped Malone on the shoulder, calling out, "Malone?" When he didn't reply, she tapped him a little harder and once again got no reply. By now, Challenger was unconsciously making his way over to the couch. A number of possible situations came to mind, none of which were good. With Malone's lack of sleep and nutrition, there was no telling how many possible diseases and illnesses he could have contracted but Challenger was almost sure that was what was happening. Malone must be sick with something, it was the only reason why he wouldn't respond. 'Or is it,' he thought to himself as he came up alongside Marguerite.
He reached to feel Malone's forehead and instead of Malone being burning up, he found that he was ice cold. Fear immediately started to run through him, as he called out Malone's name and gave him a good jostling. By now, Roxton had made his way over to Malone and reached to turn him over. As he wrestled to pick up the man, something dropped from his hand and hit the floor with a "clank." Roxton continued trying to keep Malone upright while Challenger reached down to examine the object that had rolled slightly out of view. He reached for and it and brought it into sight, only to have his heart skip a beat.
It was a vial, an empty vial. Immediately, Challenger knew what it was without any question. His breath stopped and his hand started to slightly shake. No, it couldn't be real, this couldn't have happened again. His mind cried out in objection but his body seemed to lose all its strength. This had to be a nightmare, this couldn't be real. This couldn't happen again, not to him, not to the rest of his family.
But it wasn't a nightmare. He never woke to find himself safe in his room, he never got to breath a sigh of relief and say it was just a dream. As he glanced up at Roxton and Marguerite, he realized that this was reality and he was stuck in it. Roxton looked down at Challenger for an explanation but Challenger found the lump in his throat impossible to speak over. All he could do was hold the vial up to Roxton for his own inspection.
If Marguerite's gasp at reading the symbol etched into the side of the vial wasn't enough, Roxton's look of shock was definitely more than enough to tell Challenger that they understood. Finn, who had curiously made her way over to the group, approached and was about to ask what was wrong when she spotted the vial and stopped. Her eyes seemed to get three times bigger and mouth dropped open in disbelief.
The air seemed to fall completely silent between the remaining members of Challenger's tree house family. Both Marguerite and Finn looked like they were going to break out crying at any moment and, to his own surprise, Challenger found tears building up in his own eyes. No one had to question what happened, they all instinctively knew.
Malone had gone to join Veronica. He had gone to be with the only one he loved.
POV: Malone
Glancing around, Malone found himself in an all too familiar darkness. It felt completely and utterly black both inside and outside, without a single ray of light. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Then, as if triggered by some outside force, a light began to illuminate a small patch of land ahead of him. He walked towards it, drawn to it somehow, and when he found himself in the exact center of the circle of light, he realized that it was the exact same setting as his first dream.
As the realization dawned on him, a beam of light seemed to once again shine down and a figure emerged from it. Malone stood in shock as the figure materialized in front of him. She had beautiful blond hair, and a tanned complexion, with a golden-looking crown adorning her head and a long braided ponytail running down her back. She looked every bit royalty, wearing shimmering clothes that almost sparkled as she walked out of the beam of light. Slowly, her face materialized in front of him and he gasped in shock. There in front of him, was a woman who looked almost exactly like Veronica and if it weren't for her older looking appearance, Malone would have sworn it was her.
She approached him, eyeing him with a blank expression. "Welcome, Ned Malone," she greeted in a voice that seemed somehow familiar. She continued forward and Malone's mind could swear he knew her. She closed to within a couple of yards of Malone and smiled at him. He found himself fumbling through his thoughts in search of her identity. He knew her, he just couldn't put a finger on a name or identity.
"You don't remember me, do you?" Her words seemed less like a question and more like a statement to Malone but he absently shook his head no and continued to stare. Everything about her seemed completely familiar, almost as if he'd seen those features presented in a different way. He glanced into her eyes and then he recognition swept through him. The glimmer in her eyes, it was the same one he'd dreamed of for months, the same one that had changed his life.
As realization hit him, she seemed to almost smirk, as if she knew he had finally recognized her. His eyes got a little wider from the shock and he looked at her again from head to toe. From out of no where, he called forth a name he didn't know how he remembered. "Abigail.?"
End of Chapter 7
Well, that was chapter seven. I know, it took me long enough, and I will give you my word the next one won't take that long to get out. I am trying my best to get myself into the story. I only hope you can forgive me for the last delay. If you want to and you have time, you can review and tell me what I did that you like or dislike. If you didn't read it before, the reviews are encouraging and to be honest, I use them as a sort of inspiration on how to keep writing. So, if you have time, I'd appreciate it. Anyway, I hope you liked this.