Author's Note: Okay, I decided to stick Danny's and Rachel's together, too, since I seem to have written a bunch of short ones….Hope that's okay with you guys.
Disclaimer: "Don't you people ever die?"
Chapter Twenty-Eight Part One– Danny
Aside from the ceiling fan last night and Veggie Tales this morning, the first day of our "de-Yeerkification" passed with little annoyances. It was somewhere around 8:00 PM, or so I figured since around an hour before Ax told me it was approximately 7:03 PM....and 42 seconds. Anyway, I was bored.
Very bored.
Reese had fallen asleep awhile ago, and when Tobias went out hunting, Sammie had joined her. Both Rachel and Ax were sleeping as well.
I probably should have slept, too, seeing as if that night was at all like last, I would be sleeping very little, but I was distracted.
As you might have guessed, I like fire.
And when I get bored, it makes me want to play with the fire.
Of course, since I was tied to a chair, I didn't think that would work out too well. Although, maybe if I just lit the tips of my fingers….
I concentrated, and my fingertips sparked with blue flame. I smiled as I watched it flicker, but before I had been looking a full minute, a wave of foamy liquid splashed across my hands and the front part of my chair. My knees and pants around them were soaked almost instantly.
And the fire was gone.
I looked up to see Rachel holding a fire extinguisher.
She was glaring at me. "What, do you want to set the place on fire now? Or were you just trying to escape?"
"I wasn't trying to do anything…I was just bored." I explained.
"So you thought you'd play with fire?" She asked.
"Yes. Hey, it wasn't hurting anything. At least I didn't break the door." I protested.
She paused, then set the fire extinguisher down. "Whatever. Don't do that again."
She started to walk away, but something prompted me to say, "You know, Rachel, we're not your enemies."
She stopped, then turned to look at me. "Huh?"
"I'm not like David." I told her.
"What are you talking about?" she asked me.
"I'm not like David," I repeated. It had to have been the only thing on her mind. She had just met us, but we already know so much about her and the others. The last person to know as much as we did betrayed them. I could see why they'd be scared. "I just want to make sure that you know that. That guy…he was a creep. And I hate him. And now, we show up, and we just know a lot. You guys have a reason to not trust us. But I just wanted to tell you, you can trust us. I know it's not going to be an overnight thing…but I hope it starts somewhere…"
Rachel shook her head. "It's creepy the way you know stuff about me no one should."
All I could think of to say was, "I know. Sorry." I shrugged as best as I could while being tied up.
She blinked at me, then smirked. "What are you sorry for? If your story's true, then you couldn't help being 'brought' here." Her tone placed an emphasis on 'if'.
I shrugged again. "I just feel like I owed you an apology. I'd be pissed if someone I didn't know knew stuff about me."
Rachel didn't say anything.
After a long while, I said, "But really, I'm not like him. I don't want be like him."
Rachel looked at me for a moment, then shook her head again. "I hope not, Danny."
She walked back over to the wall she had been sitting against and sat back down, leaning against it and closing her eyes.
I was debating whether or not to say anything more when Tobias flew back in, so I shifted my conversation his way.
Chapter Twenty-Eight Part Two – Rachel
Danny confused me. I don't like being confused. It was much simpler when they were the Controllers who knew too much about us and I could just hate them. But now….Well, now I was starting to believe him.
I didn't want another David. I really, really didn't want another David.
David brought out a part in me that I didn't really like. I didn't want to have to go through that again.
But, for some reason, when Danny said he wasn't like David, I believed him. I'm not usually one to make decisions based on what people seem to be like. That's Cassie's thing, the goodness in all people.
But I do believe in gut instinct. And mine was telling me that Danny was being truthful.
I heard Tobias fly back in, but I didn't feel like talking to anyone, so I pretended I was asleep.
I guess I must have really fallen asleep, because the next thing I remember is hearing the door open again. I listened more carefully and heard the sound of rain hitting the roof. When had it started raining? I shivered and realized it was colder now, too.
I opened my eyes and saw that Cassie had been the one who came through the door. She was holding two umbrellas and there was a duffel bag at her feet. She smiled over at me.
"Hey, Rach." She greeted. "There was some pretty nasty clouds outside, so I figured I'd better come give you guys some protection. Started raining about halfway here." She glanced up at the ceiling. "Weatherguy says it should clear up tonight."
"Which means it'll last a couple of days." I groaned, then stood up, stretching.
I glanced around to see what the others had been doing while I was out. Danny, Reese, and Samantha were talking about something one of their friends had done while Ax was watching them and blinking, as if trying to make sense of the conversation. Tobias was perched on Samantha's shoulder, looking slightly wet and disgruntled.
He caught me looking. Stupid storm caught me while I was hunting. He commented, fluffing his wings a bit. Now I'm all wet. He grumbled.
I grinned slightly.
Reese glanced over at Cassie and the duffel bag. "You brought something warm in there, right? I'm freezing."
Samantha looked at her and rolled her eyes. "You're already wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt. How cold can you be?"
Reese stuck out her tongue. "Not all of us are 'Little-Miss-I-Never-get-cold'."
"As much as I dislike agreeing with Reese, warm would be nice." Danny commented.
"Hey!" Reese protested.
Cassie smiled and unzipped the duffel bag, revealing several blankets. "This shed doesn't exactly have a heater."
She tugged one out and handed it to me, then pulled another out and started over to Reese. I shrugged and went over to Danny.
"Just don't light this on fire." I told him as I spread it over him, smiling slightly.
He smiled back. "Who, me? Never."
I helped Cassie set up a couple of camping-style lanterns that were also in the duffel bag, then glanced at my watch. "It's nine already. I'm supposed to be home from studying at your house in half an hour." I told Cassie.
She nodded. "I know. That's why I came." She glanced at Ax and Tobias. "You two gonna be okay until Jake and I get here tomorrow?"
We'll be fine, Cass. Tobias replied.
Ax nodded. Yes, I believe we will manage on our own. As long as there are no sudden outbursts tonight. He looked at Reese.
She grinned. "Hey, Sammie's the one who wouldn't stop singing."
"No one asked you to scream at me." Samantha replied indignantly.
"If you hadn't been singing, I wouldn't have had to." Reese shot back.
Danny rolled his eyes. "You both sang, okay? I blame both of you."
The argument continued as I followed Cassie out the door. She handed me one of the umbrellas and I opened it up.
"I know why you volunteered to skip school tomorrow." I teased as we walked.
"Oh?" She asked innocently.
"You just wanted to spend some alone time with Jaaake." I informed her.
She blushed. "That's not true."
"Oh really?" I asked.
"Well….maybe a little." She admitted.
I laughed, and she quickly changed the subject to something else.