Chapter 7: Meeting the Loonies

We rode off into the night for what seemed like hours to me. I didn't know if we were ever going to stop until the Captain decided to find a hotel for some R&R. Brackett was still out cold from the dart but I believed she would wake up soon. At least she didn't have to ride the whole time with Mr. Thinks He's Badass. He tried to impress me with his stories of war but it only made me more sick of him. I just wanted him to shut up.

The hotel wasn't the fanciest of places and in fact, it was full of gangs and drug dealers that you didn't want to meet alone in a dark alley. However, we were fugitives and this provided a great cover from Stargazer and God knows whatever was out there.

No one minded us passing through with the exception of a few glances. Other than that, they seemed to mind their own business. Once we were in the hotel, the Captain carried Brackett into a deluxe room with a huge king sized bed and laid her on it.

I was slightly uncomfortable since I didn't know what we were going to do next so I couldn't help but think of my companion who was still out there. Hope he's doing okay . . .

Once Brackett was settled on the bed, the Captain signed and then turned around to face me.

"Okay. Now that we're all settled, who are you and what is your involvement?"

I was puzzled as to what I should say. I knew very little of him and the men he brought along. They all seemed strange and I didn't want to reveal too much about me until I knew I could trust them.

"Why do you want to know? I don't even know who you are."

I turned the tables on him so he would have to answer my question first. I thought he would get frustrated with me but all he did was take a deep breath to compose himself.

"You got a point. We haven't introduced ourselves. It's better to get acquainted first."

Good. At least he's got some manners.

"My name is Quinn McKenna. Ex-sniper and worked with the Department of Defense."

My eyes widen in surprise. I would never think that he was a military man working for the government but I still didn't know if he worked with Stargazer so I remained alert around him.

I couldn't help but ask, "Do you work for Stargazer? Those men from before?"

He raised his eyebrows in confusion like I was supposed to know the answer already. "No, I don't work for those assholes that you call Stargazer but don't compare me to them."

His frustration was appearing in his voice so I must have crossed a boundary that is sensitive to him. At least I can relax since he's not Stargazer but he still had questions for me.

"Now that I told you who I am, why don't you tell me who you are?"

I didn't like the way he said that question. His tone reminded me of someone trying to order me what to do so I spat back at him.

"Well, if you say the question more nicely then maybe I might tell you."

McKenna's face twisted like he was trying to contain his rage. I smirked at him and crossed my hands, waiting for a response. He opened his mouth and was about to speak until another voice interrupted us.

"She's probably some bitch tagging along like it's a game but I can play with you sweetheart."

I knew that voice all too well, even if I only knew him for a short time. I grunted in annoyance as I turned around, looking at the dark-skinned man that I rode with hours earlier. He smiled and raised his hand to wave at me. I don't like you so stop smiling!

"You call me a bitch one more time and I'll strangle you in your sleep . . ."

I didn't get the reaction that I wanted from him. Instead, he just smiled more and put his hands up in defeat. I wanted to punch those perfect, white teeth into his mouth until McKenna stood between us. "Okay. Settle down Nebraska. She looks like she's about ready to kill you."

McKenna said the words that I needed to silence the annoying man.

McKenna walked next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down. I didn't like him touching me but it did have that effect and I sighed deeply to relieve the rest of my anger.

McKenna continued on with the introductions. "As you know, this is Nebraska. He's full of hot air sometimes but a great fighter."

I glanced at Nebraska with his famous smirk still on him and gave me another wave. I puffed at him. God . . . Does he ever stop smirking?

I looked around at the other men around the room, landing on one with a short beard and mustache along with a bald head. He looked at me funny but I ignored it for my sanity's sake.

"That's Coyle. Used to be a military veteran but now he likes to joke around a lot so don't take it to heart when he says things that might offend you."

I was curious as to what kind of jokes he would tell but I got my answer right away when he spoke out to me. "Must have been through a meat grinder. You look like someone shit on you!"

Coyle just laughed and Nebraska soon joined in but it only made things worse. My anger started to build but hearing McKenna's words from before, I just rolled my eyes and looked at McKenna. I go from shit to shittier. What next?

Another man speaks out and I was glad he did since he just wanted to keep the tension down. "Hey . . . hey . . . I'm Nettles . . . Nice . . . to meet . . . you."

He stuttered with his words, struggling to put a sentence together and it made me confused but he was the best one to talk to so far. He has a full-on beard compared to Coyles and long hair that stretched to his shoulders. From the look on his face, he seemed like he just wanted to talk but didn't know how.

I couldn't help but answer back. "Nice to meet you, Nettles."

He just gave a goofy smile and I smiled a little at him. He seems normal to me.

McKenna moves along and points to an older man near the back of the room looking worse for wear with short, dirty blond hair. "He's Baxley. Also a military veteran but got some clicks that he's working on."

My curiosity peaked. "What clicks?"

Baxley turns toward me and speaks, "I'm a military veteran and I like to—" All of a sudden he twitches and begins to say things erratically. "Fuck . . . fuck . . . fuck me!"

I was full of shock and I couldn't process what just happened in front of me. "Is he okay?"

I saw that McKenna was used to this profanity and explained it to me. "He's got Tourettes so that is where his clicks come from. He can't control it."

"But his mama would love to fuck me!"

Coyle laughs at his own statement and Baxley looks pissed off as he shows off his middle finger at him.

Damn! Everyone is nuts around here!

Finally, I looked at the last man in the room who looks like a stick-figure with a hat on. For a minute, I thought that he doesn't eat a lot but it wasn't my concern so I let it go. He tips his hat to me and introduces himself.

"Hi. I'm Lynch. Best sniper around these parts and makes things fall apart. Just like this."

I saw that he pulled out a card and with one flick of his wrist, it disappears and everyone claps at his performance. All I did was stare at him with confusion. Anyone can do that. Please.

After the introductions were over, McKenna turns and looks at me like the last time he asked the question about who I was. "Well? You know us now so . . . can you tell us who you are?"

Although I wanted to avoid the question, I couldn't think of anything else that could delay the inevitable so I swallowed my pride and gave my answer. "My name is Anya."

McKenna nodded his head, glad to finally have a name to put with my face and raised his hand for a greeting. "Nice to meet you, Anya."

I hesitated at first, still not comfortable with anyone in the room but I returned his gesture and shook his hand for a few seconds. Letting go, I could see that McKenna have more questions for him but it's my choice whether I give him an answer or not. With a nod in his direction, I allowed him to ask his barrage of questions.

"Why were you at the water plant?"

I was vague with my answers, not wanting them to know my intentions at that time. "I was looking for someone."

"Looking for who?"

"A friend . . ." I didn't know what to call my companion since he wasn't my enemy but not exactly my ally either so I just came up with the word 'friend'.

McKenna pressed on. "You mentioned Stargazer before. Who are they and how do you know them?"

That was a question that I didn't want to answer since it would lead to my past that I didn't want to relive, much less tell them that I was their lab rat and tortured for reasons that I couldn't explain.

"They are a group that experiments on people and other things that are extraterrestrial and such. I only know them cause of reasons I don't want you to know."

McKenna didn't like my answer and it left more questions for me to answer. "What reasons? Are you a scientist?"

"No."

"A soldier?"

"No."

"A maintenance person?"

My anger grew again and I just wanted to shut his mouth up since he was diving too deep into something personal. "No."

"Then what are you? You must be—"

"I SAID ENOUGH!"

The room fell silent that a drop of a pin could have been heard and everyone just looked around like they saw a nasty fight taking place. I breathed harshly and my anger stayed with me until McKenna raised his hands in defeat. "Okay. I'm sorry. You must have your reasons why so I won't ask anymore. Just calm down. Okay?"

The words helped me a little and I was able to settle down as soon as I found a chair to sit on. I rubbed my head and I was tired all of a sudden like I ran a marathon. I didn't want to go back into my past. There are things that haunt me to this day and all I wanted was to put them in the back burner. If possible, I would keep them there forever.

Right now, I just wanted peace and quiet until we know what our next plan was. McKenna had one last question though but it was an easy one. "How do you know this lady on the bed? You were with her when we picked both of you up."

I looked over to where Brackett was, still passed out and wondered how she didn't wake up with me yelling.

"Her name is Brackett. I met her in the main lab at Stargazer headquarters. She's one of the scientists but I think she did something to earn their distrust since they wanted her dead."

McKenna was intrigued, learning of Brackett and how she got into this.

"Do you know what she did?"

"No. I have no idea but with Stargazer, any little thing you do that they don't like will make them hunt you down and leave you for dead."

McKenna was deep in thought about the new developments and was trying to formulate another question until we all heard a groan coming from the bed. I turned and saw that Brackett was gaining consciousness.

I sighed, "Looks like she's waking up."

At first, I thought that we would wait for her but the guys had other plans. Soon, Coyle brought a cup of tea and left it on Brackett's side while Nettles placed candy and other weird shit on her other side. I was baffled at the sight. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

Coyle looks at me with surprise. "We're trying to make her feel comfortable."

"And surrounding her with shit like this is going to make her flip out."

Nettles looks uncomfortable at my statement as Brackett stirs more on the bed.

"You better get away from her before she slaps you."

Right on cue, Coyle and Nettle move away just as Brackett begins to open her eyes and look around the room. McKenna gives her a nice greeting. "Morning sunshine."

Brackett didn't seem amused and quickly took the shotgun from the side of the bed and pointed at McKenna with an angry look on her face. I was concerned as to what Brackett would do next but the guys just stared in amazement like they were waiting for something. McKenna just raised his hands and approached her.

"Okay, Brackett. Just relax and put the gun down. Someone is going to get hurt if you do something stupid."

Brackett wasn't convinced and cocked the gun, ready to pull the trigger at any moment. I didn't know what to make of this new development and it didn't help when I saw McKenna's face. He didn't seem concerned and more amused by Brackett's response.

As soon as McKenna took one step towards Brackett, she pulled the trigger and I was expecting the gun to go off but . . . nothing. It took me a second to realize that the shotgun was empty and entirely useless. Brackett's face twisted in shock but we both jumped at the sound of laughter broke out in the room.

"Hahaha! I knew she would pull something like this!"

Coyle cracked in laughter and Nebraska chuckled alongside the rest of the guys. So that is what they were waiting for. They pulled a prank on her!

When I figured it out, I couldn't help but join the guys in laughter. It was a long time since I felt this way. I had to silently admit that these guys weren't so bad but had their moments of insanity.

Brackett was the complete opposite to everyone. "What is wrong with you guys?"

McKenna answers immediately while grabbing the shotgun from her hands. "We're the good guys but don't do that again."

Brackett just huffed in annoyance. "That's cute but I'm better off on my own so I'm leaving."

I didn't understand what she was going to go. She's just as useless as the lowest man in our crew and she wouldn't stand a chance out there. I, myself, knew better to stick together since Stargazer, my companion and other creatures are out there that could kill a whole troop like it was nothing. So I stepped forward to speak out.

"You shouldn't go out there by yourself. There are things out there that we do not understand nor what their intents are. It's strategically better to stick together as a group . . ."

I sighed mid-sentence, ". . . even if the group is made of guys who are mentally unstable."

I eyed towards the guys and they just smirked at me. I rolled my eyes before redirecting back to Brackett. She didn't seem convinced just yet but I've seen scientists talk to each other and they like to talk logically, which I've noticed makes them calm so I tried to do the same thing with Brackett.

"Look, Stargazer is out there with dozens of soldiers looking for us with unlimited resources. We've got an alien on the loose that would skewer anyone on sight and now, another alien ship might have landed on Earth with some evil intent."

Finally, I saw signs in Brackett's face that she was beginning to understand so I continued on.

"With everything going on, we need to work together and figure out what to do next. Okay?"

Silence lingered in the room for a minute until Brackett slowly sat back down on the edge of the bed, nodding in agreement. "You're right. We are outnumbered and right now, we need to figure out our next step."

I looked to McKenna as he sat in a chair across from the bed. "All we know is that the alien from the lab is on the move and we don't know where it's going. We should figure out its next location."

Nebraska asked a question that we all wanted to know the answer to. "Why do we need to follow it?"

My heart skipped a beat for a moment when they began to talk about my companion. Little did the group know that I've made contact with him and that I was helping him find his missing gear. The next thing McKenna says stuns me to the core.

"That's the alien that killed my men. I'm going to hunt it down until it's dead and avenge my men."

My chest begun to sting with pain and all I could do was look down to the floor. If they ever find out that I helped the alien that McKenna swore to destroy, I would be in big trouble . . . and so will my companion.

I zoned out everything for a few moments, trying to figure out what to do if we ever encounter my companion. I wouldn't know what to do if they crossed paths. Many thoughts ran through my head, swirling erratically.

What would I do? Can I stop them both? Will they come to an agreement? Or will they kill each other without a second thought?

Then, someone shook my shoulder, which snapped me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay?"

McKenna has his hand on my shoulder and a look of concern on his face. "You look like you were gone for a moment . . ."

I breathed deeply and shook my head in response. I brushed off his hand and McKenna glanced at my face before turning back to the group. The other guys watched McKenna as if waiting for a command like true soldiers.

"Alright. Our only lead is the alien from the lab so does anyone have any clue where it would go?"

Everyone didn't have any clue but I had a hunch that my companion might be looking for his missing mask and wrist gauntlet. It was the first thing that he was looking for on the ship and the last time I saw them was with McKenna but from his statements, he might have lost them or Stargazer had gotten them somehow. That worried me greatly.

Brackett gave a slight answer to McKenna's question. "It might be looking for something. It has missing gear when Stargazer captured him and they have told me they had been searching for them.

McKenna's face changed to one who got slapped by someone unexpectedly. Guess he remembers now. What an idiot!

"I think I know where the gear is."

Coyle makes a statement that I thought about earlier. "You remember now? Guess you're crazier than the rest of us!"

All of the guys laughed and I just stood in silence along with Brackett. McKenna didn't take the joke quite well. "Shut the fuck up!"

Silence takes over the room once more. With a shake of his head, McKenna continues on with what he was going to say before. "I stole its gear couple of days ago."

I wanted to say that he's the one who stole my companion's gear and ran off with it in Mexico but I didn't want to make a hole for myself and I still didn't trust any of them so I let the situation play out in front of me.

"Where is it now?"

Brackett was the first to respond and to me, she seemed intrigued but I knew it was a scientist's curiosity about my companion and his gear. I tightened my fists so hard that I believed they would be bruised later. A scientist is a scientist . . . No matter what, they only care about their own personal gain. Disgusting creatures . . .

McKenna responds with the worst possible answer. "I sent it to my P.O. box but I just found out that it went to my house since I haven't been able to pay. It's probably with my wife and son."

When he mentioned about his son, I immediately froze with fear. My companion killed many men who were fully grown just so he can get his gear back. Now I worried that McKenna might have brought his family into a battle that would end with them being possible casualties.

"We better get going now!"

Nebraska asked first before McKenna could register my words. "Why?"

"The alien killed many men and it will do anything to get it back. If McKenna is right and it is at his house, we need to get there first before it does or else there will be more deaths, especially to your family McKenna."

The last of my words pierced into his mind and he realized what we need to do next. "Let's get going! Now!"

Only a beat passed by until everyone scrambled to grab anything that could be useful. I didn't have anything to pack since I lost my gear at Stargazer's base but I fixed my shoelaces and straightened my jacket.

"Hey, Anya."

I looked at who called out my name and McKenna threw something into my hands. I glanced down at what I caught and it was a sharp blade that soldiers would keep with them, covered in a smooth pouch for safe-keeping. I lifted my head to McKenna in confusion.

"You will need something to fight with. We don't have guns to spare but at least I can give you this."

I couldn't help but appreciate the gesture of giving me a weapon. At least I was not totally defenseless and I nodded at him in which he nods back.

I placed the knife on my left hip and tightened it, making sure it was secure.

Once everyone was set and ready to go, we all raced out of the room and through the hallway of the hotel, armed to the teeth and ready for battle.

I knew that there was a chance that I would meet my companion again and I tried to imagine what will happen once we found each other, especially with the loonies, McKenna and Brackett who had other reasons for hunting him down.

I just hoped that when it happens, there will be no massacre but a dread passed through me, taunting me that the inevitable was coming . . . with a vengeance.

Hi Readers!

Sorry for the slight delay in updating the story. I had a crazy week with an exam on top of an assignment for the same class and then my teacher decided to push out presentations/lab report two weeks ahead.

Didn't get much sleep but I thank everyone who has kept following me and my story. Don't worry, I will keep posting as promised and next chapter is going to get crazier and more interesting.

A shout-out to A.S. Gemar and her story Inhuman (sequel to Cold Hands and Unforgotten) on FanFiction. It's a great story and I recommend everyone to read all her stories and review it along with Colorful Crayola.

Have a good week and be ready for Chapter 8! ;)