Really, really sorry about not updating this earlier. I've been busy lately and I've been reading a lot. Also, pretty soon I'll be posting some other stories so that should be good. Thanks again to all that reviewed my story and I would love for some more reviews. Anyway, this chapter is longer than the rest so it is worth a little bit of the wait. Enjoy! It's an important chapter.
We reached a large cavern that that was big enough to play sports in. A few people were already assembled and in their positions. Jamie led me to the bench on the side Wanda was already sitting.
"Hey, guess you're spending the game with me" She said. Then Jamie turned to me.
"Are you sure you don't want to play?" He gave me a very cute puppy-dog face. I had to laugh at that.
"Sorry Jamie, but unless you want anybody to survive this game then I'll have to sit out." I smiled and waved as he went with the others to divide up into teams. I went and sat down next to Wanda. Who knew that I would be sitting next to a soul watching humans playing football in caves? There was an odd scent I picked up but dismissed it guessing it was Wanda. I wonder why she smelt different to the others here.
"Okay guys, first to three." Jared declared and the game started.
Most of them were really good apart from some of the other people that I hadn't been properly introduced to yet. Then Jamie scored a goal by curving the ball from the left.
"Go Jamie!" I called out. Then he looked at me and his smile lit up even brighter than it was. He ran his fingers through his dark hair. I couldn't help giggling a little but otherwise blush when he did. He was so…how do I put it?…cute.
"Jamie has changed so much since I first met him." Wanda sighed. I turned to her after I was able to turn away from Jamie which, might I add, took around ten seconds.
"Like what?" I would love to hear his stories when I wasn't here.
"He was content before the souls came to your planet. The loss of his parents and Melanie changed him but he is still the boy that Melanie grew up with every now and then when he lets his guard down. When I came here he used to love hearing the stories I told about the different worlds I visited. Melanie and I both love him very much. I love him like a brother even though I'm not, biologically. Maybe that's another reason why I'm having a child." She said and smiled at me. I then continued watching Jamie playing soccer.
"Hhmm…" I sighed. Then something clicked in my head. "Wait, what? You're having a baby?" I asked.
"Yes and I'm two months along. I simply can't wait." She smiled again. I was shocked; I had no idea what to say. I closed my eyes and tilted my head to her. I could hear the second heartbeat coming from her body. I hadn't noticed it because I had only just met her. I could also smell her changing body as well as some of her hormones. No wonder she smelt different to the others.
"Wow" was all I could say and continued watching the game. Jamie's team was winning 2-1. It looked like a lot of fun; I wish I could play.
"Although, I find it sad that only I can have a baby in the caves because I'm the only soul that is allowed to go on raids. That way I can go for check-ups and eventually give birth at the hospitals." She sighed.
"But aren't you worried that they'll take away your child and put a soul in?" I asked.
"No, they wouldn't take it away if I asked them not to. You see, souls don't lie to each other because they are always looking out for each other. At least, that's what most souls think. I've seen it before, there are quite a few families on earth where the parents are souls and their children are humans." She explained.
"Hhmm, I never knew that." I said. Then Jamie scored the last goal to make it 3-1. Then when Jamie was done he ran over to me. Melanie and the rest of the gang followed. "Wow Jamie, you did great" I said whilst Jamie blushed a little. Melanie and Wanda exchanged expressions. Then he yawned. "Come on Jamie, you're tired. We better get back to your room." I said and headed to the door. He followed; everybody else did but stayed further back.
"It's your room as well." He said.
"Okay, it is until you kick me out when the guys come from the north."
"What if I don't want to kick you out?" he said and then flushed scarlet. I smiled at that and tried not to giggle. He decided to change the subject. "So, what did you think about the game?"
"Pretty good. Much more interesting when the game is played indoors and in close quarters." I said.
"Did the guys at your old school play much?" he asked.
"Actually no. I was homeschooled ever since I was eleven. But I did watch some of the boys play in the park on Fridays. My old boyfriend invited me to come along. I tried playing but I was never fast enough at the time." I said. Josh played as main offence for his team. I watched and supported him during the games. Ugh, he was coming up in my thoughts way too much today.
"Oh. Why were you home-schooled?" He asked.
"I was very different to the kids at school. I just wasn't into the same things as them. I guess you could say I was very middle-aged. A lot of the kids at school were very immature compared to me. Also, my dad could see that I had more potential if I learned things at school. Anyway, telling everybody at school that your dad works in area fifty-one isn't the best thing you can do." I said with a teasing smile. He chuckled.
"Isn't area fifty-one supposed to be about aliens and UFO landings?" He asked.
"Where do you think they got the technology? You didn't actually think that test subjects from area fifty didn't end up as New York cab drivers did you? Or that Velcro was actually invented on earth?" I teased and winked at him. He laughed at that. I heard a couple words from the crowd behind us. Something about me and my 'flirty face', 'are you sure they should be sharing the same room?' and 'You up for a bet?' and then they all started talking about Jamie when he was younger.
"I wonder how many UFO landings were actually true?" He wondered.
"Quite a few of them so I've heard. From what my dad told me, some of them have actually started living on earth. I mean, does anyone actually believe that Michael Jackson is from this planet? But that's just a rumor." I said .We both laughed as we kept walking. To be honest to myself, I hadn't had that much fun since I was twelve and my mother was around. When the world was carefree to me. Jamie was just so much fun. He was just…great. He made me feel like I was when my mother was around.
"Come on Rose. It's just around here." Josh said. We were in the city. Josh and I were sneaking around the town in the alleyways. It was nighttime and most of the stores had already closed. We were at the backdoor of the store. We came to get food and supplies. This had been after I had been changed. I didn't dare tell Josh that I was some sort of mutant in fear he would abandon me. I had found him a couple days after my transformation. Josh was my boyfriend that I had met in the park one day. He went to the nearby school.
Josh quickly picked the lock on the door. I looked around us; nobody. He then turned the knob on the door. A loud alarm went off that possibly woke up several souls nearby.
Busted.
Josh whipped his head around. Nobody had come yet but we could hear several distant sirens coming from our right. Josh looked to his left and saw that the alleyway was calm and undisturbed. He then turned to me. He knew we couldn't outrun them.
He took out a pair of handcuffs he had gotten from his dad who used to work at the local police station. He quickly grabbed my wrist and cuffed me to the rails near the door. I gasped. Then he threw the key a couple meters away. I wouldn't be able to reach it before the seekers came. NO!
Before I could say anything he grabbed me from my shirt very roughly. Then wrapped his arm around my waist and crushed his lips to mine. His kiss was urgent and unloving. Although the way his lips moved made it seem like it was best kiss somebody could have, it was somehow unaffectionate. It was somewhat unloving. Then something clicked in my head, he wanted the kiss and my body; not me. He pulled away and gave me one last look. It was cold, careless and unloving. It wasn't angry, sad, mocking or wicked; just plain. I only caught it for a brief second and then he was running.
Time seemed to slow down from milliseconds to seconds. Watching him running away from me with his back turned made me feel like a hundred despair-filled daggers sliced into me. Not only was it the pain that made it terrible, it was the fact he wasn't coming back, He betrayed me. I tried to find the reason to his actions that showed he loved me. It was useless, like I was searching for something and found nothing, and then forget what you were looking for.
After all the times he told me he loved me I finally understood they were all lies. Then all the pieces came together in that moment. All the times he brought me to watch him playing soccer at games or to his parties; he was just showing off. I was pretty sure in that he was also going out with another girl at school. Sure, he was my boyfriend but he spent an awful lot of time during the weekends 'doing his homework'.
He always had his arms around me; my waist; my legs; my breasts. I had to stop his hands from going up my shirt one time. We had only started dating for about six months. He was really my first boyfriend. Now he was turning my back on me even though he said he loved me.
Did he love me? No, that's a simple question with a simple answer.
Did I love him? That's a complex question with a complex answer.
Did I love him? I looked deep down and searched for him in my heart. There was something but not much. Then I realized.
I didn't love him. I loved the idea of him. Somebody to protect and care for me. That was who I wanted. If he loved me, did he not deserve my love? I didn't love his exact persona. I liked him but I was in love with him. That was simple.
Did I love him? No
Did I love the idea and the false image of him? Yes
The sirens were getting closer. I broke the handcuffs using my free hand; then jumped to the roof of the buildings and started jumping from building to building. I eventually reached the outskirts of the city. I then ran into the Tucson desert and found the tallest mountain in the area. I climbed to the summit and cried my heart out for the death of the Josh that never existed.
"Rose, Rose, Rose!" Jamie said shaking me from my sleep. I sat up in my bed. Jamie was by my side. He wore a worried look on his face. I was back in the caves and away from my memories and nightmares; which of today, both keep the same company; each other.
"Wait, what's happening?" I asked. My face had been covered in tears.
"You were screaming in your sleep" he looked down at our hands which were intertwined without me knowing. I didn't mind; it was comforting. "Then you started crying" he looked back up "What's wrong?"
I let out a sigh. "My memories of my horrible past." I looked down at our hands as he did. I saw him blush briefly when I did. I smiled half-heartedly. "It seems that even today it haunts me in my nightmares." I looked back up.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" He said. I looked into his eyes. They were soft and caring; much different from Josh's. He cared.
"Not really. I doubt it would help. They've been haunting me for years." I said stubbornly.
"Well, you never know until you try." He said. I sighed; I wasn't going to tell him all of it.
"After I was changed, I sought out a close friend of mine. I found him but I didn't tell him I was changed. We were raiding one night and an alarm went off. Instead of helping me out to escape the seekers he just cuffed me to the railing and ran off." I said in deep sadness. Jamie heard the betrayal in my voice. The tears started running down my faces.
He put his arms around me and started rubbing my back. I sobbed into his chest for a bit. He didn't say anything. I pulled away after a while.
"I know what it's like to have somebody you trust with your life to betray you. I was eight when the seekers took my dad. Later on he came back for us, bringing the seekers as well. I was younger and I didn't really understand what was going on then." He said. Our hands were still together.
"I'm sorry." I said. "It must have been rough for you to find out about them when you were much younger. I only found out when I had just turned sixteen."
"Yeah" a few silent moments passed. "How old are you?" he asked.
"Eighteen, my birthday was a month ago. You?" I asked
"Sixteen, but my birthday is next month." He said.
"We better get back to sleep." We went back to our beds and drifted back to sleep. Another Memory.
It was sunset and I was standing on a bridge. I was around eight; my eyes were the earthy brown they once were. I was in Phoenix; Ecanto Park (exists in real life). I went to the park with my aunt because my parents were attending my grandmother's funeral in Canada. I couldn't go because there weren't any plane tickets and I was in the lead in one of the musicals at the local theater; I was performing tomorrow. Anyway, I had never met my grandmother.
My aunt had to go somewhere for a few minute and asked me to wait on the bridge. My aunt didn't really take care of me very well but she was the only other family around; my parents didn't like sitters. I missed my parents dearly. They were the only people I had ever really talked to. I didn't have many friends.
I was holding my locket that was currently around my neck. I was also watching the sun set behind the horizon. It was strange how a lot of my dreams took place at twilight; maybe it was because it was the ending of another day; another day of my empty life. It promised the hope of a tomorrow after the suspense of the dark.
"Why are you so sad?" I turned to where the voice came from. I saw a boy around my age, maybe younger looking at me. At that age I found boys to be very immature and annoying but there was something different about this boy. He had dark hair but I could see his eyes. He leaned on the railing of the bridge just like I had done. He looked at the sunset as well.
"I miss my parents" I said. I tuned back to the sunset. "They miss my grandmother"
"You love them?" he asked. What a strange question for a boy his age to ask.
"Yes, they are also my best friends." I said. Some moments of silence passed.
"My sister said that the entire world is made of love and hate. Without love, the world couldn't work. It's like the oil in a machine. Without the love of your family; you'd only have hate. Without the love of your friends; they would never be there for you. She also says that if you love somebody enough; they never leave you because you remember them." He said. He looked to me, I faced to him. Then he continue,"The biggest difference between humans and animals isn't our brains, our size, our numbers, or our power; it's our love." He said to me with a beautiful smile. I smiled back. I had never met a boy that knew so much about life as well as being wise.
"Rose!" called my aunt. She was waiting for me at the end of the bridge.
"I have to go. Bye." I said half-heartedly. I didn't want to leave but my aunt wasn't very patient. I gave him one last smile and walked to my aunt. When I reached her I forgot to ask his name but when I turned back, he wasn't there.
I heard the bedcovers ruffle on the bed next to mine. I heard Jamie stretch and yawn. I woke up as well and sat up in my bed.
"Good morning" I said.
After getting ready in the morning we made our way to breakfast. We grabbed our food and made it to the table. Wanda, Ian, Melanie and Jared were already at the table.
"When's the next raid?" Jamie asked.
"At the end of this week. Some of us need some new clothes. Plus, it's going to take more than one raid to find some decent music for the party at the end of this month." Jared said.
"What party?" I asked.
"Oh, we have a party once a year to celebrate the day when Jeb found these caves. Gives us some time to let loose. You can some too." Melanie said.
"Sounds like fun." I said cheerfully. "I've never really been to a proper party. The closest thing I've ever been to was a ball that I went to with my mother because she was writing a story about it." I said.
"Well then, this will be very different. Me and Wanda throw the most outrageous parties." Melanie laughed.
"Hey. Do you think that you could go shopping with me on our next raid? I mean, you could pass the eye check. Plus, you get to pick out your own clothes." Wanda asked.
"Ugh… I don't really know. Shopping isn't really my thing. Especially since whenever I went out when I was younger the only thing I could afford with my own pocket money was socks. I saved the rest of the money."
"Come on. I've wanted a shopping partner in like forever" she pleaded; trying a puppy-dog face. "Anyway, it's not like you don't have enough money. Remember, Souls don't use money." She said.
"Right." I said with a sigh.
"Is that a yes?" she asked.
"Fine." I wasn't really a big fan of shopping but I bet it must be boring shopping by yourself all the time.
"Can I go too?" Jamie asked.
"Sure" Jared said with a suspicious tone. Jamie gave him a look.
"I can't wait!" Wanda said excitedly. Luckily it would be a couple days 'till I have to go.
Preview of the next chapter:
"Okay, let's make this shopping trip interesting since you find it…um…not." She gave me a mischievous smile."Truth or dare?" She asked me.
Oh crap.
Hope you enjoyed it! School is going to start pretty soon so I should have more time to think of my stories. What else are you going to do when your teacher goes on and on about the food pyramid or even worse; the rock cycle which I've studied what? Five times?
Anyway, please review and happy reading.
-Star of the Sky