Chapter 5
Every thought in Luke's mind came to a screeching halt as he heard a voice he hadn't heard in three years. Tensing up, his arm slid from Tina's waist. "Ellie?" he asked, looking up into her face. "What...how...that was your boat?" Luke stuttered.
Before Ellie could speak, Re-Nee entered through the same door Luke had left opened. Looking behind Ellie, Re-Nee saw the other Mall Rats had awaken and had come downstairs. "Oh, good morning. Come, have a seat and let's get you some breakfast." Re-Nee placed her basket of shells on the table in front of Bray, who visibly swallowed.
Last night had really happened. His relationship with Re-Nee really was over and Amber was standing a few feet from him. Bray had come to the point of realizing it was unlikely he would ever see Amber again. After a while, he developed feelings for Re-Nee and the rest was history. Now that Amber had shown up, all his old feelings were coming to surface. Could they work things out, or had they changed too much?
After setting Brady down, Trudy followed Re-Nee. Not knowing she was followed, Re-Nee almost bumped into her as she turned. "Oh..." she said as Trudy helped to steady her.
"How can I help?" she asked, already taking the two plates from Re-Nee.
"No..." Re-Nee protested. "Don't worry about it; I've got it. Now, sit down and relax."
"But I want to help. Let me," Trudy pressed. The determined, yet thoughtful face stopped Re-Nee from arguing any further. Laughing, she gave the plates up to Trudy and turned to get some more.
Since most of the Surfers had lost their appetite, they stood and let the starving Mall Rats have their seats. Luke stared in disbelief while Tina grew more and more self-conscious. She knew who Ellie was and her connection to Luke. She even understood the shock Luke must be feeling, but why was he just standing there? Never one to be dependent on a man, Tina started to feel naked without his arm wrapped around her. Hoping to get rid of the feeling, she left to put up the bag of fish.
Re-Nee waited for the Mall Rats to begin eating before she took over Ellie's role of explaining. "It was the Mall Rats' boat you saw yesterday. Why or how long they are here, we still do not know."
"That's easy to answer," said Ebony as she took her last bite. "A new virus has taken over the mainland." She stopped to look around the room. She seemed to glow with the entire Surfer tribe's attention on her.
"What?!" the Surfers yelled. "A new virus? How? When?" Panic rushed through them as they thought about the implications. Could the Mall Rats themselves be infected, and if they were, could the Surfers get it too?
Under all the confusion, Danni stood sulking in the corner. "Too bad you didn't stay, Ebony..." she muttered. Ebony rose and began to approach her. Danni responded by doing the same thing. Both were stopped when Jay and Re- Nee stepped between them.
"Step aside, Jay. This doesn't concern you," Ebony said in a cool voice.
"Now is not the time, Ebony. You forget that we are guests in their territory."
While Jay and Ebony were talking, Re-Nee and Danni had their own talk. "I will not have you disrespecting them," Re-Nee said. "You started this and now you will apologize. There are more important things to discuss than this stupid grudge."
"I will not apologize to that power-hungry cow!" Danni said with as much defiance as she could muster. Re-Nee sent her a death glare and Danni backed down. At the same time, Jay and Re-Nee backed away, almost knocking each other down. "Sorry," they said, instinctively grabbing a hold of each other.
Ebony and Danni glared at each other. Finally, they both blurted out, "I'm sorry..." and then continued to mutter under their breath. Re-Nee knew that this was going to be the best she could get, so she turned back to the other Mall Rats. "How did this virus come about?"
"A quick and simple summary is that the Technos, you do know who that is, right?" Jack asked. Ved rolled his eyes and all the Surfers pointed to him. "Oh yeah..." Jack said as he gave a nervous laugh. "Anyways, the Technos were defeated by a fellow Techno that wanted to take over Ram's place."
Ved looked over to Jay. "Mega," he filled in. Ved nodded his head, and Jack began to talk again. "Anyways, he started an experiment and when Ram tried to help defeat Mega, he accidentally set it off. It contained a virus that would kill everyone, so we had to make a break for it. We boarded a boat and headed out," Jack finished in one breath.
The Surfers sat in silence while they digested the information. Amber turned to Bray and asked, "How did you end up here?" Noticing it seemed to only be directed at him, she turned to encompass everyone. "All of you, I mean."
"That's a story that I don't think we could sum up in a few short sentences," Tina, who had returned, said, smiling about how nervous Jack seemed. She was about to tell the story, at least her part, when a shout was heard.
"REEE-NEEEE!!! TIIINAAA!!!" Both girls instantly tensed. There was only one reason why Johnny was allowed to scream like that, and it was meant to signify danger. Tina quickly looked around and noticed Michael wasn't downstairs. "Oh shit..." she muttered. Luke also looked around and realized why she said that. Tina began to run up the stairs, but Luke pushed himself past her. They finally reached the top floor and instantly saw the problem.
Johnny sat by the banister, tears flowing down his face. "I tried to stop him," he cried. Luke bit the bottom of his lip in order to keep himself from laughing. In the end, he couldn't and his deep laughter filled the hallways. Tina was shocked to hear his laughter and became more upset. /Why was he laughing? / she panicked.
Pushing him aside, she saw the problem. Michael had taken it upon himself to stick his head through the stair railings, and now he was stuck. Tina released the breath she didn't even know she had been holding. Calm rushed over her, until she remembered how much panic Luke had caused her by laughing. Turning, she playfully slapped him on the arm.
"Oww..." he said, grabbing a hold of the 'injured' arm.
"That didn't hurt," she said laughingly. "Now, go get something to get our son out." He smiled at her and did as he was told. Re-Nee rushed by him to comfort Johnny, while Salene went to help Tina.
"Let me help," Salene asked as she crouched down. Tina turned and smiled, a little surprised by the understanding look Salene gave her. "Mouse once got her head stuck in the mall's railing and Sammy let out a scream that rivaled Johnny's. I thought the Technos were attacking, it was so bad. I understand this situation all too well."
Upon returning, it took a while for Luke to make his way through the crowd. By the time he reached the top, Michael had been freed. Tina scooped him up and placed his head on her shoulder. Calming down, Michael wiped the tears from his eyes. Salene was taken a back by the color of his eyes. /They're so familiar.../ she thought, but blew it off.
Seeing that everything was okay, Luke thought about what had happened in the last few minutes. When Johnny had screamed, Luke had come out of his comatose. Following Tina's thought process, he instantly thought that Michael was dying some horrible death. Horror swept through him, and he felt like he was dying himself. Forgetting everyone else existed, he raced up the stairs only to find Michael was safe, but scared. Still forgetting everyone else existed, he followed Tina's orders. Walking back down, he started to focus on the rest of the world. The shocked and confused look on Ellie was like swimming in a lake in the middle of February. /Great! / he thought. /Something else I'll need to explain.../
Upon returning, Luke felt his blood pressure rise to a killing point when he saw the perplexed look Salene got as she watched Michael. Guilt seeped through every pore in his body. /How would I ever explain to her what happened? Seeing her brings back all the reasons why I left the mall. Have I changed enough to survive the hatred that she will have, that all of them will have? /
Re-Nee's voice broke his inner musing. "Johnny, why don't you take Mouse and Brady out and show them around?" she asked, trying to break the crowd up. Johnny nodded his head and took Michael's hand.
"Come on...I'll show you a really neat cave..." Johnny said, barely holding onto his excitement. Trudy was a little worried, but relaxed when Tina wasn't worried about Michael tagging along. In all the confusion, everyone forgot that Tina was going to tell them how the Surfer's ended up on the island. The Mall Rats, still exhausted from their trip, left the Surfers' to think about all that had happened.
A/N: Hey y'all...I'm glad you are liking this. I finished chapter seven and I'm really happy how it turned out...Now off to write chapter 8...I might not post another chapter until 8 is done....Oh yeah, you're not suppose to know who Lex likes...that will be revealed with time...
Every thought in Luke's mind came to a screeching halt as he heard a voice he hadn't heard in three years. Tensing up, his arm slid from Tina's waist. "Ellie?" he asked, looking up into her face. "What...how...that was your boat?" Luke stuttered.
Before Ellie could speak, Re-Nee entered through the same door Luke had left opened. Looking behind Ellie, Re-Nee saw the other Mall Rats had awaken and had come downstairs. "Oh, good morning. Come, have a seat and let's get you some breakfast." Re-Nee placed her basket of shells on the table in front of Bray, who visibly swallowed.
Last night had really happened. His relationship with Re-Nee really was over and Amber was standing a few feet from him. Bray had come to the point of realizing it was unlikely he would ever see Amber again. After a while, he developed feelings for Re-Nee and the rest was history. Now that Amber had shown up, all his old feelings were coming to surface. Could they work things out, or had they changed too much?
After setting Brady down, Trudy followed Re-Nee. Not knowing she was followed, Re-Nee almost bumped into her as she turned. "Oh..." she said as Trudy helped to steady her.
"How can I help?" she asked, already taking the two plates from Re-Nee.
"No..." Re-Nee protested. "Don't worry about it; I've got it. Now, sit down and relax."
"But I want to help. Let me," Trudy pressed. The determined, yet thoughtful face stopped Re-Nee from arguing any further. Laughing, she gave the plates up to Trudy and turned to get some more.
Since most of the Surfers had lost their appetite, they stood and let the starving Mall Rats have their seats. Luke stared in disbelief while Tina grew more and more self-conscious. She knew who Ellie was and her connection to Luke. She even understood the shock Luke must be feeling, but why was he just standing there? Never one to be dependent on a man, Tina started to feel naked without his arm wrapped around her. Hoping to get rid of the feeling, she left to put up the bag of fish.
Re-Nee waited for the Mall Rats to begin eating before she took over Ellie's role of explaining. "It was the Mall Rats' boat you saw yesterday. Why or how long they are here, we still do not know."
"That's easy to answer," said Ebony as she took her last bite. "A new virus has taken over the mainland." She stopped to look around the room. She seemed to glow with the entire Surfer tribe's attention on her.
"What?!" the Surfers yelled. "A new virus? How? When?" Panic rushed through them as they thought about the implications. Could the Mall Rats themselves be infected, and if they were, could the Surfers get it too?
Under all the confusion, Danni stood sulking in the corner. "Too bad you didn't stay, Ebony..." she muttered. Ebony rose and began to approach her. Danni responded by doing the same thing. Both were stopped when Jay and Re- Nee stepped between them.
"Step aside, Jay. This doesn't concern you," Ebony said in a cool voice.
"Now is not the time, Ebony. You forget that we are guests in their territory."
While Jay and Ebony were talking, Re-Nee and Danni had their own talk. "I will not have you disrespecting them," Re-Nee said. "You started this and now you will apologize. There are more important things to discuss than this stupid grudge."
"I will not apologize to that power-hungry cow!" Danni said with as much defiance as she could muster. Re-Nee sent her a death glare and Danni backed down. At the same time, Jay and Re-Nee backed away, almost knocking each other down. "Sorry," they said, instinctively grabbing a hold of each other.
Ebony and Danni glared at each other. Finally, they both blurted out, "I'm sorry..." and then continued to mutter under their breath. Re-Nee knew that this was going to be the best she could get, so she turned back to the other Mall Rats. "How did this virus come about?"
"A quick and simple summary is that the Technos, you do know who that is, right?" Jack asked. Ved rolled his eyes and all the Surfers pointed to him. "Oh yeah..." Jack said as he gave a nervous laugh. "Anyways, the Technos were defeated by a fellow Techno that wanted to take over Ram's place."
Ved looked over to Jay. "Mega," he filled in. Ved nodded his head, and Jack began to talk again. "Anyways, he started an experiment and when Ram tried to help defeat Mega, he accidentally set it off. It contained a virus that would kill everyone, so we had to make a break for it. We boarded a boat and headed out," Jack finished in one breath.
The Surfers sat in silence while they digested the information. Amber turned to Bray and asked, "How did you end up here?" Noticing it seemed to only be directed at him, she turned to encompass everyone. "All of you, I mean."
"That's a story that I don't think we could sum up in a few short sentences," Tina, who had returned, said, smiling about how nervous Jack seemed. She was about to tell the story, at least her part, when a shout was heard.
"REEE-NEEEE!!! TIIINAAA!!!" Both girls instantly tensed. There was only one reason why Johnny was allowed to scream like that, and it was meant to signify danger. Tina quickly looked around and noticed Michael wasn't downstairs. "Oh shit..." she muttered. Luke also looked around and realized why she said that. Tina began to run up the stairs, but Luke pushed himself past her. They finally reached the top floor and instantly saw the problem.
Johnny sat by the banister, tears flowing down his face. "I tried to stop him," he cried. Luke bit the bottom of his lip in order to keep himself from laughing. In the end, he couldn't and his deep laughter filled the hallways. Tina was shocked to hear his laughter and became more upset. /Why was he laughing? / she panicked.
Pushing him aside, she saw the problem. Michael had taken it upon himself to stick his head through the stair railings, and now he was stuck. Tina released the breath she didn't even know she had been holding. Calm rushed over her, until she remembered how much panic Luke had caused her by laughing. Turning, she playfully slapped him on the arm.
"Oww..." he said, grabbing a hold of the 'injured' arm.
"That didn't hurt," she said laughingly. "Now, go get something to get our son out." He smiled at her and did as he was told. Re-Nee rushed by him to comfort Johnny, while Salene went to help Tina.
"Let me help," Salene asked as she crouched down. Tina turned and smiled, a little surprised by the understanding look Salene gave her. "Mouse once got her head stuck in the mall's railing and Sammy let out a scream that rivaled Johnny's. I thought the Technos were attacking, it was so bad. I understand this situation all too well."
Upon returning, it took a while for Luke to make his way through the crowd. By the time he reached the top, Michael had been freed. Tina scooped him up and placed his head on her shoulder. Calming down, Michael wiped the tears from his eyes. Salene was taken a back by the color of his eyes. /They're so familiar.../ she thought, but blew it off.
Seeing that everything was okay, Luke thought about what had happened in the last few minutes. When Johnny had screamed, Luke had come out of his comatose. Following Tina's thought process, he instantly thought that Michael was dying some horrible death. Horror swept through him, and he felt like he was dying himself. Forgetting everyone else existed, he raced up the stairs only to find Michael was safe, but scared. Still forgetting everyone else existed, he followed Tina's orders. Walking back down, he started to focus on the rest of the world. The shocked and confused look on Ellie was like swimming in a lake in the middle of February. /Great! / he thought. /Something else I'll need to explain.../
Upon returning, Luke felt his blood pressure rise to a killing point when he saw the perplexed look Salene got as she watched Michael. Guilt seeped through every pore in his body. /How would I ever explain to her what happened? Seeing her brings back all the reasons why I left the mall. Have I changed enough to survive the hatred that she will have, that all of them will have? /
Re-Nee's voice broke his inner musing. "Johnny, why don't you take Mouse and Brady out and show them around?" she asked, trying to break the crowd up. Johnny nodded his head and took Michael's hand.
"Come on...I'll show you a really neat cave..." Johnny said, barely holding onto his excitement. Trudy was a little worried, but relaxed when Tina wasn't worried about Michael tagging along. In all the confusion, everyone forgot that Tina was going to tell them how the Surfer's ended up on the island. The Mall Rats, still exhausted from their trip, left the Surfers' to think about all that had happened.
A/N: Hey y'all...I'm glad you are liking this. I finished chapter seven and I'm really happy how it turned out...Now off to write chapter 8...I might not post another chapter until 8 is done....Oh yeah, you're not suppose to know who Lex likes...that will be revealed with time...