Hey guys! Hope you all had a good Memorial Day! That's why I didn't update, by the way. I was camping :)
The soundtrack is 'Cedarwood Road' by U2. If you don't know who they are, look them up. They're an awesomely talented band, and they've been around for YEARS. Clean, too. The song seems to be talking about the lead singer's childhood. So sad, in a way. But then, Iris is probably the saddest . . . Also, don't let the Songs of Innocence cover put you off. It's supposed to represent the band holding onto their childhood. Still kind creepy, though . . .
Onto the chapter!
There are how many millions of humans on this planet? What are the odds that I get stuck with a living Barbie doll? Gael grumbled to himself.
Fania was indeed the image of a Barbie. Seemingly every single product you could possibly need on a three mile jaunt was packed into a bag that she carried, and it didn't help that she stopped every five minutes to re-apply her lip gloss.
Though Gael had initially thought the half hour before beginning the trek was for him to finish cleaning the mess he had made in the street, it was actually for Fania to iron her hair and apply another coat of make-up. How she had enough money to keep replenishing her supply was beyond Gael.
"Does it seem, like, hot to you?"
"Kind of. Probably more so for you because you're wearing that bear skin."
"This is not a bear skin! It's a designer shawl." she adjusted the furry brown garment on her shoulders.
"He must have been way off the rails to 'design' a winter outfit for the summer."
Fania scowled, but for once kept silent. That is, until their targeted area came into view.
6473 Thrasher Way was surrounded by wailing police cars and FBI vehicles. A helicopter circled over head. Men with bullet proof shields and machine guns completely surrounded the small home.
Gosh, mom! What did you get me into?
Considering the fact that any occupants hadn't emerged by now, Gael was assuming A), the residence was empty, or, B), the residents were pulling out their automatic rifles and pistols. If it was the latter, then Gael was getting the heck out of there, with or without his new-found fr – acquaintance.
Fania nudged the boy next to her. "Gael . . . I'll give you a ten second head start. You have that long until I strangle you to death for dragging me into this!"
"First of all, you invited yourself along. Secondly – you also said this was the house! Don't throw me under the bus!"
"Yeah, throw it all on -"
Gael held up a hand. "Wait, was the last name on that paper?"
"Oh, playing detective now, are we?"
"Answer the question!"
"Daniels. Why?"
But Gael had already taken off back the way they came from, in the direction of another figure in a navy hoodie. The hood was pulled up, and white lettering on the back read 'Daniels.' It had might as well said 'Fugitive' for all the care the wearer had put into hiding his identity.
Fania couldn't help but question this 'Daniels' IQ.
"Hey, wait up!" Fania started running after him.
Gael was only a few yards behind his target when the figure turned around. His eyes widened and he returned his gaze to in front of him, still walking. Daniels pace quickened as Gael fell in step with him.
"I don't want any trouble," the hooded kid muttered. "just keep moving."
"Neither do I. I just want to ask a few questions." Gael whispered back.
Daniels nodded and took a few more steps before grabbing Gael's shirt and ducking into an alley. He threw the kid against the brick wall and reached towards his belt, pulling out a serrated knife and held it awkwardly in his hand.
"Listen, if you know what's good for you, you'll just go on your way and forget all about me." he growled, dark eyes glinting in the dim light.
Gael held up his hands. "I would, usually. But I need you. I have a list right here, and you're the second name on it." he reached down to pat his front pocket. He tried to keep his voice even and appear undaunted, but he wasn't quite sure how great a job he was doing.
"Hmm, that's nice," Daniels adjusted his grip on the blade. "but, I know you're part of that mess up the road."
"I'm seventeen! Still in school. Not an FBI agent." Gael stated bluntly.
"True. But still, all it takes is a civilian to rat me out." he readjusted his grip on the smaller teen's shirt. "And I think it goes without saying; don't rat me out."
Gael attempted to smile against the pain in his chest from the older boy's vice. "If anything, I should be asking you not to blab on me."
Daniels' eyes narrowed. "You have . . . abilities, too?"
"No. I'm a runaway." Gael sighed, though he mentally stored the small scrap of information. "So, if you'll just come with me . . . "
"Where?"
"To be completely honest, I don't know. The paper says to find a D. Dawson -"
A hairy blur shot across Gael's vision and suddenly he found himself standing on the ground, Daniels' grip on his shirt released.
But when he looked to his right, he saw that Daniels wasn't going anywhere. Fania had her knee in his back, his arms pinned to the filthy concrete. The glinting knife lay a few feet away from the two.
"Um, Fania . . . ?"
"Don't worry! He's not going anywhere!"
"Actually, I had just talked him into going with us."
"Really? 'Cause he was holding a knife to your throat. I don't think that's a sign of diplomacy."
"Really. Now could you please let him go?"
Daniels stood up groaning. "For the record, I never agreed to go with you two." his eyes darted to the girl wearing a shaggy, faux fur shawl. "And even if I did, Sister Bear over there would have to keep her hands off me."
Fania sniffed. "What would you do if you saw someone holding a knife to another guy's throat?"
"Touche." he nodded. "Anyhow, you said you had a paper with my name on it?"
Gael stuffed his hand in his pocket, trying to find the paper. "Oh, no . . . "
"Like, calm down. It's right here." Fania held out the crumpled sheet to the boy.
"Heh. Right." Gael handed it on to him.
Daniels sighed after scanning the paper for a few moments. "If we're going to be working together, you might as well know my name. It's Ever."
Gael smiled. "Gael. Barbie doll over there is Fania."
"Hey! Just because I have a sense of fashion doesn't mean I don't have feelings."
Ever ignored her. "So, where do we go from here?"
Gael shrugged. "To be completely honest, I don't know. But Fania and I have decided to head back to her house. I guess we'll just pick you up tomorrow . . . wherever it is you live. Are your folks alright with you being gone all day tomorrow?"
Ever's eyes dropped to the filthy, garbage strewn ground.
Fania did a face palm. "Forgive me," she let the hand drop to her side, "but did they by any chance die this past Tuesday?"
Ever regarded her curiously. "Maybe?"
"My mom and her dad passed on the same day." Gael explained quickly, getting the still sore topic out of the way. "Do you by any chance have an idea on how your parents died?"
"It was my dad who died. Never knew my mom. But they all said it was a car accident."
"Same here." Fania muttered.
A small lapse of silence fell between the three. The sun had already begun to set, leaving the alley they occupied beginning to darken with shadows. The sky was toned with pinks and oranges, but none of them noticed. They were too preoccupied in their predicament to notice.
Gael broke the silence. "So, where do we stay?"
"Unless you two boys have a better idea, I think crashing at my house is the best idea."
"No complaints here."
"Or here."
Fania's mother welcomed the two newcomers with warmth. She did, after all, know all too well who they were. Or, in better words, what they were. However, she refused to budge a bit on the big 'secret,' claiming they weren't ready and that they had to wait a year, though she said the two boys were more than welcome to stay until then.
Janelle had also been able to snag a bottle of hair dye, stating that Ever was going to be blond whenever they went back to school. She also said that there was a pack of color contact lenses somewhere in the home, and that she would find them. The one let down in Gael's opinion was that she wouldn't let them get a word in about D. Dawson, the last name on the list.
That, and the fact that Ever kicked in his sleep. The two were sharing the basement, and that much banging was really beginning to cut into Gael's sleep.
And so as he rested his head on the pillow for yet another night of attempted sleep, Gael promised himself one thing: regardless of whether or not his hostess would allow him to talk about the name, he would find that person. After all, his mother had told him to.
And he wouldn't – couldn't – let her down.
So, three have united! Yay :) Hope it was okay . . .
I had fun making Ever think he needed a knife for protection XD If only he knew . . .
Shoutouts!
Daphrose: (from CH 3) Thank you! Same here :) It goes somewhere, alright. No pun intended . . . And still not saying! You guys have a way of unraveling my plot lines from chapter one, and I'm not giving anything away! ;) Still though, you might be surprised. Thanks! It's fine :) (from CH 4) Thank you :) I'm trying to improve on that. (read: Divided We Fall) Cousin / brother. I'm leaning toward brother right now . . . we'll see :D Thank you so much! Here's your update :D
ereader12: Thanks! I guess I'm not cut out to be a robber . . . I'd kill inadvertently myself with the crowbar. XD Thank you – I'm having a TON of fun writing her. :) I present you with the update! :D
PurpleNicole531: Very interesting indeed! :D Here's the chapter!
ShyMusic: Aw, nah. You don't in the least :) Thanks! XD And now three down :) Here's the update!
Alright, hope this was worth the wait, albeit rather short. Oh, it's official! This story is by far going to be my longest story yet, ending close to thirty chapters. I'm already up to chapter 12 in writing. :D
IMPORTANT NEWS: If you're an Alex Rider fan, PLEASE help DoctorsLittleDalek and I. She just set up a SpyFest 2015 to help revive the Fandom. If you haven't read the Alex Rider series, HIGHLY recommended. It's so angsty and action packed, but BEAUTIFULLY written. And the last book is absolutely tear jerking. Or at least for this softy over here . . .
So if you're interested, she set up a forum with prompts and everything. You can vote for the best stories on her profile. Please help us!
After my little plea for help, I end this with a good night to all and goodwill to men! *salutes dramatically and trips over own feet*