No soundtrack 'cause I'm rushing. That might change, though . . .
Gael bit his lip, debating on whether or not to wake up the teen in front of him. It was 7:15 on a Sunday morning, and he had decided after a day of rest it was time to find the last name on the list: D. Dawson. He knew Mrs. Dooley wouldn't be too keen on the little adventure, so he was off on his own, with or without Ever. He had decided to keep Fania in the dark, at least for now. It had been a tough decision, but he wasn't taking a chance. She could rat him out before he had even gotten up the stairs.
A few more minutes of thoughtful silence passed before Gael made up his mind. He timidly reached out a hand and shook his partner in crime.
"Ever? Wake up, I have an idea -"
Gael's efforts were met with a slap to the face from the groggy figure knotted in the blankets.
"Huh? What . . . who's there?" Ever sat up slowly, his vision coming in and out of focus until it settled on Gael holding his right cheek, which was beginning to turn bright red.
"What was that for?" Gael exclaimed – partly angrily, part indignant.
Ever took a few moments to reply. "I don't know. Being creepy and hunting me down."
Gael rolled his eyes. "If it hadn't been for me, you would currently be a human lab rat. If anything, you should be thanking me!"
"True. But I also wouldn't have a giant bruise on my back from your girlfriend."
"Uh, no! She is not my girlfriend! That's probably the biggest insult I've gotten from you yet! She was just a name on my list. I found her, and she just so happened to be a black belt."
"Whatever." Ever brushed off the smaller teen's argument. "So, what's your reason for waking me up? It had better be good, otherwise I'm gonna beat you up."
"What a friend you are . . ." Gael muttered to himself, "Anyway, I have one last name to go before I – we – get to the bottom of this. I was wondering if I could be graced by your companionship on this trek."
"I guess. Just one question,"
"Shoot."
"What's for breakfast?"
Dai probably wasn't the most disciplined person as far as morning goes, but when the doorbell rings at eight in the morning, anyone would be annoyed. And the fact that some boyscout was the one beckoning the residents to the door didn't exactly help the predicament.
She had half a mind to pull out the water balloons that were stashed in her dresser, but decided against it. After all, for all she knew there was probably some crazy law that was against it. So Dai lay in her bed, praying that the creep on her doorstep would finally get the message and go annoy someone else on this beautiful Sunday morning. But that hope was crushed in an instant when the door was opened by her mother.
"Mom!" She groaned to the empty room. The last thing she needed was someone in the house when all that was on her mind was the couch, TV, and pajamas.
Chatter was heard from downstairs, and Dai waited not so patiently for the kid to leave. But luck was once again against her and the boy scout droned on for a good twenty minutes. By 8:48, Dai had had enough. Her show was on in a half hour, and she wasn't going to miss it. She begrudgingly rolled out of bed and jerked on some descent clothing.
She descended the stairs, turning into the living room. The last thing Dai expected was to find not one, but two boys sitting on the couch with her mother, talking. None of them had noticed her yet, so she quietly retraced her steps and crept back up the steps. But before she was out of earshot, their words drifted upstairs.
". . . do you mean she can't come with us?" the first one asked, tiredly. "We've risked a lot to find her. This could be your opportunity to find out what really happened to your husband. I think we all know it wasn't a car accident."
"Gael," Dai heard her mother sigh, "it wasn't a car accident. I know that all too well. But Dai doesn't need to get involved in what her father did. I can't lose her too."
"I see that! But we need her. Just let her come with us for a few days. I promise you she'll be back safe. I just need to find out what I am. You said you know what happened to me at school that day. The least you could do is tell us what we want to know, even if you don't trust us with Dai." the second one spoke up.
"But you see, that's the problem. I promised my husband and your parents I wouldn't tell, not yet. As for Dai, she's staying out of this mess. Even when I show you what you need to know, which will happen in time, I'm not letting her in on this." her mom paused for breath, changing the subject as well, "Now, unless Janelle has already offered, you're more than welcome to stay here until the time is right. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," the two chorused together, defeated. They had gotten the hint.
"Mrs. Dooley already offered, but I'm sure she's not exactly overjoyed that we met you," Gael started nervously, "so perhaps we could stay here for a few hours, at least until she cools off?"
"Yes, that's fine." Dai imagined her mother nodding. "So, would any of you like something to eat?"
The trio left the sitting area and entered the kitchen. Dai stayed on her stair, mulling over the episode that had just taken place. She had come to a conclusion in less than five minutes – these boys weren't leaving the house without some heavy questioning.
"Come on! You know something. Spit it out!"
"Nope, sorry. I promised your mom I wouldn't say anything."
Ever pushed past Gael, who yelped indignantly, and looked at Dai. "He may have promised, but I didn't. Quick, follow me."
Gael grabbed his comrade by the shirt before he had even taken half a step. "Oh no you don't! Just because you didn't verbally agree doesn't mean you can go blurt out whatever you want!" he kept his feet firm in the damp grass.
"Um, I actually think it does."
"No, it doesn't. You can't ruin a mom's wishes for her daughter!"
"Don't get all . . . smart on me!"
"Yes, I'm smart. Got a problem with it?"
"Yeah I've got a problem with it!"
Dai sat back and quietly – though bemusedly – watched the two argue. It eventually ended with Gael getting thrown into the flower bed behind the scene, and Ever laughing at the sight. Just when Dai was about to begin questioning, a girl with brown hair came running into the backyard.
"Gael! Ever!" she called tiredly, approaching the three. She took in the sight of Gael coated in dirt. "What, like, happened to you?" disgust was evident in her voice.
"Ever threw me into the flower bed over there." Gael jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Anyway, Fania, this is Dai Dawson. Dai, Fania Dooley." he casually introduced the two, scowling at Ever after.
Fania plastered on a fake smile. "Nice to meet you." she turned to the boys. "Thanks for ditching me! I wanted to come! Anyway, my mom's looking for you guys. She about 99.9% sure you're here, so this is our last chance to figure it all out."
Dai's eyebrows furrowed. "Figure what out?"
Gael quickly summed up the past few days, with help from Fania and Ever. "And you're supposed to have the last piece of info, whatever it is."
Dai nodded. "My dad's printer had this page with code on it, you know, the 1's and 0's? Well, I spent yesterday typing it in, and I'm about six lines to the end. Could that be the information?"
Ever started towards the house. "Probably. But we need to hurry!"
Ten minutes later, the four found themselves on the floor in Dai's room. The rest of the code had been inserted and printed off in a new form – a map.
"Um," Fania twisted a sheet of the map, "if this is north,"
"And this piece connects to this one . . ." Gael stood and stepped back a few steps. ". . . then the place we need to find is about five miles from here, in the next county over – Mission Creek."
Ever stayed quiet for a moment, before looking at Dai. "You need to pack a bag. I have a feeling we aren't coming back too soon."
Dai's face fell into a mess of emotions before nodding and grabbing a backpack. She looked at the rest of them for a moment. "Wait, did you guys bring supplies?"
The boys nodded, but Fania threw her head back and groaned. "Ugh! I, like, forgot."
The other girl nodded before grabbing a second, smaller bag and tossing it to Fania. "Take a few pairs of whatever clothes you need. I think we have about the same size."
With the girls beginning to pack, the boys carefully folded up the sheets of paper that had been taped together to form a crude map. Another precious ten minutes and the group heard a car pull into the driveway.
Gael checked the window before jumping back. "Fania, it's your mom. We have to leave – now."
Dai nodded sadly. "Okay, I'm ready."
The four made their way to the door, but not before Dai pocketed a picture of her now broken family.
"Goodbye, mom."
WOW that was long! Probably not really, but I'm exhausted. No shoutouts, as I'm already behind. Sorry :P
Anyway, I'd like to apologize for the typo last chapter. It was a mistake with my computer, when I went to hit
'save' so I could upload it to FF, it didn't save the changes I made and it wound up with two sentences pretty much repeating each other. Sorry D:
I haven't been on much lately. Sorry, again! I'm going to catch up this week, though!
It's officially Tuesday over here. I stayed up past Monday to get it (mostly) on time for you guys! A thank you in to form of a favorite or review will do! :D Wow, I'm tired. I'm willingly rhyming! *cue horrified gasps*
See ya later!