Thanks so much for the enthusiastic reviews! It makes me want to keep writing more and more! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I hope to take it to new and interesting places soon! Enjoy!
The girl felt completely in over her head. As her plane touched down at the newly rebuilt O'Hare Airport she wondered if coming here had been a mistake. The busyness of the airport overwhelmed her as she rushed through the terminal to find her way to the baggage carousel. People everywhere. None of whom she'd even seen before. This was a new city, huge and confusing, and she had no idea where she was going, but she had people she wanted to see. And people she wanted to meet. She hadn't had the chance before the Glorious Appearing, but now, she wanted to find them. She exited the airport and hailed a taxi.
"Where to ma'am?" the driver asked as she climbed in, out of breath.
"Mount Prospect." She said. "Take me to the church there."
John didn't know if he should follow Mark and talk to him or leave him alone for a while. He opted for the latter and put on some shoes to go for a walk. He needed to think. Now he had this information he felt a responsibility. Should he tell Vicki? He felt like she had the right to know why Mark had been so snappy at her in the past. He shook his head as he took off at a jog. He didn't want to have that conversation. He really didn't want Judd knowing about this. Judd and Mark had always been great friends and John didn't want to ruin anything anymore than it already was. He decided that once Mark cooled off, he's try to talk to him. But what would he talk to him about? He couldn't do anything about it.
By the time Ryan dragged himself out of bed, Lionel was awake downstairs and getting his breakfast.
"What was with that yelling this morning?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
"I don't know. I think Mark and John had a fight." Lionel replied making a cup of coffee.
"It sounded like it was about a girl." Ryan said, sitting at the counter.
"Don't speculate." Lionel scolded, "But yeah, it did."
"Do you think that's why he's been acting like a bear with a sore head lately?"
"Maybe. But we shouldn't jump to any conclusions." Lionel said, "And we definitely shouldn't gossip."
"Do you reckon it's about Shelly?" Ryan smirked.
"What? Why Shelly?" Lionel said before catching himself, "No, just forget about it."
"But I heard him say she wasn't available and he seemed to get annoyed after Shelly and Conrad announced their engagement." Ryan explained.
"Ryan, quit it!" Lionel exclaimed, "We shouldn't be gossiping about it. It's none of our business."
"Fine," Ryan surrendered, "But do you want to talk about something that is my business?"
Lionel looked at him curiously, "What?"
"Well, speaking of girl problems…" Ryan said.
"Dude." Lionel exclaimed, keen to hear was Ryan was talking about.
"You're like my brother, Lionel, so you can't tell anyone." Ryan ordered, pointing at him.
"Ok, I swear," Lionel said, impatiently, "Now tell me!"
"Well." Ryan scratched his head, "I think… I like somebody."
"What do you mean you think you like somebody?" Lionel asked.
"Well, fine," Ryan said throwing his hands in the air, "I do like somebody."
"Who is it?" Lionel pressed.
"You can probably guess." Ryan said, still shy about it.
"Seriously, tell me." Lionel said.
"Who do you think it would be?" Ryan asked, "Who did I spend a lot of time with before I died?"
"Well all of us, Ryan." Lionel said, "Narrow it down."
"We spent a lot of time together… trying to escape…"
"Darrion?" Lionel guessed.
"Yup." Ryan said, turning red.
"Dude." Lionel laughed, "That's awesome. Well, do you think she feels the same way?"
"I don't know." Ryan said, "But we had an interesting moment at the party yesterday."
"How interesting?" Lionel asked.
"Well, I was sitting outside eating and she comes out and sits by me and just starts thanking me for everything I'd ever done for her."
"Well that's understandable." Lionel said, "You did help her escape kidnappers. And you led her to Christ."
"Yeah," he said, "But she'd thanked me for that before. But she almost seemed… more interested in me than she had been ever before."
Lionel raised an eyebrow.
"You never know, man," he smiled, "Unless you ask."
"But how can I ask her?" Ryan exclaimed. "What if she doesn't feel anything and then rejects me and then things get awkward between us?"
"I think it would be fine." Lionel reassured him, "I think if you just ask if she wants to hang out with you and go get a coffee or something. It doesn't have to be huge, just spend some time together and work on your friendship even more."
Ryan thought about it. Lionel was right. It wouldn't be a big deal if he just asked her to hang out.
"Ok." Ryan said, "That sounds like a plan. I'll just ask her if she wants to hang out."
"I gotta run." Lionel said, grabbing his keys, "We're having a family reunion thing at my parents house, I said I'd get there early to help set up."
"Ok, see ya." Ryan waved over his shoulder as he ate his cereal and thought about asking Darrion to hang out with him.
God, if it's okay with you, he prayed, Please let her say yes.
When the driver dropped her at New Hope Village Church, the girl wondered what her next step would be. She knew that they had all once lived here, in the early years of the Tribulation. This was where they came from. She had no idea if this was where they lived now. For a second, she felt worried that she would never be able to find them.
God, she prayed, Please, help me. Guide my steps and lead me so I can find my friends.
Oooh mystery! Who's the girl? Tune in next time to find out!