What's Behind the Curtain
Chapter 5
Reagan
"AHHHH!" I screamed. Well, everyone screamed. It's kind of scary when you're in a car (Peter said it's called a "Gremlin". That just sounds like the fuzzy little things from the movie.) speeding towards your next door neighbor. Hey, wouldn't you be terrified?
He's always saying he has very good reflexes. Like, point two seconds or whatever. I guess that's not true…ouch. God…that must have hurt…
Right now, I swear I could…uh…actually, I don't think I could kill Peter. I'm just that nice.
But I can still yell at him! "PETER! YOU FRICKIN' RAN OVER MY NEIGHBOR! WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
"OH MY GOD! I'M SORRY, REAGAN! I SWEAR I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THAT!"
"WELL, YOU JUST DID!"
"Meh. I'm not complaining. He always said things about my hair." Katie shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, I always talk about killing people, but I never thought you'd kill someone, Reagan." She flashed a mischievous smile.
"What? I didn't kill him!" Did they really think I killed him? She knows I wouldn't do that!
"I know, I'm kidding,"
"It's not really nice to joke about killing someone!"
"Shouldn't we do something?" Madison gasped. "Ooh! Doesn't Groot have healing powers? We could get him to heal Sam!"
"Why would you even want to do that?" A familiar face looked through the open window of the Gremlin. It was Andrew. He's a kid in my grade, friends with Sam.
What? "Andrew! You're supposed to be tased!"
He shrugged. "Sam missed."
Sam is an athlete. I never thought he'd miss. "That's actually really surprising."
"I know, right? He got Jeffery though. Out cold."
"Well, at least the distraction worked."
"Yeah, And, uh, just a suggestion, but shouldn't we do something about the dead body out there?"
Oh. Right. "Probably. Hopefully nobody saw us…"
And just my luck. A crowd of bystanders. Every murderers' worst nightmare! Not that I'm a murderer…
"Um…hey…Andrew, since everyone knows you didn't kill Sam, can you, uh…see if he's dead? Please?"
He sighed. "Fine. But you could probably do it yourself, you know. Who would suspect a kid of murder?"
Not many people, I have to admit. But why do people keep saying I'm the one who killed Sam? That was Peter! "For one, thing, I'm not a murderer! For another thing, I mean, who wants to see a dead body? I'd like to keep the one shred of my childhood that I have left!"
"What about my childhood?"
"Yours doesn't matter. Go look at the dead body!"
Andrew muttered something under his breath, but walked away.
Out of the window, I saw Andrew grab a large stick. He poked Sam- the body- with it. He- it- whatever you call someone's body- didn't move. Probably not a good sign.
I saw someone else heading over to...you know, I'm just going to call it- he- Sam. It feels right.
It was Kaitlyn. I rolled down the window and semi-yelled out to her, "Kaitlyn! What are you doing here?"
"I heard a loud noise, so I went over to see what it was. What are you doing here?"
"First, I'm not a murderer. Second, I had nothing to do with..." I gestured to Sam. "That."
"What happened?"
"Story later. Sam now!"
"Uh, okay... What are we going to do?"
"Get him to a hospital! Duh,"
"Okay...then why aren't you doing it?"
"Last time I checked, this dude," I said, poking Peter, "couldn't drive, so...yeah."
"Hey! I tried," Peter pouted.
"And failed. It's not your fault. You're still an amazing person, just a bad driver."
"Thank you."
"Um, guys? I think he's alive," Andrew called out. "It looks like he's breathing."
I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. "Oh thank god. And everyone or thing thankable."
"So what are we going to do with him?" Andrew poked Sam again with the stick.
Hmm..."Okay...everyone, I have a plan."
…
Ten minutes later, seven people, a half-human, and a raccoon were in the car. Sort of. Peter was in the passenger's seat (because technically he's an adult...child...), and Rocket took the wheel. Me, Madison, Katie, Kaitlyn, and Andrew were crammed in the backseat. No seat belts today, I guess.
Where was Sam? In the trunk. I had asked Peter if he would have enough air, but in response, Peter just shot a hole through the trunk. It'll probably work. Probably...
"Anyone got any spare ignitor fluid?" Crickets. "No? Fine. Regular speed for this piece of crap," Rocket said, kicking the car.
Peter had used some space gadget to call Rocket. Disguised as a regular raccoon, he had come over to us. Naturally, Rocket hated his disguise.
Fortunately for us, Rocket had seen some Terran cars before, and figured out how to use one shockingly quick.
"Um...Rocket? Feel free to step on it. We've got an injured kid in the trunk." I said from the backseat.
Rocket glanced at me. "I always step on it."
Aaand we're off.
"Peter! See that screen on the dashboard?" I called out.
"...Yeah?"
"Okay. So press the button to the left, no...over a little more...yes! Press that, then type in 'hospital'. It should then show the closet hospital."
He did what he was told, and the closest hospitals showed up. "Okay...just press the top one."
Peter pressed it. "Stop being a backseat driver, Reagan."
I fumed. "I'm not a backseat driver! I don't even know how to drive! How can I be a backseat driver if I don't know how to drive?"
Rocket chuckled. "Relax, kid. It was just a joke."
I pressed my forefingers to my temples. "Sorry...I'm just a little wound up, is all."
Katie smirked. "A little?"
I groaned. "You try watching your neighbor nearly die!"
"I actually have, once..."
"What?"
"Uh, never mind... Hey, is that the hospital?"
"Yeah...pull in here, Rocket,"
…
The whole Sam issue was taken care of. On my way back to the car, I stumbled. Peter grabbed my arm to get me upright.
"You okay?"
I yawned. "Sort of...can we just take a break?"
He glanced back at the rest of our group. Like me, they looked pretty worn out. "Get back in the car...Rocket and I'll get you guys to Madison's house."
"Sounds good to me." And really, it did.
…
"Ronan?" A blue skinned cyborg walked up to Ronan the Accuser. "We've got a lock on their location."
Ronan turned around to face her. "Where?"
Nebula shifted nervously. "...Terra."
"Quill's home planet? Why?"
"We don't know for sure...our only theory is that they came there to get something, based on some of the transmissions we've tracked."
"What? I need answers, Nebula, now."
"I understand, my lord...it's just that answers are hard to get right now. Terra is a forbidden planet."
"Yes. So why would Quill and the rest of them go there? They know it is forbidden."
"They must need the item desperately. My best advice to you now is to get someone down there. A spy. See just what the Guardians are up to."
Ronan allowed a small, cruel smile to come across his face. "I know just the one."-
Ohh! Cliffhanger! So, if you haven't seen it already, go check out my story Mall of America. It takes place in the What's Behind the Curtain universe. Also, go vote for my poll! You can see it on my profile. If you want to be nice and leave a review, shout out your favorite character in it. I want to know! If you have a moment, please review, favorite, or follow! It means the galaxy to me!