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The Object: Edited
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An excuse... that's what I needed.There's a cough and I flash my eyes up. The girl called Lily is staring right into my eyes, hers a bright, vibrant green. I immediately look away. Cari's eyes were - are - green.
"Jay," she says softly, pointedly. "I've helped you for long enough but... I want to know what's going on."
The two boys and other girl sitting around her nod. I take note of their posh clothes. Bitter distaste forms in my mouth. And then I realize that my friends are dressed nice too, their small thin frames disturbingly vibrant under the nice fabric.
"We're not telling you ANYTHING!" Elsie bursts out, standing up, her face blotched and red. Jay calmly drags her back, wrapping her up in his olive colored arms, murmuring into her hair for a moment. Angry tears continue to cascade down her face, her tiny shoulders heaving.
He shoots me a look that says, "Talk to them."
I use my apparent powers of talking, and force the note into the back of my mind, for pondering another time.
"I'm Tom," I say.
"So we gathered," one boy says, his black bangs swinging into his pale face.
I narrow my eyes. "This is Elsie, and Jay. I don't know what's happened, who you are, or why we're here. I'm positive you won't tell me everything, so instead we'll start with the basics. What are your names?"
*----- ~ ----*
We were following the group of kids with squad 61. We didn’t know why but it was our orders. Gunshots flew past my ear as I looked around for the cause. A boy held a gun to my face and said, "Hi. My name is Tom. We have met. You were the guy chasing us and shooting bullets at our backs!"
I stared at him in disbelief. "W-" He cocked the gun.
"Say anything and I shoot. You're coming with me."
He grabbed my arm with surprising strength and raised it between my shoulder blades. I didn't mean to, but I cried out nevertheless.
He held the gun to my temple and walked me along. I expected him to go toward the rough part of town, but instead he walked opposite of it. We walked by my house, and I moaned. What would my wife think? Taken down by a scrawny kid. No one was on the streets this part of night, so my hope of witnesses was destroyed.
He brought me toward a particularly posh looking manor and shoved me through the door, where a small girl handcuffed me.
"You killed Joanne." She whispers into my ear, disdain leaking from every syllable.
What had I done to deserve this?
"I don’t know what you’re talking about!” They looked at me; apparently what I had said made no difference.
I thought all hope was lost when I realized I had left my walkie-talkie on!
"Now you just stay there!" they said, and shoved me into a small closet. Perfect! I thought. I leaned my elbow on the talk button and called for help in a hoarse whisper. "Yes captain?" asked the reply. Yes! I was saved! In my excitement I accidently kicked the door, and to my surprise it swung open! I leaped to my feet and stepped out. Suddenly I remembered my training as I realized this was a trap while a loud alarm sang out.
The kids were gone, but there was a much more threatening person in front of me.
The mayor's son.
"Officer!" he said, shocked.
"I can explain-" I started.
"No need to." He said, eying my handcuffed hands. "I think I know who did this to you."
"Well go get 'em!" I yelled at him.
He walked up to me, and pulled out a spare key, "Not until I get you out of these, and get some back up."
*----- ~ ----*
Mod
Elsie and I walked into the room we had originally been in. Elsie had started a fresh stream of tears for Joanne. I tried to stay strong, and refrained from sobbing as well.But then we saw Jay. In the corner of the room. On a recliner. But, he wasn't the only person on the recliner. Lily was there too. And they weren't just waiting for us. They were kissing.
Elsie and I snickered. Jay heard us and looked up, his face covered with lipstick.
I rolled my eyes at Jay, whose face was still covered with red.
*----- ~ ----*
Suddenly, squad 61 broke through the door, swarming through every possibly nook and cranny. They jumped on the mayor’s son shouting pointless commands at him. "Secure the manor!" they said. "I want every corner of this place searched!" A man came up to me and picked the lock on my handcuffs. "Who are you?" I said. He replied, "I am the sector commander of the state. Congratulations captain. You have just found the hideout of The Kids. You're new title is now: General." 'Wow General' I thought!
"Wait a minute. Just for finding a hideout I skipped two ranks, and now I'm higher than you?" "Yes sir" he replied. "What are your first orders General?"
"Um..." I began, blushing. "Find The Kids!" I said, quietly congratulating myself.
*----- ~ ----*
I thought I was the only one who heard it, but when everybody else looked up at another crash, I knew I was wrong.
Jay leapt up and grabbed the bag which held the object. He kissed Lily one final time, then hopped out of the window. Lily looked down. "Jay!" She shouted as he disappeared into the forest bordering their property.
"Come on Elsie!" I shouted, hopping out of the window too. We saw the police break into the room as we melted into the forest.
We were lost. The forest was so big and we were so little. We walked for 11 miles or so, and we came to a small house on a hill. The tiles on the house crumbled and the, chimney ( a small metal tube) released smoke from inside . The building had two small windows but both had blinds over them. We approached the building and knocked on the door. A small man opened and said "What do you want!?!" "Excuse me sir" I said. "We were looking for our friend. Have You seen any teenage boys around here?"
"IM looking at one!" he said.
"Yes but-"
"Now go away!"
"But sir-"
"I said NOW!"
I couldn’t take it any more. "We are being tailed by the police!"
The man’s expression changed. He looked at all of us very carefully. "What are your names?" he finally said. "I am Tom. These are my friends, Lily and Elsie." He told us to come in and shut the door. "So you think those are the police huh? Well you are very well wrong. They may look like police but they are a special detachment of the government."
"How do you know?" I said.
The man replied, "Oh your tale has spread throughout the city. I might ask, did You lose someone in your group?" 'Cari' I thought. "But how did you know-" I started. Just then, a young girl walked in.
'Cari'
I nearly choked, "Cari?"
Cari smiled back, "I'm so glad your safe." She fell into my arms and I wrapped her in a warm bear hug.The man waiting in the doorway shuffled us all inside, "Hurry before them flukes some looking through the forest."
Jay grabbed a hold of Lily, and swept her inside.
We hurried into the cabin, and nestled around the fireplace.
"Um, Tom?" Cari asked.
"Yes?" I said, still incredibly jubilant.
"Do you guys know where it is?"
I didn't know what she was talking about for a moment.
"No. Jay had it last..." I said, looking over at Jay.
Jay shook his head.
Elsie broke down at that instant. For a moment the whole thing paused, and then we hurried to Elsie's side. She was very pale, and there were tear tracks down her cheeks, still caked with mud.
"What do you mean you don't have it? Jay! You grabbed it before we jumped!" Elsie said, her voice breaking every other syllable.
"Elsie. Elsie! Calm down!" Jay said.
"Calm down?! Calm down?! That was our only chance! My only chance! What are we supposed to do now?!" She said, falling down on her knees, sobbing hysterically.
I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry Elsie, we'll find it. I swear to God, we'll find it. Even if we die trying. We're going to find it."
*----- ~ ----*
Mom reached toward my hand. I grasped it, crying. Then, her hand went limp. Rather, she went limp. My sister just sat there, looking into space, not caring at all. I walked over to her and slapped her. I had to do something!
"Mom's dead!" I shouted, right in her face. And then, with Margaret looking straight into my eyes, she started bleeding. I didn't know where, the blood just spewed. I caught some in my hands, but the sensation made me instantly throw it down on the ground. I tried to find her wounds, to cover them, maybe stop the bleeding, but my vision went red, and then bright white. I was dying.
And then the pain came. Like someone was shooting me and I was having a billion nails all pressed into my skin at once.
I opened my eyes and saw a man. His eyes glowed green.
Then I really woke up. And instead, there was Tom. He reached out and picked me up, nestling me against his chest.
"You're okay now." He whispered. "You're okay."
*----- ~ ----*
Elsie cried and cried as I rocked her back and forth "it’ll be ok, it’ll b ok"
jay and lily hugged, and then sat down on the couch.
We spent the night at the old hovel. Cari and I had a lot to catch up on, and catch up we did. Jay and Lily spent the night quietly whispering to each other.
The next morning, the old man made us pancakes. It was like eating air, they were so fluffy. "What's your secret?" Cari had asked. "Add a bit of booze, the oven fries away the alcohol, but it still is delicious." He said, winking at us.
"Now," Cari had said later in the day. "We need to disguise ourselves. It's likely that no matter where we go, people are going to be looking for us. So...um...yeah." She said in her usual eloquent way. Oh I love her!
We spent the rest of the day disguising ourselves. Cari cut her hair to a very short length, and then dyed it red. And Elsie dyed her hair from auburn to a very dark black after cutting it in a feather style. They were already unrecognizable. They also put on some old clothes, which I assumed was the old man's wife's.
Lily dyed her hair from titian blond into a very strange shade of red. It looked very unnatural.
Jay's and my transformations were a different story.
Jay shaved the little beard that he had, then put on the man's old reading glasses after popping the lenses out. He truly looked like a different person. I didn't know what to do, so my fate was handed over to the girls.
When I looked into the mirror, I saw a different person staring back at me.
He-I was bald. All my hair was-was...gone.
"Who did this to me?" I screamed out loud.
Lily giggled and I turned my gaze onto her "why did u have to make me BALD?!" I growled "couldn't u have done something different?!"
Elsie then piped up "well no one will recognize u for sure now!"
Jay was laughing now too. I glared at him.
Shut up!" I scream and stomp out of the room.
Cari walked into the hall and sat down by me.
She gave a feeble laugh.
"At least no one will recognize you now!" She said, trying to lighten the mood.
"It would've worked if I just dyed my hair a different color." I grumbled.
"You know we were out of hair dye Tom! Just relax. Would you rather be killed? Your hair will grow back." She replied angrily.
I laughed. She and I kissed again.
I giggled "Well.....it’s kinda funny seeing everyone so different looking." I began to giggle and then laugh and soon I was on the floor rolling around with laughter.
"What’s so funny?" Cari asked, confused
"It-it-its just this is such a serious thing and everyone-including me- is worried about what we look like" I giggled again "And you're right I would rather be bald then dead"
Cari sighed.
"What've I been trying to tell you?" she asked.
I laughed again.
"Come on Sourpuss." She said, walking back into the living room.
I followed her and watched as the old man handed out clothes for us to wear. Then he gave us shoulder bags. He brought us into the kitchen and gave us some bread, a canteen full of water each, a bunch of pre-cooked hot dogs and corndogs, and then dropped $30 dollars into each our bags.
Cari protested, but he waved her off, saying that we'd need all $150 when we got into the city.
"Just don't blow it all off on drugs okay?" The man said gruffly.
Cari smiled at that. We sat quietly for a moment, all of us. Then the man stood up. "'Guess you have to be goin' now. Um...if things become too much....well...you know where to find me." He finished.
And then the tears came to my eyes. Even though we'd only been with this man for a night, he seemed like the grandfather I'd never had. He was exactly how I imagined him to be when I was a child.
Each of the girls gave him a hug, but Jay and I were a bit more withdrawn.
We walked out the door, but before I left I paused and asked him what his name was.
"Thomas." he replied.
I smiled as I walked out.
*----- ~ ----*
We had to go through the forest where one of the kids claimed they saw them run into. We sent some people east, others west, and our party went north. We had walked 11 miles or so when we stumbled upon a - which at first looked abandoned - house.
We went in. It would be the perfect place for outlaws to lodge. But no one was there but a stubborn old man.
"No you cannot come in! This is my house! You folks aren't supposed to be able to come in without a warrant!" He said the whole entire time we were looking for The Kids.
I thanked the man before we left, but suddenly one of the officers pushed him against the wall and handcuffed him.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in court. You have the right to a lawyer, if you cannot afford a lawyer, we will supply you with one." He said, sounding like he wished he had no rights at all.
"Officer!" I had cried. "On what degree are you arresting him?"
The officer smiled grimly.
"Aiding a criminal." He said, nodding at a bow that was on the floor. I didn't recognize it at first, but then I realized that it had been in the mayor's daughter's hair.
*----- ~ ----*
we walked through the night quietly, all very silent. We were all downcast that we had to leave that nice man.
We also knew that by him helping us, he put himself in terrible danger.
Cari and I linger behind the group, her hand intertwined in mine.
"Tom?" she whispers after a while.
The trees begin to thin and I know that we are getting close to civilization. It's about noon, the winter sun high in the sky. I look down at her, and smile. She look just as beautiful with short red hair. It seems to match the freckles splashed across her tanned face.
"There's... there's something about Lily," she says.
I frown.
"I think that maybe," Cari scratched the back of her neck, "there's something that she and Jay are... um, keeping from us."
I glance at the couple, who are in the very front, practically connected, lips to each others ears, whispering fervently. I got that vibe too, like there was something deeper than what was on the surface.I nodded. "Yeah."
Cari leaned against me, and closed her eyes. I wrapped a protective arm around her small shoulders. "Want me to carry you?" I ask. She looked up at me in surprise. I noticed, once again, the dark circles and crows feet underneath her eyes.
"I... That would be nice." I scoop her up. I'm much stronger than I appear.
After only a few minutes, Cari's passed out.
Elsie looks back at me, and catches my eyes. I remember when she first met up with us, her auburn hair long and stringy. We were ten. On my fifteenth birthday, I professed my love for her and were an item for a while. And then, last year, I realized that I had fallen out of love. Cari and I grew closer and closer, and eventually I told Elsie I just didn't like her like that anymore.
If she had been tattered before, she was now broken.
Her small frame looked disturbing, her pale face framed with a crazy frizz of black hair. Her cheekbones were especially pronounced, and her big china blue eyes wide as saucers. Her plump lips split through the middle, and a small cry escaped her throat. Jay and Lily were too caught up in each other to notice.Poor Elsie just shook her shoulders, and I felt the need to comfort her. But I didn't. Instead I looked away. She would always be a mystery to me.
The sun fell down in the sky, and the trees around us, loomed over us, captivating us in darkness.
A coyote howled in the distance, and an owl hooted above us.
It reminded me of the night I ran away. Ran away from Dad.
Dad. The thought of him made me shudder. I rubbed my arm instinctively. The bruises were freshest there.
Jay touched my shoulder gently.
"Okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. Come on. We could get a cheap hotel or something. Maybe rent an apartment. We've got enough money. Thanks to Thomas." I said, smiling at his name.
We walked into the city.
It felt odd to be walking around the streets, but then again, we were all in disguise. And there was a cool breeze, because I was bald!
There was a cheap hotel in the middle of the city, which was good enough for one night, and possibly a day, if the cops weren't still looking.
Jay kept to himself, even though he was the one calling most of the shots nowadays. But I still was the one that confirmed the decisions.
Cari squeezed my hand as we walked in the front door, "Don't worry," she whispered, "we're going to be alright."
I shrugged trying to believe her, hopefully these disguises would last us awhile.
We suddenly came to a small highway, and to our left lay a small motel "Hey lets crash there!" I called to Jay.
He stopped for a moment, thinking and then he shrugged and we all jogged into the front door. At the front desk sat a chubby happy looking woman with much to much makeup on "Hello!" she called out and smiled.
"We want one room just for tonight" Jay said to her and held out the money. She looked at them suspiciously for a few moments.
"You kids aren’t on anything are you?"
"NO!" Elsie screams out first, and then backs away "Sorry"
"Well ok" the woman said and handed them the key "?Room 13"
We walked to the room.
*----- ~ ----*
the owner of the motel picked up the phone and called the police, these must be the kids!
*----- ~ ----*
"Room thirteen," I examined, and laughed, "Coincidental don’t' you think?"
Elsie giggle and Jay shook his head "Oh don’t point out the obvious! Tom!"
I stuck the key into the door and we walked in. The room was musty smelling and had two double beds. I groaned....some people are sleeping on the floor tonight!
Later that night I was lying on the floor looking up at the brown speckled ceiling. I listened closely to the breathing of my friends, the different rhythms, and I could tell them all apart.
I rolled onto my side and sighed, what are we going to do? We're teenagers, on the run from who knows who, or what. We have very little money.
And really all I could think of right then was what is wrong with this world?
That’s when I heard a knock on the door.....
Everyone sat straight up. I glanced towards Jay, and motioned me towards the door.
I thought he was calling all the shots . . .
I silently stood up from my seated position and walked to the door.
I reached for one of the lamps and held it like a baseball bat.
My fingers found the doorknob and I slowly turned it. Opening it quickly, I let the light spill into the hallway and brought down the lamp.
I looked down and saw blood spilling from Cari's beautiful head.
"oh god!" I screamed it had been Cari outside knocking!
I tossed the lamp beside me, and knelt next to Cari, holding her failing body in my arms. "I'm so sorry." I cried.
Jay crept up behind me, "We need to get to a hospital now."
I felt her pulse and looked at jay with teary eyes "thank god, she’s still alive!" I cried
Jay lifted her gently and put her on one of the beds. Elsie instantly ran out into the hall and grabbed the cleaning supplies that were on one of the maid's carts. She scrubbed and bleached the blood stain ferociously. Meanwhile Jay had run into the small bathroom and grabbed a roll of toilet paper. He wrapped it around her head, and then put a winter hat over it.
"That should stop the bleeding a bit, but she'll need stitches. Again, we have to go to a hospital."
Elsie seized the lamp from my hand, and began scrubbing that too.
"How will we pay for it?" She asked. "We've spent most of our money on the hotel." she said.
Suddenly Lily looked up.
"If it's money that you need, it's not a problem."
Jay walked over to her.
"You can't go into a bank, or go back home. They'd sure to be looking for us there."
Lily looked away.
"I'm not stupid, Jay. Have you forgotten what we're in? A hotel room. Look around you. One of those sheets and we'd have $20. There are also the rooms next to us."
Jay was taken aback.
"A few days ago you didn't even want to hide us!"
He said. "What's with the sudden eagerness to commit crimes?"
She smiled. "If you and I are going to be together, I have to be." Suddenly they pulled together, Jay squashing her lips into his.
Elsie pretended to retch.
"God, Jay. I don't need a puking mess to clean up as well."
I held Cari in my arms, as we sneaked out the emergency exit for fear of attracting attention.
I knew from one of the maps of the area I had been looking at that the hospital was about a mile east "oh please be ok please!" I sniffled as I ran with Cari
Jay checked her in, telling the secretary that we were from out of town. As for how Cari hit her head, he explained that by saying that she slipped and hit her head.
The doctor could clearly see that our story didn't check out, but he seemed to let it past. I waited with bated breath as they gave her stitches.
"Sir." One of the doctors tapped me on the shoulder. I had been praying for Cari the entire time.
"Sir, your friend here, she's had huge amounts of blood loss. We're going to need to do a blood transplant."
Elsie paled at the words. If we did a blood transplant, we'd be in the records that the cops could access.
"Ok" I gulped "From whom?"
"Well," the doctor continued. "We'd have to see all of your blood types, and hope that one of yours matches hers."
NO! I thought that means they would have every single one of us on file! but to save Cari......."alright" jay whispered before I could decide.
Mod
I looked at him 'thank you' I mouthed.Suddenly the door smashed open and a man I recognized as Thomas stormed in. "Ill do it!" he said.
"are you their guardian?" the doctor questioned
"yes!" he called out a little too quickly and he walked into the blood taking room with the doctor, as he walked by he winked and mouthed 'ill explain later'
Thomas sat down lightly on one of the stools in the room.
Thomas grunted as the man took his blood. A rattle came from the waiting room as the doctor looked up at Elsie who had just spilled a glass of water. "Ugh. ill be right back" he said. Thomas looked at the computer screen and saw that his blood didn’t match. He quickly pulled up to the computer and got to work.....
When the doctor came back he looked at the man in the chair. "Oh right!" he said. He looked at the computer screen. "Perfect match!" he said.
The doctor picked up the bag of blood and took it to the room where Cari was. Thomas pushed everything over, trying to cause another distraction. "What now!!!" the doctor screamed. Thomas's chair fell over and he slid a note across the floor over to Tom. Tom picked it up and read: 'tom, go to the blood storage room and find Cari some matching blood. Then we have got to get out of here! P.S. her blood is _______' Her type of blood was smeared. I would just have to guess. I raced to the Blood Storage room and looked around for some blood. I pulled some B negative and left. I ran back into the room with Cari and quickly switched the blood.
*----- ~ ----*
We stormed through the hotel (we had been doing it a lot so I got used to it). The Woman at the desk said they checked into room 13. I snapped my fingers and 3 people rushed up stairs. I liked my new power as general. A couple seconds later they returned. "Nothing, sir". "What!" I screamed. I pushed my way through and trudged upstairs to room 13. I stared at the ground and saw a small stain someone had tried to bleach out. I opened the door and searched the room as some of my men came in. "Wait a second" I muttered. "The sheets are missing! Why would someone take the sheets of all the beds?" I told a man to go find a sheet. When he returned I looked at it.” of course! It’s all coming together! I just need one more thing..." I rushed downstairs and barked at the woman telling me how much the rooms cost and who checked in to room 13. She relayed the information to me and I walked out the door. "Where to Sir?" a man said. "To the county Hospital" I told him without turning as I new he was wondering why I decided our strange destination.
We had reached the hospital. This time we were going to get them! "I want A Helicopter to patrol the roof! I need a squad down here at the front entrance and I want a quad of men at every opening!" They were surrounded! There was no way they could escape now. "Sir! I still am wondering why we are here!" I sighed as I explained: I found some blood at the door which obviously meant someone was hurt. I next looked at the sheets and asked the Manager what the bill was. It was a $200 room meaning the sheets had to at least be worth $18. The kids would not have enough money to pay for the hospital so they sold the sheets which I saw in a small store while coming here. Also, they will have to do a blood transplant for one of the kids meaning they will need to make a "donation". If we set a perimeter we can block off the highways and take a blood test of everyone that comes by." "SIR!" yelled a sergeant. "What!" I belched. "SIR! The man we arrested at the shack in the woods has broken out of jail!" Fear flooded my face. "GET A LEGION OF OFFICERS INSIDE NOW!!!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. It could be too late. I wondered what would happen as I rushed into the building.
*----- ~ ----*
the next thing I knew Jay was shaking me awake pointing at the window, "They're here." He breathed quickly, "We need to get out. We're surrounded, we have to go now.""But what about Cari?" I said. "Were you asleep?" Jay replied. "The doctor already did the transplant!" I looked amazed. "I- I picked the right one!" "What do you mean?" I realized Jay hadn't seen the note. "I’ll explain later. Now we have to go". I turned around and saw Thomas holding Cari. He pointed to the Hallway and we all followed him. We ran down the hallway and heard Men running from the floors above and below us. We were trapped! We ran back the other way and found a small vent. We all crawled through just as the police broke through the door. we tunneled through and found an opening in the basement. We got out and raced for the door. We opened it and heard men running through that hallway to! We ran as fast as we could down the hall as the police came through the door and yelled 'Freeze!'. We turned the corner as bullets grazed my shoulder. We ran down the east wing and found an emergency staircase leading to the roof. We ran as fast as our legs would let us and we burst through the hatch that opened to the roof. Ten or twelve guards turned and started to pull out their guns. We raced and saw a helicopter taking off. The Officers had pulled out there guns and were already shooting at our backs. I heard Jay cry out as he stumbled a bit and caught a glimpse of his bloody shoulder. We leaped off the roof and grabbed the helicopters skids and held on as it carried us out of the perimeter. After about two minutes the helicopter stopped and turned around. I realized that by know they must know we were onboard. We jumped onto the nearest rooftop and watched as the helicopter flew back to the hospital.
"We can't stop here." I exclaimed. "We've got to keep going or else we'll be caught."
Jay nodded, "We have to."
Elsie walked towards me, "But where?"
"Anywhere but here." I exclaimed. Cari was a weight in my arms, but I had to keep going with her. She couldn't die either. This was my entire fault. This whole situation, why we're here, and with the . . . thing.
We walked down the building, together in a group, and came across some trees, the only idea we had was to got through in the darkness, and try and find a place to hide for a while, and rest for the night.
I looked at Cari in Thomas's arms. She slept so peacefully. Now the guilt was really coming on about hitting her with that lamp, I had gotten us into this whole police mess!
And then I thought back to the police, they are going to look through the blood records, but thankfully we put fake names!
I looked at Cari one more time, and looked away, I had almost killed her!
I felt my eyes water with guilt.
Don't feel bad Tom. Was I hearing voices?
But I ignored it. At least she was alive. She may never forgive me for this though.
Tom seriously, listen to me....
I shook my head, what are these voices?
Cari? I thought.
No, uh, duh Tom....I'm your conscience!
Really?
No! Tom it’s me Cari! The object is somehow making us able to communicate through ESP!
Cari? Are you going to be ok?
Yea I'm fine tom, my body just has to relax for a little bit.
Oh good.
I stared longingly at her, even though I could hear her, she still looked dead.
I'm not dead!
Sorry! Sorry! I forgot that you’re in my head!
Well please don’t think anything really bad!
Sorry. I thought, but I had a few questions to ask.
Cari? I began.
Yes?
She asked in that beautiful voice of hers, even though she was speaking through her thoughts.
Where did Elsie get the object anyway?, I know you two are close and you were with her when she found it I thought to her
Well...that’s a bit of a complicated story...
Tell me, we have time, and no one else can hear us. I begged.
Fine
Come on! I finally thought.
Ready?
Yeah
Here we go:
So as you know Elsie and I have been together for a long time while living on the streets, one day when Elsie discovered the mystery about her sister she started dragging me around the city trying to find 'clues' so I followed. Then after a while we came across this small little squat house as a lead, supposedly her sister had once lived there, so we knock and a little old woman answers, she thrusts the object at us and whispers "this will help you but beware they will try to come find you!" and then she slammed the door in our faces and she wouldn't answer the door again. And then about a few days later we met up with you guys and that must have been years ago! So that’s the basic story!
I look at Elsie sadly, and then at Cari's body, they had had a tough life, at least I had parent at one point!
I can hear u
sorry
When do you think you'll be able to actually talk?
Oh, soon, I really hope, it’s kind of strange having my mind awake but not my body!
I thought for a moment,
You aren't in a coma are you?
No!
Good. I look over at her body and smile, and then her body moves a little
Here I come! I heard Cari say in my mind
Cari? I asked again.
Yes?
How long has this been going on? The mind reading, I mean.
Ever since I met you.
That would explain quite a bit. As soon as we met, I felt like she knew what I was thinking.
One more thing. I asked hesitantly.
Yeah?
Did anyone else know about this?
Cari hesitated in her thoughts.
Jay.
Cari tried to stand up. I instinctively advanced.I grabbed her and held her, she smiled up at me and I smiled back, thankfully she is ok.
Of course I'm okay, stupid.
She thought, breaking the magic.
"Wait," I said aloud. "If we need the object to hear each other's thoughts...but I thought Jay had lost it!"
Cari grimaced.
I have to tell you something, but it's going to take a while. She said.
I have all the time in the world. I replied.
Cari began.
When we found all of you guys, Elsie and I didn't know if we should tell anyone. Since Jay acted like the leader, we decided to tell him. I don't know if you've noticed, but he's been acting very shifty. When I ran away, I tried to convince Elsie to come with me, but she didn't believe that, well, Jay was about to betray us. I followed him one time, and overheard him talking with this man. He told him about the, well, thing. So I knew I had to run away, but the man saw me. I tried to convince Elsie, but, as I told you before, she didn't believe me. So I just gave her the note and ran away. I took the object with me and left a decoy I had made. I gave the real object with Thomas. I think we should be safe for now, because I left a decoy in the room. Hopefully the cops think that it's the real one.
She finished, searching my face, seeing how I'd react.
Please believe me! I heard her say in her mind
I look at the ground for a few moments I believe u, but its so terrible!
I know. she said, and also whispered aloud.
Jay. My role model, he betrayed me. Joanne, Adam, they were dead because of Jay. What about Lily? Was she in on it? It was hard to be sure.
Where's Jay? I asked coldly. I knew I had to talk to him alone.
Cari could hear the ice in my voice.
No Tom! She thought firmly.
I won't! Don't worry. There's just a few things I have to talk to him about. I replied, shocked that she would even think that I would do something like that.
Cari bowed her head.
"Fine." she snapped. "But I'll know if anything is going on."
((just making a note: we stopped at post 227))
I took a step toward Jay, but then something stopped me. I couldnt move! I glanced at Cari and she smiled. 'I havent told u the best part!'SHe thought to me. 'You can control objects with teleconescious!' ((sry i dont know how to spell that!)) Wow, so I have teleconicous too! thought to myself. 'I can still hear you' thought Cari. 'he he. I know! Lets play some games with this!' I replied in thought. I lifted Cari a few inches off the ground. Then i lifted everyone else. I could sense Cari was trying to think to me but I was shutting her off. "hey what is going on!!!" Elsie yelled. Jay had a look of horror on his face. He new what I was doing. I read his mind: 'NO! THis is Cari's..... Thing!' I thought how far this could go. I tryed to erase something from Jays mind. I didnt no if it had worked, but then I could see clearly what I had done. Jay dropped Lily out of his arms and walked away from her. I heard Elsie talking to Cari. 'You told him about it! Do you know what he is doing!'. OH NO! I thought.Elsie could hear me but Cari couldnt (I was still blocking her off). 'Cari,' Elsie thought to her,'he made Jay forget about how he loved Lily!'. Maybe I had just found out about my new power, but I was definatly stronger with it than Cari or Elsie. Maybe Even Thomas.... Thomas looked a "stop" look, and he stared so terribly; I dropped eveyonre immediatly.
"Tom." Lily said, horrified. "What have you done?" Jay looked at her, his eyes empty.
It hit me full force what I had done. I had ruined someone's life. Just like my dad.
"oh gosh" I whispered "i'm so sorry"
~~~~~----~~~~------
"Lily..." I began, hoping that I could somehow make amends.
"Just go away Tom!" She shouted at me. The temporary contact I had with her eyes showed me that she was crying.
"Jay?" she began, still sobbing.
"Yeah Lily?" he said, still watching my horrified face. "Jeez Tom! You look like you just saw a ghost!"
I closed my eyes and held a clump of dirt in my hands. It slowly filtered out.
"Jay, do you remember me?" Lily asked.
"Of course I do...you seem familiar, and I know your name... I just don't know...how."
Lily sobbed.
"Jay! You and I...we...we..." Then she suddenly took out a pocket knife and held it to Elsie's neck. She was no longer crying.
Cari advanced but was suddenly thrown ten feet into the air. She came crashing down into the earth and I rushed towards her.
"Cari!" I shouted, hoping that it would revive her. She didn't move though.
"Cari!" I shouted again. As I came closer I saw her neck at a strange angle. She had broken it.
I ran towards Lily, but Jay was already there.
"Let her go!" he said, his voice commanding.
"No!" Lily shrieked madly.
Tom! I heard Elsie's voice shout. Help me Tom!
"Lily..." I said in the calmest voice I could muster. I was surprised when Lily looked at me.
"What? Are you trying to make me leave her alone?! Haven't you seen it yet, Tom?! They're the traitors! Elsie and Cari were the ones that turned us in!"
I inhaled quickly. For some reason I believed her. But could she be controlling my thoughts? When Cari told me, was she controlling my thoughts?
This object was a lot more trouble than it was worth.
((can you delete all these side notes???))
((well, we've got to know where we left off don't we? We'll do that after the whole thing's finished.))
((well we just want to know where we stopped so its easier to put the next part on))
(( I know. I just meant to say it as a reminder that we cant say all this stuff)))
((Well, this is just a place to put it first draft edited. We'll go back once we finish the story and talk about what things to take out, add in, etc. etc. Then I'll make another topic and post the story on my profile. You guys can post it on your profile too.
(((speaking of that, the first topic is done in first person present tense, and then we switch to past tense. The whole story should all be in past tense.))
((Okay. I'll make sure to get it all done once we've finished.))
(I added a comment.... hope that's okay. I'm sort of a newbie)
I ran, my tattered clothes that were seven sizes too big swaying around me. I needed to find the others, tell them to get off the streets. The slapping of boots on concrete could be heard behind me and I sped up.
I was getting a stitch in my side but I knew I couldn’t stop! The footsteps get closer and closer and a shot is fired.
"Ahhhhhhh!" I scream and duck into an abandoned building.
I find a stairway and follow it up; I hear the door open behind me and the man following up the stairs. Suddenly I rushed out of a door onto the roof; I ran to the edge and jumped... I hit the balcony.
My knees are shaking.
When they click together, a slight sound is made and it seems insanely loud.
Bullets pound into the wall next to me as the officer advances, expressionless. I keep getting hit by shrapnel from the brick.
I close my eyes and lift my hands to my heart, readying to pray. Sorry I stopped being faithful, I think to whatever deity resides above us. Please let me live. I've been a good girl.
"Ahh!" came a shout from above. I whip around just in time to see Elsie land on a pile of trash beside me. We stare at each other with wide eyes for just a moment before I snap out of it.
"RUN!" I scream, grabbing her delicate hand and racing off.
"No!" She screams back. "I won't leave without you!"
We came into a clearing, and for a moment we stopped to catch our breath.
"We have to get moving" I gasp
"Tom; I think we made it away!" Elsie puffed
We heard gunshots, Elsie screamed and we ran.
Suddenly Jay stepped out from a graffiti building. "Hey guys!" he said, smiling.
I grabbed his hand and yanked him around the corner.
"Hurry!" I said as gunshots rang out again. Suddenly Jay took charge.
"Follow me!" he commanded.
I grabbed Elsie’s hand and sprinted after him.
We rounded a corner, then another one. We were going around in circles, I realized. Suddenly he jerked us back the other way and took us toward the rich part of town.
"Why are we going there?" I managed to gasp. Everybody there was filthy rich. They'd be sure to notice us there.
"Just trust me!" Jay yelled.
He led us up to one of the houses and started climbing the ivy that grew under a window. He climbed through the window.
Elsie gazed at me questioningly.
"What've we got to lose?" I replied to her unspoken question. I boosted her up toward the window so she could get good footing. Then I began climbing.
I slipped when I heard another gunshot, and then started climbing faster than before.
I jumped into the window, landing on a hardwood floor.
The air was knocked out of me. I closed my eyes for a moment, wishing the pain away. Then I opened them and was shocked at what I saw around me.
The house was abnormal, or at least the room was, it contained black walls, and there were only black furniture inside of it.
"What is this place?" I whispered slowly getting up.
Elsie sighed, "Thank goodness you're awake!"
"I was always awake!" I said, being shocked.
Elsie looked shocked.
"No, you've been out for 3 days!" she said.
I closed my eyes. Maybe when I opened them, I'd wake up in the shed with Jay and Elsie and Joanne and Adam.
And everything was just a nightmare, the room, the officers going after us...but I opened, and there was Elsie, standing right next to me, her hand on my forehead.
"I'm alright! Just...worn out." I swayed on my feet and saw an unfamiliar face looking at me.
"Who are you?"
She looked away.
"Sit down! You're dead on your feet!" She suddenly barked.
She pushed me onto a bed.
Jay suddenly stood up from behind a seat. "Be careful, Lily."
So many questions. How did Jay know her? Where were we? Where was everyone else? How did the police know we were there?
"Will someone tell me what happened?" I begged.
"Elsie, what happened? Where are we? Where is everyone else?"
Elsie looked away, but that didn't stop me from seeing the tears.
"They're not de-" But I could see the hurt and truth in her eyes.
"What?! They’re dead?!" I exclaimed
Elsie looked away. Then she whispered a quiet 'yes' and started crying. Jay hugged her, but I just stared off into space. They were dead. The people I had grown up with. My family. And I didn't have to ask how they died. I felt myself sinking into an abyss of grief, and I didn't want to come out of it. Because, I knew, that if I climbed out of the abyss, it would be official, my family was dead, and there was nothing I could do about it.
"Then who are they?" I asked nodding to the other four in the room.
"Friends." jay whispered, still cradling Elsie
"What do they have to do with us? The last thing I remember is-" Jay immediately clasped his hand over my mouth.
"Shut up, they don't know about us."
"How could they not know about us? We're right in the room-" but suddenly I realized what he was saying.
They didn't know that we were outlaws. They didn't know anything about us! Ha!
"Do you still have-" I asked
Jay nodded.
I breathed a sigh of relief. As long as we still had it, then it was all worth it.
Elsie reached her hand into her pocket, "Cari wanted me to give you this."
"Cari." I breathed. She was dead too. Suddenly it didn't matter. It wasn't worth it, it wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't! Cari was dead! Dead! Never coming back!
"Cari. Cari. Cari! Cari! CARI! CARI!!!" I shouted again and again, this time getting angry, not depressed. "CARI!!!" I shouted, one long note that conveyed all my grief and rage. "CARI!!!" I shouted again. I didn't even notice the object in Elsie's hand until I fell down, crying, screaming, sobbing.
It was a note. I recognized Cari's handwriting. I ran my finger over her signature, quietly sobbing.
"Tom." Jay said quietly. He slipped his arm over my shoulder and steered me into the hall. I sunk down.
"Tom." Jay said again. "Tom...may I read it?"
Read it? Oh, the note, read it, I could read it? What did Cari have to say, now that she was dead? I almost laughed at the thought, a dead person saying something, anything! My half laugh turned into a sob, and the tears began again.
No, I couldn't cry, I had to read the note.
Jay tried to pry it out of my hands, but I pushed him off, "It was directed to me."
How could I sound so calm? How could my voice not shake? Cari...Cari was dead.
I slowly read the note.
I've never been a good reader, and it was torture with all the big words that Cari used.
Dearest Tom,
I have the strangest feeling that the government knows we have the object. I say object because I know someone may try to intercept this. You and the others must get away as quickly as you can, and I send you this from far away because I have already fled. Run away. Tell the others before you go, but run away. Don't try to be a hero.
I love you,
Cari
How could she be dead if she had run away?
My heart ran a mile, they said that Cari was dead, but this note says something else!
Cari...she wasn't dead! She was still alive...I had to tell the others that we had to get as far away as possible...but the government was already on our trail! They'd be looking for us...so maybe the best place to stay was here. Later, when it blows over, we could run. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Jay tried to pull it out of my hand. I didn't know why, but I didn't want him to have it. I didn't want him to know what it said; I didn't want him to read it.