Chapter 11

"Update me on everything that has happened in the past three days." I needed to get everything straight before I made my move. I was sitting one the two seater couch with Emily besides me, my arm around her. To my left is my house's gas fireplace, but it's not on because I don't know how to use it. My feet are set on the table in front of me. Collin site across from me on the three seater couch, Keva right next to him, and Katie sitting to her left. To my right, the single person couch was occupied by Shay. His arm isn't looking so good, basically decaying. Collin mustn't have been thinking of that. My little sister, Collin's little brother, and Emily's little sister are all in the basement, playing on the wii downstairs. I had pulled three chairs over in the living room, so Matthew, Chauncey, and now a new member of our family, Sophia, an Asian girl who's about as tall as Matthew. She has a slight accent, but everyone understands her. Chauncey is white, got brown hair, uncombed but straight. He wears glasses very similar to Matthew's. Shay's other two triplet of brothers had also come, in the house next door. Gabe sat on the floor next to me, and Nick sat on the stairs, so we had quite a meeting

"Well," Matthew began. "We raided more grocery stores for food, confiscated weapons from Walmart, and got some gasoline and kerosene from there as well. Got some cuts and bruises from a fight with some arsonists." The machine gun he had used in the fight with Camus was leaning against his chair.

"Where'd you get the gun? And where's mine?" Emily suddenly became very interested in her shoes. Matthew threw me the Colt I had given him. The handle had some nicks and scratches in it, but otherwise, it was in perfect condition.

"Well, your girlfriend can pull objects from one place to another. She managed to get that gun and launcher from halfway across the world." Shay said. I looked down at Emily, and she smiled at me.

"Whatever you can do," I whispered to Emily. "I love you the same, anyways."

"Love you too," she whispered back.

"Okay, what about Camus?" I asked.

"Oh, well, Collin took care of him. Easily." Collin sort of half smiled, the way I see him when he's really proud of something, but needs to keep in his excitement.

"Well, I was hoping that I could make it up to you by sort of taking over in your absence," he started. "Sorry about that sudden outburst in the school. Something got me, I just don't know..." His voice trailed off. Keva hugged him, but on his face, I saw the mask he wore when he deceived me, that day in fourth grade...

"Anyways, he got the idea of drawing Camus into the freezer, and he froze him in his tracks. Oh, by the way,  we caught his little brother and some of his thugs, they're tied up in the garage." Shay continued.

"Great, I'll interrogate them at the end of this meeting. And I think I'll need to amputate that arm, Shay."

"What? No, this arm is me, and me is mine, you aren't going to cut off my arm."

"I'm replacing it with the robotic, 3D printed one in the science teacher's classroom. After I've interrogated those kids, I'm going to drive you there get amputated. I'm trusting that Collin will help cauterize if needed, correct." Collin shrugged.

"Sure," he said, defeated.

"Okay, what am I forgetting, uh..." Leave me alone, let me wander out into blank space so I can remember... "Oh yes, when did Sophia get here? I know that Gabe probably went to get Nick, but what about you, Sophia? I don't know you as well as I know Gabe or Nick."

"Oh, well, Katie convinced Collin to go looking for me, yeah, that's how I'm here." I nodded, as if I understood. I only understood a little bit. Why, of all people, would Katie get Collin to look for Sophia? Why not Chauncey, or Keva, of even Emily?

"Well, I assume now that I'm back, how's the room arrangement going to work?" This would be a problem at nightfall. My house is much bigger than Emily's trailer, but wasn't going to accommodate for ten, maybe twelve people.

"Well, we were thinking that because this was your house, you'd like to sort things out." Collin suggested, smoothly.

"Well, I can go live with my brothers if that would be more convenient," Shay said.

"Go ahead. And Collin, I know you live within this area, would you like to go to your house? I don't think I'll need you around after getting Shay's arm fixed up." He shrugged.

"I'm good with anything."

"And I assume that Keva will go with you?" Details, details, details.

"Yeah, but only if she wants to. She lives in my neighborhood." Well, then, we'll see if Pullman's population suddenly increases by one over night.

"I'm sticking with Eman here," Gabe interjected. "I ain't going to live with Demon baby," Collin raised an eyebrow at me.

"His little brother," I answered.

"What a cold brother..." Katie said. She shook her head.

"Hey, it's just that he cries about everything, anything, and everything. And I don't want to see what, where, my parents..." That dampened the mood. All of us were missing our parents. Matthew wanted to go check on the farm house, as well as Nick, as both of them live out in the country, but we already new what had happened. Down town, kids were breaking the windows of crashed cars, and occasionally, the explosion of one could be heard. Only time could tell how many cars are left by the end, whenever that is.

"Well, I'll sleep downstairs, where I'l be less likely to fall through two floors. Katie, in my house or one of the neighboring?"

"I'll go somewhere close here. I think I know a few friends from here." Katie's eyes are a bit red, possibly from trying to contact me for three days in a row.

"Yeah, I think I'll go find a neighboring house around here, as well." Chauncey said.

"Me too. I think I know some people around here. I might even go live with Katie." Sophia said.

"Alright, just tell me the addresses, so Emily can reach you if I fall into a coma again."

"Yeah, why'd that happen?" Collin asked. His interrogation mask.

"Remember how I said I physically can't run?"

"And remember how I saw you run straight out of that IGA."

"Collin! Put the two and two together. I can run, but only for short amounts of time, and even after a short amount of time, I will fall unconscious." Don't suspect anything else, don't suspect anything else, oh please, don't.

I'm not telling him anything,  I heard Katie say. My gaze from Collin didn't waver. How do I not know you're not tell him the same thing?

You told me how to kill you, and I told you when this could happen. We had a deal, remember?

"Anyways, Emily, you can go wherever you want besides your trailer. I don't know how quickly that's going to be destroyed, but I know it's not safe." Emily nodded. Tears streaked her face, and I knew why. Her grandmother was the only person who really loved her, as a family member. Now she's part of our family.

"Emily, there is a room in the basement. It's cold down there, I know, but I can take the gas heater down there to warm you up. There's also a key and lock to your door, and I give you those too." She smiled at me, grateful. Then frowned.

"Where will you go?" She asked. I bit my lip.

"On the couch I was on this morning. Gabe, you'll go anywhere else besides downstairs, and don't fight with Nick. My sister will probably will want to sleep in the same room I am, and there's an extra mattress there. My sister might also take care of you sister," I said to Emily, "and the might sleep in my sister's room. I'll take that extra mattress up if they need it."

"Okay," she said.

"So is everything settled?" I asked.

No one said anything.

"Alrighty than, to torturing helpless children for answers we go."