Radioactive - Book 1: Birth 🪼

Fifteen

As I go down the road that Nalak told me turn onto and make a face at the long driveway that I've been doing down.
"How long is your driveway? Any longer and I could take off in a plane."
Nalak chuckles a little. "Yeah, it's because we're way off the road."
"No shit... What is it, like a little apartment complex or something?"
"Uh... something like that. Believe me, you can't miss it." He mumbled.
I made a face but kept doing down the driveway. I finally got to the end of the driveway and was met with a mansion. I turned my head and looked at Nalak as he drummed his fingers on the door handle.
"You said it was an apartment complex."
"I said it was something like an apartment complex. The house takes up about that much space."
"So... you're rich?"
He corner glances me. "I'm worth like $53 million."
"Shut the fuck up!" I say, looking at him as he makes a face and turns to me.
"Yeah. My dad has major stock in the Trad pills from when everyone thought they were going to be stupid idea. He stuck about fifty bucks in there and it grew over time. He also works as a nurse at the hospital. My mom is the secretary to the head CEO of the FBI. She also does side work at the RDC and put about $250 into the Trad marketing stock around the same time my dad did and it's gained ever since. They bank off of the profits they get from just the stock money itself."
"Wow... and you're really worth fifty-three G's?"
"I used to be. I'm worthless now."
"Why did you never say anything?"
"It didn't matter after the rest of my siblings died in the bus accident. They got lost in their jobs and I was there to fend for myself. Got beat up a lot for some reason too..." he says, turning his head a little.
"From your parents?"
"No from the middle school I went to before going to high school. They didn't like me for some reason... Anyway, are you going to go let me in or what?"
"What do I say? I mean, I haven't had friends for a while so..."
"Just tell them you're R and that I need to get my clothes. Mention you're going to the Badlands too... they may be nice enough not to call the police. But I'd have my running legs toned up just in case."
I lift an eyebrow as we both get out of the car and head to the pristine white house, passing two really nice cars on the way to the front door. As I head up, Nalak holds back and I turn back to him.
"What are you doing?"
"I can't let them see me. Just sound excited, okay?" he said, making a rainbow with his hands on 'excited'.
"You're stupid." I say, lifting my hand to knock as Nalak hung around the corner of the house.
I knock on the door and wait for it to open. When it doesn't open, Nalak peeks from around the corner.
"What's wrong?"
"The door is still closed. Didn't you have maids and stuff?"
"Yeah... Odd... Let me try."
He knocks on the door hard but accidentally makes a hole in the door. Even though he is almost white, I can still see the flush of embarrassment as he wiggles his hand out of the door.
"Don't know my own strength." He says sheepishly.
"You can say that again. Remind me not to get an absent minded hug or I'll die of lung collapse."
"Ha, ha, you're so funny. Tee hee, you love to laugh."
I smile but Nalak looks through the hole in the door he had made and turns his head a little.
"What's up?"
"It... it looks like my house is empty... But that can't be. The cars are here..."
Nalak grabs the doorknob and shakes it hard, using his new strength. This time, the doorknob pops off and he throws it behind him. The door swings open and I walk in. He is right in that the whole first floor looks like someone had packed up shop and moved away. But that doesn't explain the cars in the driveway.
"Do your parents have a travel car?"
"No, those are the only two cars they had..." he says in the doorway.
"Why are you still outside?"
"You have to invite me in, R."
"Oh, sorry, come on."
He walks in and starts to look around when he makes a face.
"What is it?"
"Something isn't right here... I can smell something but I don't know exactly what it is. The whole bottom half is cleared out as if they skipped town but I know my parents and they wouldn't have left those two beauts out there just to stay. If anything else, they would have sold them and cashed on money. There's something wrong... Come on, let's go upstairs and see if there is anything still there."
I follow him, going up the majestic staircase that went around from the front door and up to the next room. Nalak opens a door and there is workout equipment in it. We look at each other and decided to literally go down the whole hallway and see if there is still stuff there.
"My room is at the very end of the hallway and my parents' room is right across from mine. The rest of these rooms were for... for my brothers and sisters.." he says, seeming to choke up a little when he says it.
I nod and we go down the hallway.