Divagate

Chapter 4

Darwin
•••••
If the homeowners aren't already awake, the sound of Lia literally hitting the deck definitely woke them up.

"Well, shit." Siggy says, rolling his eyes. Lincoln scoops up Lia and nods to the door,

"We need to get her inside." I keep my gun out in front of me and Siggy does the same.

   I turn the doorknob, surprised that it opens. I grip my gun even tighter now, thinking that someone is for sure inside.

   All of the lights are off, and the soft glow from the moon shining through the windows doesn't do much. The house is completely silent and still, except for Siggy feeling around the wall for a light switch.

   I motion for Lincoln to come in, but put my index finger to my mouth so he knows to stay quiet.

  Siggy finds the light switch and flips it, illuminating the living room and kitchen with a yellow-ish glow.

   Nobody seems to be here. Yet.

"You two look in the other rooms down here. I'll check upstairs." I whisper to Siggy and Lincoln. Lincoln gently lays Lia down on the tan-colored couch before pulling out his gun and following Siggy down the hallway.

   I stare down at Lia for a moment. She looks so innocent. It's hard to believe that she's modified like the rest of us.

   I shake my head and carefully walk up the stairs, gun in hand. The short flight of stairs leads to a small landing and a slightly ajar door.

   There's still not a light on, so once I slowly push the door open, I move my hand along the wall to find the switch. As soon as I feel my hand touch the light switch, I flick it on.

   Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, stand in the far left corner of the room, deep in a make-out session. The boy has his hands on the girl's face, and her hands are in his hair. They both gasp and turn to look at me. The boy slowly moves in front of the girl.

   I recognize him from somewhere. "Vince?" I say, lowering my gun.

   "Darwin?" he smiles. Vince, Siggy and I had escaped from the lab a while ago. It was hard to tell exactly how long ago it was as Myer Labs doesn't have any calendars or many windows.

"How'd you escape again?" I ask.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing." Vince says with a smirk. I hear footsteps coming up the stairs behind me. I whirl around and aim my gun towards the door.

   I'm relieved to see that it's just Lincoln.
"Main floor's clear," he pauses once he sees Vince and his girlfriend. "Um, who are they?" He raises his gun, ready to shoot.

"Chill out, Lincoln. This is Vince. We escaped from Myer Labs together once. I'm not sure who she is, though." I say, motioning to the girl who stands in the corner glaring at Lincoln and I.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry. This is Charlotte. She helped me to get out of the lab about a week ago." Vince moves aside so Charlotte can come forward, but she stays right where she is, her deep brown eyes continuing to stare us down.

   Lincoln opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by Siggy shouting to us from downstairs,

"Hey guys, there's something wrong with Lia!" We rush down the stairs with Vince and Charlotte right on our heels. Siggy's kneeling in front of the couch Lia's on.

   Her chest rises and falls heavily, like she's having trouble breathing.

   Charlotte pushes past us and runs to the couch. She places a hand on Lia's forehead and flips it over so her palm is facing the ceiling.