Human Batteries

~~~~~Chapter 2~~~~~~

~~~~~Chapter 2~~~~~
I wake to Mr. Byrd rushing everyone to get up out of bed. He shakes Bailey awake and whispers to her in a harsh voice.
It's still dark outside, so I look over at my night stand to see the time. It's 1:24 a.m.
Bailey finally sits up. Her ringlets are frizzy, and wild from sleeping. Wide-eyed she asks "Dad, is everything okay?"
"I-I don't know, honey. Just, please hurry and have all your stuff together in ten minutes." Then he rushes out the door, and down the hall. Bailey crawls out of bed, grabs her suit case and starts cramming every in it.
"Bailey, what's going on." I ask, still groggy and half asleep.
"I'm not really sure. Dad said something about his job. We can't stay here, we have to go to Montana."
"That doesn't even make sense.... Are you messing with me?"
"No. I guess we're leaving in ten minutes. This has never happened before. I think something is really wrong. He's never done this... " her voice dies out. But she keeps mumbling to herself.
Now we're both wide awake.
I know Bailey, she mumbles when she gets freaked out to try to calm herself down. That's when I know I should start packing. I grab all my bed my stuff first, and then I pull all my clothes out of the dresser. This doesn't feel right. What could have happened that would force us to go to Montana? Is everyone going? What about my family on the opposite side of the U.S? Is this some kind of joke? 'Cause it's not funny.
As soon as all my stuff is zipped up in my black polka-dotted suit case, I follow Bailey's lead.
We put on our shoes, and take our bags to the car. As we wait for Mr. And Mrs. Byrd in the back seat of the family car, I clutch my back pack on my lap.
"Bailey," I ask. I hear her mumble under her breathe every now and then.
"Do you know what happened?"
"Not 'happened', that would be past tense, I think whatever it is, it's present. And no. It's something new, though. He'll tell us about stuff that's old. But the new and up coming stuff is classified." She answers. I know she's telling the truth, too. That's all she knows, and she's scared. Which scares me.
Her parents finally come out to the car. Mr. Byrd's hands are shaking so bad he can barely get the key in the ignition. Mrs. Byrd turns around to face us from the passenger seat.
"It'll be okay, girls." She says. She has the same frizzy ringlets as Bailey. But she has a few gray streaks mixed in with the warm honey color. And she wears hers braided loosely, falling across her right shoulder. Her pale green/gray eyes look worn. But she gives us a comforting smile.
"It's just your father's work. We're just going to take a vacation from our vacation and go to Montana. That's all. Kat's family will meet us there later."
"Wait, why?" I ask. "You just said it's just his work. So why is my family coming?"
"There will be some of Mr. Byrd's co-workers there that can explain a little better than me. Now, you girls just get some sleep. It's going to be a long drive."
I pull my feet up in the seat and pretend to fall asleep. But really, I'm just freaking myself out more by thinking up what could be happening. Alien invation? World War lll? Maybe the sea creatures in the depths of the ocean have evolved and are now taking over the human race. Or maybe it's the end of the world as we know it!! Okay, maybe I do need some sleep. So I close my eyes, and try not to dream about evolving sea creatures.
When I wake up we're pulling into Pancake City for breakfast. Mr. Byrd parks, and hops out of the car to go get some food.
The clock on th dash reads 8:42 a.m. It's a clear morning. Everything seems normal. We're in town, so there are cars and people bustling around. I wonder if really is just Mr. Byrd's work, and my family is just coming to get me there. I know there's more to it then that, but I keep telling myself that to calm my nerves.
I get lost in a daze, and before I know it Mr. Byrd is back with a Pancake City breakfast Box. It has biscuits, sausage, bacon, pancakes, and fruit cups. I'm not too hungry since I just woke up, so I have a fruit cup and a piece of bacon.
By time everyone is done eating, we've been on the interstate for a while.
It's probably going to be a little over another 12 hours before we get there. So I put in my earbuds until I fall asleep again.
_______________________
I feel Mrs. Byrd shake me a wake. "We're here, girls. I know you're tired, but let's get inside."
I rub the sleep out of my eyes, to see where we are. After about 21 hours of driving, we've arrived at a large brick building back in the woods of Montana.
We all drag our suit cases through the gravel parking lot to the front entrance. The building is all one level, but it's almost twice the size of my highschool.
Inside, a group of people are waiting to greet us. They all start talking to Mr. Byrd at once. They lead us down a long halls with blueish lighting and miss-matched walls. Some brick, some concrete, and others are tiled. They continue to lead us through what feels like a hundred different hallways.
Mr. Byrd hurries into a locked room on the left and a few people follow close behind. But the rest of us continue down the hallway until it breaks off into two different directions.
"Okay girls, I need to be there with your father, so go rest. We'll tell you everything in the morning." Mrs. Byrd says as she hugs us good night. "I love you, girls." She says with a warm, motherly smile. Then she goes down the left hallway with a few of our greeters. Bailey's eyes are red, and full of tears as we go to the right.
I put my right arm around her shoulders, give her a squeeze, and say
"Hey, it's okay. We'll see them in the morning." I smile, and she smiles back at me, but I can tell that I'm not good at comforting people. "Thanks." She says anyway.
We continue following a muscualar woman, until she opens a door to the right. "This is where you two will be staying tonight. Don't worry, you're safe here. Sleep good. I'll come back in the morning to show you to breakfast," she says. Then she closes the door behind Bailey and I.
The room has concrete floors, cement block walls, and six bunk beds. I drop my bags, and lay down on the closest bottom bunk. Bailey curls up on the one next to the door. I turn off the lights and go to bed. It takes me a while to fall asleep. I know Bailey doesn't fall asleep right away either, but we don't say another word.