Human Batteries

~~~~~Chapter 7~~~~~

~~~~~Chapter 7~~~~~
Before I know it, Alex is snoring in the passenger seat. I don't know exactly where this airport is supposed to be, but I don't want to wake him. He's even more exhausted than me. So I just drive.
I'm actually kind of glad he snores, so I don't have to keep checking to make sure he's still breathing.

After a while of driving I need to wake up Alex because I don't know which exit to take. So I reach over and put my hand on his shoulder. He suddenly stops breathing.
"Alex," I say shaking his shoulder a little. "Alex, wake up. Are you okay?"
His eyes fly open, and he takes a shaky breath. He rubs his eyes and says "Are we there yet?"
"No, that's why I woke you up."
"Oh, good. It's just up here," he says staring out the window.
I nod then pause, wondering if I should ask.
"Were you having a dream or something?"
"Don't worry about it," he says, "I just forgot where I was." Which doesn't really answer my question, it just makes me more curious.

When we arrive, there is a young man waiting for us. He wears a leather jacket, and looks more like a biker than a pilot. Alex jumps out of the car a little too fast. He stops and winces, but then makes his way to the biker, pilot dude. Up close, he has scruffy facial hair, and dark brown eyes. His teeth are surprisingly perfect when he smiles at us.
"Hey kids," he says. His voice sounds younger than he looks.
"My name's Dixon. I'll be taking you to Arizona in my fine air craft," he says in a cocky tone. He gestures to the small plane beside him, with 'Brittany' plastered across the side.
"I'm Alex, and this is Kat," Alex says glancing at me. "Is the plane ready to go?"
"Okay first of all, her name is Brittany. She doesn't like to be called 'plane'. And yes, she's ready," says Dixon resting a hand on Brittany.
Alex and I glance at each other.
"Uh, sure," I say with a shrug. "Let's go."
Dixon flashes a mischievous smile and says, "One thing, I won't give you a ride unless you dance."
We stand there awkwardly, which I think Dixon was genuinely enjoying.
And I don't know what was more awkward. Just standing there, or when we actually started dancing.
Dixon laughs at us, though I don't really blame him. We must look ridiculous dancing around. And soon we start laughing at each other, too.
"Okay okay, as much as I enjoy doing that, we really should go," says Dixon before opening the side door for us to climb in.

Once we're in the air, I catch Alex staring out the window. He looks pretty cute with his eyebrows all forrowed, and his navy blue jacket, but I try not to focus on that.
I want to say something to him, but I don't know what. Why did he act like that when I woke him up? What's the story behind him getting shot in the arm a few years ago? I know nothing about him.
He glances at me, I realize I've been staring. I quickly look away, but he grins. Why do I have to be so stupid?
_________________________
After a nice nap, and a few hours in the air, we descend in the deserts of Arizona.
The sun beats down on us when we exit the plane. So I cover my eyes with my hand, and carry my back pack with the other hand.
We follow Dixon to a random square outline in the sand. I'm not really sure what I expected, but wasn't this.
The sand in the square started to fall into the earth. Working it's way out like a black hole.
I quickly step back, and so does Alex. He puts his arm across my chest as a defensive instinct. I don't think he even noticed, but I sure did.
Dixon chuckles, "Noobs." Then he starts down the newly revealed spiral staircase. Alex and I follow him into an under ground bunker.
"So this is the Rabbit Hole," says Alex looking around in amazement at the dirt walls, floor, and ceiling.
"This is sick," I say turning in a full circle.
"Oh, this is nothing," says Dixon. "All the action happens back here." He gestures for us to follow him down a hallway.
We walk all the way down the hallway, until it opens up into a huge room jam packed with people bustling around. It's so much to take in at once, I think my head may explode.
It is literally a gigantic rabbit hole for people, hence the name. Packed dirt for the walls and ceiling, with stairs that lead to a thousand different hallways. I realize with excitement, that my brother is here somewhere.
I look at Alex, who is looking around below wide-eyed. But there's blood on his shirt where his bullet wound is.
"Alex, you need help," I say pointing to his side. Dixon looks where I pointed.
"Dude, you took a bullet and didn't tell me? C'mon, I'll take you to the medical wing, then I should go check on Brittany. Kat, you stay here. Some one will come to show you around." Then they turn and go down a hallway on the left.
I take a deep breath, and lean against the railing in front of me.
I hear a voice behind me say, "Miss Katherine Fletcher?" I whirl around to see a tall, dark skin man standing behind me. He has a welcoming smile that doesn't exactly match his 'I will kill you with my pinky toe' body build. But I smile back anyway and say, "That's me."
"Follow me, please," he says with a slight Jamaican acsent. So I follow him throught the twists and turns of the under ground hallways, until we arrive at two sliding glass doors, tinted gray. Inside is a small walk way that lead to six other doors. He opens a door on the right and I walk in.
It actually looks like a normal office inside. Two sitting chairs in front of a polished, wooden desk. Sitting at the desk is a woman with wide-framed glasses, and shoulder length, brown hair. When she sees me she stops what she's doing and says,
"Ah, Miss Fletcher, welcome. How was your journey here?"
"Um, it was okay I guess." I reply with a sigh.
"Well, you got here safely, that's all that matters. Where is the boy?"
"He's in the medical wing."
"I hope he's okay. Oh, I'm so sorry, have a seat please," she says gesturing to one of the chairs.
"You can call me Tess. I'm the nanny/manager for our new young recruits."
"Nice to meet you, Tess. You seem to already know my name so, could I know where my brother is?" Her face turns grave, and I feel dread rising through my body.
"My dear," she says glancing down at her desk. "Your brother was brave, a natural-"
"Was?" I cut her off, my heart sinking. "What do you mean 'was'?"
"I'm so sorry, he was lost in action two nights ago. The last search team got back today, we can't keep looking."
"Lost in action? What action? He was supposed to come here to be safe!!" I shout and stand up. Tears threatening to fall.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I wish there was something we could do."
"You could have kept him safe like you said!" I try to shout, but my voice breaks. And before I can lash out any more, or break down, I run. I don't know my way around, but I run. In hopes no one will be able to find me.

Once I feel as far away as I can get, I find a small closet to sit in.
I close my eyes in the dark of my little closet. I think about Bailey, and the time I broke my arm when she was teaching me how to skate board. I think about my mom, the way we would work together at the animal hospital. And I think about my brother, how we would always play super heroes together with paper masks and blankets as capes.
How could all that change so fast? How can they all be gone? Just like that. The only pieces I have left of them are my memories. I think of all these things with my knees pulled to my chest and my face buried in my fore arms when the door opens.
"Please leave me alone," I whisper without looking.
"I didn't officially introduce myself," says a deep voice. I look up at the same man that escorted me to Tess' office.
There's not enough room in the closet for both of us, so he sits down in the door way.
"My name is Ian," he says with a friendly, Jamaican acsent.
"You know, I have a daughter about your age. Sometimes she would get bullied at school, and come home to hide in her room. And I would tell her, 'Lauren, if you close yourself away in your room, you'll just be more lonely. But, if you come out, into the sun, it can warm you all the way through. All the way to your heart. And when the sun's warmth reaches your heart, you can trade your tears for a smile.'" He pauses and sighs.
"It seems hard to smile when you've lost someone you love, but just remember, they are in a better place looking down on you. Don't you think it would make them happy to see you smiling, thinking about them. And even though you miss them much, you will see them again one day."
"Thank you," I say with a sniffle. "Where is your daughter?"
"She's safe," he says smiling. "And she doesn't feel that sad anymore."
I nod. "C-can you tell me what he was doing. What happened?"
"I wasn't there, but I do know that he was sent in with a group of six. They were to get in and out of an Ants' camp to take a hard drive in fifteen minutes flat. Your brother was the one to get the hard drive. When he noticed one of the members was missing, he went back in to find him, but..." his voice fades.
I bite my lip and nod. "So it wasn't for nothing?"
"No. He retrieved some useful information. He was a fighter since the day he arrived. You should be proud."
I take a deep breath and say, "I am."
"Well, when you're ready, the boy wants to see you in the medical wing," he says with a small smile, and he starts to leave.
"Wait. Can you show me where it is?" I say standing up. He nods, an I follow him to the medical wing.

The medical wing has white tile floors, and white curtains separating the beds. It's not too busy down here, so it's not hard to find Alex. He's sitting on a bed with back turned towards me. There's something in his hands that he is fiddling with. I walk over to sit at the foot of the bed and say,
"Hey, you said you wanted to see me?" Which I think is sweet, but he probably didn't mean it that way. And neither do I, of course.
"Yeah, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. My brother died, too," he says with the saddest brown eyes. I'm about to ask what happened, but I don't feel like talking about it and he probably doesn't either.
"I'm sorry," I say hanging my head. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. It was long range, and the bullet came through my side so there was minimal damage any way." He shrugs.
"So why did you ask to see me?"
"I wanted to make sure you were okay. And you're the only familiar face right now." Warmth rushes through me and I can't help but smile a little. Look up at him, but he's looking around with his eyebrows raised.
"Where did every one go?" He says standing up. I hadn't noticed until now. We are the only ones left in the medical center.
I walk to entrance of the medical wing, Alex close behind me. I can hear voices coming from ahead, so I follow the sound.
There are people crowding the hallway, so I push my way through to see what's going on. The crowd opens into a circle. Standing the middle of that circle, are two teen boys. They're covered in sweaty, and dirty, with cuts and scrapes all over their face and arms.
I'm at a loss for words, and my heart expands in my chest, as I see my twin brother, living, breathing, right in front of me.