Collision Course [+ Additional Levels]

Level Six - Snake Bite

Karan folded his arms across his chest. "I don't see what you have against the ape-kind."

"There's just this thing about them, and it doesn't sit well with me," Mira told him, squinting in the distance as she thought about them.

Karan crossed his eyes, and made a monkey-like pose, drawing back her attention. "Ooh, ooh, ah, ah!" he shouted.

"Karan! Stop it!" she exclaimed, shielding her brother from view with her hands.

He stopped and laughed. Then he snapped his fingers. "Hey, it was that movie we watched that one night, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, wasn't it?"

"Well... that movie may have a part in it," she admitted. Then she added, "A... very large part."

"Ha!" He smiled at the memory. "I knew we should have watched King Kong," he mused.

"Finally!" came Andrew's shout of triumph from the other room, making already-edgy Mira jump.

"What?" Karan called hopefully.

Andrew stepped out of the bedroom, holding something folded under one arm. "I found my laptop," he told him.

Karan and Mira exchanged a glance. Andrew frowned and looked at them. "What?" he asked. Mira raised her eyebrows with a little shrug of her shoulders. "Nothing, nothing," she said with a shake of her head. She smiled at him. "Glad you found your laptop."

Andrew paused, looking between her and Karan. "Oookay." After waiting a couple seconds, he readjusted his computer in his grip. "I needed the laptop to do some research," he explained.

Karan glanced at the door he was just leaning on. "Why don't you do your searching thing with Moe. It's your turn to watch him anyway," he told him.

"Ah." He nodded in solemn agreement, remembering their discussion earlier about taking shifts to watch Moe. "For sure," he said, and he brushed past Karan.

"Let us know if something changes!" Mira called as he opened the door and walked into the room.

Andrew paused, door handle in his grip. He looked back at them, and cracked a half-hearted smile. "Of course," he told them.

As the door began to close, Karan set a hand on Andrew's shoulder. "Hey."

Their eyes met.

Karan exhaled through his nostrils, glancing past him at the bed. "You know, Moe's a pretty strong guy," he told him.

"Yeah, I know," Andrew said quietly, his answer sounding a little hollow.

Karan's gaze softened, and he gave Andrew's shoulder a squeeze. "He'll be better soon," he assured him.

His friend pressed his lips together, shrugging Karan's hand off of his shoulder. "Yeah."

"He'll be alright," he told him again.

Andrew simply nodded again, and slowly closed the door behind him.

Then it closed with a click. Karan sighed, and turned to Mira. She frowned a little. "Is Andrew okay?" she asked.

Karan looked at the door. "This whole thing has been rough on him. I mean, it's been hard for all of us, but he's known him even longer than we have."

Mira nodded, looking back at her mug on the table. After a couple seconds passed, she spoke. "Did you mean what you said to him?"

He turned back to her, and his eyes widened. "Mira?"