THE ENEMY WITHIN

THE ENEMY WITHIN Chapter 5

5.

The afternoon's warmth faded abruptly, as if the sun were a mere façade. The chill made the thin sliver of a house seem especially dreary. Not that it needed any help. A wall of dying bushes blocked the view from the road. The house's drab brown paint had long since peeled off. The foundation on the right side was beginning its descent back into the earth.

"This is it?" Jamie said, glancing around at the cesspool of the neighborhood.

Noah leapt up the three cracked steps to the front porch. "You spoil us."

Vincent dug the keys out of his pockets, trying to think of something that would make it more appealing, but came up empty.

Jamie kicked at a patch of dead grass, glancing around at the debris of an old tire, a rusted wheelbarrow, and broken chairs scattered over the excuse for a lawn. "How long?"

Vincent unlocked the front door, shoving the wood as the door caught in the frame. It freed after a forceful effort. "Until we find Max or have to move on."

The porch groaned as Noah moved beside Vincent. "How'd you get it?"

"Convinced a couple pot growers it was time to go," Vincent said walking in.

Noah pushed past him excitedly. "Did they leave anything?" When he came through to the bare space, his enthusiasm waned. "Perhaps if you'd been friendlier ..." he said ruefully.

Jamie followed, taking in the filthy countertops. Vincent noticed the dead flies on the windowsill. He gathered them up and tossed them out the door. She tried not to show any disillusionment.

"It's not always going to be like this," Vincent said, unable to sound as confident as he'd have liked. Things were spiraling off kilter. There was still no sign of Max. The last two nights they'd slept under a bridge, shivering in the rain despite the small fire they dared burn. Before that, they'd moved from one seedy motel to another. But a seventeen-year-old trio drew curious stares. Anonymity was everything. He'd gone in search of meaningful shelter, but their options were limited, even with a pocketful of cash. He hadn't let aesthetics factor into the equation. The only thing that mattered was keeping them safe.

"It's cool. You found us a home. Thank you," Jamie said, her fingers resting on Vincent's shoulder, before easing away to open a window. The air did little to chase away the lingering staleness.

Vincent didn't show any reaction to her touch, but he liked it. Nor, seemingly was that lost on Noah. He raised his eyebrows ever so slightly before looking away.

Despite being smarter and stronger than other kids, they never lined up to be Vincent's friend. He couldn't understand why not when he was better than them in every way. Once in a rare while, the more foolish among them would mock him. An emergency room visit tended to follow. More than one school had sent Vincent packing.

Now though, he felt a sense of comfort hanging out with Noah and Jamie. He wasn't on guard around them – he even thought of them as companions. No, more than that ... they were his family and he wouldn't let any harm come to them.

Noah swept a layer of dirt from a countertop. "So when are we having Max over to the housewarming party?"

Unfortunately, the path had gone cold on the rooftop downtown. They had found his notebook filled with images of the burning city in the alley. The drawings were, in a word, disturbing. What else had he seen that the Eye hadn't shared with Vincent? Was Max ahead of him on the hierarchy? He pushed those thoughts aside. Max was alone, unprotected, and it was Vincent's job to find him before it was too late. His eyes fell on Jamie. "We need to let him in, show him that we've been through the same things. He has to know he's one of us."