War of the Sexes

Chapter 20

I followed with Luke on my trail.

Sure enough, John and Doc were standing out side. John reached up, scratching his cheek casually. I knew from that moment that that was the signal he was talking about. Clayton took off, hitting Doc in the head with his hand. Doc looked around for a second, entirely confused. He glanced at Clayton, then me before his eyes rolled back in his head and he hit the ground.

I gasped, running forward "Oh my gosh, is he ok?"

I looked up at the boys, fear in my eyes.

John gave me a look before stepping over the man on the ground and entering the house without a word.

"He's fine" Clayton answered "He's just asleep"

I nodded, still worried for his safety. He hit the ground pretty hard.

John stepped out a few minutes later, a satisfied look on his face.

"Well?" Clayton asked curiously.

"We're going to see the Nerd tomorrow"

Clayton looked over, grinning at me. I smiled back, a little confused as to what was going on.

"How are we getting there?" Clayton asked.

John smirked, holding up a neon green stick. It looked like one of those glow-sticks. The only difference was this one  was jagged in some spots, while straight in others. Much like a key.

"We aren't" Clayton grinned. He was acting like a little boy on Christmas day.

"Oh we are" John grinned devilishly.

"You are amazing" Clayton laughed. John laughed at him, before motioning us to follow. Hesitantly, Luke and I followed the boys as they led us through the house and out a back door.

I pulled Clayton aside "What's going on?"

"We're going to the Nerd's place" Clayton explained.

"Who is the Nerd and what's the stick thing John had?" I whispered.

"First off, the 'stick thing' John had is the key to our Craft" Clayton explained, not helping in any way. "Second off, the Nerd is the smartest man on the Boy's Side. He has the most connections and pretty much can do anything he wants. We're going to him to see if he can get you over to the Girl's Side safely"

"What's a Craft?" I asked

He frowned, trying to think of how to explain it "Didn't you guys have... shoot, what were they called... Ah-toe-muh-bells?"

I held back a giggle "Automobiles?"

"Whatever" he said, embarassed at his mistake "That's not important. A Craft is like that, sort of, except this thing hovers at a much faster speed"

"You mean it flies?" I asked "Like, its a Hover-craft?!"

He grinned "Exactly like that."

I gasped, shock filling me "You mean to say, that you have actually inventedHover-crafts?!"

"Well, we just call them Crafts now, but yeah, pretty much" He laughed, clearly happy that I was so excited about this.

I hesitated "Can I... see it?"

"Well, we're going to it now" He grabbed my wrist, pulling me along.

John stood waiting for us next to a dark, black, circular platform. If I hadn't been looking hard, I wouldn't have noticed the slight reflection of light, hinting there was a clear covering over top. You could see into it, a chair sitting, facing to our right and a comfy-looking bench facing the same way. The bench formed a circle around the edge of the platform, stopping halfway around.

John did something, and suddenly, I saw a clear panel move upwards. I followed Clayton onto the platform, Luke just behind me. John took a seat in the chair, pressing the stick into the ground. A beep sounded before a control screen appeared in front of John, who reached out, touching it. I stared, fascinated by it.

Clayton simply laughed, pulling me onto the bench next to him. Luke jumped up next to me, resting his head on my leg. I petted his head gently as he closed his eyes, quickly falling to sleep.

"Alright, here we go" John grinned, obviously liking this.

Clayton leaned in, whispering in my ear "This is a very expensive type of Craft. John's always wanted one like this and he's a little excited about getting to use it"

I nodded, yawning slightly.

"You tired?" He asked

"Just a little bit"

"Go to sleep if you want" 

I shook my head, "No I'll be fine."

"Ellie" he said sternly

I rolled my eyes, moving Luke so that I could stretch my legs out. I laid down on my sit, my head next to Clayton's leg. I closed my eyes, feeling tired already.

Clayton chuckled "Yeah, I thought you were tired"

I playfully nudged his leg, letting him know I could still hear him. He laughed once more before he silenced.

The last thing I felt were his fingers brushing away the hair from my face before I fell into a deep sleep.