Omega: the Sequel

Chapter Two

            Janice laughed, patting my hand and raising her binoculars to her eyes again to study the barn. “He’s not as bad as you think, Josh,” she said, her ponytail falling over her shoulder as she cocked an eyebrow in my direction.

            I rolled my eyes. “At least someone around here knows my name,” I muttered, propelling myself to my knees as I began to stretch out my arms. The rain was still falling, splashing across my face as I raised it to the sky. Sighing, I raked my fingers through my hair, which was a curly, tangled mess after several weeks of no combing and little showering.

            “So, what are your plans?” I asked Janice, settling myself back down on my stomach and resting my chin on my hand. She was quiet for a long moment, her eyes still on the barn, and then she let the binoculars fall around her neck again as she looked over at me with those wide hazel eyes.

            “I’m not sure. I mean, there aren’t really many options for spies, are there? I won’t be working for Delta anymore – married women aren’t allowed, after all – but I don’t know if Hans…” She sighed again. “He probably won’t be able to stay away from the adrenaline, I’m thinking. And I don’t know if I want my children growing up with a father who’s away on dangerous missions all the time.”

            I looked away, feeling awkward. I had never really thought about marriage, but now I realize how difficult it could be in the future. “I’m sorry,” I said in a low voice, and she smiled at me.

            “You’re sweet, Josh. Some girl has to have her eye on you – ahh, look, now I’ve made you blush. Who is your sweetheart? That girl who you rescued from the manor – Astrid?”

            “Heck, no.” I grinned at the thought. “No, her heart belongs to someone else…although, at this stage, I’m not really sure who.”

She raised an eyebrow at my cryptic comment, continuing to look at me for an answer. Wiping the rain off the barrel of the gun, I avoided her eyes as I tried to think up something to say. Who was my sweetheart? Sadie Gallagher? I had kissed the kid once, and she was just that – a kid. She probably didn’t even think about me anymore. Plus, with the whole Charlie thing…And then, with one of those painful jolts that had hit me several times in the past few weeks, I remembered that he was gone.

            “I’m…not really sure,” I confessed, and Janice looked sympathetic.

            “Ahh…unrequited love, no?” She waggled her eyebrows and I jabbed her playfully with my elbow. Laughing, she situated herself so that she was looking at the barn again, her finger twisting her ponytail in a vague circle. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, feeling a little jealous of Wulf. Not that I was in love with Janice – no, I was jealous that he had managed to fall in love with so perfect a girl. I just hoped I could find someone like her someday.

            We stayed on the hill for another two hours, my eyes threatening to close as my head continued to droop further and further downwards. The rain had long since soaked through me, but still it continued to fall, noiselessly turning the world into a dull grey landscape. Janice was resting her chin on the ground, completely pressed against it as she gazed at the barn. I didn’t know how she could lie so still; I was either going to fall asleep or go psycho with all the lying around.