A World Split In Two

Chapter Seventeen!

Chapter 17: Basements, Why Does It Seem There Is Always Monsters In The Basement

It had been a day since Zack had left, and of course Jane didn't expect to hear anything back yet. It's just she wished Mike and her could have gone with. Without the luxury mansion to live in life was a little tougher, not to mention a whole lot more boring, without the 8K flat screen TV's and winged Lamas, or the pool.... Or the second pool, indoor plumbing, a stove, microwave, or fridge, solar powered electricity, and a whole lot of other things that just made Jane sad to think about.

But everybody helped, and when the kids took Mike, Sam, and her back to their camp, after Zack left, they noticed that the place wasn't bad. With the help of the alien tech crate, (which Sam and Mike had spent practically the whole rest of the previous afternoon, hauling back) along with all the new food, they were back on their feet in no time. Some kids, not really wanting to sleep on the ground another night, even started the construction of tree-houses, which--aside from providing safer, comfier housing, also doubled as great lookout towers. To help with protection they even started building a wall to keep away predators and other kids.

Of course their wall--which was really just chicken wire, reinforced at some weaker points--would never actually be able to hold back a hungry RipJaw. But Jane hoped it would help discourage some of the smaller pests, and even if it didn't, just having it there made them all feel a little safer come nightfall.

In fact that was where Jane was working when Mike came to say 'hi'.

"How's the wall coming?" he asked, as she stacked a few burnt bricks on. "Hey, you know what," he continued, not waiting for an answer, "The basement is probably still intact.... Now I know you said it wasn't safe to stay there because all the cover is gone. But do you think it's cool if I take some kids down there to see what we can find? At worst we'll at least be able to find some better form of entertainment. I haven't seen anyone laugh since Bob regurgitated all the beef tips, and even that was ruined by the idea that we now had no more beef tips.

"Ah... I suppose it's ok, but good luck getting anyone to come with y--" she started, only to be cut off by Bob himself, who must have been less scared of old basements than working on the wall any longer.

"I'll come, please let me come. Pleeaassee!" he begged. "She said that if I didn't work she would take away supper." This comment was returned with a withering gaze from Jane who now seemed rather angry with the traitorous kid.

"Fine," Mike agreed, sure he was hoping Jane would offer him someone better than the pre-teen Bob, but then again everyone useful was either working on the wall, or the much desired treehouses, which was where Mike previously was. Bob should be fine as long as they didn't bring Derrick--who was busy making a memorial for that winged Llama he named sprinkles, who ran away in the fire. "But we could probably get Sam as well...."

They found Sam, to everyone's surprise, actually helping some younger kids gather berries at the edge of the forest.

Apparently Bob was also surprised, because when he and Mike were approaching the gatherers he let out a very staged choke. "Wow I can't believe he is actually helping. The whole time you guys were gone he just bossed us around.... Well, up to the fire, but that's when it would have been nice to be told what to do."

"Oh, leave him be, it's not his fault he was raised to be a spoiled, pampered, prince and doesn't know how not to be rude," Mike mocked before being greeted by Sam. Mike would never consider himself a rude, insensitive person, but really if there was one thing he didn't like, it would be spoiled kids.... That and medical androids--really what sort of a medical degree was Wikipedia?