∂εғιηε ∂εsιяε

Lost Family Found

"For now, we'll drive for as long as we ca--"

"What about the sun?"

"Don't interrupt me," I glare at him. "As I was saying, we'll drive for as long as we can and--"

"Wait!" Abe sniffs the air and closed his eyes as if he's concentrating hard. I narrow my eyes at him, crossing my arms and huffing in annoyance.

"What in the world are you doing?" I ask.

Abe hisses at me and covers my mouth before starting to sniff the air like an idiot again. I lick his hand making him jump back and stare at his hand in disgust.

"Revolting!"

"Don't touch me." I snap. "Now, what was with all the sniffing?"

Abe pauses, sniffs a couple more times before looking down to stare into my eyes. "I can smell your cent."

I roll my eyes. "Well, duh. I'm standing right here." I say motioning towards myself.

Abe glares. "No, it's not you. The cent is familiar but not yours exactly. It's mixed with someone else's. It's close by."

I cock my head to the side and rub my chin in thought.

Someone else with the same cent.

I think about this for a moment before a light bulb goes off and my eyes widen.

"What is it?" Abe asks curtly. I look up at him, my face emotionless, and then look over his shoulder.

"I..." I clear my throat. "How far away is it?" I ask quickly, my voice low and rough.

Abe looks me up and down weirdly before answering. "A few miles east."

I nod, looking at the sky, than looking again.

"Crap. Abe, the sky!"

The sunrise is slowly starting to appear and we have no vehicle - well, a working vehicle that is.

"Great..." Abe mutters under his breath, glancing at the sky every few seconds as to ensure himself it's not moving any faster than before.

I sigh and run my hands down my face, a plan running through my head.

It's a terrible idea.

I know.

She might hate you.

I know.

She'll never let you in, no matter how desperate you may be.

Possibly.

She'l-

"Nicole!" I snap out of my thoughts and face the irritated Abe. I sigh loudly.

"Follow the cent." I say quietly.

"What?" He asks.

"I said--"

"I know what you said." He snaps. "But, why?"

"Abe," I groan. I notice Abe's pupils dilate for a moment before returning to normal a short second later. I shrug it off and continue."Just...please. The sun is rising and this might be our only chance. The blankets in the car sounded brilliant earlier but it's a risk - a risk we're not willing to take. Follow the cent, just trust me on this one, alright?"

Abe thinks about this for a few minutes before nodding. "Anything if it means not getting back in that awful vehicle." I ignore his insult towards my car and nod, my mind to preoccupied with what might be about to happen.

Before I can say anything, Abe slings my over his shoulder like a fricken bag of potato's and takes off at the speed of light. My head spins and I grip onto his waist from behind like my life depends on it.

"If I die, It's your freakin' fault!" I scream over the whirling wind. My hair surrounds my head like twirling tornado, my voice muffle as it fly's into my mouth.

Abe either didn't hear me or chose to ignore me as he gives no reply.

Gee, it's not like he couldn't have just thrown me on his back instead, right?

A few short minutes - or hours - later, we arrive at a small cottage-looking house. It's paint is pealing slightly, the porch is old and creaky, and the windows are dirtied.

I huff when Abe sets me on the ground (quite roughly), before sending him a fierce glare, which he ignores.

Abe doesn't wait for me to straiten myself out before taking off up to the house, the porch creaking loudly as he steps on top of it. I stomp behind, spitting rage and fuming.

Before I can utter a word, Abe knocks loudly on the door old door, his fist threatening to break it's old frame.

The house squeaks noisily from the other side of the door and a few short seconds later, the door swings open slowly, cautiously, and a small blonde head pops out from behind it's rotting wood.

"Who are you?" The small girl asks in a quiet voice, eyeing us up and down nervously.

Abe stays quiet and I take that as my cue. I clear my throat and smile softly down at the nervous girl who looks around the age of 6 years old. Her long, blonde locks hang loosely around her shoulders, her eerily familiar green eyes shining brightly up at me.

I scrunch my eyebrows at how familiar those eyes look but shake myself out of it quickly.

"I'm Nicole. And this is Abe. Don't worry, his bark is worse than his bite," I joke with her. Abe snorts loudly behind me but I ignore it and watch as the little girl's lips slowly lift into a happy grin.

She opens her mouth to reply but an older, louder voice interrupts her.

"Melody, what have I told you about opening the door to strang-" The woman's voice cuts off abruptly when my eyes rise up to meet hers.

"Nicole?"

~-~