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"Abraham, stop!" It was a mixture of yells as everybody tried to pull Abraham away from Eugene.
"I'm not a scientist!" Eugene shouted, surprising us all. It fell quiet. "I lied. I'm not a scientist. I don't know how to stop it. I'm not a scientist.
"Ha, told you," I cheered, jumping up and down. I stopped moving when I received a glare from the rest of the group. Rosita stood up from the ground.
"You are a scientist. I've seen the things that you can do," Rosita said.
"I just know things," Eugene replied.
"You just "know things"?" Dad asked in disbelief.
"I know I'm smarter than most people, I know I'm a very good liar, and I know I needed to get to DC," Eugene said.
"You didn't have me fooled for a second," I said a smirk plastered on my face.
"Why?" Mom asked, ignoring my comment.
"Because I do believe that locale holds the strongest possibility for survival, and I wanted to survive. If I could cheat some people into taking me there, well, I just reasoned that I'd be doin' them a solid, too, considering the perilous state of the city of Houston, that state of everything," Eugene explained. I hate to admit it, but he was smart. And a little selfish.
"People died trying to get you here," Rosita said. Her voice cracked as she spoke.
"I'm aware of that. Stephanie, Warren, Pam, Rex, Roger, Josiah, Dirk, and Josephine. And Bob. You see, I lost my nerve as we grew closer, for I am a coward," Eugene said.
"You got that right," I scoffed and for once, nobody glared at me.
"And the reality of getting to our destination and disclosing the truth of the matter became some truly frightening shit. I took it upon myself to slow our roll. Find time to finesse things so then when we got there," Eugene paused, swallowing hard. "But at this moment, I fully realize there are no longer any agreeable options. I was screwed either way."
"Is that all you've lied about? Or is there more?" I asked.
"I also lied about T. Brooks Ellis liking my hair. I do not know T. Brooks Ellis. But I did read one of his books, and he seemed like the type of guy that wouldn't blink twice at a Tennessee top hat," Eugene confessed before adding, "Again, I am smarter than you. Now, you may want to leave me here-"
Eugene didn't have time to react before a fist made contact with his face. Abraham punched him again, shoving him against the fire truck.
"Hey! Hey!" Tara and Dad rushed forward.
"Hey, come on," Dad grunted, wrapping his arms around Abraham's midsection.
"Get off of him!" Mom shouted. Even with Dad holding him back, Abraham managed to punch Eugene again. Eugene fell face first onto the road. Ouch. I took one of my throwing knives and held it. Rosita made her way in front of Abraham, her hand on her gun. Mom rushed to Eugene's side. I watched as Abraham's eyes flickered from Rosita's face to her gun and then to his bloody hand. Abraham stumbled past Dad and towards the back of the fire truck. I tucked my knife away and moved towards Mom and Eugene.
"Is he going to be alright?" I asked. Mom rolled Eugene over to reveal his bloody face. I placed my hand over my mouth.
"Oh god. Eugene, are you there?" Rosita asked frantically.
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Eugene still laid on the ground passed out. We still couldn't figure out if he would be alright or not. I leaned against the front of the fire truck while Mom stayed crouched beside Eugene.
"GREATAM," I heard Tara explain the meaning of GREATAM. I leaned to the side so I could see the two.
"All our names combined our GREATAM because were so great," I said with a smile. Tara laughed and Dad smiled. Mom stood up and went to go stand by the rest of the group. I stayed leaning on the front of the fire truck watching Eugene. I heard Rosita yelling at Abraham than a gun cock. I stood up quickly to look at what happened. Mom had a gun pointed at Abraham.
"Sit down or I'll put you down," Mom said firmly. When Abraham turned away from her and sat on the ground again, Mom put her gun away.
"Well, what's next on the agenda?" Rosita asked.
"We need more water," Dad said.
"There's a creek up the road a few miles southwest of here," Rosita said, putting the strap of her gun on her shoulder.
"Y'all go. I'll stay here," Mom said.
"You sure?" Dad asked.
"I am," Mom nodded.
"Okay," Rosita said and walked past me. Dad ruffled my hair as he passed. I laughed lightly, fixing my messy hair the best I could. I looked off into the distance, lost in through. Or more so of memory.
"Oh Carl, where are you?" I said, skipping around outside of the prison.
"What are you doing?" I heard Grandpa ask. I looked over to see him making his way towards me. His crutches slowed him down.
"Me and Carl are playing tag hid n seek," I explained.
"Oh, in that case, I think you better ask Rick if he's seen his son," Grandpa said, sending a wink my way. I looked over towards the pig pen where Rick was. I spotted the Sheriff hat that I knew all to well.
"Thanks, Grandpa," I smiled and ran towards Rick. Rick looked up when he heard me approach him.
"Well hello there, Princess Aurora," Rick said, setting down the bucket he had in his hands.
"Hey, Rick!" I smiled brightly. Rick took my hand and twirled me, making me laugh loudly.
"What does the Princess need this time?" Rick asked.
"Have you seen Carl?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.
"Oh, I believe I saw him earlier," Rick said playfully before leaning down to whisper in my ear. "Behind the pigpen," he whispered. I nodded and walked around the pigpen. I quickly tagged Carl before he could get away.
"Traitor!" Carl exclaimed, pointing at his Dad. Rick laughed, holding his hands up.
"Sorry, Carl," Rick smiled playfully. I took Carl's hat and placed it on my head.
"Don't be such a sore loser," I said.
"I am not! And give me back my hat." Carl pretended to look mad but I could see the tiny smirk underneath the fake anger.
"Not a chance, Sherrif!" I took off in a sprint. Carl chases me around the prison fields.
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