Chapter 8 Spark/Tavin

Spark:

I think I’m going to crazy in this house! Why did I ever go to find Fawn? She has just brought more craziness and unease into the house. You know exactly why you brought her back…  I shook my head and leaned against the outside of the house. I had to go out and get away from them for a while. Fawn and Twilight were at each other’s throats, Chem is picking on Tavin, Sonic is out patrolling the area, Tiny and Casper is with Anna and I could really care less about Aaron. I didn’t like the guy one bit…

I closed my eyes as I heard the door slam loudly. I honestly don’t know how much more this place can take. If it’s not Chem spitting holes though the walls and now having the woman of the house slamming door shut. I saw a very angry Fawn come pacing by.  I could see her eyes were filled with anger and hatred. I knew well enough that I shouldn’t interfere now. I’m surprised she didn’t change into a grizzly bear and try to rip Twilight to shreds. She musthave heard me move because she stopped and looked at me. Her cat like green eyes were so upset. I felt guilt surge through my body, I hated how Twilight treated her. Even though she might not show it I know it hurts her when Twilight and the others treat her that way. The last time she was here I don’t know what was said but it caused Fawn to leave. Fawn would say I didn’t think about her at all but I’d be lying if I agreed. I worried about her the year she was gone. I didn’t know whether she had been killed by the Retter or not. She always kept a wall up so I couldn’t keep track on her.

Soon after we found Casper I had been out patrolling around the lair when a strange noise caught my attention. At first I thought maybe it was a Retter first but when they never attacked I decided it had to be something or someone else. To my surprise I found a beaten and worn down Fawn watching me. Her eyes that were once so full of life where now dull and sad. “Fawn?” I had asked in utter shock

She shook her head then said “I don’t know why I came. I, I, I should probably go I don’t need to be here.”

I took her hand instantly, “No don’t Fawn…” we stood in silence for a moment then I said “Where have you been.”

Her face hardened when she replied “Around…”

“Why did you come back?”

“I don’t know…” she said looking away.

Not knowing what else to ask I said “Have you eaten?”

“If you count Friskee’s as food then yes, I have eaten quite well.”

“Come back to the lair with me…” I said I could hear the desperation in my voice

She hesitated a moment then said “I can’t. Not with them there.”

By them she meant the group “There not there. I sent them out.”

She thought for a moment then replied “Well I don’t see why not.”

Then everything went rolling downhill from there. Not long after we returned to the lair the others came back to. An instant war broke out between them. “What the hell is she doing here?” Twilight demanded throwing her arms into the air

“It’s none of your business!” Fawn replied defensively

“Fawn,” I said taking her arm

“Let me go. I want to show Twilight how much I missed her.”  She growled

“Bring it bitch!” Twilight yelled.

I tightened my grip on her arm and nodded at Sonic to do the same with Twilight. I felt Fawn’s body began to shake and I knew she was about to change. I twisted her around so we stood face to face. “Don’t Fawn. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you.”

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Okay.” She mumbled then glared back at Twilight. “Looks like it’s your lucky day.”

Then it went from there. They threw a few rude comments at each other but it soon quieted down. The others didn’t feel comfortable enough to allow her back so easily. So Fawn came up with the bright idea of finding Tavin and if she did it was obvious we could trust her. That’s how we got to where we are right now.

“I’m going to kill her!” Fawn yelled

I rolled my eyes at her. “Will you two ever get along?”

“No.” she replied shortly tossing her red hair to the side

“You drive me crazy.”

She grinned and walked towards me “I know.” She then wrapped her arms around my neck “Where would you be without me though?”

I grinned for a moment then said “Probably be in a beach chair in Florida…” if she didn’t have her arms wrapped around my neck I’m sure she would have hit me.

“I’m surprised to see a smile from Mr. Serious.” She said chuckling to herself

“You’ll be the death of me.”

“Too bad for you I guess. At least I have nine lives.” She said with a grin

We stood and stared at each other in silence. I couldn’t help but miss how it used to be with us. Back when it was just the two of us. “Fawn where did you go you crybaby?” a irritating voice said “Oh am I interrupting something?”

I glared at Aaron as he walked up to us. I pulled Fawn’s arms off me and said “What do you want?”

“Well after Pussy Cat went running out I decided to come find her and tell her what a diva she’s being.” He said

I saw Fawn’s body tense up, she said lowering her voice “Why don’t you go bother someone else?”

He shrugged his shoulders “Everyone else is so boring… not that you two are much better. Do those guys know about this? They’d probably love to hear about you two together… alone…”

I clenched my fist “Why don’t you just go back to your home?”

“I don’t have a home if you are so curious. Besides if the Retter are looking for you, you’ll need all the help you can get.”

“We don’t need any more help. You’ll probably just cause more trouble.” I said becoming more annoyed

“Whatever, I guess I have to back and get Sia.” Aaron said casually. “Don’t by chance have a car I can use?”

“No.” I replied flatly “If I were you I’d start walking.”

“Damn you guys are so primitive! No car, no television, no hot water and hell your food sucks!” and as if on cue we heard Tiny yell from the house “Come and eat you three!”

As we walked in silence Aaron said “If it’s any of that tofu crap I’m getting the hell out of here. I’d rather face the Retter.”

I shook my head and I heard Fawn chuckle. Aaron will more than likely be the death of me.~

Tavin:

I sat at the large run down table with a bowl of… well I think it’s soup and a piece of bread. It kind of reminded me of when I used to go to Gail’s to eat dinner. I wonder if I’ll get to see her again. Would she notice me missing? I know Gary wouldn’t care at all, he’d probably be happy I was gone; it means more money for him to spend on booze. Actually he wouldn’t have any money because without me working he has nothng.

“Hey,” Chem said nudging my arm while sitting beside me “What are you thinking so intensely about?”

I shrugged my shoulders “Nothing.” I lifted my spoon and let the contents of it fall back into the bowl. I couldn’t identify what exactly was in it…

Chem laughed “Don’t worry you get used to the interesting cooking. Tiny seems to think she’s a professional chef.”

I nodded my head and grinned deciding to start with the bread. By now Twilight and Sonic were at the table eating their food. I was quite surprised to see Twilight eating it. She’s a… diva. When she’s not fighting with Fawn she’s all over me! If she’s not flirting in my ear or wrapped to my arm asking me about my life, she’s bragging about her own life and achievements. She can sure talk! I looked up from the table when a very nervous Anna sat with Casper close beside her. I was still surprised she actually tried to run away. I understand that she was confused and wanted to go home, but for her just to run away was strange. I guess I couldn’t truly understand since I’m not leaving a family. “Nice of you to finally join us.” Chem said to Aaron, Fawn and Spark who entered through the door. Great…

Aaron looked at him and said “Couldn’t miss out on the party.”

Once everyone had their food we all sat in silence for a while. An awkward tension filled the room. Any second now I knew that Fawn and Twilight would begin fighting. But Sonic was the first to break the silence “What’s our next plan of action?” he directed to Spark

“I’ve been thinking and I’ve decided we’ll go down to Texas. I talked to Rick and he’s heard some rumors about a kid down there.”

“No way!” Twilight yelled “It’s gross down there, besides Rick smells bad!”

“Don’t be such a baby.” Chem said to her

She gave him a disgusted look “Shut up!”

“I agree with her, not for her reasons but it would be dangerous to go there now.” Tiny put in

“It’s dangerous to go anywhere Tiny.” Sonic replied

“He’s right if Rick’s got information we should go.” Chem interjected

“There is no way in hell that I’m going all the way to Texas! We just got back!” Twilight whined

“Get over it!” Fawn yelled slamming her fist on the table “The world does not revolve around you! There could be another one of us down there and the Retter will be after them in no time! Do you want an innocent kid to be killed because you are worried about your hair being too frizzy?”

Twilight began to reply until Spark interrupted her “She’s right Twilight. I know it would be dangerous and we just got back but we have to help the kid.”

Twilight crossed her arms and stuck her lip out “Well if she’s so right maybe you two could just go get a room.”

“No.” he replied quickly

Fawn shot him a glare so hard that I’m happy it wasn’t directed to me. She then grinned at him and began to trace her finger over his hand “Oh Sparky don’t you remember the one time we spent together in that little hotel in South Dakota?”

He drew his hand away instantly “Not now Fawn.”

“Well since no one seemed keen on asking me,” Aaron said making all of us turn our heads. He had been uncommonly quiet “I say we go with Pussy Cat and Spark Plug. As much as I hate to agree with them they’re right.”

I sat and began to space out the argument and listen to what Anna was thinking about. “I just want to go home. I don’t want to go to Texas, what I want to do is leave. I miss Mom and Dad… and Melvin! Poor Melvin I hope he’s getting fed.

She is so strange. I saw her glance over at Casper who was quiet as a ghost no pun intended. “Casper’s a nice guy. I wonder what he wants to do. He won’t even speak his own mind.” To all of our surprises Anna finally spoke up “I don’t think we should go…” she even seemed surprised to have said anything

“Anna,” Tiny started to say

“No, let her speak.” Spark said nodding his head

We all waited for her to begin “Um, well if my dad is one of these Retter guys he probably called the others and they would be swarming the area by now. So wouldn’t it be better for us to wait for a while?”

We sat in silence for a moment then Sonic said “She has a point.”

“We’ll take a vote then.” Spark said “Everyone for not going raise your hand” Twilight’s hand was first up then followed by Tiny, Chem, Casper, Anna and then me. As much as I wanted to go I knew it would be better to wait.

Even though we all knew the answer Spark said “And everyone for going?” He, Sonic, Fawn and Aaron raised their hands. “Well I guess that’s settled then. We’ll wait.”

Fawn stood up from the table “This is ridiculous! With us hiding here we look like a bunch of cowards! That kid in Texas is a sitting duck!”

“We don’t even know if he’s actually there it’s only rumors Rick’s heard.” Tiny said trying to reason with her.

She was nowhere near reasonable though “That may be true but what if the kid does exist?”

Spark stood up and put his hand on her shoulder “Just calm down Fawn. We’ll leave in a week.”

“Why does she” she said pointing at Anna “Even get a say in this? She’s not part of the group!”

“Nor are you technically.” Chem cut in

She glared at him “Shut up Einstein.”

“I think someone is jealous.” Twilight said triumphantly with a huge grin on her face

I saw he clench her fist I anger “Whatever. I’m going outside to get some air.”

She charged out of the room and slammed the front door shut. “She needs to work on her anger issues.” Aaron said breaking the silence. He then slid his chair out and stood up “Thanks for the food Tiny,”

“Where are you going?” Sonic asked

“Someone’s got to go after Kitty.” He replied heading for the door

“I’ll go.” Spark said quickly

“Don’t worry about it Spark Plug. I’ll take care of things here, she seems a little ticked at you.” He said pushing past him.

Angry thoughts went racing through Sparks head “Who does he think he is? He just come’s waltzing in and is automatically Mr. Right. I should have never let him come here.”

I almost laughed at how he was reacting. Of course no one could tell he was thinking it, his face was tone cold. I was curious about what he and Fawn’s past was. “So what now?”  Chem asked

“Everyone get some rest.” He replied “We’ll figure something out in the morning.”

As everyone began to stand up a soft tap came from the window. Casper instantly went to it and opened it and in his hand he had a small white dove.  “He has a note.” He said as almost a whisper. Spark approached him immediately and took the note “What does it say?” Sonic asked standing beside him

“It has coordinates on it.”

“Anything else?” I asked

He had a very grim look on his face when he replied “The only other thing it says is help.”ƒ

“How much farther do we have to go?” Twilight whined as we rode in a very old Volkswagen van that was an ugly green color with the back seats missing and it looked like there should be a water bed in it, a hippy should be driving this thing. When asked Spark merely replied “It’s all I could get.” I couldn’t see this car being missed.

“It’s not much farther away.” He replied shortly tightening his grip on the wheel.

We had been in this car for three hours now. We had all been stuffed into the back while Spark and Sonic sat in the front.  I thought I was going to go insane having to listen to Twilight whine or fight with Fawn. Fawn had reluctantly come with us, but after a few words from Aaron she decided to go which of course made Spark furious.

I almost wanted to start singing for joy when we turned towards the area where the coordinates lead to. I was nervous at the same time because whoever it was that found Casper’s dove was obviously in need of help. All of us began to shift from stiffness and unease with what we might fun.

Spark slowly came to stop after we turned down a dirt road. We all waited until he gave us a signal for us to go. For all we know the Retter could be anywhere. “Tiny you stay here with Anna.” Sonic said to his sister. She began to protest until Spark shook his head at her. When the doors opened Fawn and Aaron were the first ones out and the rest of us followed while Sonic and Spark stood at the end. I assumed it was in case we were attacked from the back.

It was unbelievable that this shack could still be standing. Its frame was swaying to the side and looked like it had been a very tasty meal for termites. The windows were either covered in dust or broken completely. It had a small patio around it that seemed very weak. Without hesitation though Fawn marched up the stairs and knocked once on the door then Aaron kicked it. I thought the whole house was going to go down by the force. “My bad.” He mumbled as he and Fawn walked in.

“Spark get in here!” Fawn yelled instantly

He ran to the front and moved past me I was tall enough to see though what the problem was. There were three limp bodies where lying lined up on the floor. There was one guy and two girls. Once we were all in the room I could tell that the two girls had to be younger than me and the guy looked about my age. My heart was beating quickly at the sight. How could anyone be so blood thirsty to do this?

I saw Fawn kneel beside one of the girls who was fair-haired and pale skin. Fawn first closed the girls blue eyes then rolled up her sleeve and she had a mark on her arm identical to all of ours “She was one of us.” Fawn said as if she wasn’t shocked at all “She couldn’t have been more than 15.” She went and checked the other two, both were chosen as well. “Damn.” She cursed while standing up then wiping the dirt from her knees.

A shocked gasp came from behind us. We all turned and saw Anna, her face had gone pale. “Anna wait!” But Tiny had been too late. Anna looked at me then to the bodies then back to me “What happened?”

“The Retter got them.” Spark replied without hesitation

“You mean people like me dad?” she asked I could tell she didn’t want to hear the answer though

Spark nodded his head and that’s all Anna needed to see. Tiny took her arm and lead her away from the shack. I couldn’t imagine how hard this must be for Anna. As the others talked of what their plan of action would be I heard an odd sound from the other side of the cabin. I could hear the thoughts of a stranger in the cabin. “Who are these people? Are they here to help? Or will they kill me like the others? Oh no! Someone’s getting closer!”

“Hello?” I said quietly as I crouched underneath a fallen bored. I squint my eyes and could see a small outline of someone. “Is someone there? I’m here to help.”

“Where’d the kid go?” Fawn asked

I didn’t answer though, I continued toward the stranger. I heard a small whimper and saw the body approach me. A girl who looked about 17 stood in front of me. Her hair was black as a raven but it was covered in dust and blood. Her eyes were a bright blue but filled with fear. “Are you here to help me? Are you the one’s with the dove?”

I nodded my head “Yes, come with me and I can get you some help.” I put on of her arms over my shoulder for support and I felt my mark on my arm burning and I knew she was one of us.

She must have felt it too “Are you like me?”

“Yeah.” I replied

“What’s your name?” she asked in a shaken voice

“Tavin.”

“That’s a nice name. Mine’s Amber.”

When the others finally saw us Fawn and Spark ran over first. “Is she alright?” Spark asked

“A little shaken but all in all okay.” I said and she nodded.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Fawn asked as we helped Amber into a chair

She looked away trying to fight back tears but then started “Well me, Carter, Megan and Rose all went to school together, we all knew we were… different. But one day these strange men attacked us while we were at school. When we returned to our houses we found that all our parents had been killed.” She paused a moment then began to sob. I put my hand on her shoulder to try and calm her. When she finally regained herself she continued “We didn’t know where to go so we ran and when we found this place we thought it would be a good hide out.” She looked at her companions limp bodies then said “Obviously it wasn’t. The men were here only an hour later. I managed to escape but none of them had been so fortunate. They tortured them! As if they bugs they tortured them until they couldn’t take it anymore! After the men left I found a small white dove and I’m not sure why but I somehow knew it had to belong to someone. So I sent a letter saying were we were and that I needed help.” She paused again then said in a frantic voice “We need to get out of here! Those men could be back in second!”

“Calm down. Everything will be all right now.” Fawn said trying to reassure the girl.

“Hey guys?” Chem said from behind us. “Sorry to interrupt but I think you should see this.”

We all went over to the small table and found a bunch of drawings with strange pictures all over it “What is it?” I asked

“To me it looks like a neurological pursuing stratagem to pinpoint and exterminate us.” Chem replied. We all gave him dumbfounded looks

“In English geekazoid!” Fawn said

Chem sighed then said “It’s a device used to find and kill us.”

“That’s what caused the terrible buzzing in my head!” Amber exclaimed “They were talking about it before they left. It was one of the worst sounds I had ever heard.”

“Well if she’s right the Retter will be back soon. We need to go now. Sonic take care of the place.” Spark said picking up all the papers

Sonic nodded his head and disappeared. I helped Amber to her feet and lead her to the van “Where are we going?” she asked nervously

“To the lair… it’s like our safe house.”

Suddenly the whole house erupted in flame. “No! No they’re still in there!”

Fawn was then beside her and said with a grim expression “It’s the best funeral they could possibly get. It’s more than any of the Retter would ever give your friends.”

I stood next to her as she sobbed into my chest as the house burned away. It truly was the best funeral they could possibly ever get. “Come on Amber we do need to go.”

She nodded her head and followed me to the van. We all sat in silence except for the sound of distant fire trucks as we left the burning house behind. Here’s where I start a new chapter of my life.ƒ